Lughnasadh Incense

Description

This incense embodies the fire of the August sun, when summer is at its zenith and the herbs burst with aromatic oils. Nature’s colors shift from green to golden yellow. The goddess of the earth now appears with a cornucopia in her hands. And whereas Imbolc (the feast of Brigid) is a festival of water, Lughnasadh is one of fire. Lughnasadh is the Irish/Gaelic harvest festival healt in honor of the fire god Lugh and the death of his mother Tailtiu. Lugh, literally meaning ‘fire’ or ‘celebration’, was a god of the arts, of craftmanship, including weaponry but also of healing. He was also known as Lug Samildanach (Lug master of all arts) and as Llew Llaw Gyffes (the lion with the confident hand).

Lughnasadh celebrated the beginning of the harvest season, when the corn is ripe and the first bread is baked, which features also in the anglo-Saxon (Christian) Lammas rituals. Hand feastings are traditionally performed on Lughnasahd. Another old Irish tradition associated with this day is the Puck Fair, where a goat is crowend as king.

On the wheel of the year, Lughnasadh is one of the four cross-quarter (or midpoint) festivals, which are originally associated with the moon and hence may fall on the full moon closest to the beginning of August. It marks the beginning of the triad of harvest festivals, the other two being Mabon and Samhain.

Ancient Gaelics envisioned the ripe ears of grain as children of the earth mother, which were sacrificed to the sickle blade. Also associated with the harvest, were corn demons that hid in the fields, such as the dreaded Cailach and the Bilwiss, originally a protective spirit of the fields, but then transformed into a malign creature with sickle blades on its feet. Feared was also the Crom Dubh, a greedy grain god.

Roman church designated August 1 to the liturgical feast of St. Peter ad Vincula (Petri Kettenfeier), celebrating the liberation of the St. Peter from his chains and his escape from emprisonment by the aid of an angel. August 1 also marks the fall of Lucifer, who was compared to the heathen Lugh and Loki. Those born on August 1 were believed to become sorcerers and able to see ghosts.

In August the sun moves through the sign of Leo. Emblematic of the first harvest are ears of grain, bread loafs, the sun, corn dolls and sickles. August is further the month of herb gathering and when the first fruits ripen. Therefore apples and aromatic herbs, as well as cornucopias all represent this time of the year.

Contains: amber, apple peel, coreander, aromatic and seasonal wild herbs (blueweed, five finger grass, lemon marigold, mugwort, mullein, ox-eye daisy, rue, st. John’s wort, tansy, thyme, vervain, white sage, wormwood, yarrow), dark copal, elecampagne root, frankincense, pine resin, sunflower petals, walnut leaf

Uses: uplifting, stimulating, fiery blend for cleansing, clear sight, self-empowerment, creative drive, physical and emotional strength

Scent: aerial, herbaceous

Colors: golden yellow, blue, green