Lammas/Lughnasadh for the Deist Witch

I have been a practicing witch for approximately 20 years now. During that time I've stuck my toes into everything from Norse paganism to Wicca to Christian witchery, but I've always struggled to relate to the concept of deities, which as you can imagine has left me at times feeling like a complete outcast at many a pagan gathering. It's not that I'm completely opposed to the idea of deities, clearly there are thousands of witches and pagans who work with them on a daily basis and feel their presence, but I have never personally experienced an intimate relationship with any God or Goddess.

What I believed to be the presence of "God" in the world, I have come to see over time as a universal and unknowable divine power, rather than an anthopromorphic deity. This may make me a deist.

Wikipedia defines a deist as the belief in a creator who does not intervene in the universe after creating it, solely based on rational thought without any reliance on revealed religions or religious authority. Deism emphasizes the concept that is, God's existence is revealed through nature.

Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as what can be called natural religion, or the acceptance of a certain body of religious knowledge that is inborn in every person or that can be acquired by the use of reason and the rejection of religious knowledge when it is acquired through the teaching of any church.

I'm still not sure if this word fully encompasses my own personal understanding of the divine power that is in all things, but it certainly aligns more closely with what I feel to be true in my heart than the term pagan or theist. To me the divine power of the universe has no gender, no bias, no personified agenda. It is the energy that flows through all things. Nature is God and God is Nature. We are born of the Mother Earth and when we die, we return to her. Our bodies decompose, our molecules rearrange, and the carbon that once was us becomes new life.

For those of us who view nature itself as the source of our spiritual energy, the Wheel of the Year is immensely appealing. The quarter and cross-quarter holidays are based on the natural rhythm of the seasons and celebrate the earth’s immense blessings. However, as the Wheel of the Year as we know it today comes from the Wiccan tradition created by Gerald Gardner, the holidays are often tied to the celebration of traditional Celtic deities or the Wiccan God or Goddess. Lughnasadh is one such holiday.

Named for the God Lugh, Lughnasadh celebrates the Celtic God Lugh’s marriage or in many traditions, it is celebrated in remembrance of Lugh’s festival to his stepmother Tailtiu. As a witch who has no relationship with any deity, I struggle with the idea of celebrating an entity which I have never felt the presence of nor (at the risk of offending many pagans) believe in. So instead I look to the earth. There is importance and value in celebrating the first harvest of the year and the earth’s late summer bounty. The summer sun shines upon the crops, which grow and in turn nourish us. It's a beautiful cycle and one that is easy to be grateful for.

So here are my recommendations on celebrating Lammas for those of us less inclined to deity worship, but who still wish to celebrate the bounty of summer and the glory of the natural world around us.

For the alter:

The non-theist alter pays respect to the earth and the late summer season. In my area, Early August is the time for wild flowers, the bounty of the first harvest, and a celebration of the life giving sun. To decorate the alter this year items such as wheat stalks, fresh local vegetables, honey, cicada shells (cicadas being ubiquitous with late summer in my area,) wild blueberries, muscadine leaves (our local native grape,) and loaves of sourdough pay homage to the beauty and bounty of the season.

Rituals:

There are many Lughnasadh rituals that celebrate the harvest more than a pagan or Abrahamic God. Bonfires, barefoot walks in the grass, swimming in the local creek (an activity that can only be done at the height of summer here,) and serving local fresh foods are wonderful ways to celebrate the season. Giving thanks to the Mother Earth and the universe which sustains us and grants us our magical power are an important part of this holiday. August 1 is an excellent time to ground yourself to the earth, and spells to manifest abundance and change are particularly powerful during this cross quarter holiday.

Correspondences:

Symbols of Gratitude for the Harvest : Ears of corn, sunflowers, harvesting tools, sheaves of grain and wheat stalks.

Colors: Yellow, orange, browns, golds and bright greens

Crystals: Carnelian, Citrine, Tiger’s Eye, Lodestones, Obsidian, Aventurine

Herbs: Calendula, Heather, Goldenrod, Yarrow, Vervain, Sunflower, Poppy, Basil, Hops, Marigold, Grape leaves, Rosemary, Rose hips

Wishing you a blessed summer celebration, no matter how you celebrate.