The beginning of February (in Australia) is a time to celebrate Lammas, the first autumn harvest festival in the witch wheel yearly calendar. This celebration is the first of three harvest festivals that take place throughout the year.

In the olden days this was the time, when the weather started to get cooler, to begin preparations for winter. This meant harvesting and storing that food we have grown and made, for when the snow hits.

A thanksgiving for the year’s harvest, Lammas – bread feast – where we honour all the ingredients used in making bread. Drinks like cider, beer and ale are drunk, and breads are celebrated. All crops used for bread making were considered sacred.

Remembering that these traditions began in the Northern Hemisphere, we can still create a celebration that is relevant to us, where we may not see such extremes in weather. This is the perfect Sabbat to spend at the beach. Hot summer days and evenings, as we sip on cool drinks and dip our bodies into the ocean we can honour the sea. Reflect a little on all that we have grown and achieved over the last twelve months.

It is a time of cleaning our surroundings, in preparations for the year ahead. For acknowledging all that is good in our lives.

I love learning about the witch wheel calendar. The wisdom of our ancestors, the practicalities as they lived a life in preparation for what came next. A consideration for all that mother nature provided. A respect for the power that is the seasons, the elements and honouring the mystical and magic all around us.

On the first or second day in February, let’s raise a toast with ginger beer, and a piece of toast in celebration of Lammas.