Lammas - ah yes, that random holiday that you’ve possibly never heard about. Some parts of the wheel of the year are pretty famous like Beltane (aka May Day aka frolic around a maypole with flowers in your hair) and of course Samhain (aka Halloween).
Lammas is the first of the harvest festivals and is the midpoint between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. Once upon a time in northern Europe the beginning of August might feel like a turning point, but where we live in the U.S. it is the daaaawwg days of summer. The heat, the humidity, the bugs - we are not physically feeling a hint of fall coming. Since this holiday marks the beginning of the traditional harvest season there are a lot of themes around bread. And the last thing we wanna do in this heat is bake bread (eating bread is always a yes for me though).
As my friends and I discussed how we could make this holiday actually feel relevant for our lives, we realized that this time of year corresponds with our families going back to school. In my little circle we have school age children and most of us have partners who are teachers. We decided to celebrate Lammas by creating a small spell bottle for all our intentions, hopes and wishes for our families in the new school year.
Ingredients for a Successful School Year:
We put the ingredients in tiny glass bottles with a cork that you can easily find at a craft store like Michael’s or Joann’s. We usually give the bottle a small ceremonial cleansing by lighting incense and catching some smoke inside the jar before layering in the following ingredients:
- Sea salt
- Clear quartz
- Citrine
- Aventurine
- Chamomile
- Bay leaf
Feel free to customize your to represent your specific intentions. For example, if you’re hoping for good friendships to develop during the school year you might add rose quartz.
We use crystal chips but you can also use very small rough or tumbled stones depending on the size of your jar. Ideally your herbs are already dry so it doesn’t get moldy in there.
You can write your wishes or intentions directly on the bay leaf or on a small piece of paper rolled up and placed inside the jar. Keep it simple, like a single word or short sentence.
When you’ve layered in all your ingredients, seal the bottle with white or green candle wax. Pro tip - layer something underneath your bottle that you don’t mind dripping hot wax on!
I put this bottle in my car so it was present every morning I drove my kids to school. It's been a year since I created this bottle so I think it is time to return the ingredients to the earth, cleanse the bottle, and start anew!