“Lammas / Lughnasadh Bread Recipes”

Covenstead Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup Water
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup finely chopped Citron
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Anise Seeds
2 1/3 cups Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Allspice

Use for: Lammas
Source: Recipes for a Pagan Soul

Directions

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the peanut butter and the honey to the hot milk and stir to combine. Cool milk mix until it reaches 115ºF. Stir milk mix into flour mix.

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add honey, citron, sugar, anise seeds. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves and then remove from heat.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, and fold into the hot honey mixture.
Turn the batter into a well-greased 9 X 5 X 3-inch loaf pan and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for one hour. Turn out on a wire rack to cool. 

Lammas / Lughnasadh Bread

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour, plus more if needed
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk, scalded
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
3 tablespoons honey

Directions

Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the peanut butter and the honey to the hot milk and stir to combine. Cool milk mix until it reaches 115ºF. Stir milk mix into flour mix.

Knead for 15 minutes, adding more flour if necessary to make a smooth, elastic dough. Oil the dough's surface, then cover with plastic or a damp towel. Let it rise in a warm spot until double.

Punch down, then shape into 2 rectangle loaves or one large wreath. Let rise again until doubled. Bake at 375ºF until golden; it should make a hollow sound when tapped.

Yield: 1 large or 2 regular-sized loaves

Lammas Bread and Spell

Lammas/Lughnasadh

Traditionally, August 1 marks the beginning of the first harvest, and the time we celebrate two ancient festivals that have a similar focus.  Lammas/Lughnasadh also serves as one of the four major pagan festivals. Celebrations include baking bread from the first grains of the harvest and blessing them in a church ceremony known as the “loaf-mass.” "Lammas" is a shortened form of "loaf mass."  

As hard as it may be to believe when it’s 104, Lammas/Lughnasadh also marks the end of summer, the beginning of fall, and the last quarter of the Celtic year. Both festivals celebrate the fruits of the harvest, the complete cycle of life and the fruitfulness of the first grain harvest. Historically, at this time people started preparing for winter by baking bread and cakes to store for the cold. The Green man is dying, having sacrificed his life for the harvest and will be reborn from the Goddess in the spring. It's also a time to count your blessings.

It’s the time of the year to think about our personal harvest as well.  What are we harvesting in our own lives? It is also a season to throw away useless thoughts and habits and to form new ones to give ourselves renewed strength.

Colors: Gold and Bright Yellow

Symbols: Summer flowers, nuts, and grains

Lammas Bread:

Bread is the ultimate symbol of the Lammas season. After the harvest, farmers mill the grain and bake it into bread, which they then eat. It is the cycle of the harvest come full circle. The spirit of the grain god lives on through us in the eating of the bread. In many traditions, people bake a special loaf of bread in the shape of a man, to symbolize the god of the harvest.

 You can easily make a loaf of Lammas bread by using a pre-made loaf of bread dough, found in the frozen food section in your grocery store. Certainly, you can make your own dough, but if you don’t want to bake bread from scratch, this is an easy alternative.

First, place the frozen bread dough on a greased cookie sheet. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray or olive oil, and place it on top of the dough. Place the tray in a warm place, and allow the dough to rise for several hours until it has at least doubled in size. Once the dough has risen, cut five slits in it, to represent where you would like the arms and legs to be.

Shape the two lower sections into legs, the side sections into arms, and the top section into a head. Bake the bread for 40 minutes, at about 350 degrees, or until golden brown. After baking, remove from oven and allow the bread to cool on a wire rack. Brush the bread man with melted butter, sprinkle with herbs if you like, and use in your Lammas ritual.

Lammas Bread Protection Spell:

For this spell, I would advise just making a plain loaf of bread rather than trying to do it with the loaf you shaped into a man, simply because it will be easier to break into four pieces; however, either will work. Originally, farmers would cut the Lammas loaf into four pieces and bury them in the four corners of their barns to keep the grain safe. You can use this in a protection spell for your home.

Bake a Lammas loaf.

When it is cool, break it into five pieces. Do not cut it with a knife.

Set up your altar to honor the Sun God and the Goddess.

Invoke the deities and request their blessing in your work. 

Place 1/5^th of the loaf of bread on the altar as an offering to the God and Goddess.

Take one to each corner of your property with the words:

I call on the spirits of the watchtower of the north

Protect this place, now, and for the time to come.

Leave the bread for the birds to eat.

Repeat the blessing for each direction moving clockwise from north to east to south to west.

Return to your altar and close the spell by thanking the god and goddess and the spirits for their help.

Spell Casting Basics

Now that we’ve looked at a few spells, some of you may have some questions about spell casting basics. It’s been quite a while since we talked about this, so I thought this might be a good time to revisit those basics. Your ritual tools will vary depending on the path you follow.

Spells can be as simple or as complex as each spell caster desires, so this week we will look at ways to secure your spell casting space before you begin spell work. All spells vary based on the individual and the tradition you follow; however, the parts of preparation we’ll talk about today are common to a number of disciplines and can be customized to fit your needs. On the other hand, because there are so many different traditions, we will only discuss the core of the steps this week, and we’ll discuss them more in depth later.

All the steps in your preparation for ritual are vitally important to the success and safety of your ritual and spell casting; however, none are more important than your spiritual and psychic preparation.  This final step in your preparation, if done carefully, and with consideration and thoughtfulness, will enable you to control the energies that you call forth.

One of the most common ways to prepare yourself is through a ritual cleansing.  Take a ritual cleansing bath, using water charged with sea salt, rose petals, lavender, or whatever makes you feel most peaceful and comfortable within your own skin.  It’s not about cleansing the body; it’s about cleansing the mind and spirit.  Once you are done, stay in the tub while the water drains, and let all the stresses of the day drain away with the water.  You may also want to smudge anyone who will enter your circle.

It now comes down to your spell.  Think about what you want to accomplish.  State your intention.  Are you seeking love, money, health, or protection?  Determine this before you choose your spell. Write it down.  If you choose not to use the god/goddess you follow, do research to discover which deity governs your chosen area.  Learn something about them.  What do they prefer in ritual?  This is not always easy to discover, but if you do your research and listen to your intuition, you will most likely do fine.

Once you have done the basic goal setting and learning about the deity involved, you can begin to prepare your invocation.  Your invocation is how you ask for the help of the god and goddess.  Some people find it helpful to write down a step by step structure for their rituals to keep them on track and within the limits of what they have chosen to do.  As I’ve mentioned before, just as not all people are friendly, not all the energies in the universe are friendly either.  You don’t want to allow your ritual to go outside the limits of your ability to control, and having a written structure can help you in that area. 

Once you have done this, and after having made sure you have cleansed and prepared your ritual space, you will need to set a circle of protection.  You can use something physical such as candles, or salt, to set the stage for your visualization of your circle, or you can choose to only visualize your circle only.  Either way, you will cast the circle as well as setting it up.  There are a number of rituals that will include setting your circle as part of the instructions.  I generally use my athame to set the visualization; however, if you are new to ritual, you may want to have something physical to help you with the visualization.  Most people see the circle as a pure blue or white light.  The circle will help you gather energies and it will serve as your protection as well.

Depending on how formal you wish to be with your spell or ritual, you may want to call the quarters as well. If you wish to do this, you will set up your ritual space to have an offering space, generally a small table, decorated to please the element you wish to call in addition to your altar.

You may also wish to call on your god/goddess personally and use the altar candles to invoke the deity(s) of your choice.  Choose carefully. 

Never take a tentative approach.  If you are not sure of yourself, and your goals, do not practice alone.  Work with a group of experienced witches if you need to until you are more confident.  You must know what you hope to accomplish, and how you hope to accomplish it.  Half measures allow for unwelcome energies to enter your rituals, especially if you are unsure when casting your circle.  When you are sure of yourself and your goals, proceed with respect for the universe and the God and Goddess, and you will be fine.

On a last note, make sure you are grounded before you start your ritual.  There are many different ways to ground yourself, and grounding, in this case, is simply a way of connecting your subconscious to the energy of the earth.  The method I use is to visualize a tree growing down my spine and into the earth, connecting me to that energy.  Grounding is another way to protect yourself during ritual work.

The specifics of the ritual will be determined by the path you choose, and your goals, but these basic steps should get you started.  Rituals don’t have to be complex.  You can start simply if you choose and work up to more complex rituals.  If you are new to ritual and spell casting, you should definitely start with a simple ritual, or work with a group of experienced practitioners. 

A written structure can also help you know when and how to end your ritual.  You will need to have a specific and firm ending to close the ritual and release the energies you have been dealing with.  Do not end your ritual without this.

Once your ritual is done, respectfully release the quarters and bid the god/goddess farewell.  Make sure you have released all the energy raised, and then and only then should you break the circle.

As you work your rituals and spells, whether simple or complex, always remember that what you send out, whether good or bad, will come back to you.  Take responsibility for your actions, and as it harm none, do as thou will.  Always work with positive intentions.  Also, remember in all your preparations, the first key to magic is to understand yourself and the basics of the physical world around you.  Then you can learn to work with the energies of the universe.

A Spell to Win Affections

Love spells are a moral conundrum because we can’t force someone to love us.  We can help matters along, however, with some judicial spell casting, but if the love is not there, nothing you can do can change that. Remember it will take some time for the spell to spread its magic but if, the person doesn’t respond after a few weeks, then, perhaps you want to look elsewhere for love. 

You will need: 

White altar candle(s)

Jasmine or Rose essential oil (both of these oils are for attracting love)

Almond oil

Red candle

Bottle

Boline (a ritual knife, mainly for the cutting of herbs and inscribing candles.) 

Patience 

Mix 2 tbsp. of Almond Oil with your essential oil in your spell bottle and empower it by rolling the bottle between the palms of your hands. The hand chakra which empowers creativity and healing is in the palm, so when you roll the bottle between your hands, you empower the oil inside it.

Light your altar candle(s)

Scratch the name of the person you are in love with on the base of the red candle with the boline, and anoint your red candle with a mix of almond oil and the essential oil you chose.:

God and Goddess hear my plea

Open _______ to his/her love for me.

May the love be strong.

May the love be true.

As is the love I send to you.

As my will, so mote it be.

Meditate and visualize your request coming into being. Close your spell by thanking the God and Goddess (or your choice of deities) for their help. Burn the candle for an hour each day until it is gone.  If nothing has happened in three weeks, you probably want to look elsewhere for love.

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A Spell to Attract Money

Best done during a waxing moon

This spell calls for a green candle (green represents renewal, health, and money) and green altar decorations. It’s always best to match your altar decorations to your candle to solidify your intent. 

You will need: 

White altar candle(s)

A green candle

Malachite stones

Almond oil

Orange essential oil

Bottle

Spell bag

Three silver coins or a dollar bill

Mix 2tbsp. of Almond Oil with your Orange essential oil in your spell bottle and empower it by rolling the bottle between the palms of your hands. The hand chakra which empowers creativity and healing is in the palm, so when you roll the bottle between your hands, you empower the oil inside it.

Light your altar candle(s)

Anoint the coins or bill and the malachite stones with the oil

As earth’s grounding gives room to grow

Air blows, and money flows

Money, money flow to me

As my will, so mote it be

Now put the coins in the bag. Put the bag in a safe place and carry the stones with you, or put them with the bag. If nothing happens in a few weeks, try again, and focus on setting your intentions firmly.