Lammas cross-quarter day Pagan Witch Harvest Festival August 1

August 1 is celebrated as one of the 8 spokes of the Turning of the year in the ancient nature calendar. Lammas is a pagan Harvest festival based on the Sun transiting its annual orbit. It marks halfway to the Autumn Equinox usually on September 21st as the Sun sits on the Equator for the second time in the year. 

George Cole (1810-1883) / Public domain

George Cole (1810-1883) [Public domain] Harvest rest

This is the original Burning Man Festival where John Barleycorn the original wheat/corn man was burned as an effigy. It’s traditionally a time of celebration of the harvest. John Barleycorn or a corn man figure symbolizing the sacred grain and most especially a sacred loaf was baked and offered to the four directions and to the earth Mother Ceres/Virgo in gratitude. 

The Goddess CERES/ Demeter is honoured as…