Happy Lughnasadh! Ways to Honor this Mid-Point of Summer

Photo by Kitfox Valentin

This time of year, late July and early August, enters us into the season of Lughnasadh. Often celebrated 8/1, the official mid-point between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox lands on 8/6 this year. This season was celebrated by the ancient Celts as a harvest festival, and was honored as the season that begins our passage into Autumn. In our current calendar, however, this time denotes the mid-point of the summer months where the energy softens, opens, and begins to ground back towards the earth. Themes and energies of gratitude, abundance, community, humility and generosity begin to rise to the surface. Can you feel it? The subtle shift in energy? How has your body been responding to these mid-summer days? To me it feels like a soft opening, a wide breath, a basking in all that is. An invitation to soak in and slow down. To revel in all that's blooming, fruiting, and set into motion. I've always felt that honoring these seasonal transitions is important for the well-being of our ancient psyches, and I recently watched an Instagram Reel that spoke to the particular importance of noticing these subtle shifts in seasons for Highly Sensitive People (HSPs). (This account, Wisdom of Anxiety, is a wonderful support for all those who experience anxiety or consider themselves HSPs.) I know a lot of this community considers themselves to be HSP, empathic, or sensitive in general, but even if you don't, I'd still recommend you take some time to recognize this transitional time. If possible, spend time over the next week to celebrate abundance in your life, in whatever form this is showing up for you right now. Tune into the energy of gratitude and notice how it feeds you. You might want to journal or contemplate the following questions:

What “fruits” you are beginning to harvest right now, in yourself, work, or life?
How has this shift in seasonal energy begun to shift your own experience in your body?
What are you utterly grateful for right now?
What feels abundant? And can you really allow yourself to receive it?

For more ways to celebrate and honor this seasonal passage with ritual and plant medicine, check out my free Video