Lughnasadh Greetings Card by Karen Cater
£1.60
A beautiful Lughnasadh card by UK artist Karen Cater. Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas, is celebrated on 01 August.
Karen's work is immensely detailed and meticulously researched, and the cards include a wealth of information. Here is the text from the back of the Lughnasadh card:
Lammas marks the beginning of the early harvest - cereals, barley, wheat and oats. It was often celebrated with bonfires, once lit on hills and beacons all over Europe. This is also the festival of the Celtic God of the Sun, Lugh, whose sacrifice in the harvest at Lughnasadh is made so that people may live.
Excavations at Silbury Hill, shown in the illustration, the largest manmade earthwork in England, suggest that its construction began in August, carbon dated to approx. 2660BCE. Perhaps it was built to celebrate Lammas. The name Silbury Hill is derived from the ancient water goddess Sul, whose spirit is said to dwell in the hill's surrounding moat. The shape of the hill is like a pregnant belly, suggesting strong associations with the Goddess, fertility and fruitfulness
This card comes cellophane wrapped and has a bright yellow envelope.
It measures 6" x 4" (15cm x 10.5cm).
It's blank inside for you to write your own message.
Lughnasadh is the cross-quarter festival that heralds the start of the autumn quarter of the year. Even though Lughnasadh occurs at the warmest time of the year, it marks the time at which days become noticeably shorter; it is the time when the first corn is harvested.
Associated colours are grey, gold and green; herbs are cornstalks, heather and frankincense. Corn ears, hollyhock, myrtle, oak leaves, and wheat may be used as offerings and decorations.
Lughnasadh is named after Lugh, the Celtic god of light and wisdom. At Lughnasadh, bread from the first harvest was eaten in thanks, and this tradition was continued in the Christian church's Lammas ('loaf-mass') service, where the first loaf would be blessed at mass. In terms of the Goddess cycle, Lughnasadh is sometimes considered as the time of transformation of the Goddess into her aspect as pregnant Earth Mother. The God is getting weaker as the days grow shorter, but his rebirth is assured as he is also present as the Goddess's unborn child.
Lughnasadh is a time to take stock and be thankful for what we have and what we have achieved. It is a time for sharing and appreciation, a time to consider our situation and learn the lessons of the ways in which we have reaped what we have sown, for good or for ill. It is also an auspicious time for deciding how to get the most from ongoing situations or projects.
| Size: | 6 inches x 4 inches (15cm x 10.5cm) |
|---|---|
| Colors | As pictured |
| Material | Printed card |
