Lughnasadh & the Wheel of the Year

One way that I like to connect with Lughnasadh, the seasons, and the cycles of the earth is by tuning into The Wheel of the Year. This is a relatively new practice for me, but I'm finding the journey into exploring this way of being in flow with the seasons to be an enjoyable one! Read on to discover how you can connect more deeply with the earth's natural cycles in your spiritual practice... The Wheel of the Year can help you tune into natural cycles and helps you internalize these outward changes in nature as reflections of the growth and evolution you experience in your own life. Living in harmony with the seasons and the ebb and flow of nature helps you to lead a more soulful life and to cultivate a deeper understanding of yourself on a soul level. The Wheel of the Year helps you recognize who you are and your role in the world around you. Set up your Lughnasadh Altar with me!    So what is the Wheel of the Year? Separated into 8 main holidays, the Wheel of the Year represents seasonal cycles that focus on the 4 Solar Holidays of the year (also known as the quarter days). This stems from the Anglo-Saxon cultural observations of the solstices and equinoxes, with the addition of the 4 Gaelic, agrarian, seasonal celebrations (the mid-points between the solar holidays known as the lunar cross-quarter days or fire festivals). Although some of the holidays observed in the Wheel of the Year are quite old, The Wheel of the Year as a whole is fairly modern (being developed in the late 1950s). Though I don't personally follow the tradition that created the contemporary Wheel of the Year, I find it a helpful way to think about the passage of time and what's happening at each time of year. I tend to identify more with the Gaelic Cross-Quarter Days, like Lughnasadh, as they stem from my ancestral heritage, than I do with the Anglo-Saxon solstices and equinoxes, but I do find value in these quarter days because they more closely align with the seasons as I observe them where I live in  Wisconsin. For this reason, these seasonal markers are important for helping me feel connected to what’s happening in nature all year long, while the cross-quarter days hold more spiritual significance for me in other ways. An Introduction to Lughnasadh: Lughnasadh is the third of the cross-quarter days, which marks the first harvest (and is the mid-point between Litha, the Summer Solstice, and Mabon, the Autumn Equinox). It is commonly celebrated on August 1st each year here in the northern hemisphere (or on February 1st in the southern hemisphere), but it may be celebrated between July 31st to August 2nd. Lughnasadh is the time of the first major harvest of the year of 3 in total - the second being Mabon at the autumnal equinox, and the final harvest being Samhain. It is also sometimes known as Lammas in the modern Pagan calendar. Lughnasadh Crystals: Green Aventurine Red Calcite Black Onyx Yellow Aventurine Rutilated Smoky Quartz Epidote Malachite Citrine Mahogany Obsidian Peridot