ammas is also called Lughnasadh; it is a celebration of plenty and optimism, and of nature's infinite bounty. It is the time of the first harvests, and it marks midsummer's joyous and fanciful energy. This spirit is celebrated, too, in Shakespeare's A Mid-Summer's Night Dream. To tap into this energy, gather a small bundle of long grass or reeds to braid, and light a white candle. Braid the grass as you speak this verse:

Fairies prancing in the meadow,
Spirits in the corn;
Green Man is flourishing everywhere
On this Midsummer morn.
Grains begin to ripen,
All things bear fruit.
Summer glistens with
possibility,
Blossoms take root.
Fairies whisper secrets,
Powerful blessings to see.
Cycles move and all around,
they share their gifts with me.
Air to fire,
Fire to water,
Water to earth,
Earth to air.
Elements feed spirit,
And the circle glows.
At Lammas, day and night,
We witness Nature's awesome might.
Growing full
And blessing all,
'Tis Earth's celebration Before the chill of fall.
Now braiding this grass,
I mark this day
Protect my hearth,
With the abundance of grain.
The blessings of the Goddess come again;
Place the braid above my door.
Hunger be banished now and then.
Blessings be drawn to this place,
Summer's energy fill this space.
Air, fire, water, earth unite,
And bless us all this day.

Holiday lore:
Lammas is a bittersweet agricultural holiday, mingling joy at the current high season's harvest with the knowledge that summer is soon at an end. Many cultures have "first fruit" rights on this day-the Celt's version called Lughnasadh; the Anglo-Saxon version called hlaf-masse. In the Middle Ages, the holiday became set at August 1, taking its current form for the most part, with sheaves of wheat and corn blessed on this day.