Lammas Gratitude Tarot Spread + Harvest Ritual

August 05, 2025By Sheila Ellis

Celebrate the first fruits of your year's labor with ancient wisdom, modern gratitude, and the sacred art of recognizing abundance in all its forms.

On August 1st, our ancestors celebrated Lammas (also known as Lughnasadh)—the festival of the first harvest. As the grain turned golden in the fields and the first loaves of bread emerged from ovens, communities gathered to honor both the literal abundance of the earth and the metaphorical fruits of their year's labor. This wasn't just about celebrating what had grown in their gardens; it was about recognizing the many forms of prosperity that come from living in harmony with natural cycles and tending what matters with consistent care.

In our modern lives, we may not be harvesting wheat from our own fields, but we're constantly engaged in the spiritual equivalent: planting seeds of intention, tending them through seasons of growth and challenge, and—if we're paying attention—gathering the fruits of our devotion, creativity, and conscious choices.

Lammas invites us to pause in the midst of our busy lives and ask: What have I been growing all year that's ready to be celebrated? What abundance have I created through my daily choices, relationships, and commitment to growth?

Lammas marks the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox, making it one of the eight sacred festivals that honor the turning of the wheel of the year. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon "hlaf-mas," meaning "loaf-mass," referring to the tradition of blessing the first loaves of bread made from the new grain harvest.

But Lammas is about more than literal harvest. It represents:

The fruits of patience and persistence: What we've cultivated through consistent, loving attention over time

The transformation of potential into reality: How our dreams and intentions have taken tangible form

The balance of gratitude and preparation: Celebrating what we have while readying ourselves for what's ahead

The sacred relationship between giving and receiving: How we've both contributed to and benefited from the abundance around us

The wisdom of cycles: Understanding that every ending contains the seeds of a new beginning

In tarot terms, Lammas embodies the energy of the Pentacles suit—the practical, tangible, Earth-connected aspects of manifestation. This is where spiritual insight meets physical reality, where inner work translates into outer change.

Before we dive into ritual and tarot work, let's explore what it really means to "harvest" in the context of personal growth. Too often, we focus so intensely on what we haven't achieved that we miss the quiet miracles that have been unfolding all along.

Your personal harvest might include:

Skills and Capabilities: New abilities you've developed, confidence you've gained, or ways of thinking that have evolved

Relationship Growth: Deeper connections, better boundaries, improved communication, or healing that's occurred

Creative Expression: Art you've made, ideas you've shared, or authentic self-expression that's emerged

Inner Development: Increased self-awareness, emotional regulation, spiritual connection, or personal healing

Physical Manifestations: Career progress, financial improvements, health gains, or home/environment changes

Wisdom and Understanding: Insights about yourself, life, relationships, or your purpose that have crystallized

The practice of recognition isn't about inflating your ego or pretending everything is perfect. It's about developing the spiritual skill of seeing clearly—acknowledging both what you've created and what's still growing.

This simple ritual honors the tradition of blessing the first harvest while adapting it for modern spiritual practice. It can be done with ingredients you likely already have, making it accessible regardless of your living situation.

What You'll Need:

A loaf of bread (homemade or store-bought), crackers, or any grain-based food
A small bowl of salt
A cup of water
A candle (preferably yellow, gold, or brown to represent harvest)
Your tarot deck
A piece of paper and pen
Optional: honey, herbs like rosemary or thyme, seasonal flowers or fruit

The Ritual Process:

1. Create Sacred Space Light your candle and arrange your bread, salt, and water on a table or altar. If using herbs or flowers, place them around your setup to create a feeling of abundance and natural beauty.

2. Gratitude Invocation Hold your hands over the bread and speak this intention (or create your own): "I honor the abundance that flows through my life. I give thanks for the hands that grew this grain, the earth that nurtured it, and the many blessings that bring nourishment to my table. May I recognize and celebrate the harvest of my own year's growth."

3. Blessing the Elements

Touch the bread, saying: "I bless the fruits of patience and persistence."
Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the bread, saying: "I bless the wisdom gained through experience."
Add a drop of water, saying: "I bless the flow of abundance in all its forms."

4. The Abundant Harvest Tarot Spread (detailed below)

5. Written Gratitude Based on your tarot insights, write down three specific things you're harvesting from this year—forms of growth, abundance, or achievement that you want to consciously acknowledge and celebrate.

6. Sharing the Abundance Eat a piece of the blessed bread mindfully, savoring both its physical nourishment and the symbolic recognition of your personal harvest. If possible, share some with others or save some to feed birds or other creatures, continuing the cycle of abundance.

The Abundant Harvest Tarot Spread

This four-card spread helps you identify and celebrate the various forms of abundance that have grown in your life over the past year. Lay the cards in a simple cross pattern:

Card 1 - Seeds Planted: What intention, goal, or area of growth have you been tending this year?

Card 2 - Growth Witnessed: How have you changed, evolved, or developed over these months?

Card 3 - Fruits Ready for Harvest: What specific abundance or achievement is ready to be celebrated and enjoyed?

Card 4 - Seeds for Future Seasons: What new potential or opportunity is emerging from your current harvest?

Reading Your Abundant Harvest Spread:

As you interpret each card, focus on recognition rather than judgment. This isn't about whether you've achieved enough or comparing your progress to others—it's about seeing clearly what has actually grown in your life.

Look for connections and themes:

How do the "Seeds Planted" (Card 1) relate to the "Growth Witnessed" (Card 2)?
What would change if you fully embraced the "Fruits Ready for Harvest" (Card 3)?
How might the "Seeds for Future Seasons" (Card 4) build on what you've already created?

Pay attention to any Pentacles cards, which often represent tangible manifestations, and any cards that evoke feelings of satisfaction, completion, or abundance. Also notice if any cards surprise you—sometimes we've grown in ways we haven't fully acknowledged.

One of Lammas's profound teachings is the practice of recognizing "enough"—not in a way that limits growth or settles for less than we deserve, but in a way that allows us to appreciate what we have while continuing to create what we want.

This practice includes:

Appreciating incremental progress rather than waiting for dramatic transformation

Recognizing different types of abundance beyond material wealth

Celebrating effort and intention even when outcomes differ from expectations

Trusting the timing of your personal seasons rather than forcing premature harvest

Understanding that gratitude and ambition can coexist beautifully

Seeing challenges as part of the growing process rather than evidence of failure

This isn't about becoming complacent or lowering your standards. It's about developing the wisdom to appreciate what you're creating while staying open to what wants to emerge next.

Lammas also honors the work itself—the daily choices, small actions, and consistent efforts that create the harvest. In a culture that often focuses only on dramatic results, this festival reminds us that most meaningful growth happens through unglamorous but devoted tending.

Consider acknowledging:

The mornings you chose growth over comfort

The times you practiced patience when you wanted immediate results

The moments you honored your values even when it was difficult

The relationships you've nurtured through both easy and challenging times

The creative risks you've taken despite uncertainty

The healing work you've done even when progress felt invisible

The ways you've shown up for yourself and others consistently

This recognition isn't self-congratulation—it's the spiritual practice of seeing clearly how transformation actually happens: through love, attention, and the courage to keep growing even when the path isn't clear.

If you're drawn to deepen your Lammas practice through food, consider incorporating these traditional harvest flavors throughout August:

Grains: Bread, oats, quinoa, rice—foods that represent the foundation of nourishment and the fruits of patience

Early Autumn Fruits: Apples, early pears, berries—sweetness that comes from proper timing

Root Vegetables: Carrots, potatoes, onions—grounding foods that represent stability and practical nourishment

Herbs: Rosemary for remembrance, thyme for courage, sage for wisdom—seasonings that enhance both flavor and intention

You might create a special Lammas meal, bake bread with intention, or simply bring more consciousness to your regular meals by acknowledging the abundance that flows to your table.

The real magic of Lammas isn't in the ritual itself—it's in how this practice of recognition changes your daily relationship with abundance. Throughout August, notice:

What you appreciate about your current life rather than focusing only on what you want to change

Small daily abundances like good conversations, beautiful moments, or simple pleasures

Ways your past efforts are continuing to bear fruit in unexpected areas

Opportunities to share your abundance with others in ways that feel genuine and sustainable

How gratitude shifts your energy and opens you to receiving even more

While Lammas celebrates the current harvest, it also acknowledges that we're already in the process of planting seeds for future seasons. The grain that becomes bread also holds seeds for next year's crop, reminding us that every ending contains a beginning.

As you celebrate what you've created so far this year, also consider:

What you want to plant for harvest later this year or next

How you want to tend your current abundance so it continues to grow

What you're learning about the conditions that support your best growth

How you want to share your gifts in ways that create more abundance for everyone

This Lammas celebration prepares us beautifully for deeper work with The Hermit card as we move further into Virgo season. When we've acknowledged what we've created, we're better positioned to discern what deserves continued attention and what might be ready to transform.

Next week, we'll explore how The Hermit's lantern can guide us through the quieter work of late summer—the inner listening, careful discernment, and spiritual preparation that sets the stage for autumn's deeper transformations.

Deepen Your Seasonal Practice

If working with seasonal rhythms and harvest wisdom resonates with you, Writual Society offers comprehensive guidance for celebrating the eight sacred festivals throughout the year. Our workbooks include detailed ritual instructions, seasonal recipes, herbal correspondences, and practices for aligning with natural cycles while creating meaningful celebration in modern life.

Our monthly community gatherings provide space for sharing what you're harvesting in your own life and connecting with others who understand that spiritual practice can be both deeply rooted in tradition and creatively adapted for contemporary circumstances.

[Join Writual Society to deepen your connection with seasonal wisdom and celebrate the sacred throughout the year with comprehensive guidance and community support.]

What are you ready to celebrate from your personal harvest this year? I'd love to hear about your Lammas experiences or insights from the Abundant Harvest spread in the comments below.