Opening the Lughnassadh Circle

(taken from the notes of a witch of old European descent)

Walk the Lughnassadh Circle with the utmost respect.

You must first bake a loaf of bread. Be sure the flour is of the highest quality, and no ingredient should be compromised in worth. Bake the bread at noontime on a very sunny day, in the few days before August 1. Wrap the bread-loaf in clean cloth. On the evening of July 31, take the loaf to the designated Circle place. Sit quietly and consider the cycles of Nature — from birth to death and back to birth again. In your mind, trace the life of the grain that was used in making the bread from seed to loaf.

Wait for a sign to begin your work — a gust of wind, an owl’s call, or some other meaningful sign. Walk two short paces out from the intended midpoint of the Circle and begin pacing clockwise around the center. It is best to not wear shoes. Put your mind on the contact between your feet and the Earth. Rub your feet into the earth as you progress around the Circle. After one pass around, begin to crumble the bread-loaf before you, allowing the crumbs to fall to the earth and be ground into the soil by your feet. Continue this until the bread-loaf is gone. Once again, sit in the center of the Circle and think about the cycles of Nature.