Looking for a gluten-free alternative to Lammas bread? Try this recipe for garlic-and-chive herbal Lammas popcorn instead!
If you like to celebrate Lammas in the kitchen, honor this grain holiday with a shareable gourmet treat.
When we think of the harvest Sabbat, Lammas (or Lughnasadh), we tend to go straight for the yeast and bake a loaf of traditional Lammas bread.
But I wanted to change things up a bit this year and highlight corn. It is, after all, the quintessential staple grain of the Americas.
Plus, I can’t think a more fun food than popcorn. You put it in hot oil and it literally explodes when it’s ready to be eaten.
Add in a blend of herbal seasoning and some olive oil for a naturally gluten-free snack to share on this wholesome summer harvest holiday.
Metaphysical properties
From the corn kernels to the herbs, all the ingredients in this recipe symbolize the early harvest.
Popcorn
Many witches in North America place jars of popcorn kernels in the altar in acknowledgement of the grain harvest.
If you put popcorn kernels on your altar for the Lammas season, why not actually pop them?
The corn kernels transitioning to popcorn symbolize the turn of the seasons, transformation and instantaneous magic.
Chives
In herbal witchcraft, this grass-like little green herb is used primarily for exorcism.
By “exorcism,” I mean the expulsion of negative or unwanted energy. The term is more or less synonymous with energy clearing.
As the sunlight begins to fade in the wake of the Summer Solstice, some practitioners believe that the Veil Between Worlds begins to fade until it reaches its thinnest state around Samhain or All Hallow’s Eve in October.
This makes for great conditions if you want to work with divination or dream magic.
But it also makes us vulnerable to confusion and lack of clarity in spiritual work. Chives help to ward off any negative effects of working too closely to the Veil.
Dill
Dill is more typically associated with love and lust spells.
However, it also acts as a potency enhancer. In other words, we use dill in this kitchen witch recipe as an all-purpose enhancer for whatever we are currently working on in our practice.
In addition, as the season of death (autumn) approaches, including dill in any recipe or spell this time of year symbolizes endings, transition and the state between death and rebirth.
Garlic
For a detailed article on the uses of garlic and witchcraft, check out this article.
But as it pertains to this recipe, garlic symbolizes the transition of summer to fall.
With its long period of development underground, gardeners typically plant garlic in the fall and harvest it right around Lammas. The period between Lammas and Mabon (the first autumn holiday) is just about the only time it isn’t in the ground.
Pepper
Most often used in spells to ward off trouble, black pepper’s spicy kick is a warning in spell craft:
Get back or get burned.
Include black pepper in Lammas rituals to symbolize the coming months of heightened paranormal activity and to protect your sacred space from darker energies.
Ingredients
-4 cups popped popcorn
-1 tbp olive oil
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp onion powder
-2 tsp dried chives
-2 tsp dried dill
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
Step 1
Place freshly popped popcorn in a large bowl.
Drizzle olive oil over popcorn, then toss to coat it.
Step 2
In a small bowl, blend together garlic powder, onion powder, dried chives, dried dill, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle over popcorn, then toss the popcorn until it is evenly coated with herb mixture.
Serve and enjoy.
