By Jen Romanowski
The Earth is turning, and we’re in the thick of summer’s golden fullness. On August 1st, we mark Lammas, the first of three harvest festivals on the Wheel of the Year. Known in some traditions as Lughnasadh, this cross-quarter day marks the beginning of the harvest season, when the first fruits of our labor begin to ripen.
But Lammas isn’t just one day. The energy of the first harvest stretches from August 1st all the way to the Fall Equinox in late September, when the balance of light and dark returns. During this season, we’re invited to pause, reflect, and receive what we’ve been growing, not only in the outer world, but within ourselves.
For those of us walking a recovery path, whether from addiction, trauma, codependency, or spiritual disconnection, this time of year offers something profoundly healing: an opportunity to recognize that we are worthy of the harvest.
Recovery and the Wound of Unworthiness
If addiction is a symptom, unworthiness is often the root. Many of us arrive at recovery’s door carrying the weight of shame. We’ve believed, perhaps since childhood, that we were “too much” or “not enough.” We’ve tried to perform, to disappear, to escape. The substances or behaviors that numbed the pain were symptoms of deeper wounds, many of them spiritual.
Recovery, in its truest form, is more than just stopping something. It’s a process of remembering who we are beneath the fear and forgetting. It’s about coming home to our divinity, our dignity, and our wholeness. But that’s easier said than done, especially when we’ve been conditioned to believe we don’t deserve good things.
This is where Lammas can serve as a mirror and a medicine.
You Are Worthy of the Harvest
The essence of Lammas is this: what you plant, you eventually harvest. That harvest isn’t always physical; it’s not just about money in the bank or a clean bill of health. It might be an unshakeable peace you never thought was possible. It might be the ability to sit in silence with yourself. It might be a boundary you held when it would have been easier to collapse.
And yet, how often do we minimize our growth? How often do we deny ourselves celebration because we think we haven’t done enough?
Lammas says otherwise. It says, “You planted seeds in the dark. You tended them with courage. And now, the Earth is offering her fruits. Will you receive them?“
The truth is, worthiness isn’t a prize you earn. It’s a birthright you reclaim.
Recovery as Sovereignty
In many spiritual traditions, sovereignty means living in alignment with your own truth. It means honoring your body, your needs, your inner knowing. In recovery, we often learn sovereignty the hard way, by setting boundaries that disappoint others, by choosing healing over people-pleasing, by listening to Spirit instead of shame.
Sovereignty is choosing sobriety on a Friday night when your past self would’ve reached for a bottle.
It’s saying “no” without apology.
It’s saying “yes” to life, even when it scares you.
Lammas reminds us that we are not only survivors, but also creators. We are not just in recovery, we are in reclamation.
Practices for the Season of First Harvest
The weeks between August 1st and the Fall Equinox (around September 20th) are steeped in the energy of ripening, gratitude, and grace. Here are a few ways to work with that energy on your recovery path:
1. Blessings & Lessons List
Take time to list:
- Five things recovery has given you this year (even if they’re subtle)
- Five hard lessons you’re grateful to have learned
This helps reframe your progress as sacred growth.
2. Lammas Worthiness Ritual
Light a gold, yellow, or green candle. Place a symbol of your recovery on your altar, a journal, a sobriety chip, a photo, or a letter to your past self. Speak aloud:
“I am worthy of my healing.
I receive this season’s blessings with an open heart.
I trust the harvest that is mine.”
Feel into the truth of those words. Let them land.
3. Mirror Affirmation Practice
Each morning or evening, look into your own eyes and say:
“The harvest is mine.
I am ready to receive.
I am already enough.”
It may feel awkward at first. That’s okay. Worthiness is like a muscle; it grows with use.
You Are the Sacred Harvest
In recovery, we talk a lot about surrender. But receiving is a spiritual practice, too. It’s one thing to let go of what no longer serves. It’s another to let in what does.
Lammas is your invitation to do both: to surrender the shame, and to receive the blessing.
You are not a problem to be fixed. You are a soul in bloom.
You are not just in recovery. You are sovereign.
You are the sacred harvest, and you are worthy of it all.
Jen Romanowski, a.k.a. Sunshine Witchski, The Pink-haired Sober Witch, has been practicing witchcraft and other esoteric practices for over 25 years. She is a spiritual advisor, recovery mentor, and Creatrix of Illuminate: The Unschool of Sober Witchcraft. Visit www.illuminateunschool.com or text 313-595-4148 for guidance in your recovery. Or check out Amazon for her newly published book: Sober Witch Life: A Magickal Guide to Recovery.
