As the wheel of the year turns toward late summer, August brings a time of abundance, gratitude, and preparation for the coming autumn.

The air is thick with the scent of ripening fruit, golden grains sway in the fields, and the first whispers of the harvest season call us to honour the earth’s bounty.

For witches and magickal practitioners, August is a powerful month to celebrate Lughnasadh (also known as Lammas), connect with the rhythms of nature, and infuse daily life with intentional magick.

Here we have 20 witchy tasks that will help you harness the spiritual energy of August and deepen your connection to these incredible natural cycles of growth, gratitude, and transformation.

1. Celebrate Lughnasadh (Lammas)

Lughnasadh, or Lammas, marks the first of the three harvest festivals in the Wheel of the Year.

Tune in, and you can feel the subtle shift as summer begins to give way to the harvest times, and produce begins to appear in abundance.

Honour this ancient celebration by baking bread with intention, offering grains to the land, and holding gratitude rituals for the abundance in your life.

Reflect on what you’ve sown and reaped, both physically and spiritually, and give thanks to the earth, the Spirits, and the hard work you’ve put in this year, too.

Get inspiration here: 15 Lammas Celebration Ideas for the First Harvest

2. Make a Corn Dollie

Crafting a corn dollie is a traditional and creative way to honour the harvest goddess and invite blessings into your home.

These small figures, traditionally made from the last sheaf of harvested grain, are believed to embody the spirit of the crop and ensure a bountiful harvest for the next year.

To make a corn dolly, gather some dried wheat or corn stalks. Weave them together into different shapes, such as spirals or human figures. While you work, infuse it with your hopes for protection, health, and prosperity during the next season.

Display your creations on your Lammas altar or around your home as a symbol of the harvest’s spirit.

This is a really great witchy activity to do with friends, and it works really well if you hold craft nights or circles.

3. Collect and Dry Herbs

August is the perfect time to gather herbs such as sage, basil, mint, and rosemary.

Harvest them before they go to seed, then dry and store for winter spellwork, teas, or cooking.

Get organised before you cut your bounty by ensuring you have drying racks and string handy, as well as apothecary jars and labels.

We love these jars:

• Classic glass 7oz apothecary jars, 30 pack, the classic and the best! 

• Small glass jars with cork lids (set of 12), perfect for very small quantities of precious herbs

• Spherical jar (set of 2) – SO practical and look amazing on open shelving!

As you collect each herb, thank the plant for its magickal, healing gifts for sustaining you through the colder months.

4. Craft a Late Summer Abundance Jar

Possibly THE most abundant month of the whole year, August is your last opportunity to tap into the glorious, generous energy of summer.

Fill a glass jar with symbols of prosperity and abundance: corn kernels, oats, bay leaves, and coins.

As you assemble your abundance jar, focus on your intentions for wealth, success, and fulfilment. Give gratitude for what you have, and open your heart to more.

Place the jar in a sunny spot or on your altar, charging it with gratitude and hope for the coming season.

5. Create a Sunflower Spell

Sunflowers, with their huge, smiling, radiant faces, embody joy, strength, and the heat of late summer.  Use their gorgeous yellow petals in spells or charms to attract positivity and resilience:

• Sprinkle a handful of petals on your altar for joy.

• Add to bathwater for a solar boost to your bathing

• Use petals or seeds in spell jars for confidence.

• Place under your pillow for optimism.

• Press into journal pages for summer blessings later in the year

6. Make Blackberry Wine or Syrup

August brings the first flush of ripe blackberries (also known as bramble) – dark, juicy, and brimming with ancient lore.

It is said that folklore, brambles were said to ward off evil spirits and protect boundaries. Some legends warn never to eat blackberries after the end of September, when it’s said the Devil claims them – making August their prime month for magical harvesting.

The fruits themselves correspond with protection, and healing, and can even be used in banishing rituals. To make a syrup or wine, gather the berries with gratitude (wear gloves if foraging from thorny hedgerows). As you cook or brew them, stir clockwise and speak your intentions aloud:

• For syrup: simmer berries with sugar and lemon, strain, and bottle.

• For wine: ferment with honey or sugar, keeping your space cleansed as it ferments.

Use blackberry syrup in spellwork for love and luck, or drizzle it on cakes for offerings. Sip your wine at ritual gatherings, or offer a cup to the spirits of the land.

7. Build a Gratitude Altar

If you already have an altar, consider creating another small seasonal space specifically for to gratitude

Dedicate a small sill or surface in your home to honour what you’ve harvested this year – whether it’s physical “crops”, personal achievements, or spiritual growth. Dig deep and consider everything that has come to pass this year so far – often some of the most challenging circumstances bring unexpected gifts

Decorate your altar with seasonal items, written notes of thanks, and tokens that represent your journey.

8. Make Bread Magick

Baking bread is a sacred act during Lammas – both on the day itself, and during the seasonal quarter, up until the Autumn equinox.

Kitchen witches summon the influence of the Goddess when they bake, so send her a prayer, and request her powerful holding as you work your magick over the stove.

As you mix and stir, knead, and bake, set intentions into the dough.

Then as you eat or share the bread, visualise your wishes manifesting, and offer a piece to the land or your ancestors in thanks.

9. Offer the First Fruits

Show respect for the spirits of the land by leaving the first apples, grapes, or berries you gather, as offerings. Place them at the base of a tree, on an outdoor altar, or in a wild place, expressing gratitude for the earth’s generosity, whilst also inviting continued abundance.

10. Make a Solar-Infused Oil

Harness the heat and power of the August sun by infusing oils with herbs like rosemary, calendula, or lavender.

To create your own, infuse a carrier oil (such as organic olive oil, jojoba, or sunflower oil – we LOVE this cold-pressed jojoba oil) with solar herbs like St. John’s Wort, calendula petals, orange peel, or a pinch of dried rosemary.

Place the jar in a sunny window for a week or more, letting it soak up solar energy.

Strain the herbs and bottle the oil, optionally adding a few drops of citrus or cinnamon essential oil for an energising boost. Use this bright, botanical blend to call in light, warmth, and strength whenever needed.

Try one of the blends:

• Protection oil (rosemary, black pepper, and obsidian chips)
• Love oil (rose, vanilla, and rose quartz)
• Prosperity oil (cinnamon, orange, and pyrite).

You can place into roll-on bottles for personal use or amber glass dropper bottles for altar work. anointing rituals, spellwork, or as a magical moisturiser to carry the sun’s energy with you over the coming months.

11. Host a Harvest Circle

Gather friends, family, or your magical community – physically or virtually – to share blessings, spells, and reflections on growth.

Celebrate your collective achievements, support each other’s intentions, and honor the turning of the season together.

Go on… get a date in the diary, and make this happen, there really is nothing like connecting in real time with true kin.

12. Perform a Garden Blessing

A garden, no matter how wild or tended, is a living altar. In August, when nature reaches its lushest peak, it’s one of the most potent times to offer your garden (or a green space you love) a heartfelt blessing.

Prepare a simple offering: Bring a small bowl of water infused with herbs (such as rosemary for protection or rose for love). You may also include flower petals or a few drops of essential oil.

Centre yourself: Stand barefoot on the earth. Breathe deeply and connect with the natural energy around you. Feel your roots in the soil, as if you too are a growing thing.

Walk with intention: As you stroll through your space, gently touch the leaves or whisper to the plants. Thank the bees, butterflies, and birds. Speak aloud or silently from the heart.

Offer a blessing: Sprinkle the herb water at the base of a tree, flower, or into the soil. You can say something like:
“Spirits of earth and bloom, of leaf and wing, I honor your beauty and gifts. May this place remain sacred and strong. May harmony and fertility abide here.”

Leave a token: Place a small stone, crystal, flower, or even a slice of fruit in the garden as a gift. Fae and nature spirits are said to appreciate simple, heartfelt offerings.

Close with gratitude: Sit quietly for a moment and feel the shift in energy. Offer your thanks again, then leave the space gently, without turning back.

This blessing not only nourishes your relationship with the land, but also strengthens the magick within your garden, ensuring continued beauty, protection, and abundance through the season.

13. Work with the Sturgeon Moon

14. Harvest Apples for Divination

Apples have long been associated with magick and prophecy.

Use them in traditional love and harvest divination, such as apple peeling or seed counting.

Dry apple slices for use in charm bags or as altar decorations to invite wisdom and luck. 

15. Craft a Protection Sachet for the Coming Dark

Yes, I know you don’t want to think about it, but by late August, we may begin to feel the soft tug of autumn, as the days slowly shorten.

On cooler, cloudier days, begin to prepare for autumn by crafting a sachet filled with protective herbs like mugwort, bay, and lavender.

Place it under your pillow, in your bag, or near your door to shield your energy and home as the shadows lengthen, and darkness draws just a little closer.

16. Gather Bonfire Ash 

17. Charge Tools for the Waning Months

Prepare your magical tools for the coming months by cleansing and charging them in the August sun or among seasonal herbs. This ritual will attune your tools to the energy of the harvest time, and ready for autumn’s deeper work.

18. Perform a Harvest Tarot (or Oracle) Spread

Use your tarot or oracle cards to reflect on your personal harvest.

Ask what you’ve grown, what needs to be reaped or released, and what you’re still tending.

Let the cards guide your next steps as you move into the waning half of the year.

19. Create a Late Summer Incense Blend

Gather herbs and botanicals associated with the waning sun – such as rosemary, sage, calendula, and dried apple peel.

Blend them together with a mortar and pestle, charging each ingredient with your intentions for gratitude, protection, or transition.

Burn this incense during twilight meditations, spellwork, or as an offering to solar deities and land spirits as the season shifts.

20. Work with Poppy Magick

If poppies are blooming in your area, their vivid petals and potent energy offer powerful tools for spiritual work. Long associated with sleep, peace, and remembrance, poppies have been revered in both magical and cultural traditions – from ancient Greece, where they were sacred to Hypnos and Morpheus, gods of sleep and dreams, to their symbolic use in modern times for honouring the dead.

Incorporating poppies into your practice in August can deepen your connection to the dream realm, aid in emotional healing, and open a channel to ancestral wisdom.

Here are some ways to use poppies in your craft:

• Dream sachet: Dry a few poppy petals and place them in a small pouch with lavender and mugwort. Tuck it under your pillow to encourage vivid dreams and receive symbolic messages from your subconscious or ancestors.

• Ancestor offering: Place fresh or dried poppy petals on your ancestor altar. Pair them with items like black candles, old family photos, or a small bowl of wine to honor your lineage and invite guidance.

• Poppy infused oil: Create an anointing oil by infusing dried poppy petals in a carrier oil (such as sweet almond or jojoba) for several weeks. Use it to anoint your third eye before sleep or meditation to enhance visions and inner knowing.

• Remembrance spell: Write the name of a loved one you wish to remember or connect with on a slip of paper. Wrap it in a poppy petal, then burn it under the moonlight while speaking a blessing or invitation to visit in dreams.

• Altar edcor: Use poppies on your altar during Lammas or other rites of transition and release. Their beauty and symbolism can help mark endings, honor the past, and soften grief with their gentle energy.

• Quieting ritual: Sit quietly with a poppy in hand. Meditate on its delicate structure and let its energy guide you into a calm, liminal state—ideal for divination, trance work, or simply deep rest.

Poppies are powerful allies for those ready to explore the spaces between waking and dreaming, life and death, memory and vision. Work with them respectfully—they are gentle, but potent, messengers.

August is a month of ripening – of fruit, of purpose, of yearly magick!

As the sun begins its slow descent and the fields grow golden, we’re invited to pause, reflect, and gather the wisdom of the season. From crafting poppy charms, to honouring the Sturgeon Moon, and stirring magic into blackberry syrup… each of the tips, tasks, crafts and spells described in this article are designed to deepen your connection to the earth’s rhythms and your own inner cycles.

I hope your August witchcraft practice becomes a true  celebration of abundance, transformation, and quiet reverence for the mystery unfolding around – and within – you.

So many blessings X