“ I am because we are”

A uniquely fragrant incense

An offering of summer’s first fruits

A harvest in gratitude for Gaia earth’s abundance

A British Bakhoor to celebrate and heal the mother-son dynamic

“I’m leaning into my Irish heritage with this one” - Lilly Lotus

This incense is co-created by community in the Green Lotus Lounge, Luton, UK

This incense is co-created on Lughnasadh - 1st August 2025

Lughnasa is a Celtic festival. One of four seasonal festivals of fire. It sits between summer solstice and autumn equinox and celebrates the first fruits of summer harvest, so it’s kind of a fruit festival which is why this year’s incense will be full-bodied and fruity.

So who exactly is Lugh, the Lugh of Lughnasadh, and why are we celebrating him? Positioned as a Celtic god or deity, associated as a member of the Irish tribe the Tuatha de Dannan. And although the festival is named after Lugh, we’re not actually celebrating him -  it was he who was celebrating the life of his mother or his foster mother. It’s a shout out to all those mothers & first born sons because this festival is really about celebrating that relationship between mothers and their sons it’s really in fact about enabling sons to celebrate gratitude for their mothers, because that’s what Lugh, the Lugh of Lughnasa did on August 1st.

“I am because we are” will be co-created in one day.

In Gaelic speaking countries August, the month of August, is still named after the god Lugh, but it was Romanised as Augustus in other cultures, and it’s really talking about celebrating harvest for a whole month.

We are going to be celebrating for three or four hours on the evening the 1st of August because in Celtic culture a day begins at sundown and the garden here at The Green Lotus Lounge is a fabulous place to watch the sun setting over Luton.

So in terms of Celtic spiritually and local heritage: what are we celebrating?

It’s really about the creation between mother Earth and the Yang energy of sunlight without both of which we would not exist….because we need the fercund fertility of mother Earth and we need the warmth of the light to bring us life…. our harvest …..and yes here I am not just talking agriculturally I am talking spiritually a very pragmatic down to earth Kind of spirituality

Embodied through intergenerational mother son relationships. Tiliu was Lugh’s mother or foster mother. She was the original corn goddess and she died clearing the land for future agriculture so it’s really a thank you to the sacrifices made by all mothers and the inherent nature that those sacrifices are part of the cycle of life and death and rebirth.

The Irish Celtic Festival appears to originate in a town in Ireland called Tiltown where legend has it that Tiltui is buried in a Tumulus. We don’t have a Tumulis here at in the suburban garden of the Green Lotus Lounge, but we do have a bank that is part of a Medieval strip Lynchet.

Lughnasadh is a fire festival, one of four marking the turning of the seasons in the Celtic year. We’re not having a massive bonfire, we don’t even have a fire pit, but we do have a small fire bowl to keep us warm and to offer our incense on the embers.

We might even try some capnomancy: that’s looking into the fire and the smoke as a form of divination receiving message from the elemental nature spirits around us.

The festival of Lughnasa ‘the offering of summer fruits/summer’s first harvest’ predates Lugh, even though it’s named after him, People have been celebrating Mother Earth and the corn goddess, the goddess Tiliu - his mother/ foster mother - before even the appearance of the Tuatha de Dunnan in Ireland.

So what exactly did Lugh bring to the table?

He bought gathering & gameplay, And playfulness is one of those things that young boys can bring to their mothers: a sense of play and joy in to the otherwise mundane modalities of motherhood. And because of this, we invite all mothers to take a moment of heartfelt gratitude to celebrate love for their sons.

The Druids brought funeral songs to the Lughnasadh Festival, but it’s not morbid. It’s not a lamentation, it’s not about death or slaughter, it’s about the slaying of the harvest, the sacrifice of mother Earth as we harvest the first fruits of summer. It’s a time to feel immense gratitude for the sacrifices that all mothers make everywhere, not just during  labour. it’s about the cycle of life and rebirth. It’s not a lamentation, it’s not a grieving. I invite you to tell us your story. How did this incense help you? Share a song or a story about your mother or your son.

I am a Master Craftsman incense maker I make British Bakhoor. I’ve been composing incense since 1992. There are different traditional ways of blending herb spices and the gifts and fruits of the earth with gums and resin to create aromatic offerings. This year’s Lughnasa incense is a marrying of the elemental spirits of nature with the elements of earth fire wind and water.

When we talk about the art of incense making, we are not talking about making Josh sticks, we are talking about an ancient heritage craft: the alchemy of the spiritual and the physical.

Some incenses can make 6 weeks to make: for example the ancient Eqyptian offering Kyphi. My incenses, inspired by my Celtic heritage, usually take 3 or 4 days to compose. “I am because we are”, this ‘1st fruits of summer’ incense will take three to four days to prepare and compose.

Most incenses are made ‘dry’ (we gather & dry herbs spices and other ingredients before blending). Some, such as ‘kyphi’ are made ‘wet’ and then dried. “I am because we are” uses a particular technique of melting Acacia gum and then then pouring it over our special blend of seeds and fruits to set, before crushing it down into granules to burn on shisha charcoal.

Traditionally gatherings at Lughnasadh were arenas where contractual alliances were forged between families and their children, perhaps with promises of betrothel, and family intervention could take place to settle disputes. “I am because we are” can be used for this purpose in your home.

This incense is only available direct from The green lotus Lounge, Luton, London, UK. Luton is is a super culturally diverse town of a quarter of a million people. With this in mind “I am because we are” bridges many cultural heritages:

In Islamic Sufi cultures healing of the mother-son relationship can be framed as a return to divine compassion directly through the linguistic link ‘Rahm’ meaning ‘mother’s womb; and transforming the nags is key to healing family patterns.

In Indian cultures, the son reconnecting to the mother’s nurturing Shakti can be a metaphor for rebalancing that divine dynamic

In South African Nguni Bantu culture ‘Ubuntu’ - “I am because we are” is a philosophy of interconnected news and shared humanity - perfect for healing family wounds.

In Ghana ‘Sankofa’ literally “return and get it” is a concept of returning to the past and retrieving that which is felt lost. A great call to revisit childhood experience and heal intergenerational wounds.

In Chinathe Dalits concept of Wu Wei (无为) ‘effortless action or non interference’ supports our learning to release control or unmet expectations between mother and son

And in Irish becoming each other’s Anam Cara would signify soul level healing: a change of state, evolved in a healed mother-son relationship.

Lughnasadh is a festival in which Lugh gives thanks for the life of his mother/foster mother’s/mother earth/all mothers - in gratitude for the cycle of life. His mother’s name was Tiltui which means beauty. “I am because we are”celebrates not just the beauty of life but the beauty of the life giving and sacrifices that all mothers gift to their sons

Whether you like your mum, whether you respect her, love her or hate her is merely a reflection of your life state in any moment because…. Well because she gave you life.She created and nurtured you for in her womb for nine. months: you were literally birthed from her pain, from between her legs. You came out of her. How you feel about your mother in any life moment is a reflection of how you feel about yourself. To not love your mother or to disrespect her is a reflection of the lack of love and disrespect you have for your life itself. To love and respect your mother is to love and respect your life itself. “I am because we are” can be used to heal wounded child energy fields.

Lugh realised that he wouldn’t have exist if it wasn’t for his mother, When he climbs the mountain to offer up the fruits of first summer harvest to source/divine creator, he is in fact giving thanks for his own life. The gift of a mother is the yin energy of creation: supreme compassion. The gift of son is the playful yang energy of childhood.

Inspired by Lughnasadh “I am because we are” is an inter-generational incense celebrating the fruits of the erth and the divine dynamic between ultimate yin energy -the feminine power of mother creation- and energising yang energy - the masculine energy of solar light and power.

Why celebrate Lughnasadh and create Lighnasadh inspired incense in Luton, London, UK? Because maybe Luton is named after the Sun God Lugh,

Lughnasa is personal to me because:

Those of you are old enough to remember the swimming baths in Bath Road near Wardown Park. There was a mural of Lugh on the wall by the diving boards, and I was one of the art team that actually painted that.

1st August was my mum‘s birthday, bless her she passed away 25 years, a quarter of a century,ago;  and it’s an opportunity for me to remember that Tiltiu was Lugh’s foster mother. I was adopted and Lughnasa for me 1st August, my mum’s birthday, is a time to acknowledge that being a mum is not about birthing a baby. It’s about the lifelong sacrifice and nurturing that makes a mum, a mum.

If you have found this blog inspiring and you would like to join me to co-create “I am because we are”, first fruits of summer incense, here at The Green Lotus Lounge, please register your interest here