At Lughnasadh, John Barleycorn, who laid with the Lady in the woods at Beltane, has grown old and now stands bent and bearded with a crocked cane.

The grain is cut, part of it goes into bread and nutrition, and another part is stored away and used as seeds for next spring to create new life. His life will feed the people, and it is this sacrifice that we honor at Lughnasadh.