August

In the northern hemisphere August sees the first of the harvests, traditionally Lammas in England, the Irish Lughnasadh and Welsh Gwyl Awst aka Calan Awst

Originally called Sextilis, this, the sixth month of the Roman calendar was renamed in honour of Augustus, great-nephew and heir of Julius Caesar. According to legend many fortuitous events befell Augustus in this month. He also died on the 19th of this month in AD14.

The gemstone of the month is peridot, the stone closely associted with volcanic eruptions in a range of olive to bright green, and that the zodiac sign is Leo the Lion (23rd July - 22nd August), the planet of Leo is the sun, the element fire and the colour orange/gold, echoed in the Pantone^® colour for August is Sun Orange.