Into the Twilight

Today's blog post has been pre-empted by illness. Instead, please enjoy this 1893 W. B. Yeats poem:

Into the Twilight

Out-worn heart, in a time out-worn,
Come clear of the nets of wrong and right;
Laugh, heart, again in the gray twilight;
Sigh, heart, again in the dew of the morn.
Thy mother Eire is always young,
Dew ever shining and twilight gray,
Though hope fall from thee or love decay
Burning in fires of a slanderous tongue.
Come, heart, where hill is heaped upon hill,
For there the mystical brotherhood
Of hollow wood and the hilly wood
And the changing moon work out their will.
And God stands winding his lonely horn;
And Time and World are ever in flight,
And love is less kind than the gray twilight,
And hope is less dear than the dew of the morn.

This poem is held in the common domain and may be found, along with the complete text of my favorite book by Yeats, Celtic Twilight, at http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/twi/index.htm. Yeats poetry and writing is beautiful and full of folklore, faerylore, and Irish history.

Offerings and sacrifice

   One of the key aspects of practice as a recon is the idea of offerings and sacrifice. It comes up in discussion on groups all the time, both people discussing what the ideas mean to them and also talking about what constitutes an acceptable offering or sacrifice.

     For myself I define a sacrifice as the giving to a Power something precious and valuable – often irreplaceable -  and I see an offering as the giving of something special but not unique. Put another way I see a sacrifice as a gift while an offering is more of a sharing. These are purely my own definitions of course; if you look both words up in the dictionary you’ll see the meanings are essentially identical. When the subject of sacrifices comes up people usually think of animals, but other things like jewelry, silver, and weaponry can also be sacrificed. Offerings might include incense, flowers, food, candles, drink, a gift of skill like a poem or anything along those lines. I make offerings very regularly but I have only once made a sacrifice; I sacrificed a sword to the waters for the Morríghan. Sacrifices, to me, are a pretty big deal which is why I’ve only ever made the one. Offerings can be intense and important as well, so I always trust my intuition to help me decide what to give.

     Everyone has their own opinions on when and why to make offerings, and make no mistake some people take it very, very seriously. Everyone, even if they follow a similar path, can have different views and expectations on this subject, but I think it’s always important to trust your own gut. Let your own connection to deity – or whoever you are offering to – guide you. Whatever path you follow you’ll get a feel for what offerings are considered usual to give in different situations and it’s always good to ask around if you aren’t sure, but in the end you’re the one offering it so it’s your decision. Sometimes you may feel that you shouldn’t give an offering – the Havamal says “Better no prayer than too big an offering” (verse 146, Bellows trans.) – and that’s alright too.

     I think that an offering should come from a genuine place; it shouldn’t be a bribe or an attempt to buy an outcome from the gods, at least not in my view.  There is certainly the aspect to offerings where they were seen as something to be given when asking for something, but still, I see this less as a “payment” if you will and more as an exchange of energy, “a gift for a gift” (Havamal 146, Bellows). After all when you pay for something you expect a specific result and making an offering, or sacrifice, doesn’t guarantee anything, but on the same hand it’s generally considered polite to offer something when asking a Power for anything. When I make offerings at seasonal rites they are not given to ensure something so much as to give thanks for what I already have been given and to honor the Powers. It is said that the ancient Druids believed that their ceremonies contributed to the perpetual act of creation that kept the universe going and I can see that as well, how offerings keep reinforcing the bonds that hold everything together.

    Basically, much like prayer, I make offerings because I want to not because I feel like I have to; they come from a place of connection and caring not obligation.

    This is all just my thoughts on what sacrifices and offerings are, I’m sure most people will have their own opinions on the subject…

Hear my prayer...

There's a saying in neopaganism "ask three pagans a question and you'll get five answers", well I think if you ask three neopagans about prayer you may get seven answers. It always surprises me that something that seems so essential to me can cause so much controversy in the larger neopagan community; after all prayer can be found (as far as I know) in every culture and religion around the world. Yet there are some people who are very firm in their opinions that prayer has no place in neopaganism. The same is true in Recon. although I've seen it more in heathenry than CR. There just seems to be something about prayer - especially daily or devotional prayer - that really puts some people off. Now don't get me wrong I'm all in favor of personal practice being unique and I don't think what works for me should be required for anyone else; I may pray daily and someone else may never pray outside of ritual, or at all, and that's fine. What I don't understand is people who are totally against the concept altogether.
   There seems to be some idea that prayer, daily or devotional prayer that is, is a "Christian thing", despite the fact that it is seen in many other cultures.  I am not as open about this as I used to be because when I talk about it I almost inevitably am accused of having Christian baggage - hilarious since I wasn't raised Christian and only studied Christianity as an adult long after my habit of daily prayer was begun. But the whole "Christian baggage" thing is a common accusation in some pagan and Recon debates, tossed out without any supporting argument, and used as if it were the final word. The equivalent of saying "No one should listen to you because you think like one of them". Like a child shouting "you have cooties!"
   Personally I love prayer; I pray in the mornings and I pray at night because I find it helps me feel both connected to Powers beyond myself - be they my ancestors, the daione sidhe, or the Gods - and that I get a feeling of peace and centered-ness from prayer. I pray because I want to pray and because I enjoy praying. Prayer is a little way, on a regular basis, to strengthen and reaffirm my relationship with those Powers. I may accompany my prayers with little offerings - incense, candles, herbs, actions - or I may only offer my own energy. I tend to follow the Celtic practice of singing my prayers, making little chants and songs out of traditional material I have reworked or writing my own. I may pray to ask for things like protection for my home and family or blessings, or I may just pray to honor whoever I am praying to. I try to have fun with it; I once made a prayer to Odin in limerick form, even. I feel like I am giving my energy and focus to those Powers for that time and I also feel like I am getting something out of it because it does help me feel better and more connected to them.
   There is a lot of beauty in prayer that I wish more people were open to, even if they don't choose to do it.
  

Fáed Fíada - The Deer's Cry

The Deer's Cry is a portion of a prayer called Saint Patrick's Lorica, or breastplate from around the 8th century CE in Ireland. The portion that makes up the Deer's Cry is thought to be a survival of an older traditional prayer by some people; whether it is or not it is a beautiful little prayer and very useful.

Old Irish:

"Atomriug indiu
niurt nime,
soilsi gréne,
étrochtai éscai,
áni thened,
déni lóchet,
luaithi gaíthe,
fudomnai mara,
tairismigi thalman,
cobsaidi ailech." *

Modern Irish:

"Éirím inniú
I gcumhacht na bhFlaitheas,
I soillse gréine,
I ngile na gealaí,
In áilleacht tine,
I mire lasrach,
I luas gaoithe,
I ndoimhneacht farraige,
I mbuanseasmhacht talún,
I ndaingneacht carraige."**

English:

"I arise today
through the strength of heaven
the light of the sun,
the brillance of the moon,
the splendor of fire,
speed of lightning,
swiftness of wind,
depth of the sea,
stability of the earth,
firmness of rock."


*Old Irish courtesy of http://www.daltai.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/daltai/discus/show.pl?tpc=12465&post=10574#POST10574
** Modern Irish courtesy of http://www.cumannnasagart.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=18&Itemid=45

Discernment - part 3

I hadn't intended to do another post on this but recent discussions made me realize I left out one major area where discernment is vital and very underused...so let's start with a story...
   I had made an appointment for an Ogham reading at a local pagan shop, because, well I had never run across an Ogham reader before and I couldn't resist. When I arrived for the appointment I was told the original reader was out sick but that another man was in who also read Ogham so I agreed to see him instead. We went back and sat down and he began the normal introductory speech about what the Ogham are; as soon as politely possible I broke in and said I already knew what they were.
  Reader: "Oh, are you interested in Celtic things?"
  Me: "You could say that."
  Reader: "If you ever want to really learn about Celtic magic or practice I'd be willing to take you on as a student. I'm the arch-druid of the Northeast and I mentor for the Ancient Order of Druids in America."
  Me: Blink. Blink.
  This was the point when I should have used some discernment and politely gotten the heck out of there with my money, but sadly I chose to stay...and ended up reading for myself, after the "reader" pulled out the book that came with the Ogham set and asked my opinion on the interpretation....but as soon as I left I emailed the AODA to confirm that he was telling the truth, or more to the point that he wasn't, about his claim of being a mentor for them. I received a very nice email back from John Michael Greer confirming my suspicion that his organization did not include this person as a member and that he in no way taught or mentored for them.
  The point of this story? Discernment extends to claims people make about themselves; we can't just blindly trust that people are what they say they are, and more importantly there is absolutely nothing wrong with checking on people's claims. I have several "titles" which I don't often use but if I were to use them they could all be easily confirmed with the groups I belong to. For example, if I were to tell someone, perhaps at the next pagan pride day, that I was a Druid that can be confirmed through my Order (the Order of the White Oak - you can check too). When someone claims to belong to a group or organization it can be checked. When they claim a specific title or position within a group that can also be checked. Don't be afraid to check. It isn't rude, especially if you are thinking of this person as a potential teacher.
  So, you're asking, what about the things that can't be checked? If someone claims to be solitary priestess or a Druid without a group affiliation? That is when discernment through observation comes in. Do they embody what they are claiming to be? If they do, good. If they don't then they aren't. Pretty much anyone can claim to be anything - claiming it doesn't make it true. Being it makes it true. This doesn't mean you have to do anything about your conclusion, necessarily, but if someone is claiming to deserve respect because of a false title you aren't obligated to give them special treatment or to excuse bad behavior. If someone is offering to teach you or include you in their group but they can't seem to find their butt with both hands you have every right to back away slowly and politely decline. And never surrender your own opinion to anyone just because they claim a big fancy title. It can be easy to get over-awed by a person throwing around impressive sounding credentials and in the pagan community there seems to be this unspoken rule that we just take people at their word, but if the credentials are sound they will hold up to scrutiny, and if the person is what they say they are then you should know it because they should embody it.
  Oh, and that whole "arch-druid of the north east" thing?  Some groups like ADF do have archdruids, but if someone claims to be the head of an entire pagan population without having a group affiliation it's pretty obviously BS. Anyone can claim to be the archdruid of the north east, or the witch queen of CT, or whatever...sounds impressive but it's nothing but ego talking.

discernment - part 2

 So we have discernment when it comes to written sources - which basically means how much you're going to believe someone else's opinion and how much trust you're going to put into the facts and theories they are putting forth. Critical thinking and common sense will be your best allies here, but what about discernment in other areas?
  It always suprises me how people who are otherwise smart and cynical will believe, absolutely, any messages they get that comes from outside a human source, even if the message is being given through a human being. There seems to be some subconscious part of us that is afraid to question Gods or spirits, or even in some cases human "experts" in spiritual or psychic matters. Obviously there is the aspect of this where people are merely being taken advantage of, such as the psychics who tell clients that they are cursed or being followed by an evil spirit and can only be "helped" for a three digit fee, but there are also situations where genuine spiritual contact is involved.
 Spirits lie, with words and by omission, and messages coming through human beings are filtered through that person in a way that shapes the message. If you wouldn't trust a stranger who grabs you walking down the street and starts telling you to do things why would you trust a spirit, or spiritual message? That isn't to say never trust such things but don't just immediately assume if it's spiritual and from spirit it must be good. I have on a few occassions recieved messages from other spirit workers that were sound in the sense of the message but that I could not safely do - for exampe I was told once to do ordeal work for Odin. That makes total sense given who and what he is but because I have past issues with cutting it is not safe for me to do the specific things I was told to do. Use common sense if you are ever told to do anything dangerous or that you feel unsafe about - just because it's coming from a spirit or Deity doesn't mean it's written in stone. Don't be afraid to negotiate when you need to; you can offer something else, ask for help, look further into why, ask for alternatives....but don't just sit there and agree to things you don't want to do because you feel that once you've been told you have an obligation. You only have an obligation when you've made an oath, and even then paying a shild is an option if the oath absolutely cannot be kept.
    I also don't understand why people hand over their free will when spirituality is involved (unless of course your path doesn't believe in it - not everyone does). Personally I believe that we always have a choice in how we respond to messages, whether it's what we should learn about or do with our lives or a Deity wanting our dedication. In mythology we can see multiple examples that this is so - Odin offers his aid and advice to king Hrolf Kraki who accepts it several times and then chooses to reject it, the goddess of sovereignty comes to three brothers as a crone and the first two reject her but the third accepts her, the Queen of Faery offers Thomas the Rhymer a chance to go with her...of course choosing to accept or reject these offers each has it's consequence. Both the culture I seek to reconstruct, the Irish and the Norse, have ideas that relate to fate or destiny - more appropriately wyrd and dan - but not the set in stone Greek kind, rather wyrd and dan, as I understand the concepts, are influenced by the choices we make. We shape our own fate through our actions or inactions, and this is as true of spirituality and spiritual dealings as anything else.
   So, what to do? Personally I go to my friends for feedback, opinions, and confirmation - asking those who read cards or are intuitive to see what they get. When I am "told" I need to do something I rarely trust a single source but look for confirmation to validate that the message was accurate. Sometimes it turns out it was just me, my own projection or filter effecting things - or basically I saw what I wanted to see. Sometimes it is what it is and I can get more information or details from others. Community is an invaluable resource for things like this and over time you will start to build your own inner sense of discernment to get a feel for when to trust something and when to question it.

Discernment - part 1

 One of the things you run across all the time on pagan groups, and something that often comes up in discussions, is recommended reading lists. This topic is something of a double edged sword because on the one hand there certainly are authors that should be recommended and should be avoided, and on the other it is almost impossible to discuss authors without some personal bias creeping in. I have yet to see the subject of reading lists come up without it resulting in a debate about this or that book or author, usually to the utter befuddlement of several newer people who just don't understand what the big deal is.
    Inevitably someone will say that every book has value, if only to inspire the spirituality of the reader. This comment always irks me because on the surface it is true but that surface truth glosses over some significant issues. For one thing people, especially when they are just starting out, tend to take everything they read as true and when that first bit of knowledge is inaccurate it can be very difficult to unlearn it. It's also painful and embarassing to learn something and then find out its fairly commonly known in other areas to be false, made-up, or modern - like anything that came out of the White Goddess, the blank Rune, the golden age of matriarchy, the "9 million" dead in the inquisition, etc.,. Do these things have value? Sure, in there own way and with an understanding of their real history, yes. But the problem comes in when people are fed the lie and believe it, because we, as a community, have enough false histories and made up antiquity without choosing to perpetuate them ourselves. And another problem with the "all books have value" theory is that some people never get beyond reading a handful of books, making the quality of those books very important. Let's face it if all you ever read is McCoy's Witta you are going to have some serious issues going forward. And quite frankly if you don't think it matters at all if a book has any accuracy or truth in it you may as well not bother reading any at all; just make it all up on your own and at least it will be genuinely your inspiration. Although I suppose that could bring up the problem of cults of personality that surround some authors - but that's probably another blog ; )
   So what is the solution? How do you decide what to read and whose recommendations to trust? The key is discernment. Everyone, beginner and long time pagan or recon., needs discernment to decide if a book or recommendation has value. Look at the book itself, the reviews it's gotten, talk to friends and ask around for opinions and take it all with a huge grain of salt; always use critical thinking skills. If you do get a book and read it question everything you read, especially if it's unfamiliar or seems "off". I regularly go to my friends and ask them their thoughts on tidbits from books - sometimes they agree with the information, sometimes they don't. It's sort of like the X-Files "Trust No One" maxim, but over time you'll get a feel for what is solid information and what isn't and discernment is a vital thing to have. And this isn't just about historical information and accuracy; it's just as important for magical or ritual practice not to simply trust everything you read - or experience.

Lughnasa - Festival of the harvest part 2 - practice

     It is clear from the history of the holiday that for a modern practitioner there is an abundance of material to work with in finding ways to celebrate Lughnasa. I’m  going to offer several suggestions for practice that could be used for anyone with a Celtic leaning, or who would like to celebrate this holyday in a Celtic manner, but I leave the actual ritual up to the individual or group to design. My own approach to this holiday is Irish Reconstructionist in nature and that doubtless colors my view, but I would like to offer this to anyone of any faith who celebrates Lughnasa.
       One aspect that should be celebrated the same whether a person is solitary or in a group is food. Ideally if you grow your own fruit or grain, or have a milk cow, you could use the product of your own harvest, otherwise you should try to find high quality, local foods to use. Most Irish cookbooks should offer recipes for Barm Brac and you can substitute fresh fruits like raspberries and blackberries for the raisins and dried peel the recipe calls for. Although corn is often mentioned in relation to Lughnasa it is likely used to mean oats, and was replaced in time by potatoes as the main produce crop. It would be fine to use new world corn, especially if gluten sensitivity is an issue, if that is a local crop that is being harvested in your area at this time, or alternately to use wheat or oats to cook with. In the same way that there are many Barm Brac recipes to choose from there are innumerable porridge recipes to which fruit can be added, and fresh milk would also be appropriate. I would suggest leaving a portion of whatever is prepared out as an offering after the celebration, either to the daoine sidhe or the gods you decide to honor, or to both.
     If you are practicing with a group the group should choose a suitable place outdoors to meet, preferably either on a high place like a hilltop or mountain, or by the seashore or a river, or other place considered sacred by the group. Everyone should bring a small token dish to represent their contribution to the harvest, and if possible a fire should be kindled. The group should feel relaxed and social while setting up and getting comfortable stories should be told relating to Lughnasa; if possible music should be played or people can be encouraged to sing. It would also be alright to decorate a local stone, tree, or spring with flowers or other appropriate biodegradable decorations. At this point the group can celebrate the religious rite in whatever way they prefer, with the entire festivities dedicated to the god or gods of the rite. The food should be reheated using the fire and then shared and eaten by all, with some left as an offering as previously mentioned; this can be done during the group’s religious ritual or afterwards depending on the group. More stories can be told and music played while people socialize, and then the group should have whatever athletic games they are best able to hold. This could involve foot races, contests of strength, solving puzzles, or games of skill, like tossing a bean bag through a ring with the winner receiving a special token or prize. After the athletic games if the fire has died down a bit it would also be traditional for people to jump the fire. The celebration should be planned to last for the entire day and the tone should be fun and light hearted.
     In contrast a solitary practitioner may have to work a bit harder to include athletic aspects, or choose not to include them at all. I would suggest if you are alone that you choose a location to celebrate that will be physically challenging to get to, and include getting to and leaving the site as part of the athletic challenges of the day. You could hike to a high place or other sacred site and then, if it’s safe build a fire do so. Sitting alone you can recite stories, poetry, or sing while preparing the area; decorating a tree or other sacred object can be done alone. You can the celebrate your solitary rite as you choose, dedicating your efforts to the deity or deities you are honoring. In the same way when you bring out and eat the food you have brought be sure to leave some as an offering. You may choose to sit for a while in silence contemplating the beauty of your location or the meaning of the holy day, or you may find ways to challenge yourself (safely) to physical activities where you are. You can even jump the fire by yourself when it is low enough. Spend as much time as you would like at your ritual site, enjoying it, and then clean up and head home.
     There are many traditions associated with Lughnasa that emphasize both community and connecting to the divine. Some of these traditions pass beyond recorded history and into supposition and guesswork, but many are firmly based in folk practices that continued well into the last century. By learning about and understanding the old traditions of Lughnasa we can find new ways to incorporate them into modern pagan practices, and doing so will deepen our own spirituality.

Lughnasa - Festival of the harvest

Hello all,
 I wrote an article on Lughnasa which is posted up on witchvox.com this week http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usct&c=holidays&id=14666 so I thought I would share. Unfortunately it includes an error about corn, because I didn't realize when I wrote and submitted it that corn is used as a generic for grain in the source material so I have a corrected version that I'm going to include here as well ; )
  Morgan

Lughnasa – Festival of the Harvest part 1, history
     Lughnasa is also called Lughnasadh, Lunasa, Bron Trogain, Lunsadal, Laa Luanys, Calan Awst, and Gouel an Eost, and Alexei Kondratiev conjectures that the Celts of Gaul may have called this celebration Aedrinia (Kondratiev, 1998). The Irish name of the festival, Lughnasadh or Lughnasa, can be broken down into Lugh Nasadh and translated into either Middle or Old Irish as the assembly of Lugh or the funeral assembly of Lugh. The connection to a funeral assembly undoubtedly references the belief that the celebration was originally created by the god Lugh as a memorial for his foster mother, Tailtiu, after her death, and the assembly of Lugh is thought to refer to the many athletic games and competitions associated with the harvest fairs that occurred at this time. Several of the other names for the holiday are references to the beginning of autumn or of the harvest.
     Of the four fire festivals of the Irish Celts Lughnasa has some of the least mythical associations, appearing only in the Lebor Gabala Erenn as the date that the Fir Bolg invaded Ireland (MacNeill, 1962). In modern practice Lughnasa is celebrated on August 1st, however there is evidence that the date of Lughnasa would actually have represented the starting date of a series of festivals and fairs, rather than a single, one day, celebration with harvest fairs associated with Lughnasadh, called Oenacha which themselves may last for several days, appearing as late as August 12th (MacNeill, 1962). In modern Irish the word Lunasa means both the first of August and is the name for the entire month of August. It is also the practice on the Isle of Man to celebrate Lughnasa, or Laa Luanys as it is called there, on August 12th every year, likely due to the discrepancy created when the calendar shifted from the Julian to the Gregorian, and there are also some hints that the dates may be hard to pin down because they were originally based on a lunar reckoning that is now lost (MacNeill, 1962). It is generally agreed though that no harvesting should be done before the correct date, represented by Lughnasa, and that to harvest before Lughnasa is both bad luck and the sign of a bad farmer or poor housewife (Danaher, 1972). This folk belief persisted even into the 20th century and indicates the strong connection between Lughnasa and the harvest.
     There are several themes surrounding this celebration that include the mundane, the spiritual, and the blending of both. Lughnasa celebrates, at its core, the beginning of the harvest and the new abundance of food being gathered; because of this it is strongly associated with the cooking of specific foods that represented the harvest, especially porridge and bread, often with fresh seasonal fruit being incorporated (Danaher, 1972). There is also mention of cows being milked in the morning and the milk used in the feast, as well as a special type of bread being made from harvested  grain and cooked with rowan or another sacred wood before being handed out by the head of the household to the family who eats it and then walks sun-wise around the cooking fire, chanting a blessing prayer (McNeill, 1959). It was understood that the period just prior to the beginning of the harvest was the leanest of the year, making the celebration of fresh fruit, vegetables, and grains all the more special to the people (MacNeill, 1962). This may also be symbolically related to another legend of Lughnasa, the battle between the god Lugh and the mysterious mythic figure of Crom Dubh.  Crom Dubh means the “black bent one” and he had a special day on the last Sunday of July called Domhnach Crom Dubh and a dangerous bull bent on destruction that had to be stopped to preserve the harvest (Kondratiev, 1998). Many of the myths relating to Lugh and Crom Dubh, who is sometimes called Crom Cruach, involve Lugh battling and outwitting Crom and thus insuring the safety and bounty of the harvest; in some cases this theme is given the additional layer of the defeat, sacrifice, consumption, and then resurrection of Crom’s bull which may argue for an older element of bull sacrifice on this day (MacNeill, 1962). The Carmina Gadelica records several specific actions and charms to be done during the first harvest which expand on the importance of this turning point of the year.
     Another common practice at Lughnasa was for people to gather together outdoors at a traditional place, often with the entire community getting together, and the site chosen would not only be someplace beautiful and wild but remote enough that travelling to it would represent something of a challenge (Danaher, 1972). Other practices of Lughnasa include decorating holy wells and pillar stones on this date, and also of travelling to hill or mountaintops; all of these varied by location and indicate that while the festival itself was widespread the nature of the celebration was dependent on the area and took on a unique local flavor (MacNeill, 1962). There are references to blessing cattle on the eve of Lughnasa and of making blessing charms for the cattle and milking equipment that the blessing would remain for the year to come (McNeill, 1959). Divination was practiced, with a particular focus on the weather during the harvest and this seems to have been based on observations of the weather so far during the year and on atmospheric conditions on Lughnasa, with color and appearance of certain landmarks indicating either fair or foul weather to come (Danaher, 1972). Lughnasa was also the time in Ireland, Scotland, and the Orkneys for handfastings and weddings, or the dissolution of unions formed in the previous year (McNeill, 1959). Trial marriages of this type were used to see if the new couple was compatible; should they choose to separate after a year there was no shame in it and any child that was produced from the union would be ranked with the father’s legal heirs (McNeill, 1959). Finally Lughnasa was also well known for harvest fairs and an assortment of athletic competitions and horse races; it is important to note that the ancient fairs, or oenacha, were not occasions of commerce but of social gathering and celebration (MacNeill, 1962). Many different types of games were held, as well as competitions of agility and strength, fire leaping, and swimming races of both men and horses (Danaher, 1972). A general party atmosphere prevailed with dancing and music, storytelling, feasting, and bonfires (Evert-Hopman, 2008) Overall it can be gathered from a wide understanding of the various Lughnasa customs that this celebration was one based on the gathering together of the community to celebrate the fresh abundance of a new harvest with joy and enjoyment. People gathered to reinforce and celebrate the bonds of community through marriages and social mixing, and to strengthen and honor the bonds between the people and the spirits of the land and the gods through decorating wells and holy stones, the re-telling or re-enactment of mythological tales, acts of blessing, and ritual.
     It is unknown now exactly what pagan religious ceremonies may have been held on Lughnasa but there are several deities that we do know are associated with this holy day. The most obvious deity associated with Lughnasa is of course Lugh, who battles with Crom Dubh and is also said to have instituted the games to commemorate his foster mother. Tailtiu herself could be another deity associated with Lunasa, as could the goddess Aine who in some mythology is connected to both a three day period during Lughnasa and to the mythic figure of Crom Dubh as his consort during this time (MacNeill, 1962). Another goddess associated with Lughnasa is Macha, one of the Morrignae, who some believe raced the king’s horses on Lughnasa; whether or not this is so there is evidence of a long standing celebration of Lughnasa at Emain Macha and the surrounding areas in Ulster (MacNeill, 1962).  The harvest itself may also be connected to the Cailleach, as it was a common custom to associate the last sheaf in the field with the Cailleach; however this may be more appropriate later in the harvest season at Harvest Home or Samhain (Danaher, 1972).
 We can see from all of this that Lughnasa ia complex and multi-facted holiday with a rich history of traditions and practices. If you are really interested in learning more about it I highly recommend MacNeill's book the Festival of Lughnasa - at over 700 pages it is more than worth the cost.


Works Cited
Danaher, K. (1972). The Year in Ireland; Irish calendar customs. Minneapolis: Mercier Press.
Evert-Hopman, E. (2008). a Druid's Herbal of Sacred Tree Medicine. Rochester: Destiny Books
Kondratiev, A. (1998). Apple Branch: a path to Celtic Ritual. New york: Citadel Press.
MacNeill, M. (1962). the Festival of Lughnasa. Dublin: Oxford University Press.
McNeill, F. M. (1959). the Silver Bough, volume 2: a calendar of Scottish national festivals, Candlemas to Harvest Home. Glasgow: Maclellan.

Prayer for Lughnasa

This is based on the Carmina Gadelica, but modernized and made pagan...

Reaping Blessing 89

Gods may you bless my reaping,
Each ridge, and plain, and field,
Each sickle curved, shapely, hard,
Each ear and handful in the sheaf,
Each ear and handful in the sheaf.
Bless each maiden and youth,
Each woman and tender child,
Safeguard them beneath Your shield of strength,
And guard them beneath the shadow of your power,
Guard them beneath the shadow of your power.
Encompass each goat, sheep and lamb,
Each cow and horse, and store,
Surround the rocks and herds,
And tend them in a kindly fold,
Tend them in a kindly fold.
May Lugh, the many skilled, bless us,
May Danu’s blessing flow to us,
May Brighid of curling locks bless us,
And our ancestors of the graves and tombs,
and our ancestors of the graves and tombs.