LUGHNASADH FIRE FESTIVAL - the autumn season
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Port Beach - 7 August 2009 - Pattern, pilgrimage and pleasure
The themes of pattern days, pilgrimage and holiday are as relevant today as they have always been.
This Lughnasadh, Tara Celebrations are going to the beach, a liminal space! Come join us to build a labyrinth and thus combine; pattern, pilgrimage and pleasure. We will all be inscribing a labyrinth into the sand and walking it to its centre and back again for as much a sense of fun as for contemplation and insight. We will follow this with a barb-b-q to represent the Lughnasadh fires, and we will be building sand castles to represent how easy it is to signify security and comfort which are Lughnasadh traits. Its also fun!
If you cant join us in person then light a candle and blow up a balloon!
Beannachtaí Lughnasadh
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the onshore breeze blows through the barley complementing the sound of the surf on the beach photographed on location
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We have added some photographs here of the Lughnasadh 09 gathering
The Lughnasadh Labyrinth, a temporary temple
Sacred centre
Neon glow stick casts magical light in the labyrinth combining the ancient and modern
Another heart coloured glow stick in the sacred centre
Tom weaving the light fantastic
The evening and the tide drawing in
First glimpse of the rising full moon dressed in Pink....a magical moment
Full moon shining as bright as day
Full moon in an azure blue black sky
Moon observes the washing away of our LUNAsa labyrinth
When you 'do' ceremony unexpected themes emerge and draw your attention. It is often only in hindsight that we notice the coincidences and synchronicities. We may be 'clutching at straws' and they may or may not be significant to our lives but, they satisfy the human need for pattern making and help to confirm that we are 'on the right path'. These arose in our minds at the time and on the following day – if you tune in and discover others we would love to hear about them....
Number 7 - 7 people were present - 7th ceremony of the year since New Year at Samhain (the glow sticks used had been bought at Samhain) – 7 path labyrinth hence walking the 7 chakras - date: 7 August - 7 lights/boats on the sea
Pink - The moon rose with a pink colour - Sinead, recently returned from South America, was telling us about seeing pink dolphins - pink glowstick next to the feathers: one from crow on Tara (see blue / black) - candle in pink salt rock had been lit at Tara before going to Port - Tara is said to be the heart chakra of Ireland whose colour is green tinged with pink - Archangel Chamael Aura Soma bottle is pink and relates to the 7th ray of angels and also to Tara
Blue/Black - Blue scabious flowers marked where we parked - Everyone was wearing mainly blue/black apart from one red jacket - A blue/black crows feather picked up at Tara represented air for the directions - Going home in the dark people in different vehicles were particularly commenting on the blue bridge over the Boyne at Drogheda
Bridges as portals (liminal places) - Port Beach and Clogherhead are at the eastern geological site of the Iapetus suture in Ireland. This is a bridging place in the earth. The northern lands (originally lying where Canada and US are today) and the southern lands (which lay where Antartica is today) merge here and are stuck together - we were at Port Beach, a port is a place of transition - Bridge at Drogheda transition over the River Boyne (see above) - the labyrinth was mostly on the shelly sand but the eastern edge went into the wave cut ridges of finer grained beach, hence lying across two different areas of the shoreline
North South - See Iapetus info above, we were at the meeting place of north and south - We orientated the labyrinth so that the entrance was in the south and we walked in towards the north.
East West - See Iapetus info above, it runs across the country NE to SW - Connemara marble from the west was used for the directions - skull found during ceremony looks very similar to a dolphins (to be confirmed) – 2 weeks ago some of the group had been to the west to reconnect with the dolphins there
Heron, Lugh, Tara, Labyrinth - As we climbed over the rocks to the beach to the north a heron flew from the land and over the strand. The heron (aka crane in Ireland) is a sacred bird and it used to be taboo to eat it's flesh. The skin would be made into a crane bag by Druids and shaman. In this they carried their spirit objects and treasures. One legend is that Mannanan (we were looking towards his land - the Isle of Man) had a favourite crane and when it died he made the skin into a bag. This bag was passed through the generations, including Lugh Long Arm. It passed to Conaire - 'Comely Conaire slept on the side of Tara of the plains : when the cunning well-made man awoke, the Crane-bag was found about his neck.' The crane dance is known in China, Siberia and Greece and also by the Druids. It is a circling dance imitating the crane's movements, and is in a labyrinth pattern, representing the journey of the soul. The connection from Port Beach labyrinth is thus made to An Tobar where the Monday meditations are held. For at An Tobar cranes nest above the lake and there is a labyrinth. (Go to the bottom of the meditation page for the Crane Stance & dance we did the following Monday)
And the walking sticks bought ages ago, which someone had insisted on buying, had never been used until that night. They were perfect for the job of outlining the labyrinth!!
Tom and Anne caught this picture on the way home of the Boyne Suspension Bridge. It was late, very late as we were having such a relaxed time in the most clement of weather there was no hurry on us to go home. Not a car on the road.
Some seasonal fruits:
LadyWell Pattern day Slane August 15th 2009
The womblike approach to the LadyWell with the Boyne river to the right
Pilgrims saying the Rosary at the LadyWell watched over by the Virgin
The very ancient and venerable LadyWell
Beth and Nigel went to visit the 'The Rudston Monolith' in East Yorkshire wolds,during Lughnasadh. The church was built around it,'rood 'or 'cross and stan' meaning' 'stone', it stands 25 feet 4 inches high, 6ft 1inch wide on the east side,5ft 9inches wide on the west side,2ft 9inches thick on the North side,2ft 3inches thick on the south side.It's made of Grit stone,originally it could have been taller,because it appears that there is a piece missing from the top, it has been capped, so it would have been taller.
There now appears to be a new theory about the monolith, if you look closely you can just make out Dinosaur footprints on one side,perhaps millions of years ago this monolith was just a bank of mud in a river bed,when some animal left its footprint,perhaps this is why this particular piece of stone was chosen to be made into the monolith!!!
The area also has many signs of prehistoric life: there are square and round barrows which show evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age burials.
The main street of the village is an ancient track, probably first used in Neolithic times.To the North of the village are 'Argam Dikes,' prehistoric earth banks. There are also strange 'Curcus' believed to be late Neolithic earth banks, which may have been track ways or procession paths.
So Rudston must have been of great importance as a religious or perhaps a trading site in prehistoric times.
Below: Beths lughnasadh holiday snap of Rudstone monolith side on
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The Arrival of Lugh on Tara
Gate Keeper on Tara:
“Who are you?...for none without an art may enter Tara.”
Lugh:
Lugh was part Tuath de Danann, part Fomorian, the ildánach, master of all arts.
Orator, Harper, Healer, Historian, Poet, Cup bearer, Carpenter, Champion, Smith, Magician.
The coming of Lugh is a well known Irish story in which Lugh “Samildáanach”(Master of all the arts) presents himself at the gates of Tara, capital of Ireland, and demonstrates his ability to lead. So skilled was he that the High King gave Lugh his throne for a magical 13 days.
What is generally over looked is the fact that Lugh came to bring war, death and destruction.
The Tuath de Danaan were being suppressed by the evil Fomorians who were applying harsh taxes on the Tuath de. At their moment of greatest need Lugh names his credentials and enters Tara to lead the Tuath in a crushing defeat of the Fomorians. This fulfilled the ancient prophecy that Balor's own grandson (Lugh) would defeat the Fomorians and Balor himself at the second battle of Mag Tuireadh. But this is not without severe cost to Lugh who sent his father to Ulster to get reinforcements. Unfortunately Lugh looses his father to the sons of Tuireann.
One can see how this story reflects the wisdom of building inner resources and cunning to tackle “that which no longer serves us”. It is the struggle for freedom and justice. It is about facing our inner Fomorian demons with our mastery of life. And about asking for help even though we may be multi-skilled.
One can also see the paralell between this archetypal story and modern day Ireland (after doing so well from European funds) facing the European backlash to Lisbon. Who will be our talented leader to guide the nation at this time of pressure?
In the wider world there is much conflict that has not been resolved. Here on Tara we have several large scale battles and massacres which have been perpetrated to people, the landscape and to our cultural psyche.
That is why we will be symbolically enacting all the battles that ever took place on the inner and outer realms with our weapons. Every battle that has ever occurred on the planet has had some tangible or intangible level effect on us. The mythological battles, the massacre of the women of Tara, the 1798 croppy boy rebellion, the modern day battles over the motorway, nationalism, unionism, sectarianism, religion, the inner battles over fear, separation, illusion and delusion, ignorance, hate, etc.
We will then transform the weapons of mass destruction in our Healing Cauldron of fire converting swords into plough shares. We will bring death and destruction to battle itself and connect with all the peace making that has ever occurred on the planet, as we are very much part of that too.
Then we become as Lugh, a true Samildánach.
This Lughnasadh what fruits are you harvesting to bring into the winter when all there will be to survive are the fruits of your labour? Will you be nourished by your war or your peace?
Only the victorious can melt down their weapons
Peace be with you
Síochán leat
Our Lughnasadh Cauldron in which we melted down the waring swords and weapons to produce a symbol of peace in the plough share
Lughnasadh Rose, symbol of accepting the inner beauty even though there may be thorns
We gifted the well some of the flowers used during the ritual meditation
The challenges .....
... hoola hoop Olympics
contemplation sharing an essence of rose water and rose quartz
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- the first of the three harvests - grain -
In Derbyshire, England, Liz Kirkham visited a Japanese Garden, Nr. Newark, in Nottinghamshire
and wrote 'A little verse'...
Grass seeds are now ripening
there's fields of golden grain
And birds are singing gaily
for it's harvest time again.
Page last updated: 16th Apr 2010
