olympian lughnasa blessings
Posted by Sinead Duffy on
today is august first - in the celtic calendar, lughnasa.
it marks the day about halfway between summer solstice and autumn equinox. it has always been a great festival time - the last celebration of the summer - marking harvest, and the beginning of the dying of the light.
it's a time for taking stock and reflection, celebrating what we have manifested and created, and letting go.
it seems a fitting time for us to come home and reflect on our four months of wandering, planting, being. lughnasa is named after the God Lugh - this is the middle name we gave our son Milo. he doesn't love it, but much like our four months that were very close quarters for teenagers - we hope one day it'll be appreciated!
in early lughnasa celebrations - there was a kind-of Olympic games held - with athletic competitions, storytelling and music
to root the games in an awareness of the seasons - they were held as funeral games - to mark the death of Lugh's mother - Tailtiu - the earth goddess - representing the dying vegetation that fed the people over the coming months
so if you're marking the day with some kinds of harvest celebration, reflectively journaling on or watching the women's triple jump or the men's100 metre final - enjoy the day.
