Celtic Lughnasadh or Lammas Day Lughnassadh is named for the Celtic God Lugh. The derivation of his name is a bit obscure but may mean “light.” He is viewed as the God of many different things including: 1) sworn contracts. 2) the plow. 3) the master of the fields. 4) the young warrior and champion of the gods. 5) a thunder god. 6) the bringer of storms. 7) a lightning god. 8) the supreme craftsman of all crafts. His mother, the Earth Mother was Tailtiu. In the ancient belief system, He fertilized Her but the Christians were scandalized by this concept and changed him to a plutonic foster son. Lughnasadh was celebrated for a two or more week period that began towards the end of July. As such, it was unique to Celtic holidays. Lammas Day, or Lughnasadh, was a time of celebration, involving horseracing, martial contests and rituals for the good of the harvest. It was also a time for the ritual opening of the hunting season and a time to collect oysters and other fruits from the sea. This was probably also the time when the summer round-up of flocks and herds took place. Horses and cattle were often forced to swim a body of water in the belief that this would keep them healthy so that they would survive the coming year. Later, as the society became more agrarian, the festival became one of fruit and grain collection and celebration. Lammas Day, or Lughnasadh, was typically celebrated on a hill top or at a sacred well site (as these wells were at the height of their healing power). Games and contests were held. Often a bull was sacrificed and a feast was held (usually with the bull as the main course). Trial marriages were also entered into. It was believed that at this time of year the faeries would battle for the fertility of the land and the success of the crops. (This may be symbolized in the thunder and lightning that occurred at this time of the year.) Often this was ritualistically carried out on Lammas eve with faction fighting – a form of ritualized combat between two groups using sticks, staffs or clubs. The winner of the contest was assured that their crops and lands would be successful. The primary theme of Lammas Day, or Lughnassadh, was that of the sacrifice of the male God so that the harvest would be successful, so that He could rest and recuperate and then return in the spring as the young, virile God of vegetative growth. Some branches of Wicca celebrate Lughnassadh as the festival of the God and the male spirit. He is visualized as the King in his prime who will die with the turn of the year. As the God will sacrifice himself for the completion of the seasons of the year, in olden times this was seen as a time when we too had to sacrifice (animals if not humans) as a form of sympathetic magick. Today we recognize His sacrifice as part of a complete pattern and that this is a willing sacrifice, done with love for all living things, not just mankind. The law of Witchcraft tells us that the God and Goddess do not demand sacrifice because all creatures are Their children and are cherished equally. Therefore, modern Wiccans respect and revere all life; ours is a creed of joy. We honor and respect the sacrifice of the God and Goddess and rejoice in Their love for us. It is this patterns Wiccans honor at the festivals and seek to maintain in our daily lives.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:26:42 +0000
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