Lughnasa

Lughnasa

"About the Calends of August Taltiu died, on a Monday, on the feast of Lughnasad of Lug; around her grave from that Monday forth is held the chief fair of noble Erin."
___ "The Metrical Dindshenchas," ed. Edward Gwynn (trans CM)

This feast is often understood to be a celebration of the Irish god Lugh (LOO'kh), but this is not the case. The festival celebrated primarily in honor of Lugh's foster-mother, Taltiu (TAWL'too), who single-handedly cleared the plains of Ireland of trees in order that agriculture and the gazing of cattle might take place. This necessary work is remembered and honored in the myth of Taltiu. The word 'Lughnasa' (LOO'nas-ah) comes from the old Irish 'Lugh nasad,' or 'the binding promise or duty of Lugh.' On the death of his foster mother, Lugh caused funeral games to be held in her honor. Over time, these games devolved into a fair, held annually in Telltown in County Meath. On this eve, the sacred time of harvest is celebrated - a time for harvest suppers and for enjoying all the varieties of food that have been in short supply.

At another level, Lugh's honoring of Taltiu acknowledges the bounty of harvest and the contract that exists between all living being and the earth. It is in that acknowledgment that the last sheaf of grain is harvested and honored, to be bound about the churn-dash in the form of a woman of sprouting hair and spreading stalks, or be woven into complex shapes as a corn-dolly.

"Make your own promise to the Land this evening, as the sun strikes the harvesting earth
with its last rays. Meditate upon how you can keep this time sacred in your personal spiritual practice."
[From "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews