Gwyl Awst - Lughnasadh

Gwyl Awst - Lughnasadh

Solar Observance - August 1st
Lunar Observance - First Full Moon when the Sun is in Leo


   I am going to post about the Avalon tradition view of Lughnasadh today instead of an essay from Matthews' The Celtic Spirit...  I have studied and followed the Avalon tradition for many years tho for the past few years I have not participated in all things Avalon
based. 

    The festival of Gwyl Awst or Lughnasadh, which is pronounced LOO-nah-sah, was celebrated as the beginning of the harvest. It is a time of thanksgiving for the bounty of the Earth and for the performance of sacrifices to ensure continued bounty for the rest of the year. The crops were welcomed and large communal meals were of great ritual importance. Weather divination was practiced and harvest workers were hired for the season.
    Gwyl Awst was a festival known for its large, communal sporting events, especially horse racing, which served to reinforce the bonds between tribe members.
Young men and women took this opportunity to prove themselves to the opposite sex, taking advantage of this rare occasion when a large quantity of prospective mates are available. Gwyl Awst was when marriages were arranged, either for love or for economic/political purposes; the couple pledged to be married for a year and a day, and could part after the time should they find that they were  not compatible. Along with marriage, the Celts entered into alliances of friendship and contracts at this time. This vibrant feast, said to commemorate the Funeral Games of the Mother of the Sun God Lugh or Llew - else to memorialize his own death at this, the high priest of summer - was followed by several months of hard work until the last fruits were harvested, and Calan Gaeaf (Samhain) came around again.
    Although not everyone from a settlement was always able to attend any given festival, it was important for each homestead to be represented - for both sacral and secular reasons. While individual farmers performed religious rites on their own land to ensure the fertility of their fields and to win the favor of the local nature spirits and devas, attendance at the greater communal rituals guaranteed the protection and blessings of the Gods as well. However well these strategies may have worked, these agriculturalists used the amassed populace present at these gatherings as an opportunity to insure economic stability through trade, the buying and selling of goods, and products not locally available, and fresh bloodlines to strengthen their herds and flocks.
    The duality of communal participation and cyclic work of each individual homestead underscore the ways in which we are called to participate in the Cosmic Dance. There is the call to work, tending the fields of the soul - and there is the call to move without - bringing the bounty of our harvest with us to share and exchange with others. The whole is nourished and strengthened by our personal contributions, and we in turn benefit from the bounty of the product forged at the hearths of others.
   Although the Avalon Tradition is a path that leads within, it is equally important to manifest our reclaimed wisdoms without. The beauty of the Tradition is that each woman's contribution is an important function of the whole - manifesting as a self - sufficient community aiming to open and empower the soul of each individual. We cycle within and we cycle without.
[From: Avalon Within by Jhenah Telynoru]