Celtic Ways Tales

With the wonderful weather we have had lately in Ireland, folks are taking advantage with hay making, painting, and turf cutting. Folks ask me a lot of questions about turf cutters, why turf cutting is being banned and ask about the conservation issues. Being the Lughnasadh month some folks are revelling in the Tailtiu clearing the forests for farming legends. There is, perhaps, some confusion about reverence for farms and farmland balanced with forestry and wetland conservation. It is interesting to look into the creation, development and use of turf bogs to understand how the stories of mythology have evolved and possibly why the 1000s of megalithic structure dating from 4000 BC to about 1000 BC exist in Ireland. There are two very different types of Turf Bog in Ireland, so I will attempt to present their differences in relation to the mythology of the times of their creation Blanket Bogs These are the most common turf bog in Ireland, and through Scotland too. From a d...

Eigse Spiriod Ceilteach, The Gathering of Celtic Spirituality , This is happening next Saturday,  11th August, 2012, at 1.5 miles approx from Newtown Mount Kennedy in Co. Wicklow in Ireland. The venue is the beautiful Slí na Bandé, ( click here for the Google Map link )  and for additional directions including public transport - click here This is a staggeringly great day at the bargain price of €25 per person but if you book your ticket online before Saturday its on €20. per person click here to book your generous discounted tickets here This event is arranged, hosted and co-ordinated by Luke Eastwood (  click for his web site here  ) one of the founders of the Irish Druid Network ( click for their web site here ) The Day starts with an Opening and Welcoming Ceremony at 10:00 am 10:30 am  Luke Eastwood - The Magic of Nature Luke is a member of OBOD, Druid Clan of Dana and Ord na Druí; he is also the facilitator of Sola...

In Ireland when we speak more of Lughnasadh. We tend to share the symbolism of the tale of Tailtiu and how Lugh  dedicated this time to honour the death of his foster mother through feasting and warrior games, especially during this Olympics Games year. We also tend to talk of the first harvest, often with a bit of confusion. How do we celebrate this? For me, this is the time of "the hill", and I will explain more later. Some folks call Lughnasadh a "fire festival", just as they do for Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Samhain, but that's not what I see it as. Personally, I regard these are water festivals, times when the sacred wells are very important. I tend to feel these cross quarter times are sacred waters calling on fires while the solstices and equinoxes are fires calling on water, but this is largely "making it up as we go along" stuff. Fire is important at this time, though, for the baking of this first harvest, especially of bread...