The Nudge - Dispatch 14 | Lughnasa 2023
“The festival of Lughnasa speaks of fullness and bounty of richness and sacrifice. As cornfields ripple in the late summer breeze and whisper golden promises of the grain harvest to come, we know deep within our psyche that the darkness is but a heartbeat away.”
Carol Carlton, Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers
Welcome to The Nudge | Lughnasa 2023
This seasonal care package has been prepared by The Trailblazery team.
Dear Friends,
We are excited to prepare The Nudge, our latest care package for you as we approach the great festival of Lughnasa on August 01 and astrological Lughnasa on August 07.
The energies of this time are about appreciation, gratitude, joy, wildness, exuberance and celebration. Like many of you I have been in deep grief (Samhain) with the recent death of our great Banríon Sinéad O'Connor, Shuhada' Sadaqat. A protest singer, poet, punk, prophet, pioneer and pilgrim soul. She had a voice like no other and was the defiant soundtrack of my coming-of-age, and so like many Irish women I find myself catapulted back in the shadows of 80's/90's Ireland trying to make sense of that dark time and place. She came in and blazed like a comet, calling truth to power like no other. She became a political and social lightening rod until there were no more Troy's left for her to burn. I wonder if she knew how much she was loved and what an indelible mark she has made on the generations of Irish women who came after her?
As we approach this season of Lughnasa I am celebrating her life - her raw courage and vulnerability, her disobedience, craic and imperfection and everything in between. There are so many albums and so many songs in her great body of work - but this "Singing Bird" from her Sean-Nós Nua album feels like a good accompaniment for the next part of her journey...
May you soar. May you rest in power Sinéad - we will always remember you.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam uasal.
Lughnasa, which means the 'Assembly of Lugh,' is centered around the joyous celebrations of the great Celtic God, Lugh. He held a prominent role as the chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the supernatural Irish gods and goddesses. He was renowned as a great warrior and master craftsman, earning him the name Lugh Lámhfada (Lugh of the Long Arm) and Lugh Samildánach (skilled in all Arts). Dán is an Irish word which has many meanings. It signifies art, poetry, gift, skill, destiny, fate, and faculty. Our dán is a unique soul-gift that each of us possess. We were a born to share our dán with the world as our destiny.
Legend has it that Lugh established the celebration of Lughnasa in memory of his foster mother, Tailtiu, the “Great One of the Earth”. She symbolises the fertility, wildness and abundance of Nature: it is said that she cleared the trees from large areas of land so it could be tilled, planted and harvested. She passed from exhaustion after completing this great feat.
In memory of his great mother, Lugh initiated the Tailteann Games; a two-week tribal assembly much like those of the Greek's Olympics. The events tested champions in feats of strength, speed and skill - and continued in Co. Meath (home of the Hill of Tailtiu) until the disruption of the Norman invasion. "Horse-swimming" was a particularly notorious competition, where horse and rider raced across a lake or body of water. A less dangerous practice lives on today, where horses are raced on beaches. The Games culminated with the Lughnasa bonfires, and held a season of peace for diverse communities to gather.
During the festival of Lughnasa, people embraced the richness of the harvest, celebrating the triumph over darkness and relishing the abundant fruits of victory. As they came together to honour and express gratitude for the bountiful gifts of the land they also prepared for the approaching dark winter by taking days of rest and respite before the intense work of the harvest began.
This season celebrates the meitheal*, community togetherness and reciprocity with the gods and spirits, this festival offers us an opportunity to celebrate the abundance of the harvest season within and without. As we celebrate Lughnasa, let the creative lifeforce or neart of this ancient festival guide and inspire us, as we come together in gratitude and joy. May this care package bring you moments of respite and delight during this festive time.
*The word meitheal means 'linked to the other’. It describes an ancient Irish tradition where a group of people come together with a common purpose to work together, with and for each other. Our ancestors would make a collective effort to gather the hay or bring home the turf for the greater good of the community.
Journal Prompts to inspire you, at Lughnasa:
🌽 What cues and clues are offered by the wild world’s ability to adapt and thrive at the season of Lughnasa?
🌽 How can you apply these insights to your own personal awareness and growth?
🌽 How is your Dán or soul-gift ripening?
🌽 What’s ready to be harvested in your life?
🌽 What blessings are you grateful for in your life right now? Can you write a list of 108 gratitudes today? Notice how you feel when this practice is complete
🌽 How do you track and source JOY in your life? When do you feel connected to joy? Where do you feel it in you body? Does it have a sensation, texture or colour?
🌽 Lughnasa is the first of 3 harvest seasons: what do you hope to accomplish between now and the final harvest at Samhain? Who will you be sharing the bounty of your harvest with?
🌽 Lughnasa is a time of community and Meitheal: think about 3 people who have been your Meitheal since this spiral began at Samhain 2022? Can you reach out and let them know that you see them and appreciate them?
🌽 Nature provides abundant medicine through trees, plants and herb at Lughnasa: can you find kinship with these seasonal guides at this time?
What’s coming up over the next
6 weeks at The Trailblazery:
Moon Medicine
Our monthly gatherings, which moved online in 2020, align with the lunar cycle. We meet around every Full Moon and welcome inspiring guest luminaries to share herstory, experience and wisdom with us. We also invite extraordinary musicians and performers to play at our gatherings. This is an opportunity to illuminate and celebrate our creative life force and sovereignty.
We are taking a little break with Moon Medicine for the month of August, but tickets for our September gathering will go on sale on 15 September. Cost is €25. We offer a limited number of free spots each month for those who need it.
If you haven’t already, you can sign up to our Moon Medicine mailing list here to be informed of all upcoming events.
Recommended Resources
Here are a few reading, watching and listening pieces to nourish your senses in the days ahead:
♪ Listen: For your ears
Enjoy this Lughnasa gift of a mytho-sensory wonder voyage recorded by Kathy to mark Féile Lughnasa.
As the Great Wheel turns and Lughnasa approaches, we have a special gift for you. To mark this high holy day, we're giving you an exclusive wild Immram experience that will transport you to a realm of wonder and joy. Find a tranquil and comfortable space to lie down, enabling you to fully embrace the sounds and insights that await you. Let go of stress and worries as you become one with the harmonious flow of this immersive sound journey. Let this enchanting soundscape lead you into a state of deep relaxation and appreciation for the bounty of this Harvest Festival.
✦ Smell: For your nose
❤ Read: For your heart
The Festival of Lughnasa by Máire MacNeill
The Festival of Lughnasa: A Study of the Survival of the Celtic Festival of the Beginning of Harvest, written by Máire MacNeill and published in 1962. It’s one of the most comprehensive works on Irish folklore that we have yet come across.
✬ Connect: For your Soul
At The Trailblazery, we’ve been really drawn to the work of Shane Berkerey. Shane is an Irish-Japanese contemporary artist based in Dublin, Ireland. His work is very evocative and these two images seem to speak into the portal of Lughnasa. You can find out more about his work here.
❤ Touch: For your pleasure
This Irish skincare company based in a small village in North Meath grow their own herbs organically, which they hand blend with organic carrier oils (some Irish grown) and some wildcrafted herbal plants to produce natural, environmentally friendly products.
EnJOY these days - may the abundant light be yours.
Thank you for walking this path with us,
Beannachtaí,
Kathy and all at The Trailblazery
