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Celtic Druid's Summer Solstice

17/6/2017

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The Sun festivals of ancient Ireland are still known by their old Irish names, Imbolg, Beltine, Lughnasa and Samhain. These Sun festivals are many thousands of years old; they have survived an imperial invasion and occupation for 800 years and the attempted erasure of indigenous consciousness by the catholic church for almost 1500 years. These Sun festivals are the gateway for today's Celtic Men and Women to celebrate with the Celtic Gods – Brigid at Imbolg, Bile at Beltine, Lugh at Lughnasa and Tlachtga at Samhain.

But the advice for anyone seeking connection to the Celtic Gods is to avoid the current catholic calendar of the so-called civilised world to time your ceremony. Pagans and Druids on a Celtic Path use Natural Time as their ancestors did – this means working with the alignments of the oldest temples to the four bright stars in the belt of the Zodiac. The Solstices and Equinoxes do not line up with particular Stars, they are turning points of the day / night balance such as when the Sun’s energy enters the ancient temple at Brú na Boinne (Newgrange) energising the God Dagda after the longest night of the year. The history and correct timing methods are shared below for those who wish to walk a Celtic Path.
 
Celtic Druid’s Summer Sun Standing
Solstice is from the Latin and is made up from two words given roughly as: sol = sun and stice = stopped. Celtic Druí do not believe that the Sun stops so we use the old Irish word “Tairisem” which means standing still. In summer this Sun Standing happens in the month of June around the 20th, 21st or 22nd when we honour Éatain Eachraidhe, the White Mare Goddess. This is the highest point of the solar year when the Sun reaches it maximum height in the Sky. The Sun is at its highest at noon and shadows are at their shortest. There are almost 20 hours of daylight and only four hours of darkness if you are in Ireland at this time.

This is not a specifically Gaelic holiday and many Pagan cultures celebrate this time with many festivals known by a range of names - Denmark, Sankt Hans Aften. Wiccan sabbat Litha. Slavonia, St. John's Night. Alban Heruin. Gaul (old France), Feast of Epona, (white mare goddess). Roman Empire, Vestalia. Catholic countries: feast of St. John the Baptist – this was an attempt to shift the natives away for the true date by setting the 24th of June as bone fire night. Hopi Indians and Native Americans celebrate the summer solstice but I don’t know their names for this day.
 

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Etain, White Mare Celtic Goddess, Crom agus Corra
In Ireland, many people of all ages and religions do some sort of celebration for this day. The resurgence of the old Pagan ways and the need to believe in something truly spiritual for this day has many people visit the ancient sacred sites. We at Ireland’s Druidschool often hold a presence on Tara and we have multiple ceremonies. Our sunrise ceremony is very simple - we just stand or sit in silence facing the horizon where the sun will actually rise. We watch the clouds, the colours and the rising of the false sun and then the actual sun, and then the actual sun merge into the false sun. Magically - this is spirit rising within.

This longest day is sacred to the White Mare Goddess, who was known in Wales as Rhiannon, in France as Epona and here in Ireland She is called Éatain Eachraidhe (sometimes also spelt Edaín). In the recent destruction of the sacred valley in the Royal City of Tara the remains of a high status female (with horse and giant dog found nearby) was kept totally under media wraps. The high status female is wrapped in black plastic and stored in a warehouse in Drogheda. But Her spirit has returned to native consciousness and once again Éatain, the White Mare Goddess, is honoured with ceremony on Tara on the longest day of the year.

We also watch the Sun rise from Tallaght Hill as the sun aligns with Lambay Volcano, the Pond called Linn Oir and then to the Cairn on the Hill of the Fair Gods. Much is written about this alignment in this website - words cannot describe the thrill of being at a complex of sacred sites that were laid out to work with the energies on this specific day.

We also hold Pilgrimage to Croagh Crom, Ireland's Holy Mountain (aka the Reek). Just south of the holy mountain is a triangular lake called Loughnacorra – this should read – Lough na Corra which translates as the Lake of the Crane Birds. At midday the Sun is reflected from the surface of Lough na Corra onto Croagh Crom and a powerful connection is made. This is the harmony of balance between God and Goddess expressed in the landscape. More info on this Sacred Pilgrimage is available here.


Calculating the Summer Solstice
In the Celtic World and in the time before it - there were no clocks; no calendars and the festivals of the year were measured in Ireland by the penetration of a sunbeam into designed passages in stone Cairns (such as Newgrange) to exactly light up a section of a stone with carvings upon it. This happens even today so the ancestral calendar is 100% accurate. The longest day is calculated by the midday Sun casting its shortest shadow. But the Sunrise on the longest day makes an alignment over Lambay Volcano to a little known monument complex on Tallaght Hill in South Dublin. Even though the Cairn on Tallaght Hill is in ruins - the outer circle of recumbent stones from the Cairn still exists. This means if you were to stand on top of this Cairn on Tallaght Hill when the Sun rises at 0* of Cancer 45* east of north (midsummer) you would see the sun rise over the Lambay Volcano and light up a pond to glow golden before it shines in to the foundations of a ancient ceremonial temple on Cnockan (or the Little Hill) as the locals call it. The old maps give the name of Cnockan as Knockavinidee. A scholar from a nearby valley has given us a translation as “The Hill of the Fair Gods”. This is the ancestors Summer equivalent to Newgrange / Brú na Boinne.
 
God, Goddess and the Four Archangels
This longest day is sacred to the White Mare Goddess, who was known in Ireland as Éatain Eachraidhe. This was the Iron Age expression of the goddess, in the preceding age the goddess was honoured as the White Cow or Boann / Boyne the sacred river that flows before Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth.

When the Sun and Moon were not visible the time of the seasons and the time of night could be obtained by looking to the bright star in the night sky. This placed the four bright stars next to God and Goddess in order of importance. These four bright stars form an almost equal armed cross within the circle or belt of stars we call the Zodiac. But at the Summer Solstice it was easy to know that it was the longest day because there were only 4 hours of darkness. This is the ancestors timing for the Summer Solstice and it is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sun light engineering bringing the energies of God to Earth. The Sun, Lambay Volcano, the passage Cairn presumably with its carved stone inside all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles once a year and this shows the correct timing for Summer Solstice.
 
The Summer Solstice is not aligned to a Star
In its most basic - there were no clocks, no calendars and the passage of time was measured in Ireland by the penetration of a sunbeam into designed passages in stone cairns to exactly light up a section of a stone with carvings upon it. This happens even today so the ancestral calendar is still accurate. The solar alignment that determines the correct time for the Summer Solstice is the most northerly rising of the Sun. The double check is that the Sun reaches its highest at midday and casts the shortest shadows. The temple that catches the Sunrise on the longest day is on Tallaght Hill which overlooks Dublin and Lambay Volcano but all that remains is the base of a Cairn. From Tallaght Hill you can look to Cnoc Lugh, Summerhill, Sliabh na Callighe, Tara and Brú na Boinne without obstruction – a pure line of sight. This was important as fires can be seen, signals sent and communication between districts were made easy, but more importantly in my opinion – the entire Eightfold year and its Cairn Temples pivoting on Lambay Volcano in Dublin Bay all worked to sustain the Earth’s Magnetic Field and they were visually linked.

In Limerick on the west coast of Ireland we find Grange, the largest stone circle in the country. It is over 150 feet in diameter and has 113 stones and was built over 4000 years ago. It makes an almost perfect circle of stones surrounded by a high earthen bank, making it into a Henge. It is aligned with the rising sun on the Sunrise of the Summer Solstice -the sun shines directly in the centre of the ancient stone henge circle. Hundreds would gather here and today people are returning and the numbers increase each year.

In England the focus is at Stonehenge where a huge multiple standing stone circle makes a perfect alignment with the rising sun on the Solstice. This has become a hugely popular event for many people from all over the world.
 
Earth’s magnetic field
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann. Samhain and Imbolg share the same alignment to Cairn ‘L’ on Sliabh na Callighe, Beltine and Lughnasa share the same alignment to Cnoc Lugh (Lyons Hill), the two Equinoxes share the same alignment to Summerhill, the Summer Solstice has its own alignment to the Hill of the Fair Gods on Tallaght Hill and the Winter Solstice has its own alignment to Brú na Boinne or Newgrange. All these alignments for the Eightfold Solar year have the fulcrum or pivotal point of the leaking energies from the volcano being wrapped back into the solar wind. This is earth magnetism and landscape healing at an extraordinary level. In magical terminology – this is the Solar Word wrapping the Volcanic leaking energy into itself as it connects to the acupuncture of the stone Cairns – activating and harmonising the magnetic grid here on Earth.

At the Celtic Druid Temple, we will guide you to find and express your Celtic Spirit by helping you discover the Three Realms, Three Cauldrons and Natural Time - this creates a strong foundation for becoming a Celtic Druid. We train students and pathworkers from all over the world who seek to know and express Sacred Knowledge and Indigenous Spiritual Traditions so that many seekers can walk a distinctly Celtic Druid Path.
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The meaning of the two triple spirals at Newgrange?

4/1/2017

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Sacred Geometry from outside and inside Dagda's Temple at Brú na Boinne Newgrange. There is a unique design shift message from outside to inside. This is not an accident or a clever modification by me - it is a message from the original designers.

We today interpret the inside triple spiral as an "S" with a tail at the back. The upper spiral is the Realm of Sky, the lower spiral is the Realm of Sea and between them at the back is the Realm of Land, all in balance. On the big stone outside the chamber however there is a different triple spiral. Its still an "S" but the back spiral between the upper and lower spirals only connects to the upper spiral.

Is the message as follows - Outside the energy is with the Sky Realm, but the tail of the back spiral (Realm of Land) is aimed or ready to join the Realm of Sea - now do some Sun Magic with Quartz in the roofbox on the start of the shortest day and the back spiral (Realm of Land) will connect to the Realm of Sea. Is this temple an energy switching device from dominant Sky to dominant Sea in terms of activating the grid?

The two triple spirals are very similar - it is only a slight rotation of the back spiral that disconnects it from the upper spiral and re-connects it to the lower spiral. It needs the Quartz in the roofbox replaced to make it work - how does this interpretation sit with you?

Please note - this short essay is for those who are students with us, we know that each symbol can be seen as 6 spirals, the red and yellow colours were my choice - I'm just provoking others to observe whats there to question why.

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Ceremony Dates

6/10/2016

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Full Moon
Sunday 16th October- 8pm - Tara Co. Meath, Open to all
                                     Temple Crom Co. Roscommon, Open to all
                                     Denver, Colorado, USA - Invite only
                                     Vienna, Austria -  Invite only

Solar Samhain 2nd November - Noon- Temple Crom, co. Roscommon -Members only

Lunar Samhain Celtic New Year- 30th and 31st October - Triple Ceremony - Tlachtga, Tara and Sliabh na Cailliagh - Invitation Only
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Summer Solstice 2016

25/6/2016

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Croagh Crom
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Suns Shining and we're ready!
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Lough na Corra
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After Ceremony,on the south side of Croagh Crom, at the Stone Dragon looking out to Corra
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Time

27/10/2014

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We've celebrated Lunar Samhain, next is Solar Samhain and then the full Moon...I've dived head first into studying our Irish Celtic Calendar. My writing space is piled high with books about Newgrage and Loughcrew, books on Irish Symbols and Time.

I found this quote and thought it very beautiful:

''What is Time? The shadow on the dial, the striking of the clock, the running of the sand, day and night, summer and winter, months, years, centuries-these are but arbitrary and outward signs, the measure of time, not Time itself. Time is the Life of the soul''
Longfellow 1807-1882

Grá
Niamh
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Autumn Equinox-Rathra-Castlerea

4/10/2014

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PictureRathra, Mullaghdooey, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. Eire
Castlerea isn't really one of those places you associate with epic sunsets. When you hear 'Castlerea', you might think, cattle, bogs and the Mart. Amongst other associations most people probably think nothing as they have never heard of it. Our magical anscestors knew about this special place thousands of years before we settled here. They built a multi-valete enclosure on the western slopes of Mullaghdooey hill on the edge of the Rath Croghan complex of monuments.

From here, on a clear day, you can see The Reek. It wasn't so clear when we arrived on the first night close to the Autumn Equinox. Clouds blocked our view. The next night seemed promising with some clear skies overhead. We soon realised we wouldn't be seeing the Sunset as we arrived and saw the bank of clouds sitting on the horizon.
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Looking West
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It was a beautiful evening, the haze seemed to linger, but the sun was big and we thought it might let Crom shine through.
We wondered on the next night, as the sun seemed a good match for the Haze on the horizon.
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We guessed right, just at the last moments, the great pyramid mountain appeared. We were too late to see the sun set into the mountain, but it was a beautiful evening and sunset all the same.
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Autumn Equinox 2013

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This is the sequence we were hoping to see and perhaps will see again on the Spring Equinox.
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Celtic Camp Lughnasa Games

2/7/2014

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2nd - 4th August 2014
Combining storytelling, the skills of the warrior, a  tournament and the spirit of our Celtic ancestry in a three day event over the Bank Holiday weekend, this August come to our 16-acre farm in our purpose built medieval fort and ceremonial enclosures to enjoy an incredible and unique experience!
We have held six Lughnasa Games weekends here at Rath Niamh in from 2008 to now in 2014. 

The games are themed as traditional Celtic in the High Medieval period (about 1000 years ago). We pitch medieval tents, there is a central wood fire where we cook in cauldrons and log seats allow a circle gathering around the campfire. There are medieval displays of leathercraft, camp kitchen, weapons, helmets and armour. Throughout the day you can take part in warrior and/or craft skills workshops. You have the option of entering into the tournament and maybe even win a prize, then relax for the evening around a central campfire and enjoy the stories and craic, maybe even share a story or two yourself.

This is a family friendly event, bring your own tent. No pets. All food is provided.
Tickets are limited to 50 people for this event.

  • A weekend ticket is €90.
  • A one day ticket is €35.
  • Family discounts available.
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Feile Crom Pictures

22/6/2014

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On the morning of the Solstice we gathered at Temple Crom here in Roscommon, we did our morning energetic exercises and became focused on the day ahead. We travelled together by bus to Croagh Crom. During the trip we could see Crom from the distance, with just the very tip of the cone shrouded in clouds.
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We took some time to stand in circle and listen to the Sky Larks, feel the breeze and become fully present, we walked through the first couple of fields, then stood together looking out to the view. One of our members played the bodhrán, keeping us focused.
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Our two youngest members on the day, carried Crom Óg up the mountain.
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We're back.
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After a unique and beautiful Solstice Ceremony we went to work tending to the Stone Crom, collecting rocks to widen and lengthen the Serpent on the mountain.
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Happy Pilgrims.
After this shot we took our time travelling back down the mountain, which required a different sort of focus, complete attention paid to each step on the constantly moving scree.
We travelled back to Temple Crom and enjoyed a meal together, the camera's were well forgotten at that stage but I can give you a mental picture; of a group of happy Pilgrims sitting in a marquee, on the West side of the main building, on timber plank seats around a table laden with food, faces a glow from wind and sun....................
Happy Solstice.
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Crom agus Corra - A story

8/6/2014

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Would you like to hear a story? This is a story that came to me one day whilst standing in the rain enjoying the drops falling on my face. I went into a sort of trance and started whispering words that turned into a story that was told through me from start to finish. It's a sad story, it's a very sad story, it's also a long story, are you sure you want to hear it? It's about Gods from along time ago and how they became Dragons. The good part is, even though it's a sad story there is still a chance for it to change, if you want it to. Here's my story:

Read More
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Preparing for your Pilgrimage

2/6/2014

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Your Intention

The reasons can be many and are always unique to you. It is a journey, a physical walk with an intention of spirit. Only you can prepare for this journey. Our overall theme for the weekend is to celebrate the Summer Solstice and our connection to the cycles of time. We will honour Crom and Corra on our journey and in our ceremonies.

Like most journeys, some preparation is needed. On the most basic level, you'll need sturdy walking boots, appropriate clothing i.e. layers and a rain coat. Maybe you'd like to bring a walking stick or staff. I have been crafting my own staff in preparation for my pilgrimage to Crom. This has been a focusing tool for me. I have formally introduced my staff to two of three realms and when I take the mountain path to the sky realm I will introduce my staff to the wonders of Sky. The walk will be a powerful experience for you if you prepare and become really clear on your intentions. Perhaps you wish to express gratitude, celebrate your connection to Spirit, declare love.......

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Being Present

When we arrive at the foot of the mountain, as well as some basic stretches I will guide the group in a series of Light Energy exercises. These are the same set of exercises we do when we prepare for any ceremony. Following this, an opportunity will be created for you to declare your intention (this will be optional, you may declare it in silence or out load) this will help focus your mind for the walk. Some tips will be shared for slowing your thinking brain so that you take in as much as the journey as possible, for instance it will be reccommended that for the first part, we walk in silence and with a respectful distance between each member of the group. We will stop half way up and take part in a mindfullness exercise, ensuring that we are fully focused and awake.


Celebration

We will take our time and enjoy the physical element of the journey, when we reach our destination, we will take some time for a peacful meditiation then stand in circle and celebrate the Summer Solstice with ceremony. When the ceremony is finished there will be time to do a little exploring on the mountain. We will then make the journey home with a renewed sense of connection and purpose.
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View of Lough na Corra from Crom

Limited Places Available - Booking in Advance is Required


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Annual Membership 10euros

Bus Ticket To Crom
20euros

Dinner and Camping Ticket
10euro per night
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    Niamh and Con are founding members of Celtic Druid Temple and walk the path of Celtic Druids in Roscommon, Eire.

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