Solar Festivals
Introduction
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 todays 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 Bru 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.
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 Bru 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 Samhain
The Celtic New Year starts on the Dark Moon of Samhain. This timing of the dark (i.e. new, but not visible) moon to start the new year marks a time of no direct solar or reflected lunar input, thereby requiring the Earth Goddess to give birth in her own right / rite to the new year. All the fires in the whole of Ireland were extinguished and the Druids at Tlachtga (12 miles west of Tara) generated new pure flame. This pure flame was then brought to Tara where, after the High King, the representatives of the tribes and clans could get pure new fire to bring back to their people.
In Ireland there are three Samhains each year – Catholic Samhain, Lunar Samhain and Solar Samhain. An explanation is needed, as the reality of time control / distortion by the Church of fear is undone. Catholic Samhain is one of those phrases like ‘political honesty’ or ‘military intelligence’ in that none of these pairs of words sit together easily. Catholic does not honour Samhain as it is the main festival of the Celt and the Roman Church sought to eradicate this way of spirituality since it got the upper hand. But, the native traditions of Ireland were not fully wiped out by the Church and they have begun to re-emerge once again. The problem is that the Church has twisted the calendar and now many people seek to celebrate Catholic Samhain on the Friday or Saturday nearest to the 31st October or 1st of November. This is the grass roots re-emergence of our native traditions and is not to be shunned or attacked in any way – but their mistake on timing must be acknowledged so that it may be corrected..
The main differences that will be noticed between Catholic Samhain and the Lunar and Solar Samhain are that on the Catholic event – a) any wood will be burned along with tyres, mattresses etc, b) there will be rockets fired off to scare the spirits / fairies away, c) the actual festival purpose has been distorted in its timing, d) it is now even related to Guy Fawkes night in the UK, e) excessive drinking and abuse of animals, f) car stealing and burning in the main towns and cities.
Along with this is the native desire to reconnect with our ancient traditions. This will be seen best in the countryside. The true tradition of Samhain is the end and start of the New Year for the Celtic Irish people and the Honouring of the Dead because this is the Festival of Death and Rebirth. Our ancestors reckoned time by nights and not by days. Terms like fortnight (two weeks of nights) show this to us. They also reckoned the year by the start of the dark half at Samhain, the second bright half was honoured at Beltinne / Bealtine.
To really understand what determined the timing for Samhain etc for our ancestors we need to look away from Catholic Calendars. In this website there is a detailed explanation of the Eightfold Solar Year of the Tuatha De Dannan. This is also available as a lecture and slide show to interested groups. The clue lies in the timing set by the alignment of the ancient passage Cairns such as Newgrange. Newgrange is a modern name meaning ‘new farm’ and does not describe the temple at all. Brú na Boinne however does – it is a magical otherworld palace of plenty and happiness. We have many stories about Dagda, the good God and his residence at the Brú. The Sun on the winter solstice shines up the 66 ft passage to the centre of the main chamber. This Sun crosses the dormant Volcano – Lambay Island as it makes this alignment. This solstice alignment is sidereal time and it is properly measured when specific stars in the belt of the Zodiac line up. For the winter solstice we wait until the sun reaches 30* of Sagittarius / 0* of Capricorn. Next year for instance this sidereal event takes place on the 22nd of December 2006 at 00:24 but in 2005 it happens on the 21st of December at 18:37 when it is actually dark as measured from Greenwich. So as you can see this event does not have anything to do with the modern Catholic Calendar.
The charts below shows the Catholic celebrations and the Celtic Celebrations they tried to displace. Many of the Catholic celebrations are moveable but the Sunrise point over Lambay Volcano is not. The Celtic and pre-Celtic festivals are aligned to the Sun rising with a specific degree of the Belt of the Zodiac in the background and this is shown with two markers i.e. the Belt of the Zodiac and the East of North coordinates – these do not change when a human makes a calendar.
Catholic Ceremonies to displace the Celtic Ceremonies -
Christs Birthday 25 Dec
Candlemas 2 Feb
Easter 25 Mar
Pentecost / Ascension May/June
Feast of St. John 24 June
Assumption Day 15 Aug
Michaelmas / Nativity of Mary 8 Sept
All Souls Day/ All Saints Day 1 Nov
Celtic Ceremonies centered on Tara based on Solar Alignments over Lambay Volcano -
Winter Sun Standing 0* Capricorn 135*EoN 20 / 23 Dec
Imbolg 10* Aquarius 117*EoN 30 Jan / 2 Feb
Spring Equinox 0* Aries 88*EoN 20 / 22 Mar
Beltine 10* Taurus 60*EoN 30 Apr / 2 May
Summer Sun Standing 0* Cancer 45*EoN 21 / 22 June
Lughnasa 10* Leo 60*EoN 30 July / 2 Aug
Autumn Equinox 0* Libra 88*EoN 20 / 23 Sept
Samhain 10* Scorpio 117*EoN 30 Oct / 2Nov
In Ireland there are three Samhains each year – Catholic Samhain, Lunar Samhain and Solar Samhain. An explanation is needed, as the reality of time control / distortion by the Church of fear is undone. Catholic Samhain is one of those phrases like ‘political honesty’ or ‘military intelligence’ in that none of these pairs of words sit together easily. Catholic does not honour Samhain as it is the main festival of the Celt and the Roman Church sought to eradicate this way of spirituality since it got the upper hand. But, the native traditions of Ireland were not fully wiped out by the Church and they have begun to re-emerge once again. The problem is that the Church has twisted the calendar and now many people seek to celebrate Catholic Samhain on the Friday or Saturday nearest to the 31st October or 1st of November. This is the grass roots re-emergence of our native traditions and is not to be shunned or attacked in any way – but their mistake on timing must be acknowledged so that it may be corrected..
The main differences that will be noticed between Catholic Samhain and the Lunar and Solar Samhain are that on the Catholic event – a) any wood will be burned along with tyres, mattresses etc, b) there will be rockets fired off to scare the spirits / fairies away, c) the actual festival purpose has been distorted in its timing, d) it is now even related to Guy Fawkes night in the UK, e) excessive drinking and abuse of animals, f) car stealing and burning in the main towns and cities.
Along with this is the native desire to reconnect with our ancient traditions. This will be seen best in the countryside. The true tradition of Samhain is the end and start of the New Year for the Celtic Irish people and the Honouring of the Dead because this is the Festival of Death and Rebirth. Our ancestors reckoned time by nights and not by days. Terms like fortnight (two weeks of nights) show this to us. They also reckoned the year by the start of the dark half at Samhain, the second bright half was honoured at Beltinne / Bealtine.
To really understand what determined the timing for Samhain etc for our ancestors we need to look away from Catholic Calendars. In this website there is a detailed explanation of the Eightfold Solar Year of the Tuatha De Dannan. This is also available as a lecture and slide show to interested groups. The clue lies in the timing set by the alignment of the ancient passage Cairns such as Newgrange. Newgrange is a modern name meaning ‘new farm’ and does not describe the temple at all. Brú na Boinne however does – it is a magical otherworld palace of plenty and happiness. We have many stories about Dagda, the good God and his residence at the Brú. The Sun on the winter solstice shines up the 66 ft passage to the centre of the main chamber. This Sun crosses the dormant Volcano – Lambay Island as it makes this alignment. This solstice alignment is sidereal time and it is properly measured when specific stars in the belt of the Zodiac line up. For the winter solstice we wait until the sun reaches 30* of Sagittarius / 0* of Capricorn. Next year for instance this sidereal event takes place on the 22nd of December 2006 at 00:24 but in 2005 it happens on the 21st of December at 18:37 when it is actually dark as measured from Greenwich. So as you can see this event does not have anything to do with the modern Catholic Calendar.
The charts below shows the Catholic celebrations and the Celtic Celebrations they tried to displace. Many of the Catholic celebrations are moveable but the Sunrise point over Lambay Volcano is not. The Celtic and pre-Celtic festivals are aligned to the Sun rising with a specific degree of the Belt of the Zodiac in the background and this is shown with two markers i.e. the Belt of the Zodiac and the East of North coordinates – these do not change when a human makes a calendar.
Catholic Ceremonies to displace the Celtic Ceremonies -
Christs Birthday 25 Dec
Candlemas 2 Feb
Easter 25 Mar
Pentecost / Ascension May/June
Feast of St. John 24 June
Assumption Day 15 Aug
Michaelmas / Nativity of Mary 8 Sept
All Souls Day/ All Saints Day 1 Nov
Celtic Ceremonies centered on Tara based on Solar Alignments over Lambay Volcano -
Winter Sun Standing 0* Capricorn 135*EoN 20 / 23 Dec
Imbolg 10* Aquarius 117*EoN 30 Jan / 2 Feb
Spring Equinox 0* Aries 88*EoN 20 / 22 Mar
Beltine 10* Taurus 60*EoN 30 Apr / 2 May
Summer Sun Standing 0* Cancer 45*EoN 21 / 22 June
Lughnasa 10* Leo 60*EoN 30 July / 2 Aug
Autumn Equinox 0* Libra 88*EoN 20 / 23 Sept
Samhain 10* Scorpio 117*EoN 30 Oct / 2Nov
Celtic New Year
The Celtic New Year starts on the Dark Moon of Samhain. The main differences that will be noticed between Catholic Samhain and the Lunar and Solar Samhain are that on the Catholic event – a) any wood will be burned along with tyres, mattresses etc, b) there will be rockets fired off to scare the spirits / fairies away, c) the actual festival purpose has been distorted in its timing, d) it is now even related to Guy Fawkes night in the UK, e) excessive drinking and abuse of animals, f) car stealing and burning in the main towns and cities.
Along with this is the native desire to reconnect with our ancient traditions. This will be seen best in the countryside. The true tradition of Samhain is the end and start of the New Year for the Celtic Irish people and the Honouring of the Dead because this is the Festival of Death and Rebirth. Our ancestors reckoned time by nights and not by days. Terms like fortnight (two weeks of nights) show this to us. They also reckoned the year by the start of the dark half at Samhain, the second bright half was honoured at Beltinne / Bealtine.
To really understand what determined the timing for Samhain etc for our ancestors we need to look away from Catholic Calendars. In this website there is a detailed explanation of the Eightfold Solar Year of the Tuatha De Dannan. This is also available as a lecture and slide show to interested groups. The clue lies in the timing set by the alignment of the ancient passage Cairns such as Newgrange. Newgrange is a modern name meaning ‘new farm’ and does not describe the temple at all. Brú na Boinne however does – it is a magical otherworld palace of plenty and happiness. We have many stories about Dagda, the good God and his residence at the Brú. The Sun on the winter solstice shines up the 66 ft passage to the centre of the main chamber. This Sun crosses the dormant Volcano – Lambay Island as it makes this alignment. This solstice alignment is sidereal time and it is properly measured when specific stars in the belt of the Zodiac line up. For the winter solstice we wait until the sun reaches 30* of Sagittarius / 0* of Capricorn. Next year for instance this sidereal event takes place on the 22nd of December 2006 at 00:24 but in 2005 it happens on the 21st of December at 18:37 when it is actually dark as measured from Greenwich. So as you can see this event does not have anything to do with the modern Catholic Calendar.
The charts below shows the Catholic celebrations and the Celtic Celebrations they tried to displace. Many of the Catholic celebrations are moveable but the Sunrise point over Lambay Volcano is not. The Celtic and pre-Celtic festivals are aligned to the Sun rising with a specific degree of the Belt of the Zodiac in the background and this is shown with two markers i.e. the Belt of the Zodiac and the East of North coordinates – these do not change when a human makes a calendar.
Catholic Ceremonies to displace the Celtic Ceremonies -
Christs Birthday 25 Dec
Candlemas 2 Feb
Easter 25 Mar
Pentecost / Ascension May/June
Feast of St. John 24 June
Assumption Day 15 Aug
Michaelmas / Nativity of Mary 8 Sept
All Souls Day/ All Saints Day 1 Nov
Celtic Ceremonies centered on Tara based on Solar Alignments over Lambay Volcano -
Winter Sun Standing 0* Capricorn 135*EoN 20 / 23 Dec
Imbolg 10* Aquarius 117*EoN 30 Jan / 2 Feb
Spring Equinox 0* Aries 88*EoN 20 / 22 Mar
Beltine 10* Taurus 60*EoN 30 Apr / 2 May
Summer Sun Standing 0* Cancer 45*EoN 21 / 22 June
Lughnasa 10* Leo 60*EoN 30 July / 2 Aug
Autumn Equinox 0* Libra 88*EoN 20 / 23 Sept
Samhain 10* Scorpio 117*EoN 30 Oct / 2Nov
The Celtic New Year starts on the Dark Moon of Samhain. The main differences that will be noticed between Catholic Samhain and the Lunar and Solar Samhain are that on the Catholic event – a) any wood will be burned along with tyres, mattresses etc, b) there will be rockets fired off to scare the spirits / fairies away, c) the actual festival purpose has been distorted in its timing, d) it is now even related to Guy Fawkes night in the UK, e) excessive drinking and abuse of animals, f) car stealing and burning in the main towns and cities.
Along with this is the native desire to reconnect with our ancient traditions. This will be seen best in the countryside. The true tradition of Samhain is the end and start of the New Year for the Celtic Irish people and the Honouring of the Dead because this is the Festival of Death and Rebirth. Our ancestors reckoned time by nights and not by days. Terms like fortnight (two weeks of nights) show this to us. They also reckoned the year by the start of the dark half at Samhain, the second bright half was honoured at Beltinne / Bealtine.
To really understand what determined the timing for Samhain etc for our ancestors we need to look away from Catholic Calendars. In this website there is a detailed explanation of the Eightfold Solar Year of the Tuatha De Dannan. This is also available as a lecture and slide show to interested groups. The clue lies in the timing set by the alignment of the ancient passage Cairns such as Newgrange. Newgrange is a modern name meaning ‘new farm’ and does not describe the temple at all. Brú na Boinne however does – it is a magical otherworld palace of plenty and happiness. We have many stories about Dagda, the good God and his residence at the Brú. The Sun on the winter solstice shines up the 66 ft passage to the centre of the main chamber. This Sun crosses the dormant Volcano – Lambay Island as it makes this alignment. This solstice alignment is sidereal time and it is properly measured when specific stars in the belt of the Zodiac line up. For the winter solstice we wait until the sun reaches 30* of Sagittarius / 0* of Capricorn. Next year for instance this sidereal event takes place on the 22nd of December 2006 at 00:24 but in 2005 it happens on the 21st of December at 18:37 when it is actually dark as measured from Greenwich. So as you can see this event does not have anything to do with the modern Catholic Calendar.
The charts below shows the Catholic celebrations and the Celtic Celebrations they tried to displace. Many of the Catholic celebrations are moveable but the Sunrise point over Lambay Volcano is not. The Celtic and pre-Celtic festivals are aligned to the Sun rising with a specific degree of the Belt of the Zodiac in the background and this is shown with two markers i.e. the Belt of the Zodiac and the East of North coordinates – these do not change when a human makes a calendar.
Catholic Ceremonies to displace the Celtic Ceremonies -
Christs Birthday 25 Dec
Candlemas 2 Feb
Easter 25 Mar
Pentecost / Ascension May/June
Feast of St. John 24 June
Assumption Day 15 Aug
Michaelmas / Nativity of Mary 8 Sept
All Souls Day/ All Saints Day 1 Nov
Celtic Ceremonies centered on Tara based on Solar Alignments over Lambay Volcano -
Winter Sun Standing 0* Capricorn 135*EoN 20 / 23 Dec
Imbolg 10* Aquarius 117*EoN 30 Jan / 2 Feb
Spring Equinox 0* Aries 88*EoN 20 / 22 Mar
Beltine 10* Taurus 60*EoN 30 Apr / 2 May
Summer Sun Standing 0* Cancer 45*EoN 21 / 22 June
Lughnasa 10* Leo 60*EoN 30 July / 2 Aug
Autumn Equinox 0* Libra 88*EoN 20 / 23 Sept
Samhain 10* Scorpio 117*EoN 30 Oct / 2Nov
Samhain has its own alignment similar to the Winter Solstice at Newgrange (Brú na Boinne). This is at a Passage cairn called Cairn ‘L’. This cairn is found in the Hills of Loughcrew, which is also called Sliabh na Caillighe or the Hills of the Witches but the proper translation of the old Irish name is the Hills of the Veiled Ones. This huge stone mound with its passage and chamber is unique in Ireland because it is the only one to have a Quartz Standing Stone inside it. On Samhain the Sun and Moon line up over Lambay Volcano to send their energies onto this Quartz Stone inside the Cairn. These Standing Stones act as acupuncture needles activating the earth energy in a region. If you visit this area you will be directed to Cairn ‘T’ and not to cairn ‘L’ and even if you are smart and ask to get directions you will not get much help from the authorities. This is because the family who owns the land do not want visitors to walk on their grass. The local man who owns the other hill (Cairn ‘T’) is often about to give direction to Cairn ‘L’ and he tells the story of the Nappers (owners of the land at Cairn ‘L’) as only being here since Cromwell times (late 1600’s). It is a good story and I’ll let him tell it to you. The gate to Cairn ‘L’ is locked and the key is not available to anyone. On Catholic Samhain the key holder opens the gate and a select group gets access.
My understanding is that Cairn ‘L’ is older and more important than Newgrange because of the complexity of temples at Cairn ‘L’ and the fact that the alignment is for the start / end of the Celtic Year. Be assured however that this alignment predates Celts by thousands of years.
The range of hills that are called Loughcrew / Sliabh na Callighe / the Hills of the Witches form a border for the ancient land of the tribe called the Laigin. The other three borders are the Boyne and two of its tributaries – the Blackwater and the Yellowford Rivers (sometimes called Tremblestown River). These rivers in times past were the main highways of transportation. The Yellowford River runs by the Hill of Tlachtga and would have been the means by which the new flame (that was made on Tlachtga every Lunar Samhain) was brought quickly to Tara. Tailte is the location of the Irish games that predate the Olympics and it is found on the Blackwater River. I hope the sacred landscape of our magical ancestors is beginning to open up for the reader at this stage.
The Yellowford River starts on the western slopes of the Hills of the Witches and then goes to the Hill of Tlachtga (Athboy) and into the Boyne and up to Tara. The Blackwater rises on the eastern slopes of the Hills of the Witches and joins the Boyne at Navan. Inside this was the territory of a magical race that had the respect of all the High Kings of Ireland. It was this group who created the sacred new flame every Lunar Samhain. This was then brought to Tara (which is outside the borders of the three rivers and the hills) and given to the High King. He then gave it to the people who were in attendance and they then brought this sacred druidic fire with the High Kings permission back to their Tuatha or clan / tribe.
The best way to stress the importance of this enclosed area is to tell the story of the last High King of Ireland without opposition – Rory O’Connor, died1198. I trace my ancestry back to this man and beyond. When he was high King he was without opposition. This is a crucial definition. He was able to call a gathering at Tlachtga and Tara and Tailte. People came of their own free will and the ‘games’ were held at Tailte, a great assembly of petty Kings and Bishops was held at Tlachtga and Rory held court on Tara. This Oenach or festival was held around the sacred lands I have been describing in this essay and because many people attended Rory was a High King without opposition. A point to note – even though the ‘druids’ were supposed to have gone at his time the acknowledgement of the High King still took place as it used to at the sacred lands of the Laigin bordered by the Yellowford, Blackwater and Boyne Rivers with the Hills of the Witches.
So I am clearly stating that over 800 years ago the Bishops had to go to Tlachtga (a druidic centre) to honour a High King. I am also telling you that this sacred hill is still venerated by Catholics who feel their genetic calling to the ways of their ancestors but that they now visit on the wrong day. Samhain is when the new or dark moon lines up over Lambay Volcano to send its focused energy up the passage of Cairn ‘L’ onto a quartz standing stone inside the many roomed chamber and not on any calendar made by man. As an astrologer I know this as sidereal or true time and it is the portal or gateway to connect with the guardian of the sacred temples of our magical ancestors. Step into true time and meet some old friends.
Celtic Druid's Winter Solstice
Solstice is from the Latin and is made up from two words given roughly as: sol = sun and stice = stopped. Celtic Druids do not believe that the Sun stops so we use the old Irish word “Tairisem” which means standing still. In the winter this Sun Standing Still happens in the month of December around the 21st or 22nd. This is the lowest point of the solar year and the sun is 3 million miles closer to the Earth at this time than it is in mid-summer. The Sun is at its highest at noon and shadows are at their longest. There are almost 16 hours of night and only eight hours of daylight 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 - Saturnalia, yule (or juul), Christmas, Xmas, the Long Night, Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women, Alban Arthuan, Serpent Days, Inti Raymi (Inca), Shabe-Yalda (a.k.a. Shab-e Yaldaa), Soyal (Hopi). The pagan romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun when they honoured the old Pagan gods - Appolo, Attis, Baal, Dionysus, Helios, Hercules, Horus, Mithra, Osiris, Perseus, and Theseus.
In Ireland, people of all ages, sex and religions do some sort of celebration for 25th of December but more and more people are beginning to acknowledge the true turning of the Sun. The resurgence of the old pagan ways and the need to believe in something truly spiritual for this day has many people visit their nearby ancient sacred sites. We at Ireland’s Druidschool often hold our noon ceremony in front of Brú na Boinne (aka Newgrange) in the car park. Our ceremony is very simple - we call to Dagda and Boann. This is the earlier ‘gods’ when the White Cow (Boann) is the living symbol of the Goddess, in the Iron Age the Celts
On this shortest day the sun rises with 0* of Capricorn in the background and this sunbeam aligns with Lambay Volcano to travel up a 66 foot passage to enter the chamber. The missing piece of the Solar Engineering magic at Brú na Boinne is the Quartz in the Roof box. Most researchers don’t know about his Quartz sunbeam modifier. MJ O’Kelly who excavated this temple wrote clear records in his book ‘Newgrange’. Much is written about this alignment in this website - words cannot describe the thrill of being at a sacred sites that was laid out to work with the energies on this specific day. Search the pages and find the many essays on this magnificent monument.
It is not possible to fix the date of the Winter Sun Standing as 21st of December because this event does not obey manmade calendars. The current calendar in use by the “white civilised” world was only agreed fully in the 1800’s. Before that date there was utter confusion and no system of dating days of birth for annual celebrations was available for anyone.
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. Even though the Cairn on Brú na Boinne has been reconstructed - as a solar activated earth energy machine - it is in ruins. The shortest day has the longest shadow and at Brú na Boinne this is usuall on the 21st or 22nd of Dec each year.
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann. 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.
This knowledge was lost or so it seemed but the Gods and Goddesses and the guardians of the Sacred Temples await true seekers with whom they share freely.
At Druidschool, 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.
This is not a specifically Gaelic holiday and many Pagan cultures celebrate this time with many festivals known by a range of names - Saturnalia, yule (or juul), Christmas, Xmas, the Long Night, Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women, Alban Arthuan, Serpent Days, Inti Raymi (Inca), Shabe-Yalda (a.k.a. Shab-e Yaldaa), Soyal (Hopi). The pagan romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun when they honoured the old Pagan gods - Appolo, Attis, Baal, Dionysus, Helios, Hercules, Horus, Mithra, Osiris, Perseus, and Theseus.
In Ireland, people of all ages, sex and religions do some sort of celebration for 25th of December but more and more people are beginning to acknowledge the true turning of the Sun. The resurgence of the old pagan ways and the need to believe in something truly spiritual for this day has many people visit their nearby ancient sacred sites. We at Ireland’s Druidschool often hold our noon ceremony in front of Brú na Boinne (aka Newgrange) in the car park. Our ceremony is very simple - we call to Dagda and Boann. This is the earlier ‘gods’ when the White Cow (Boann) is the living symbol of the Goddess, in the Iron Age the Celts
On this shortest day the sun rises with 0* of Capricorn in the background and this sunbeam aligns with Lambay Volcano to travel up a 66 foot passage to enter the chamber. The missing piece of the Solar Engineering magic at Brú na Boinne is the Quartz in the Roof box. Most researchers don’t know about his Quartz sunbeam modifier. MJ O’Kelly who excavated this temple wrote clear records in his book ‘Newgrange’. Much is written about this alignment in this website - words cannot describe the thrill of being at a sacred sites that was laid out to work with the energies on this specific day. Search the pages and find the many essays on this magnificent monument.
It is not possible to fix the date of the Winter Sun Standing as 21st of December because this event does not obey manmade calendars. The current calendar in use by the “white civilised” world was only agreed fully in the 1800’s. Before that date there was utter confusion and no system of dating days of birth for annual celebrations was available for anyone.
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. Even though the Cairn on Brú na Boinne has been reconstructed - as a solar activated earth energy machine - it is in ruins. The shortest day has the longest shadow and at Brú na Boinne this is usuall on the 21st or 22nd of Dec each year.
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann. 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.
This knowledge was lost or so it seemed but the Gods and Goddesses and the guardians of the Sacred Temples await true seekers with whom they share freely.
At Druidschool, 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.
Celtic Druid's Imbolg
Imbolg means “in the bag” but is understood as “in the belly” and refers to the coming of milk and the sheep carrying lambs. It is also the availability of lamb meat during the cold season. Many celebrate Imbolg today without awareness to its significance in the past because they are disconnected. Today, our refrigerators protect us and a multitude of shops are open 24/7... But just imagine that there are no shops and its windy, dark, wet and cold and the only foods you have are the seeds for the next years crop / harvest and all the time you know that there are a multitude of young lambs “in the belly” and the importance of this cross-quarter day become real.
Imbolg is also called Imbolc, Oimelc, Candlemas, Feast of Lights, Groundhog Day (in USA) and Brigit's Day and this is so because the original connection to the daughter of the Dagda (Bríd) was displaced by succeeding religions that today honour St Brigid.
Imbolg is also called Imbolc, Oimelc, Candlemas, Feast of Lights, Groundhog Day (in USA) and Brigit's Day and this is so because the original connection to the daughter of the Dagda (Bríd) was displaced by succeeding religions that today honour St Brigid.
Brigid, Celtic Goddess
Brigid: this is her story, Breo Saighead, Brid, Brighid meaning - "Fiery Arrow or Power". Bríd is a pre Celtic three-fold goddess, the daughter of The Dagda, and the wife of Bres of the Formorians. As wife to Tuireann she bore three sons Creidhne, Luchtaine and Giobhniu. She has an apple orchard in the Otherworld to which bees travel to obtain it's magical nectar.
Brighid's three aspects are
(1) Fire of Inspiration as patroness of poetry,
(2) Fire of the Hearth, as patroness of healing and fertility
(3) Fire of the Forge, as patroness of smithcraft and martial arts.
The old legends of ancient Ireland tell us that on the eve of Imbolg, The Cailleach, or Veiled One (Hag aspect) drank from the Well of Youth at sunrise. Because of this the Hag was changed into her Maiden aspect and recognised as the young goddess called Brigid. Brid is the patroness and her father Dagda is the patron of the Celtic Druí of then and now.
St Brigid
St Brigid and St Patrick were never canonized by any of the Catholic Popes. Brighid was known as Naomh Bríd or Holy Brigid. The Naomh meaning Holy was also applied to Patrick and many others. The Catholic Church in Ireland then decided to translate Naomh as Saint as it suited their purpose. The famous Brigid of the Catholic Church was said to be born in 453 at Faughart, County Louth, Ireland and she died on February 1st 523 at Kildare, Ireland. Note – the modern calendar was not in use at that time but the new festival for St Brigid deliberately displaced the old festival for the Goddess Brigid. Her death (St Brigid) is reported as being of natural causes and she was buried in Downpatrick, in east Northern Ireland with Saint Patrick and later on with Saint Columba. Her head was removed to a Jesuit church in Lumiar, 6mls from Lisbon, Portugal. No Pope would call her a Saint. The Jesuits have an obsession with collecting skulls but very few people know that the Jesuits in Lumiar, Portugal have the skulls of Brigid, Patrick and Columba while their 3 bodies are buried in Downpatrick in Northern Ireland.
It is not possible to fix the date of birth or death of this holy Brigid because there were no calendars at the time. The current calendar in use by the “white civilised” world was only agreed fully in the 1800’s and in Russia in 1917! Before that date there was utter confusion and no system of dating days of birth for annual celebrations was available for anyone.
Calculating Imbolg
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. There is only one Cairn in Ireland with a standing stone inside it and it just happens to be made of Quartz, aka ‘Grian Cloch’ as Gaeilge or Sunstone in English. This Quartz standing stone is aligned to be activated by the morning sunbeam on Imbolg when the Sun rises making an alignment with the star Formalhaut just below 10* of Aquarius to the Quartz standing stone inside the cairn.
The same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Imbolg is also the exact same alignment for Samhain but with star Antares behind the Sun, more on this at Celtic Druid’s Samhain.
If you were to stand outside of Cairn ‘L’ at Sliabh na Callighe or the Cairn on Tara Hill on Imbolg and look 117* east of north the star Formalhaut would be behind the Sun rise over the Lambay Volcano to shine in through the passage and onto the Quartz standing stone inside.
Brigid: this is her story, Breo Saighead, Brid, Brighid meaning - "Fiery Arrow or Power". Bríd is a pre Celtic three-fold goddess, the daughter of The Dagda, and the wife of Bres of the Formorians. As wife to Tuireann she bore three sons Creidhne, Luchtaine and Giobhniu. She has an apple orchard in the Otherworld to which bees travel to obtain it's magical nectar.
Brighid's three aspects are
(1) Fire of Inspiration as patroness of poetry,
(2) Fire of the Hearth, as patroness of healing and fertility
(3) Fire of the Forge, as patroness of smithcraft and martial arts.
The old legends of ancient Ireland tell us that on the eve of Imbolg, The Cailleach, or Veiled One (Hag aspect) drank from the Well of Youth at sunrise. Because of this the Hag was changed into her Maiden aspect and recognised as the young goddess called Brigid. Brid is the patroness and her father Dagda is the patron of the Celtic Druí of then and now.
St Brigid
St Brigid and St Patrick were never canonized by any of the Catholic Popes. Brighid was known as Naomh Bríd or Holy Brigid. The Naomh meaning Holy was also applied to Patrick and many others. The Catholic Church in Ireland then decided to translate Naomh as Saint as it suited their purpose. The famous Brigid of the Catholic Church was said to be born in 453 at Faughart, County Louth, Ireland and she died on February 1st 523 at Kildare, Ireland. Note – the modern calendar was not in use at that time but the new festival for St Brigid deliberately displaced the old festival for the Goddess Brigid. Her death (St Brigid) is reported as being of natural causes and she was buried in Downpatrick, in east Northern Ireland with Saint Patrick and later on with Saint Columba. Her head was removed to a Jesuit church in Lumiar, 6mls from Lisbon, Portugal. No Pope would call her a Saint. The Jesuits have an obsession with collecting skulls but very few people know that the Jesuits in Lumiar, Portugal have the skulls of Brigid, Patrick and Columba while their 3 bodies are buried in Downpatrick in Northern Ireland.
It is not possible to fix the date of birth or death of this holy Brigid because there were no calendars at the time. The current calendar in use by the “white civilised” world was only agreed fully in the 1800’s and in Russia in 1917! Before that date there was utter confusion and no system of dating days of birth for annual celebrations was available for anyone.
Calculating Imbolg
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. There is only one Cairn in Ireland with a standing stone inside it and it just happens to be made of Quartz, aka ‘Grian Cloch’ as Gaeilge or Sunstone in English. This Quartz standing stone is aligned to be activated by the morning sunbeam on Imbolg when the Sun rises making an alignment with the star Formalhaut just below 10* of Aquarius to the Quartz standing stone inside the cairn.
The same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Imbolg is also the exact same alignment for Samhain but with star Antares behind the Sun, more on this at Celtic Druid’s Samhain.
If you were to stand outside of Cairn ‘L’ at Sliabh na Callighe or the Cairn on Tara Hill on Imbolg and look 117* east of north the star Formalhaut would be behind the Sun rise over the Lambay Volcano to shine in through the passage and onto the Quartz standing stone inside.
Brigid / Imbolg as a Star
The reason that 10* of Aquarius is the timing for Imbolg is because of the presence of the bright star Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus sitting just below 10* Aquarius (Aquarius pours water from a jug and it enters the Eye of the southern Fish aka Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus) - we reckon this star was called Brigid meaning ‘Fiery Arrow’ and the time of year was referred to as Imbolg meaning ‘in the bag / belly’ by our ancestors. There are 4 bright stars making an equal armed cross on the belt of stars we call the zodiac and each star marks an important Celtic festival.
Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus was one of the four guardians of the heavens to the ancient Persians, the other guardians were Aldebaran in Taurus, Antares in Scorpius, and Regulus in Leo. Some may know of these 4 bright stars as The Man, The Bull, The Scorpion and The Lion. They were demonised as the four beasts of the apocalypse as an attempt to direct people away from Natural Time and into church time. We refer to these four bright stars as Brigid, Bile, Lugh and Tlachtga.
Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus is white to bluish white coloured star, although some have referred to it as red. It is the 18th brightest star in the sky. Fomalhaut can be seen from all of Ireland and northern Europe and as far north as 60 degrees latitude so it is visible even in southern Alaska. It stays low just skimming the southern horizon. This Star is also a Sun and it has a planet in orbit – it is known as Fomalhaut b. Fomalhaut is hotter and more massive than our Sun. (Based on info by Richard Hinckley Allen) Fomalhaut’s position is RA: 22h 57m 39s, dec: -29° 37′ 19″.
God, Goddess and Archangels
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. When the Sun rises making an alignment with the bright star Fomalhaut their combined Light enters the Cairn at Tara and at Cairn 'L' on Sliabh na Callighe which has the Quartz standing stone inside it. So the combined essence of the Sun (God) and the Star (Archangel) is received under the roof so to speak. This is the ancestors timing for Imbolg and it is not a mathematical mid-point as some propose but instead it is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sun and Star light engineering bringing the energies of God and Archangel to Earth. The star Fomalhaut, the Sun, Lambay volcano, the passage Cairn and the Quartz standing stone inside all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles once a year and this shows the correct timing for Imbolg.
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 Stellar essence overlaying the Solar Word wrapping the Volcanic leaking energy into itself as it connects to the acupuncture of the Quartz standing stone inside Cairn ‘L’ on Sliabh na Callighe – activating and harmonising the magnetic grid here on Earth.
The reason that 10* of Aquarius is the timing for Imbolg is because of the presence of the bright star Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus sitting just below 10* Aquarius (Aquarius pours water from a jug and it enters the Eye of the southern Fish aka Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus) - we reckon this star was called Brigid meaning ‘Fiery Arrow’ and the time of year was referred to as Imbolg meaning ‘in the bag / belly’ by our ancestors. There are 4 bright stars making an equal armed cross on the belt of stars we call the zodiac and each star marks an important Celtic festival.
Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus was one of the four guardians of the heavens to the ancient Persians, the other guardians were Aldebaran in Taurus, Antares in Scorpius, and Regulus in Leo. Some may know of these 4 bright stars as The Man, The Bull, The Scorpion and The Lion. They were demonised as the four beasts of the apocalypse as an attempt to direct people away from Natural Time and into church time. We refer to these four bright stars as Brigid, Bile, Lugh and Tlachtga.
Fomalhaut, Piscis Austrinus is white to bluish white coloured star, although some have referred to it as red. It is the 18th brightest star in the sky. Fomalhaut can be seen from all of Ireland and northern Europe and as far north as 60 degrees latitude so it is visible even in southern Alaska. It stays low just skimming the southern horizon. This Star is also a Sun and it has a planet in orbit – it is known as Fomalhaut b. Fomalhaut is hotter and more massive than our Sun. (Based on info by Richard Hinckley Allen) Fomalhaut’s position is RA: 22h 57m 39s, dec: -29° 37′ 19″.
God, Goddess and Archangels
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. When the Sun rises making an alignment with the bright star Fomalhaut their combined Light enters the Cairn at Tara and at Cairn 'L' on Sliabh na Callighe which has the Quartz standing stone inside it. So the combined essence of the Sun (God) and the Star (Archangel) is received under the roof so to speak. This is the ancestors timing for Imbolg and it is not a mathematical mid-point as some propose but instead it is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sun and Star light engineering bringing the energies of God and Archangel to Earth. The star Fomalhaut, the Sun, Lambay volcano, the passage Cairn and the Quartz standing stone inside all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles once a year and this shows the correct timing for Imbolg.
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 Stellar essence overlaying the Solar Word wrapping the Volcanic leaking energy into itself as it connects to the acupuncture of the Quartz standing stone inside Cairn ‘L’ on Sliabh na Callighe – activating and harmonising the magnetic grid here on Earth.
Celtic Druid's Spring Equinox
Equinox means "equal night" and this happens because the sun is positioned above the equator and at this time of the year - day and night are about equal in length all over the world. The Spring Equinox is sometimes referred to as the Vernal Equinox – vernal means spring so together the Vernal Equinox means “Spring Equal Night and Day”. This is the start of the Astrological year when the Sun enters 0* of the Sign of the Ram (Aries). The famous Egyptian priests built their Great Sphinx to point directly toward the rising Sun on this day every year.
The Spring Equinox is also called: Alban Eilir, Eostar, Eostre, Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festival of Trees, Lady Day, NawRuz, No Ruz, Ostara, Ostra, Rites of Spring. To Celtic Druids it is the time when day and night are equal in length and this happens when the Sun is at 0* of Aries and again in the Autumn when the Sun is at 0* of Libra.
Goddess of the Spring Equinox?
There is a distinct relationship between the Spring Equinox and Easter. The new religion of the Catholic Church absorbed the existing traditions and their symbols and developed a new name ‘Easter’ which is obviously a variant of a German / Saxon Goddess name whose festival was with the arrival of spring. In the pre-Catholic times the celebration of the Vernal Equinox was about new life and hope, the planting of seeds and the activation of the fertility cycle. But the Catholic Church replaced this with solemn displays commemorating Christ and Catholic dogma (written rules). The Old Testament heroine was the goddess Ishtar in thin disguise (Esther is the Aramaic word for Ishtar). Ishtar is Persian for 'star'. So Ishtar was the goddess of the morning & evening star, as well as being the Great Mother, Shining One, Lady of Visions, Priestess of Priestess', she was the source of the Oracles of Prophesy, & Possessor of the Tablets of Life's Records. Her symbols were the eight-pointed star, the pentagram, dove, serpents, & the double axe. Her planet was Venus and she wore a rainbow necklace. The Persians converted this necklace (the rainbow) into a razor-sharp bridge that led to the Mount of Paradise. In ancient Sumeria, she had 180 shrines where women gathered daily for prayer, meditation and socializing. The night of the full moon, known as Shapatu, saw joyous celebrations in her temples. At these rites (known as Qadishtu) women who lived as priestesses in her shrines took lovers to express the sacredness of sexuality as a gift from Ishtar. Men communed with the goddess in these rites through sex. Every woman once in her life had to sit in the grounds of Ishtar's temple and wait for a man to take her on one of these nights. Until she had, she was not allowed to marry!
The German fertility Goddess was Ostara, who was associated with fertility of both humans and crops. Ostara mated with the solar god on the Spring Equinox and nine months later she gave birth to a child around the Winter Solstice at 21st/22nd of December. The Saxon name for the Germanic lunar goddess Ostara was Eostre. Her festival was held at the full moon after the Spring Equinox and the Catholics adopted this determination for their Easter. The Mayans of Central American have also honoured the spring equinox. For ten centuries they have held their unique celebration using their ancient knowledge of the Sunbeam. El Castillo is the name of their great pyramid of the Equinox and as the sunsets on its western face light and dark compliment each other creating a very special pattern of a diamond backed snake descending the pyramid. This solar magic has always been known as the "The Return of the Sun Serpent".
For the Greeks the god-man of the Spring Equinox was Dionysus. He was associated with flowering plants and fruitful vines and he was always in pain during winter symbolising hibernation and the cessation of growth. He returned triumphant on the Spring Equinox and many researchers see direct parallels with the story of Jesus Christ. Mesopotamia, Sumaria, Babylonia, Elam (5000 years ago) celebrated the start of their new year at the time of the spring equinox. Zoroastrianism was the religion of Ancient Persia until the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. "No Ruz," their new day or New Year was celebrated on the Spring Equinox. Many religious historians connect Judeo-Christian concepts to Zoroastrianism.
In Rome, about 200 years before the birth of Christ there was a wide range of what are today called “mystery cults”. Attis and Cybele held their Spring Equinox rituals at the location of today’s St. Peter's on Vatican hill – the centre of Catholicism today. Attis was also known under various names such as Osiris, Dionysus, Tammuz and Orpheus. The Attis and Cybele festival had a death or day of blood and three days of semi-death and then a return to life for the deceased. Attis‘s mother was called Nana and she was a virgin – no surprise there… Attis was crucified on a pine tree and his followers ate his body, his blood was spilled or release to renew / redeem the earth. Attis was both a sacrificial victim and a saviour, his death and re-birth was intended to bring salvation to mankind. Most researchers will declare that Attis is clearly the prototype for Christ.
For today’s Catholics Easter Sunday is a moveable holy day that commemorates the execution, visit to Hell, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated from late March to late April. False Time explains the 14-step calculation used to determine the actual date for Catholic Easter each year. In Judaism we can see that the Passover dinner was their spring fertility festival. It records the escape of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt – its main meal was of unleavened bread and of lamb.
In America the native Indians honoured the Spring Equinox in landscape-sized temples such as Mystery Hill in Salem NH. Five standing stones and one recumbent stone are set in a linear alignment that connects to the sunrise on the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes.
Wicca is a modern path that is seen as Celtic and/or European but today it is a mishmash of every cool religion or spiritual path and it was originally based on the Cabbala. It is like some one trying to make a tree out of a lot of different branches. Today there is no definition of Wicca so it can mean anything. It combines ancient Celtic beliefs, symbols and practices, with the Masonic and ceremonial magic rituals. Wiccans recognize four minor Sabbaths at the two solstices and the two equinoxes and four major Sabbaths halfway between each equinox and solstice suggesting partial alignment to the cycles of natural time and part modern creation. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox relate to fertility and to the balance of the day and night.
We do not know the name our ancestors gave to this time of equal day and night, yet. They built huge temples to mark this time of the year so we expect that they had a god or goddess associated with the temple / equinox. Maybe this Irish name relates to the planet Venus, maybe some day we will find out.
Calculating the Spring Equinox
In Ireland, the spring equinox was calculated and celebrated long before the arrival of the Celtic tribes in one of the best known of the ancient Irish stone Cairn temples - Knowth. Knowth is near to Newgrange (Brú na Boinne) and it has a 100-foot long passage that accepts the Sun on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinox. The precision engineering feat of building a temple out of crude stone with a 100-foot long passage to allow the Light to enter fully to the end of the passage only when the day and night are of equal length is truly awesome. The chamber at the end of the 100-foot tunnel is small and the entrance is now closed to the public. Brú na Boinne (Newgrange) has a passage that is 66-foot long and has become popular because of the large end chamber with its alcoves allowing profitable tourism. But Knowth is bigger and has a longer and therefore more accurate Solar engineering design aimed to capture the Sunrise when the day and night are equal. (Note - the west passage at Knowth is not aligned to take the light from the equinox sunset as reported by some)
A second and older stone cairn equinox temple is found at Sliabh na Callighe (aka Loughcrew) and is given the name Cairn T. Both Knowth and Cairn T allow a sunbeam on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinox to enter a passageway to light upon the sacred geometry on a stone inside the temple. This is precise timing from a period of over 6 thousands years ago and it still works today. Druidschool has also discovered two ancient temples that were used to honour the two Equinoxes – More on this later in this essay.
"Anois teacht an Earraigh, beidh an lá dúl chun shíneadh'
Now with the springtime - The days will grow longer
But this year (2014ce)... I've revised our timing for the Spring Equinox by looking deeper into when the day and night are closest to being equal. This means not using astronomy / astrology but instead simply seeing the day and night length are at the most balanced. This year its on Monday March 17th that there is 12 hours 1 minute and 45 seconds of daylight and thats as close as it gets to exact balance with the night. We will attend at Rathra to watch the Sun set into Croagh Crom - over 60 miles 100 km away. If you are reading this = you are welcome to join us to share the experience of the ancesteral alignment. Earlier on Monday at about 3pm we take our Crom out from inside his temple and re-install him over the entrance gates to Temple Crom.
The Spring Equinox is also called: Alban Eilir, Eostar, Eostre, Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festival of Trees, Lady Day, NawRuz, No Ruz, Ostara, Ostra, Rites of Spring. To Celtic Druids it is the time when day and night are equal in length and this happens when the Sun is at 0* of Aries and again in the Autumn when the Sun is at 0* of Libra.
Goddess of the Spring Equinox?
There is a distinct relationship between the Spring Equinox and Easter. The new religion of the Catholic Church absorbed the existing traditions and their symbols and developed a new name ‘Easter’ which is obviously a variant of a German / Saxon Goddess name whose festival was with the arrival of spring. In the pre-Catholic times the celebration of the Vernal Equinox was about new life and hope, the planting of seeds and the activation of the fertility cycle. But the Catholic Church replaced this with solemn displays commemorating Christ and Catholic dogma (written rules). The Old Testament heroine was the goddess Ishtar in thin disguise (Esther is the Aramaic word for Ishtar). Ishtar is Persian for 'star'. So Ishtar was the goddess of the morning & evening star, as well as being the Great Mother, Shining One, Lady of Visions, Priestess of Priestess', she was the source of the Oracles of Prophesy, & Possessor of the Tablets of Life's Records. Her symbols were the eight-pointed star, the pentagram, dove, serpents, & the double axe. Her planet was Venus and she wore a rainbow necklace. The Persians converted this necklace (the rainbow) into a razor-sharp bridge that led to the Mount of Paradise. In ancient Sumeria, she had 180 shrines where women gathered daily for prayer, meditation and socializing. The night of the full moon, known as Shapatu, saw joyous celebrations in her temples. At these rites (known as Qadishtu) women who lived as priestesses in her shrines took lovers to express the sacredness of sexuality as a gift from Ishtar. Men communed with the goddess in these rites through sex. Every woman once in her life had to sit in the grounds of Ishtar's temple and wait for a man to take her on one of these nights. Until she had, she was not allowed to marry!
The German fertility Goddess was Ostara, who was associated with fertility of both humans and crops. Ostara mated with the solar god on the Spring Equinox and nine months later she gave birth to a child around the Winter Solstice at 21st/22nd of December. The Saxon name for the Germanic lunar goddess Ostara was Eostre. Her festival was held at the full moon after the Spring Equinox and the Catholics adopted this determination for their Easter. The Mayans of Central American have also honoured the spring equinox. For ten centuries they have held their unique celebration using their ancient knowledge of the Sunbeam. El Castillo is the name of their great pyramid of the Equinox and as the sunsets on its western face light and dark compliment each other creating a very special pattern of a diamond backed snake descending the pyramid. This solar magic has always been known as the "The Return of the Sun Serpent".
For the Greeks the god-man of the Spring Equinox was Dionysus. He was associated with flowering plants and fruitful vines and he was always in pain during winter symbolising hibernation and the cessation of growth. He returned triumphant on the Spring Equinox and many researchers see direct parallels with the story of Jesus Christ. Mesopotamia, Sumaria, Babylonia, Elam (5000 years ago) celebrated the start of their new year at the time of the spring equinox. Zoroastrianism was the religion of Ancient Persia until the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. "No Ruz," their new day or New Year was celebrated on the Spring Equinox. Many religious historians connect Judeo-Christian concepts to Zoroastrianism.
In Rome, about 200 years before the birth of Christ there was a wide range of what are today called “mystery cults”. Attis and Cybele held their Spring Equinox rituals at the location of today’s St. Peter's on Vatican hill – the centre of Catholicism today. Attis was also known under various names such as Osiris, Dionysus, Tammuz and Orpheus. The Attis and Cybele festival had a death or day of blood and three days of semi-death and then a return to life for the deceased. Attis‘s mother was called Nana and she was a virgin – no surprise there… Attis was crucified on a pine tree and his followers ate his body, his blood was spilled or release to renew / redeem the earth. Attis was both a sacrificial victim and a saviour, his death and re-birth was intended to bring salvation to mankind. Most researchers will declare that Attis is clearly the prototype for Christ.
For today’s Catholics Easter Sunday is a moveable holy day that commemorates the execution, visit to Hell, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated from late March to late April. False Time explains the 14-step calculation used to determine the actual date for Catholic Easter each year. In Judaism we can see that the Passover dinner was their spring fertility festival. It records the escape of the ancient Hebrews from slavery in Egypt – its main meal was of unleavened bread and of lamb.
In America the native Indians honoured the Spring Equinox in landscape-sized temples such as Mystery Hill in Salem NH. Five standing stones and one recumbent stone are set in a linear alignment that connects to the sunrise on the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes.
Wicca is a modern path that is seen as Celtic and/or European but today it is a mishmash of every cool religion or spiritual path and it was originally based on the Cabbala. It is like some one trying to make a tree out of a lot of different branches. Today there is no definition of Wicca so it can mean anything. It combines ancient Celtic beliefs, symbols and practices, with the Masonic and ceremonial magic rituals. Wiccans recognize four minor Sabbaths at the two solstices and the two equinoxes and four major Sabbaths halfway between each equinox and solstice suggesting partial alignment to the cycles of natural time and part modern creation. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox relate to fertility and to the balance of the day and night.
We do not know the name our ancestors gave to this time of equal day and night, yet. They built huge temples to mark this time of the year so we expect that they had a god or goddess associated with the temple / equinox. Maybe this Irish name relates to the planet Venus, maybe some day we will find out.
Calculating the Spring Equinox
In Ireland, the spring equinox was calculated and celebrated long before the arrival of the Celtic tribes in one of the best known of the ancient Irish stone Cairn temples - Knowth. Knowth is near to Newgrange (Brú na Boinne) and it has a 100-foot long passage that accepts the Sun on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinox. The precision engineering feat of building a temple out of crude stone with a 100-foot long passage to allow the Light to enter fully to the end of the passage only when the day and night are of equal length is truly awesome. The chamber at the end of the 100-foot tunnel is small and the entrance is now closed to the public. Brú na Boinne (Newgrange) has a passage that is 66-foot long and has become popular because of the large end chamber with its alcoves allowing profitable tourism. But Knowth is bigger and has a longer and therefore more accurate Solar engineering design aimed to capture the Sunrise when the day and night are equal. (Note - the west passage at Knowth is not aligned to take the light from the equinox sunset as reported by some)
A second and older stone cairn equinox temple is found at Sliabh na Callighe (aka Loughcrew) and is given the name Cairn T. Both Knowth and Cairn T allow a sunbeam on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinox to enter a passageway to light upon the sacred geometry on a stone inside the temple. This is precise timing from a period of over 6 thousands years ago and it still works today. Druidschool has also discovered two ancient temples that were used to honour the two Equinoxes – More on this later in this essay.
"Anois teacht an Earraigh, beidh an lá dúl chun shíneadh'
Now with the springtime - The days will grow longer
But this year (2014ce)... I've revised our timing for the Spring Equinox by looking deeper into when the day and night are closest to being equal. This means not using astronomy / astrology but instead simply seeing the day and night length are at the most balanced. This year its on Monday March 17th that there is 12 hours 1 minute and 45 seconds of daylight and thats as close as it gets to exact balance with the night. We will attend at Rathra to watch the Sun set into Croagh Crom - over 60 miles 100 km away. If you are reading this = you are welcome to join us to share the experience of the ancesteral alignment. Earlier on Monday at about 3pm we take our Crom out from inside his temple and re-install him over the entrance gates to Temple Crom.
he Spring Equinox 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 same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Spring Equinox is also the exact same alignment for the Autumn Equinox. This means if you were to stand outside of Cairn ‘T’ at Sliabh na Callighe or at Knowth and look 88* east of north you would see the sun rise to shine in through the passage and onto carved stones inside these temples on the Spring and Autumn Equinox. At Knowth, this alignment consists of the Sun, the 100-foot long passage and the stone basin with its sacred geometry inside the chamber and there is no connection to any star in the belt of the Zodiac. Today a house built near the temple at Knowth blocks the rising Sun on the Equinox from entering the east passage of the temple, which is also blocked up, further denying access.
But there is another important Spring and Autumn Equinox alignment over the Lambay Volcano to two hilltops called Summerhill and Knockastia. Summerhill is a small village in County Meath with only the outline remains of a temple on its highest hilltop. Knockastia is a volcanic outcrop just south of Uisneach – often referred to as the navel of Ireland. Just like Tlachtga in its relationship to Royal Tara – we have a similar magically located temple on Knockastia serving the Royal site of Uisneach. We have visited Knockastia and no temple structure remains – only the barest stone platform on top of the hill. But we were gifted with a story from the landowner who can recall the day they (the archaeologists) dug up the bones… he even showed us the shed they were kept in… he said he did not sleep for the duration of the bones being stored in the shed! At Summerhill and Knockastia the alignment is the Sun, the Volcano and the passage Cairn, presumably with the sacred geometry carved into an end stone or a stone basin. Neither an end stone nor stone basins are known for either of these two sites.
Gods, Goddesses and Archangels
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 there is no star to determine the timing for the Spring Equinox - instead we have the day and night becoming equal. Yet at the same time - it appears that Venus was honoured by many cultures in pre-history at the time of equal day / night. So, lets look at this briefly - Venus is very visible in the night sky although it is a planet it appears as a star. Venus can casts a shadow on Earth (only near the dark moon) - this also means that the Light from the Sun is reflected off Venus to Earth. The Mayan used this Morning and Evening 'Star' in their great calendar. It is possible that reflected Light from Venus could enter some of the passage Cairns. The Planet Venus is brighter than any star. The Chinese called it Tai-pe or "the beautiful white one," the Egyptians called it Bonou for "bird," and the Chaldeans named it the "bright torch of heaven." The English word "Friday" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Frigedaeg, meaning "Venus day" (Friga = Venus + dae = day), and many other languages also trace their names for Friday from root words meaning "Venus day"
The ancestors timing for the Spring Equinox is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sunlight engineering bringing the energies of God to Earth. The Sun, Lambay volcano, the passage at Cairn 'T' on Sliabh na Callighe all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles twice a year and this shows the correct timing for the Spring Equinox and later on in September the Autumn Equinox as well. The same day had the Sunrise enter the 100 foot long east passage in the Cairn at Knowth but the authorities have closed up the entrance to the public. So it is shown by many histories that Venus is strongly associated with the Spring Equinox but as of writing Her old Irish name is unknown to us. Please email us if you have an idea on this topic.
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.
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 same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Spring Equinox is also the exact same alignment for the Autumn Equinox. This means if you were to stand outside of Cairn ‘T’ at Sliabh na Callighe or at Knowth and look 88* east of north you would see the sun rise to shine in through the passage and onto carved stones inside these temples on the Spring and Autumn Equinox. At Knowth, this alignment consists of the Sun, the 100-foot long passage and the stone basin with its sacred geometry inside the chamber and there is no connection to any star in the belt of the Zodiac. Today a house built near the temple at Knowth blocks the rising Sun on the Equinox from entering the east passage of the temple, which is also blocked up, further denying access.
But there is another important Spring and Autumn Equinox alignment over the Lambay Volcano to two hilltops called Summerhill and Knockastia. Summerhill is a small village in County Meath with only the outline remains of a temple on its highest hilltop. Knockastia is a volcanic outcrop just south of Uisneach – often referred to as the navel of Ireland. Just like Tlachtga in its relationship to Royal Tara – we have a similar magically located temple on Knockastia serving the Royal site of Uisneach. We have visited Knockastia and no temple structure remains – only the barest stone platform on top of the hill. But we were gifted with a story from the landowner who can recall the day they (the archaeologists) dug up the bones… he even showed us the shed they were kept in… he said he did not sleep for the duration of the bones being stored in the shed! At Summerhill and Knockastia the alignment is the Sun, the Volcano and the passage Cairn, presumably with the sacred geometry carved into an end stone or a stone basin. Neither an end stone nor stone basins are known for either of these two sites.
Gods, Goddesses and Archangels
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 there is no star to determine the timing for the Spring Equinox - instead we have the day and night becoming equal. Yet at the same time - it appears that Venus was honoured by many cultures in pre-history at the time of equal day / night. So, lets look at this briefly - Venus is very visible in the night sky although it is a planet it appears as a star. Venus can casts a shadow on Earth (only near the dark moon) - this also means that the Light from the Sun is reflected off Venus to Earth. The Mayan used this Morning and Evening 'Star' in their great calendar. It is possible that reflected Light from Venus could enter some of the passage Cairns. The Planet Venus is brighter than any star. The Chinese called it Tai-pe or "the beautiful white one," the Egyptians called it Bonou for "bird," and the Chaldeans named it the "bright torch of heaven." The English word "Friday" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Frigedaeg, meaning "Venus day" (Friga = Venus + dae = day), and many other languages also trace their names for Friday from root words meaning "Venus day"
The ancestors timing for the Spring Equinox is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sunlight engineering bringing the energies of God to Earth. The Sun, Lambay volcano, the passage at Cairn 'T' on Sliabh na Callighe all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles twice a year and this shows the correct timing for the Spring Equinox and later on in September the Autumn Equinox as well. The same day had the Sunrise enter the 100 foot long east passage in the Cairn at Knowth but the authorities have closed up the entrance to the public. So it is shown by many histories that Venus is strongly associated with the Spring Equinox but as of writing Her old Irish name is unknown to us. Please email us if you have an idea on this topic.
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.
Celtic Druid's Beltine
Beltine means 'the two fires of Bile' (pronounced as Bill-ah) and refers to a ritual of purification. The month of May is called Bealtaine as Gaeilge and it marks the first day of summer. This was a specifically Irish holiday and many of the other Celtic cultures also celebrate a springtime festival known by a range of names. As Samhain marks the end of summer of the old year and the start of winter of the New Year - Beltine marks the end of winter and start of summer. In the past (still observed in Ireland in the 19th century) on the first day of Beltine - cattle were driven between two fires for protection from disease and then they were let into pasture. History associates Beltine with the arrival and departure of Partholon, then the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann and then the Gaels. As it is the start of summer - everyone reckoned it to be a great time to start an adventure.
Beltine is also called Bealtinne, Beltine, Beltain, Beal-tine, Beltan, Bel-tien, Beltein, Bealtuinn and Bealtaine, Mayday, Walburga, Galan Mai, Shenn da Boaldyn and it is celebrated or honoured across the world.
Bile, the first father of the Celtic Gods
The "Beltine" festival or Eightfold Day is sacred to Bil. He is the 'first father' of the Gaelic Celts in Ireland - the Sons of Mil, the Mileasians from northern Spain. Bile is the patron of sheep and cattle. Bil is the Irish equivalent of Belenus - the ancient Celtic pagan god in Continental Europe and in Britain. The Welsh called him Beli, the husband of Don (Danu) He is the god of the underworld and his name has a root syllable 'bel', which means "to die". Bile means "sacred tree" as Gaeilge. The steel swords of the Mileasians won the wars against the bronze swords of the Tuatha De Danu. Danu (also Don) was wife to Bile and mother of Nuada and Dagda and she was grandmother to Brigid. These two late bronze age / early iron age Celtic cultures overlay and use the temples of a much older tradition that Druidschool refers to as the 'Quartz Stone Age'.
We honour Beltine by a twin fire ceremony here at Ireland's Druidschool in the west of Ireland. There is an open invite to all on our Invitation List to join us (free of charge). We use two similar fireboxes with one sitting on a square base (male) and the other firebox sitting in a round base (female). The round base firebox is the one we also used for the fire ceremonies on Tara. The Dark Moon Grove may also visit Cnoc Lugh /Lyons Hill and honour the Sun's alignment over the volcano, but this ceremony is not open to the public.
Calculating Beltine
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. There is no temple visible on Lyons Hill today just the outline of the stone base remains, it is calculated guesswork by me to declare Lyons Hill as the Beltine temple. This is based on the star Aldebaran and the Sun at 10* of Taurus aligning over the Volcano to Lyons hill, the temple building is gone and today only the base of stones remain. Lyons Hill has restricted access due to its use by a University as a crop and animal health research farm. We have had access on a number of occasions seeking connection with the guardians and confirming the visibility to Lambay Volcano for the Beltine alignment. The same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Beltine is also the exact same alignment for Lughnasa but with star Regulus behind the Sun, more on this at Celtic Druid's Lughnasa.
This means if you were to stand on top of Lyons Hill (north Kildare) when the Sun rises at 10* of Taurus (Beltine) and look 60* east of north the star Aldebaran would be behind the Sun rise over the Lambay Volcano to shine into the temple that used to exist on Lyons Hill on Beltine.
Beltine Alignment
Bile / Beltine as a Star
The reason that 10* of Taurus is the timing for Beltine is because of the presence of one of the four bright stars at 10* Taurus - this star is called Aldebaran in Arabic but we reckon this star was called Bile by our ancestors. Traditionally this star is known as the Eye of the Bull - we reckon this star was called Bile meaning 'sacred tree' and our ancestors referred to the time of year as Beltine meaning 'the two fires of Bile'. There are 4 bright stars making an equal armed cross on the belt of stars we call the zodiac and each star marks an important Celtic festival.
Alderbaran, Taurus was one of the four guardians of the heavens to the ancient Persians, the other guardians were Formalhaut below Aquarius, Antares in Scorpius, and Regulus in Leo. Some may know of these 4 bright stars as The Man, The Bull, The Scorpion and The Lion. They were demonised as the four beasts of the apocalypse as an attempt to direct people away from Natural Time and into church time. We refer to these four bright stars as Brigid, Bile, Lugh and Tlachtga.
Astronomer Jack Eddy has suggested a connection with the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, an ancient circle of stones atop a mountain in Wyoming. Eddy wrote that the ancient Americans may have used this site as a sort of observatory to view the rising of Aldebaran just before the sun in June to predict the June solstice. Alderbaran, Taurus is a giant red star the Bull's fiery red eye, some see it as having a reddish-orange glow. It is the 14th brightest star in the sky. Aldebaran is a red star that is visible in winter and spring in the evening sky. By early May, it hangs low about the western sunset glow and before the end of the month, it's gone from view altogether. Aldebaran's position is RA: 4h 35m 55s, dec: 16'30′35″
God, Goddess and the Four Archangels
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. When the Sun rises making an alignment with the bright star Alderbaran Taurus their combined Light would have entered the Cairn at Lyons hill (only a stone base now remains). So the essence of the Sun (God) and the Star (Archangel) is received under the roof so to speak. This is the ancestors timing for Beltine and it is not a mathematical mid-point as some propose but instead it is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sun and Star light engineering bringing the energies of God and Archangel to Earth. The star Alderbaran, the Sun, Lambay Volcano into the passage Cairn (imagined) to the presumed sacred geometry stone inside all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles once a year and this shows the correct timing for Beltine.
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 Stellar essence overlaying the Solar Word wrapping the Volcanic leaking energy into itself as it connects to the acupuncture of the Quartz standing stone inside Cairn 'L' on Sliabh na Callighe, activating and harmonising the magnetic grid here on Earth.
Bile / Beltine as a Star
The reason that 10* of Taurus is the timing for Beltine is because of the presence of one of the four bright stars at 10* Taurus - this star is called Aldebaran in Arabic but we reckon this star was called Bile by our ancestors. Traditionally this star is known as the Eye of the Bull - we reckon this star was called Bile meaning 'sacred tree' and our ancestors referred to the time of year as Beltine meaning 'the two fires of Bile'. There are 4 bright stars making an equal armed cross on the belt of stars we call the zodiac and each star marks an important Celtic festival.
Alderbaran, Taurus was one of the four guardians of the heavens to the ancient Persians, the other guardians were Formalhaut below Aquarius, Antares in Scorpius, and Regulus in Leo. Some may know of these 4 bright stars as The Man, The Bull, The Scorpion and The Lion. They were demonised as the four beasts of the apocalypse as an attempt to direct people away from Natural Time and into church time. We refer to these four bright stars as Brigid, Bile, Lugh and Tlachtga.
Astronomer Jack Eddy has suggested a connection with the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, an ancient circle of stones atop a mountain in Wyoming. Eddy wrote that the ancient Americans may have used this site as a sort of observatory to view the rising of Aldebaran just before the sun in June to predict the June solstice. Alderbaran, Taurus is a giant red star the Bull's fiery red eye, some see it as having a reddish-orange glow. It is the 14th brightest star in the sky. Aldebaran is a red star that is visible in winter and spring in the evening sky. By early May, it hangs low about the western sunset glow and before the end of the month, it's gone from view altogether. Aldebaran's position is RA: 4h 35m 55s, dec: 16'30′35″
God, Goddess and the Four Archangels
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. When the Sun rises making an alignment with the bright star Alderbaran Taurus their combined Light would have entered the Cairn at Lyons hill (only a stone base now remains). So the essence of the Sun (God) and the Star (Archangel) is received under the roof so to speak. This is the ancestors timing for Beltine and it is not a mathematical mid-point as some propose but instead it is a glorious archaeo-astronomical feat of Sun and Star light engineering bringing the energies of God and Archangel to Earth. The star Alderbaran, the Sun, Lambay Volcano into the passage Cairn (imagined) to the presumed sacred geometry stone inside all make an alignment stretching many millions of miles once a year and this shows the correct timing for Beltine.
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 Stellar essence overlaying the Solar Word wrapping the Volcanic leaking energy into itself as it connects to the acupuncture of the Quartz standing stone inside Cairn 'L' on Sliabh na Callighe, activating and harmonising the magnetic grid here on Earth.
Celtic Druid's Summer Solstice
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.
Etain, White Mare Celtic Goddess
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.
Calculating the Summer Solstice
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.
Etain, White Mare Celtic Goddess
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.
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 2012 6 of us went to Grange Circle for the Summer Solstice, as it was a leap year and most people follow the catholick calendar we happily had the huge stone circle mostly to our selves.
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 Druidschool, 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.
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 2012 6 of us went to Grange Circle for the Summer Solstice, as it was a leap year and most people follow the catholick calendar we happily had the huge stone circle mostly to our selves.
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 Druidschool, 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.
Celtic Druid's Lughnasa
Lughnasa means "the games of Lugh" (pronounced as Lou) and refers to the assembly for games at the time of the first of three harvests. The month of August is called Lughnasadh in Gaelic and it marks the last day of summer. This was a specifically Gaelic holiday and many of the other Celtic cultures also celebrate a autumn festival known by a range of names. As Beltine marks the start of summer - Lughnasa marks the end of summer. History associates Lughnasa with the Lugh, a leading Celtic deity and hero. As it is the end of summer and the time of the first main harvest - everyone reckoned it to be a great time to assemble for the games with a bull sacrifice and major feast, and for some it was the start of a trial marriage.
Lughnasa is also called Lughnasadh/Lá Lúnasa, Lammas, (Anglo-Saxon 'loaf-mass'), Bilberry Sunday, Garland Sunday, Domhnach Crom Dubh ('Crom Dubh Sunday') and for Wiccans it is called "Lammas Sabbat". Even today, the first Monday in August is a public holiday in Ireland. "The games of Lugh" were celebrated Ireland, England Scotland, France, and northern Spain. Lughnasa is from two words - Lugh and násad and násad means games assembly and it is obviously an important cross quarter festivals of the Celtic year. Each year we host a Celtic Camp Lughnasa Games here at Druidschool
The "Lughnasa" festival or Eightfold day is sacred to Lugh. He is the best known male God of the Tuatha De Danann and his magical weapon was a fiery spear and his magical work was as guardian of the spear of Gorias. He has other names or ranks: Samildanach (Many Skills), Ildánach (Craftsman of Many Skills) and Lugh Lamfada (Lugh of the Long Arm), Llew Llaw Gyffes and the Lord of Light. His grandfather was the One Eye Balor. His mother was Ethline (wife to Balor) and father to Lugh was Cian. Dagda is often claimed as Lughs father. An angry Balor threw Lugh into the sea. Manann Mac Lir rescues and raises Lugh, foster mother Taillte. Later on Lugh lives with his uncle Goibhnu. Eventually Lugh kills his grandfather with a stone from a slingshot. Lugh fathered Setanta (CuCullain) with Dectera and when Cuchulain was protecting the Ford against Maeve - Lugh fights by his son's side.
Ireland's Druidschool honours Lughnasa by a midday solar ceremony here at noon to 1pm and this is open and free. The Dark Moon Grove has also visited Cnoc Lugh to honour the Sun's alignment over the volcano - this ceremony is closed to the public. It is a time to acknowledge your harvest. But like so many other things from our deep history the truth lies underneath the written word of the monastic scribes. It is not possible to fix the date of Lughnasa as August 1st because there were no calendars at the time. The current calendar in use by the "white civilized" world was only agreed fully in the 1800's. Before that date there was utter confusion and no system of dating days of birth for annual celebrations was available for anyone. Look to the confusion of today's calendar - the Irish August Bank Holiday is the first Monday of August but the Festival of Lughnasa is on August the 1st.
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 same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Lughnasa is also the exact same alignment for Beltine. This means if you were to stand on top of Cnoc Lugh (Lyons Hill) when the Sun rises at 10* of Leo (Lughnasa) and 10* of Taurus (Beltine) and look 60* east of north you would see the sun rise over the Lambay Volcano to shine on to the foundations of a ancient ceremonial temple on the summit of Lyons Hill. There is no stone cairn with a passage on Lyons Hill today. There are only remains of a stone base that are un excavated in modern times but possibly rebuilt many time in past eras.
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann and Beltine and Lughnasa share the same alignment to Cnoc Lugh (Lyons Hill), Samhain and Imbolg share the same alignment to Sliabh na Callighe, the two Equinoxes share the same alignment to Summerhill, the Summer Solstice has its own alignment to the Hill of the Fair Gods 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.
Addendum
A book written by Patrick McCafferty and Mike Baillie called 'The Celtic Gods' ISBN 0-7524-3444-6 sheds new light on the true identity of Lugh. In chapter 5 we are told that Lugh's name means 'light' or 'shining one' or 'fast'. Lugh is presented as a comet - a bright day time near earth comet that was very visible all over Ireland (and Europe). This undoes the need for confusion regarding the recorded notion that the Sun was rising in the east while Lugh was rising in the west. It must have been an amazing period in Irish pre-history, two Light bearers during the day and Lugh shining brightly at night. I recommend this book to all students and advise all who read it to still honour the Gods.
The "Lughnasa" festival or Eightfold day is sacred to Lugh. He is the best known male God of the Tuatha De Danann and his magical weapon was a fiery spear and his magical work was as guardian of the spear of Gorias. He has other names or ranks: Samildanach (Many Skills), Ildánach (Craftsman of Many Skills) and Lugh Lamfada (Lugh of the Long Arm), Llew Llaw Gyffes and the Lord of Light. His grandfather was the One Eye Balor. His mother was Ethline (wife to Balor) and father to Lugh was Cian. Dagda is often claimed as Lughs father. An angry Balor threw Lugh into the sea. Manann Mac Lir rescues and raises Lugh, foster mother Taillte. Later on Lugh lives with his uncle Goibhnu. Eventually Lugh kills his grandfather with a stone from a slingshot. Lugh fathered Setanta (CuCullain) with Dectera and when Cuchulain was protecting the Ford against Maeve - Lugh fights by his son's side.
Ireland's Druidschool honours Lughnasa by a midday solar ceremony here at noon to 1pm and this is open and free. The Dark Moon Grove has also visited Cnoc Lugh to honour the Sun's alignment over the volcano - this ceremony is closed to the public. It is a time to acknowledge your harvest. But like so many other things from our deep history the truth lies underneath the written word of the monastic scribes. It is not possible to fix the date of Lughnasa as August 1st because there were no calendars at the time. The current calendar in use by the "white civilized" world was only agreed fully in the 1800's. Before that date there was utter confusion and no system of dating days of birth for annual celebrations was available for anyone. Look to the confusion of today's calendar - the Irish August Bank Holiday is the first Monday of August but the Festival of Lughnasa is on August the 1st.
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 same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Lughnasa is also the exact same alignment for Beltine. This means if you were to stand on top of Cnoc Lugh (Lyons Hill) when the Sun rises at 10* of Leo (Lughnasa) and 10* of Taurus (Beltine) and look 60* east of north you would see the sun rise over the Lambay Volcano to shine on to the foundations of a ancient ceremonial temple on the summit of Lyons Hill. There is no stone cairn with a passage on Lyons Hill today. There are only remains of a stone base that are un excavated in modern times but possibly rebuilt many time in past eras.
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann and Beltine and Lughnasa share the same alignment to Cnoc Lugh (Lyons Hill), Samhain and Imbolg share the same alignment to Sliabh na Callighe, the two Equinoxes share the same alignment to Summerhill, the Summer Solstice has its own alignment to the Hill of the Fair Gods 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.
Addendum
A book written by Patrick McCafferty and Mike Baillie called 'The Celtic Gods' ISBN 0-7524-3444-6 sheds new light on the true identity of Lugh. In chapter 5 we are told that Lugh's name means 'light' or 'shining one' or 'fast'. Lugh is presented as a comet - a bright day time near earth comet that was very visible all over Ireland (and Europe). This undoes the need for confusion regarding the recorded notion that the Sun was rising in the east while Lugh was rising in the west. It must have been an amazing period in Irish pre-history, two Light bearers during the day and Lugh shining brightly at night. I recommend this book to all students and advise all who read it to still honour the Gods.
Celtic Druid's Autumn Equinox
Equinox means "equal night" and this happens at the equator because the sun is positioned above the equator and at this time of the year - day and night are about equal in length at the equator. This also happens at the Spring Equinox. The Autumn Equinox is sometimes referred to as the Fall Equinox – Fall means ‘leaf fall’ so together the Fall Equinox means “Leaf Fall Equal Night and Day”. This is the start of the dark half of the Astrological year when the Sun enters the Sign of the Scales (Libra) but there is a drift over the millennia and at Ireland’s latitude the equal day / night happens up to 4 days later than the Astrology timing. The famous Egyptian priests built their Great Sphinx to point directly toward the rising Sun on this equal day / night every year.
The Autumn Equinox is also called: Fall, Mabon, Michaelmas, Labour Day, Alban Elfed, the Cornucopia, Feast of Avilon, Festival of Dionysus, Night of the Hunter, Second Harvest, Wine Harvest, the Witch's Thanksgiving. To Celtic Druids - this is the Second Harvest, when the ripe Acorns fall from the wild Irish Oaks and we plant them in fertile soil, it is the time when day and night are equal in length. The “Harvest Moon” was so-called in the past because night harvests were possible by the light on the Full Moon nearest to the Autumn / Fall Equinox. There are many traditions about the cutting of the last sheaf of wheat at the end of the harvest and that a young Maiden cuts this.
There is a distinct relationship between the Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas, the feast of the Archangel Michael. This Archangel is the sword or spear wielding dragon slayer and his day is held on the 29th of September each year, this is one week after the Sidereal Equinox actually occurs. The new religion of the Catholic Church absorbed the existing traditions and their symbols. Archangel Michael replaced the Pagan God of Wotan in upper Europe, the temples of Wotan were on hilltops and there are churches on many of these hilltops today. There is a major earth energy line across northern France, southern England and the southwest of Ireland that is known today as the Michael and Mary Line and in Ireland off the coast of Kerry is the island hilltop temple called Skellig Michael or the Rock of Michael. The Dragon being pinned by the spear / sword is the Earth Energy currents.
In Ireland, the Autumn Equinox was celebrated long before the arrival of the Celtic tribes. The best known of the ancient Irish equinox temples is Knowth, which is near to Newgrange (Brú na Boinne). Knowth has a 100-foot long passage that accepts the Sun on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinox. A second and older stone cairn equinox temple is found at Longhcrew and is given the name Cairn T. Both Knowth and Cairn T allow a sunbeam on the morning of the Spring and Autumn Equinox to enter a passageway to light upon the sacred geometry on a back stone inside the temple. This is precise timing from a period of over 6 thousands years ago and it still works today. Druidschool has also identifies three ancient temples that were used to honour the two Equinoxes – More on this later in this essay.
The Mayans of Central American have also honoured the Equinox. For ten centuries they have held their unique celebration using their ancient knowledge of the Sunbeam. El Castillo is the name of their great pyramid of the Equinox and as the sunsets on its western face light and dark compliment each other creating a very special pattern of a diamond backed snake descending the pyramid. This solar magic has always been known as the "The Return of the Sun Serpent".
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 same solar alignment that determines the correct time for Autumn Equinox is also the exact same alignment for the Spring Equinox. This means if you were to stand outside of Cairn ‘T’ at Sliabh na Callighe or at Knowth and look 88* east of north you would see the sun rise to shine in through the passage on the Spring and Autumn Equinox.
But there are other important Spring and Autumn Equinox alignments such as over the Lambay Volcano to two hilltops called Summerhill and Knockastia. Summerhill is a small village in County Meath with only the remains of a temple on its highest hilltop. Knockastia is a volcanic outcrop just south of Uisneach – often referred to as the navel of Ireland. Just like Tlachtga in its relationship to Tara – we have a similar magically located temple on Knockastia serving the Royal site of Uisneach. In the west of Ireland we watch the Sun set over the holy mountain called the Reek, Croagh Crom and Croagh Patrick. The Autumn Equinox for Ireland's latitude in 2014 is on the 25th of Sept as this is the day of just 12 hours 00 minutes and 51 seconds... The 26th of Sept only has 11:56:40 of daylight and the Sun is southing from then on. This is shown clearly with the Sun setting into Croagh Crom [aka the Reek, our holy mountain] on both equinoxes as seen from Rathra, a four ring ceremonial enclosure on the west side of the Rathcroghan / Cruachan Aí complex thats just 15 minutes away from the Celtic Druid Temple.
We discovered this alignment in 2012 and have seen the event twice. Rathra was built to connect to true time using the holy mountain as the marker / connector. There are only two other temples like Rathra in Ireland, one at Tlachtga and the other at Tara. Recover your magical heritage and connect to true time at the Temples of your Ancestors.
This is one of Eightfolds of the Solar Year of the Tuatha De Danann and the two Equinoxes share the same alignment to Summerhill and Knockastia, Samhain and Imbolg share the same alignment to Sliabh na Callighe, Beltine and Lughnasa share the same alignment to Cnoc Lugh, the Summer Solstice has its own alignment to the Hill of the Fair Gods 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.
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.
See http://sunrisesunsetmap.com/ and http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/ireland/dublin as reference websites