The timing of the Harvest Festival is a tricky one for Pagans, as harvest occurs at different times in different regions. There is no specific date across Celtic culture that corresponds to a harvest festival, despite the fact that such festivals very much did exist. Herodotus first mentioned the Celts in 5 BCE and noted that they principally lived along the upper Danube River. At the time, their principal festivals, Imbolg, Beltane, Lughnasad, and Samhain, marked the changing of the seasons.
The connection between harvest and the autumnal equinox traces its origins back, not to Celtic, but to Germanic traditions. Roman historian, Tacitus, first described Germanic people in 98 CE, placing them in upper Germany and Denmark, in an area which bears the name Angeln. Like the Celts, the Anglo-Saxon Pagan year also contained four holy days to mark the changing of the seasons: Yule, Lencten Efniht (lengthening equal-night), Litha, and Haerfest Efniht (harvest equal-night). Eostre was not recorded in the place of the Lengthening equal-night until the 8th century. Continue reading →
This year, Imbolg falls on February 2nd, as that is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. This is the time of the Rowan Moon, when we long for winter to be over and begin seeing the first signs of spring. Nowhere is this more evident than the lambing barns, where in the depths of winter the ewes bring new life to the world. The word Imbolg roughly translates as, ‘the time of lactating ewes.’
This year I complied some information on Imbolg for my Study Moot. Some of that information is presented below.
There is nothing like bawdy, irreverent, and satirical drinking songs to put you in the holiday spirit. This year’s edition of Laughter and Libations includes more songs and new recipes for favorite winter drinks. Those interested in trying their hand at culinary delights will also find two alcohol infused recipes for “Figgy Pudding” which are sure to be crowd pleasers.
In addition to the new recipes, revilers will find three categories of songs: Continue reading →
June . . . love is in the air. It’s the traditional month for weddings. The solstice is upon us and the days are filled with light. The wedding month traces its roots back to Celtic origins and the story of a marriage which resulted in an unnaturally long day.
Celtic mythology states that Dagda and Danu loved each other so much that they married in secret and hid themselves on the Earth in order to make love away from the prying eyes of the other gods. Their marathon love-making session lasted nine days and nine nights. When Danu finally climaxed a great rush of water issued from her, creating the Danube River. From their union the goddess conceived. To prevent discovery of her pregnancy Dagda harnessed the sun and held it in place until Danu gave birth, thus their son was conceived and born on the same day.
The marriage of Dagda and Danu represents the union of a tribal god and a mother goddess, uniting land and people, a concept that remained popular in the sacral marriages of kings to their goddesses in later generations. If the king upheld the duties of a husband well, the land and his people prospered. Fail to show adequate love, respect, and devotion to the Goddess and the kingdom would fall into disarray, just like the household of any unhappy marriage. And that is the whole point of writing today: sometimes relationships stumble. Continue reading →
It’s that time of year again. Beaten down by rampant consumerism, we’re all left wondering how to balance work and pleasure. Laughter and Libations is a survival guide of sorts, helping people to drink and be merry during a season over-powered with puritanical messages. This year’s edition includes recipes for favorite winter drinks along with three categories of songs: Traditional Treasures, Simple Substitutions, and Ridiculous Rewrites. Traditional Treasures can be traced back to a less than pious origin whereas Ridiculous Rewrites takes an originally pious hymn and alters it to appeal to our most base and carnal instincts.
I am conflicted. I didn’t used to be. I used to know where I stood. Kneeling during the anthem was a-okay by me! But like John Kerry, I was against it before I was for it. Or perhaps it was the other way around, I can’t remember now.
Being Pagan is difficult. Sure there’s discrimination, nasty comments, and the like, but you also have to figure out when to celebrate your holidays. Christians have it easy; the calendar is designed around their holy days, church happens every Sunday. But for Pagans it’s a bit more difficult. Astronomers have been kind enough to track the solstices and equinoxes for us and make those dates readily available, but when it comes to the cross-quarter days, we’re on our own.
‘Tis the season to make an ass of yourself. There is nothing like proclaiming the love of Jesus that brings out the downright-nasty-not-niceness in Christians each December.
Spiteful memes show up in Facebook feeds stating, “It’s Merry Christmas, say the fucking words, damn it!” “Stop the War on Christmas,” “Put Christ back in Christmas!” and my personal favorite, “When someone wishes you ‘Happy Holidays’ remind them that ‘Holidays’ are HOLY DAYS!” The problem with the holy days proclaimers, and the majority of Christians, is that they fail to realize there is more than one holiday in December and most of them pre-date Christianity.
When I was a child, somewhere deep within me, I knew I needed to celebrate ‘mid-summer.’ The drive was so strong that, when I was about 10 years old, I actually got out a calendar and counted all the days between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. Ever since then I’ve been celebrating in early August.
Imagine my surprise when, as an adult, I discovered there was an actual holiday, associated with a real religion in early August. Even more surprising was that they observed all my “made up” holidays. (The quarter days and the cross-quarter days.) Sometimes the call to honor the seasons runs so deep that even an unsuspecting 10 year-old in Idaho cannot help but heed it.
Since the scorching summer sun beats down on the fields, ripening the wheat, the Palouse smells faintly of baking bread every August. To observe the holiday I’m making fresh bread, then heading outside with a glass of wine to catch the beginnings of the Perseid Meteor Shower. (Peak is August 11 & 12, shortly after midnight.) I hope all of you find a way to celebrate the rotating wheel of the year, too.