Lunasa Essay

 Lunasa 

August 7th, 2022

  Lunasa is an Irish harvest festival, that is said to celebrate the funeral of Lugh of the Long Hands stepmother, Tailte. It's a first harvest kind of event, and traditionally there would be games and such. It's part of the cross quarter days Fire Festivals, like Samhain, Imbolc and Beltaine. Bare bones, this is what the festival is.

  I had intended to celebrate this holy day on the first of August, as I usually do, but ended up having a lot of appointments and no time to celebrate. I spent the rest of the week putting finishing touches on the ritual then, and held ritual on Sunday the 7th. Originally, I was going to hold it outside in the same spot I held the summer Solstice ritual, but ended up at my altar in my room instead. I also was going to do a smaller ritual, with just a few prayers and such, but ended up doing the whole ADF COoR. 

  This holy day ended up being a lot of  "intended to's", and looking back, it seems that things worked out for the best that way. It rather makes me laugh.

  During the week, I did a bit of research on Earth Goddesses. As we are in Germany, I wanted to honor the Earth with Her local(ish) name. Normally I call upon Danu, or Anu, but it just felt slightly "off". I found that a Germanic name for the Earth is Hertha, and so when I did my call to the Mother, I used that name, and definitely got a good feeling from it. Henceforth, for as long as we are in Germany, that is the name of the Mother I will be using in rituals. 

  I once again used Rev. "Skip" Ellison's solitary ritual, and called upon Hertha as Mother Earth, Brighid as my Bard, and Lugh as the deity of the occasion. Mananna Mac Lir was my Gatekeeper, and the more I ask Him to do this, the more connected I feel towards Him. I gave offerings of silver, sweet herbs, and cornmeal, as well as brot kracker for the harvest offering. I am hoping that at Samhain I will be able to do more for celebration than just ritual; I would like to have a feast too! 

  The omen this time was taken using my Druid Animal Oracle deck. I normally only choose one card at a time, but this time drew three. They were as follows: the Horse, the Dog, the Ram (reversed). I interpreted this as the Divine, loyalty and love, and sacrifice accepted. It certainly felt positive, unlike the last omen from the solstice, which was a little vague. I really do attribute it to the "correct" name for the Mother here. 

  All in all, this ritual flowed a bit smoother, and I am finding the COoR to be more comfortable than before. I have been using it off and on for a few years now, but it is finally starting to make more sense. I am hoping that I can have more of it memorized for Samhain, and that by the end of my year of study, I will be comfortable enough to not need notes. 

  Bright Blessings!