Lughnasa Explained: How to Celebrate Lughnasa Like an Ancient Celt

A modern Lughnasadh corn dolly representing the god Lugh

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I hate to say it, but the ancient Celts were the original busting-out-the-pumpkin-spice-way-too-early people. 

By the first of August, they were so sick of summer they threw a party for fall—an early Thanksgiving.

There was food and drink and sport. A long, post-meal walk up a hill. And then, of course, there was everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving-in-summer pastime: the raucous love-making.

Turns out, old rituals die hard. To quote writer and scholar Thomas Cahill:

“To this day, there is a town in Kerry that holds a fertility festival each August, where a magnificent he-goat precides like Cernunnos for three days and nights, and bacchanalian drinking, wild dancing, and varieties of sexual indescretion are the principal entertainments. It is this characteristically Irish mélange of pagan and Christian that forms the theme of Brian Friel’s magnificent play Dancing at Lughnasa—Lughnasa being the harvest feast of the god Lug, still celebrated on August 1 in parts of Ulster.”

source: How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995)
The Puck Fair circa 1900, showing the wild goat (King Puck) atop his 'throne'
The Puck Fair circa 1900, showing the wild goat (King Puck) atop his ‘throne’

Clearly, the spirit of Lughnasa—the Celtic “first fruits” festival—lives on. In fact, it lives on in more ways than one.

Not only are neopagans doing their best to revive the Lughnasa rituals of the past, but modern Christians who celebrate Lammas Day, as well as folks who participate in Reek Sunday, Garland Sunday, Bilberry Sunday, Mountain Sunday, or Crom Dubh Sunday, are participating in the Lughnasa tradition whether they know it or not.

Given what we know of his character, the god Lugh would probably find this all very amusing, looking on from the Celtic Otherworld.


What is Lughnasa? (Definition and Etymology)

According to Irish mythology, Lughnasa—also known as Lughnasadh and Lugnasad—is an annual festival that the sun-god, and god-of-many-talents Lugh, established to commemorate his foster-mother, Tailtiu.

In practice, Lughnasa is a celebration of “first fruits”, i.e. the beginning of the harvest season. It is one of four Celtic cross-quarter days, the primary holidays of the ancient Celts (the other three being Samhain, Imbolc, and Beltane).

To quote from historian Peter Berresford Ellis’s definition: 

“Lughnasadh…was basically an agrarian feast in honour of the harvesting of crops. Early records claim the festival was celebrated for fifteen days. Christianity took his feast over as Lammas, the feast of first fruits. The name survives in modern Irish (Lúnasa) and Manx (Luanistyn) for the name of the month of August. In Scottish Gaelic, Lùnasad is still the name of the Lammas festival.”

source: A Dictionary of Irish Mythology (1987)

Now, it’s well-established that the Celtic holiday of Lughnasa a.k.a. Lughnasadh a.k.a. Lugnasad derives its name from the Irish god Lugh—known as Lugos in Gaul and Lleu in Wales (more on that later). But the precise translation of Lughnasa has long been debated.

Irish god Lugh and Welsh god Lleu are both descended from the Celtic god Lugus

According to Irish linguist, academic, and, it should probably be mentioned, former President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, Lughnasa likely means “Lugh’s gathering” or “perhaps ‘Lugh’s Memorial’” (source: A Literary History of Ireland, 1899).

Irish historian Alice Stopford Green, meanwhile, refers to Lughnasa as “Lugh’s fair” (source: The Old Irish World, 1912).

Irish novelist T. O. Russell offers the following translation:

“The meaning of the word Lughnasa is, the games or celebrations of this same Lugh or Lewy, who lived and reigned centuries before Rome was founded, and before a stone of the Athenian Acropolis was laid.”

source: Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland (1897)

Finally, author and librarian Ruth Edna Kelley interpreted Lughnasa as “the Bridal of Lugh”. Check out her full definition/etymology of Lughnasa below:

“Lugh, in old Highland speech “the summer sun”…He said farewell to power on the first of August, and his foster-mother had died on that day, so then it was he set his feast-day. The occasion was called “Lugnasad,” “the bridal of Lugh” and the earth, whence the harvest should spring. It was celebrated by the offering of the first fruits of harvest, and by races and athletic sports. In Meath, Ireland, this continued down into the nineteenth century, with dancing and horse-racing the first week of August.

source: The Book of Hallowe’en (1919)

Remember: Lughnasa marks the midway point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox (that’s what makes it a cross-quarter day). Hence, Kelley describes Lugh, a sun-god, as saying “farewell to power” on that day. It’s an inflection point. The days are growing noticeably shorter. Lugh’s light is waning. Samhain is just around the corner.

Alongside her description of Lughnasa, Kelley included the following excerpt from the Celtic mythology-inspired play The Immortal Hour (1899), written by Scottish playwright William Sharp (under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod).

“The hour may hither drift
When at the last, amid the o’erwearied Shee—
Weary of long delight and deathless joys—
One you shall love may fade before your eyes,
Before your eyes may fade, and be as mist
Caught in the sunny hollow of Lu’s hand,
Lord of the Day.”

source: The Immortal Hour (1899)

But who is this Lugh a.k.a. Lugh a.k.a. Lu character we’ve been hearing so much about? A sun-god, sure. But what did he do to deserve having an important Celtic holiday named after him? Let’s dig into the mythology…


Who Is the Celtic God Lugh?

According to Ellis, Lugh is “[o]ne of the most important of the Irish gods, cognate with the Welsh Lleu and the Gaulish Lugos” (source: A Dictionary of Irish Mythology). 

A member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Irish pantheon, Lugh features prominently in the earliest cycle of Irish mythology, the Mythological Cycle. Granted, Lugh’s influence is felt across other cycles as well, especially the Ulster Cycle, which follows the exploits of Lugh’s son, Cú Chulainn, arguably the greatest hero from Irish mythology

chart showing CuChulainn's family tree

Lugh is the son of Cian (who in turn is the son of the Irish god of healing and medicine, Dian Cécht) and Ethlinn (daughter of Balor of the Evil Eye, leader of the Fomorians (a.k.a. Fomorri), arch nemeses of the Tuatha Dé Danann. This parentage, Kelley notes, had a direct impact on Lugh’s character:

“[Lugh] had for [a] father one of the gods and for mother the daughter of a chief of the enemy. Hence he possessed some good and some evil tendencies. He may be the Celtic Mercury, for they were alike skilled in magic and alchemy, in deception, successful in combats with demons, the bringers of new strength and cleansing to the nation.”

source: The Book of Hallowe’en (1919)

Also known as Lugh Lamhfada (“of the long arm”, “of the long hand”, or “of the long throw”), Lugh famously wielded a magical spear, the Gae Assail, and a magical sword, Freagarthach a.k.a. Fragarach (“the Answerer”), the latter being a gift from his foster-father, the Irish sea-god Manannán mac Lir.

In other versions of Lugh lore, Lugh’s foster father is his uncle: Cian’s brother Goibhniu, Irish god of smiths.

Foster-father confusion aside, Irish myths consistently present Lugh as being hidden away from his grandfather, Balor of the Evil Eye, who received a prophecy that he would be slain by his own grandson.

This prophecy was delivered before Lugh was even born, mind you. But as a precaution, Balor locked up his only daughter, Ethlinn, in a crystal tower on Tory Island.

The tower’s defenses clearly were not strong enough. 

Cian was able to sneak in disguised as a woman. (A druidess named Birog did his hair and makeup. No…seriously.)

Nine months later, Lugh was born.

The Corleck Head, a carved stone head with three-faces that is associated with the Lughnasadh. 1st or 2nd century AD. (Collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street)
The Corleck Head, a carved stone head with three-faces that is associated with the Lughnasadh. 1st or 2nd century AD. (Collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street)

Lugh is essentially the Irish Superman: He has a huge arsenal of supernatural abilities at his disposal and he draws his power from Earth’s yellow sun.

“He is clearly a sun god,” Ellis notes, “known for the splendour of his countenance.” But Lugh is also “god of all arts and crafts” (source: A Dictionary of Irish Mythology).

Turns out “arts and crafts” has a much broader meaning when viewed through the lens of Irish mythology. As folklorist and professor Juilene Osborne-McKnight explains:

“Lugh was able to do all things well. He could forge at a smithy and ride a great horse, hold his breath under water for hours, fight without ever becoming exhausted, and throw his spear with perfect precision. He was also a harper, poet, wheelwright, headler, and genealogist, and that’s not all! Lugh managed to defeat the giant Balor of the One Eye, who could kill everyone in his range of vision simply by opening his eyelid and looking at them. Lugh whirled his sling over his head and put out Balor’s eye.”

source: The Story We Carry in our Bones (2015)

Oops, forgot to mention…spoiler alert: Lugh does end up killing his grandfather Balor. The prophecy came true!

Lugh killed Balor with a special slingshot projectile called the Tathlum, a caer-clis (“feat ball”) made by mixing the blood of toads, bears, and vipers with sea-sand and letting it harden. (Isn’t Irish mythology the best?)

The fateful shot was slung during the Second Battle of Moytura (Cath Tánaiste Maige Tuired). FYI: that’s the same battle during which the goddess Brigid discovered the body of her slain son Ruadán and sang a poetic lament commemorating his life, thus inventing a type of sing-crying (cry-singing?) known as keening, or caoineadh. This same event might also be linked to the origin of the banshee in Irish folklore.

But I digress.

While we’ve inherited the majority of Lugh’s lore from the Irish, it’s evident from the place names alone that this Cetic god was once worshiped across Europe. To quote Osborne-McKnight:

“The Son of Light was preeminent throughout the Celtic world. (Ancient Lugdunum became Lyon, France, and many scholars believe that London is also named for lugh.)”

source: The Story We Carry in our Bones (2015)

Here’s a full list of the communities that are believed to be named for the Celtic god Lugh, courtesy of Ellis:

  • Lyon (France)
  • Léon (France)
  • Loudan (France)
  • Laon (France)
  • Leiden (Holland) 
  • Liegnitz (Silesia—modern Poland)
  • London (UK)
  • Carlisle—formerly Luguvalum (UK)

(source: A Dictionary of Irish Mythology)

But oh, how the mighty have fallen.

According to Irish mythology, the invading  Milesians—predecessors of Ireland’s modern human population—drove Lugh and the rest of the Tuatha Dé Danann underground. Over time, the once mighty god saw his reputation—and stature—diminished in Irish folk tales until he became “little stooping Lugh”, or Lugh-chromain…anglicized as “Leprechaun”. To quote Irish poet W. B. Yeats:

“[T]he pagan gods of Ireland–the Tuath-De-Danān–robbed of worship and offerings, grew smaller and smaller in the popular imagination, until they turned into the fairies…”

source: Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888)
A leprechaun counts his gold in this engraving c. 1900

When (And Where) Did the Ancient Celts Celebrate Lughnasa?

Lughnasa was (and still is) traditionally celebrated on August 1st.

Case closed.

Next question. 

Okay, fine, so maybe there are a few more details to unpack here. For example, while Lughnasa is well-known today amongst neopagans, Wiccans, etc., as a major pagan holiday, it started out as the “mere” culmination of a much longer festival.

As Osborne-McKnight explains, during the two weeks leading up to Lughnasa, the ancient Irish held the equivalent of the Olympics:

“Supposedly, it was Lugh who instituted the thanksgiving feast for the first harvest, which involved climbing the tops of mountains to present the first corn to the creator. He also introduced the Tailteann Games, in memory of his foster mother. These games took place during the last two weeks in July…The games began with druids singing funeral songs in memory of the dead and then morphed into horseraces, chariot races, footraces, swimming races, fights…Dancing, singing, story-telling, and great readings of the law were also featured. The games concluded with Lughnasa. These celebrations supposedly took place near the modern area of Telltown (Tailtin), in County Meath.

source: The Story We Carry in our Bones (2015)

The townland of Tailtin / Tailltinn, anglicized as Teltown / Telltown, located midway between Kells and Navan, was named in honor of Lugh’s foster mother, Tailtiu. When she died—after performing the awesome feat of clearing the forest of Breg—Tailtiu was buried in her namesake townland.

Naturally, Lugh deemed Tailtin the perfect place to host his August 1st feast, while the adjacent tumulus served as the venue for the Tailteann Games preceding it. 

As former President Hyde noted:

“It was Lugh of the Tuatha De Danann, he knew, who had first established the great fair of Tailltin, to which he and his friends went from year to year to meet each other, and contract alliances for their grown children. The great funeral mound, round which the games were held, was sacred to Talti, the foster-mother of Lugh, who had there been buried, and in whose honour the games in which he participated were held upon the day which he called—and still calls, though he has now forgotten why—Lughnasa or Lugh’s gathering.”

source: A Literary History of Ireland (1899)

To recap: we’ve pinpointed the location of the first-ever Lughnasa—at least according to Irish mythology—and have a solid understanding of why Lugh would choose that location (re: Tailtin).

But why August 1st?

The mythological explanation:  

August 1st is the day the Firbolgs landed in Ireland—the Firbolgs being a race of beings who settled in Ireland after the Nemedians, but before the Tuatha Dé Danann. (Yes, before the “old” gods like Lugh.) And, get this, Lugh’s foster mother Tailtiu was a Firbolg. She was the daughter of a Firbolg king.

Ambassadors of the Fir Bolg and Tuath Dé meeting before the Battle of Moytura. An illustration by Stephen Reid in T. W. Rolleston's Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race, 1911
Ambassadors of the Fir Bolg and Tuath Dé meeting before the Battle of Moytura. An illustration by Stephen Reid in T. W. Rolleston’s Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race, 1911

So by placing what was ostensibly (but not eponymously) Tailtiu’s festival on August 1st, Lugh was paying homage to her Firbolg heritage.

It’s a nice story. 

But history tells us something different about Lughnasa’s true origin.


The History of Lughnasa (Did This Celtic Holiday Really Inspire Lammas and Reek Sunday?)

Thus far I have focused almost exclusively on Lughnasa practices as recorded in the mythologies of Gaelic-speaking (Goidelic) Celtic peoples. So it’s important that I clarify now that Lughnasa was not just celebrated in ancient Ireland and Scotland and the Isle of Man, but in ancient Gaul as well. 

In fact, the pagan holiday was so well-established across Western Europe that the Roman Empire commandeered it and rebranded it (rather than attempt to suppress it).

But look at me now, getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up a bit and let Scottish scholar and folklore researcher J.A. MacCulloch explain Lughnasa’s historical origins: 

The 1st of August, coming midway between Beltane and Samhain, was an important festival among the Celts. In Christian times the day became Lammas, but its name still survives in Irish as Lugnasad, in Gaelic as Lunasdal or Lunasduinn, and in Manx as Laa Luanys, and it is still observed as a fair or feast in many districts.

Formerly assemblies at convenient centres were held on this day, not only for religious purposes, but for commerce and pleasure, both of these being of course saturated with religion. “All Ireland” met at Taillti, just as “all Gaul” met at Lugudunum, “Lug’s town,” or Lyons, in honour of Augustus, though the feast there had formerly been in honour of the god Lugus.

The festival was here Romanised, as it was also in Britain, where its name appears as Goel-aoust, Gul-austus, and Gwyl Awst, now the “August feast,” but formerly the “feast of Augustus,” the name having replaced one corresponding to Lugnasad.

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

So there you have it: Lughnasa is clearly the elder August 1st feast, upon which other August 1st feasts, like Lammas, were built.

This follows the same trend of Christianization / Romanization we saw with Samhain (which became All Saints’ Day / All Hallows’ Eve) and Imbolc (which became Candlemas / St. Brigid’s Day). 

Meanwhile, in Ireland—County Clare to be specific—Lughnasa was taking on a life of its own, leaving behind its mythological origin story for a more legendary/folkloric one. (Yes, there’s a difference between a myth, a legend, a folktale, and a fairytale.) 

At the core of this “new” late July/early August celebration was St. Patrick’s most notorious foe, the dastardly and crooked Crom Dubh, himself a reimagining of an earlier figure, Crom Cruach.

image of st. patrick and pagan god
St. Patrick and Crom Cruaich. Illustrated by L.D.Symington.

Professor of the Irish language and Irish literature Brian O’Looney wrote the following about the origins of what became known as Crom Dubh Sunday (a.k.a. Garland Sunday) in a letter to Irish poet and antiquarian Sir Samuel Ferguson:

Domnach Lunasa or Lammas Sunday, the first Sunday of the month of August was the first fruits’ day, and a great day on Buaile-na-greine. On Lammas Sunday, called Domnach Crom Dubh, and anglicised Garland Sunday, every householder was supposed to feast his family and household on the first fruits, and the farmer who failed to provide his people with new potatoes, new bacon and white cabbage on that day was called a felemuir gaoithe, or wind farmer; and if a man dug new potatoes before Crom Dubh’s day he was considered a needy man… 

The assemblage of this day was called comthineol Chruim Dhuibh, or the congregation or gathering of Crom Dubh, and the day is called from him Domnach Chrom Dubh, or Crom Dubh’s Sunday, now called Garland Sunday by the English-speaking portion of the people of the surrounding districts.

This name is supposed to have been derived from the practise of strewing garlands of flowers on the festive mound [or Mount Callan] on this day, as homage to Crom Dubh—hence the name Garland Sunday.

source: Legends of Saints & Sinners (Collected and Translated from the Irish)

Unfortunately for Crom Dubh fans (hey, some people like the villain), this day too would ultimately become Christianized. The mountaintop offerings to a crooked pagan deity would be reimagined as sacred pilgrimages.

On Reek Sunday (a.k.a. Mountain Sunday a.k.a. Bilberry Sunday)—the last Sunday of July—thousands of people climb County Mayo’s Croagh Patrick, a.k.a. “The Reek”. Some do it barefoot. And they’ve been doing it since at least 1113 CE, as recorded in the Annals of Ulster.

Pilgrims climbing Croagh Patrick on "Reek Sunday". It is believed that climbing hills and mountains was a big part of the festival since ancient times, and the "Reek Sunday" pilgrimage is likely a continuation of this.
Pilgrims climbing Croagh Patrick on “Reek Sunday”. It is believed that climbing hills and mountains was a big part of the festival since ancient times, and the “Reek Sunday” pilgrimage is likely a continuation of this.

But this annual, high-endurance, high-altitude tradition undoubtedly dates back to much earlier. And, more generally, making pilgrimages to places of natural beauty—mountains, lakes, waterfalls—is a phenomenon perhaps as old as humanity itself. To quote Alice Stopford Green:

“From the time of an immemorial Nature worship pilgrims have assembled, even as they gathered down to our own times, where the streams of Struel pour abundantly from the rock, to seek cleansing in the bounteous waters on Midsummer Day, and at the festival of Lughnasadh or Lugh’s fair on the first of August.”

source: The Old Irish World (1912)

5 Lughnasa Rituals for Welcoming the First Harvest

1. Gather on a mountain top—don’t forget a floral offering!

Follow in the footsteps of your pagan predecessors by climbing a nearby hill or mountain and spend the afternoon contemplating the many wonders of nature. The changing of the seasons. The arc of the sun as it crosses the sky. The warm breeze carrying a tiny seed to a distant field where it will combine with soil and water to sprout and send up a shoot and grow leaves and the leaves will collect sunlight and the plants will grow taller still until, perhaps, it blooms with a fragrant flower. 

That reminds me: Bring flowers. Or better yet, make some flower garlands and drape them on the mountain, or hill, or even a “festive mound”.

This according to O’Looney. Remember O’Looney, from earlier? The guy who wrote that letter after visiting Mount Callan in County Clare on “Garland Sunday” and explained that the name referred to the flowers people put on Mount Callan as a tribute to Crom Dubh? (See, you do remember.)

Welp, O’Looney himself ended up participating in this ritual. And I quote:

“Assuredly I saw blossoms and flowers deposited upon it on the first Sunday of August, 1844, and put some upon it myself, as I saw done by those who were with me.”

source: Legends of Saints & Sinners (Collected and Translated from the Irish)

2. Create—and “sacrifice”—a corn-spirit idol.

A quick caveat before we continue: you will see the word “corn” being used throughout this section. It is the British meaning of the word, i.e, an area’s chief cereal crop—not the cereal plant native to North America (maize).

Granted, if you’re in North America, or somewhere else where corn (maize) is abundant, there’s no shame in making your corn-spirit idol out of that.

Now, what the heck am I talking about?

I’ll let MacCulloch explain:

“Due observance of the [Lugnasad] feast produced abundance of corn, fruit, milk, and fish. Probably the ritual observed included the preservation of the last sheaf as representing the corn-spirit, giving some of it to the cattle to strengthen them, and mingling it with next year’s corn to impart to it the power of the corn-spirit.”

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

Sure. Okay. You can see how the tradition of making corn-spirit dolls (like the one pictured), also known as corn dollies, might have evolved from this.

However, MacCulloch’s explanation takes a darker turn:

“It may also have included the slaying of an animal or human incarnation of the corn-spirit, whose flesh and blood quickened the soil and so produced abundance next year, or, when partaken of by the worshippers, brought blessings to them. To neglect such rites, abundant instances of which exist in folk-custom, would be held to result in scarcity. This would also explain, as already suggested, why the festival was associated with the death of Tailtiu…”

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

It’s all coming together. Tailtiu, remember, was famous for leveling mountains and creating a plain. She made the land suitable for agriculture. She was the corn-spirit…at least for a while. To quote MacCulloch:

“The euhemerised queen-goddess Tailtiu and the woman Carman had once been corn-goddesses, evolved from more primitive corn-spirits, and slain at the feast in their female representatives. The story of their death and burial at the festival was a dim memory of this ancient rite, and since the festival was also connected with the sun-god Lug, it was easy to bring him into relationship with the earlier goddess. Elsewhere the festival, in its memorial aspect, was associated with a king, probably because male victims had come to be representatives of a corn-god who had taken the place of the goddess.”

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

So originally, Lughnasa was intended to celebrate a goddess, which tracks with what we’ve already learned about Lugh and his foster-mother Tailtiu. Generations later, however, a male idol, Crom Dubh, would come to take her place as the corn-spirit. 

Now, full disclosure: I’ve never made a corn dolly before. Thankfully, there’s YouTube.


3. Hold your own Tailteann Games.

This one’s stupid but has the potential to produce some incredible storybook moments for the ole memory bank.

For years, I participated in what could be considered a lawn-based iteration of the Tailteann Games called “Beer Olympics”.

It’s exactly what it sounds like:

A dozen+ friends in a backyard playing cornhole and KanJam and washers and horseshoes and Polish horseshoes and Kubb and Beirut (often called Beer Pong) over the course of a weekend. Scores were tallied. And, on the last day, on that ceremonial summer Sunday, finalists competed in an obstacle course in which they had to sprint, jump, crawl, and crab-walk their way to potential victory. 

A fitting (modern) homage to ancient custom, I should say, considering Osborne-McKnight referred to the Tailteann games as “an ancient Iron Man competition.”

source: The Story We Carry in our Bones (2015)

4. “Make glad” before the sun god—you know what that means.

An altar depicting a three-faced god identified as Lugh/Lugus
An altar depicting a three-faced god identified as Lugh/Lugus

Sex. I’m talking about having sex.

Remember my “raucous love-making” line from the introduction? Yeah, that wasn’t a joke. 

MacCulloch, while quick to call out the immorality of the…uh…festivities, nonetheless felt compelled to document them.

“As Lammas was a Christian harvest thanksgiving, so also was Lugnasad a pagan harvest feast, part of the ritual of which passed over to Samhain. The people made glad before the sun-god—Lug perhaps having that character—who had assisted them in the growth of the things on which their lives depended…Possibly promiscuous love-making also occurred as a result of the festival gladness, agricultural districts being still notoriously immoral. “

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

5. Tie the knot.

Look, maybe you’re not the promiscuous type. Maybe you’re monogamous to the core and ready to settle down with that special someone.

Traditionally, Lughnasa was a popular time to get that whole marriage situation sorted. Granted, romance was largely absent from the proceedings. To quote MacCulloch:

“Marriages were also arranged at this feast, probably because men had now more leisure and more means for entering upon matrimony.”

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

Yes, the match-making component of Lughnasa was largely practical. However, mythology and spirituality may have also played a role. As MacCulloch explains:

“Some evidence points to the connection of the feast with Lug’s marriage, though this has been allegorised into his wedding the ‘sovereignty of Erin.’ Perhaps we have here a hint of the rite of the sacred marriage, for the purpose of magically fertilising the fields against next year’s sowing.”

source: The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911)

It’s a tale as old as time. A sun-god and a crop-goddess coming together as a metaphor for…well, the sun shining down on crops.

In fact, it could be argued that all of ancient Celtic paganism, ancient Irish paganism included, boiled down to the worship of natural processes—the growth of plants, the movement of the sun and other heavenly bodies across the sky.

To quote archaeologist and academic Barry Cunliffe:

“Standing back from all the detail, a simple underlying pattern can be discerned which may be characterized as the balance of opposites between the earth and the sky – the fertile earth providing the sustenance essential for the community’s wellbeing; the ever-consistent sky offering the signs that chart the passage of time. Both were inhabited by the gods, who had to be cajoled and placated.”

source: Druids: A Very Short Introduction (2010)

Further Reading

Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

Lughnasadh: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for Lammas by Melanie Marquis

Rupert’s Tales: The Wheel of the Year Beltane, Litha, Lammas, and Mabon by Kyrja

The Ancient Celtic Festivals: And How We Celebrate Them Today by Clare Walker Leslie

The Turning of the Year: Lore and Legends of the Irish Seasons by Eithne Massey


Want to learn about modern druidry/druidism?

I recommend the audiobook The Path of Druidry: Walking the Ancient Green Way by Penny Billington (narrated by Jennifer M. Dixon). Use my link to get 3 free months of Audible Premium Plus and you can listen to the full 15-hour audiobook for free.


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