Happy Lammas day for all you lot out there who keep an eye on the old festivals. Or Lughnasadh if you're into the pagan version. I'm going to do some baking
Nice morning for it. I had a quick listen to the Wicker Man soundtrack earlier, just to get me in the mood
Considering it had been absolutely bucketing down with rain about an hour before it was a beautiful morning, and a good turnout!
More photos here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?st...PHGqHppkJhUVdb8iktMRtn2xq3l&id=61558165827994
Hello SC , whereabouts in Wiltshire ? We are in Ferndown . This morning mrs J said “ oh good it’s raining “. I got there in about 20 seconds and it had stopped
I've been meaning to ask you about this for some time now as it's something I know little about. These questions may seem like I'm taking the p but I'm truly not, I'm genuinely interested. Obviously, if you'd rather not answer that's fine too. What is celebrating the pagan festivals all about? The history and what are you actually celebrating? What is your connection to it or how did you get into it? What do you get from it? Is it a form of anti religion? I think that's all for now, cheers.
I’ve been involved in celebrating the pagan festivals for about 10 years now, the last 5 as a druid. The festivals are essentially a way of recognising and being thankful for the turning of the wheel of the year, the solstices and equinoxes, and the cross-quarter days of Imbolc (Candlemas or Lady Day) at the beginning of February, Beltane (May Day), Lughnasadh (Lammas) at the beginning of August, and Samhain (All Hallows) at the beginning of November. The traditional pagan deities of these islands are associated with the various festivals, and today it’s Lugh, the Sun King, whose decline towards the south is under way. Lughnasadh is also of course the first of the Harvest festivals, and the symbolic sacrifice of John Barleycorn to feed the people is celebrated in song. (Footnote: The literal translation of Lughnasadh from Old Irish is “the funeral games of Lugh”. In Irish mythology Lugh held the games to commemorate his foster-mother Tailtiú, and the modern Irish equivalent is Lúnasa, which simply means the month of August.) As to whether it’s a religion or not, that is not an easy question to answer. Certainly the rituals serve some of the purposes of organised religion, such as offering a reason for gathering together and having a sing song and a general good time. What it definitely isn’t is a dogmatic belief system, as practically everyone present has different ideas and personal favourite deities. I suppose the common ground is that no one can deny the existence of that big yellow thing in the sky which gives us light and energy, and the abundance of Mother Earth who nurtures and feeds all of us.
Thanks for that. I know I could look this up but it's more interesting getting it from the horses mouth so to speak. I guess this movement (for want of a better word) has been going for a long time. So how was it viewed by the church at the time who have been pretty ruthless in dealing with alternatives? Happily alongside each other/ together or in secret? That's my last question.
