The rites of Lughnassadh are named, unsurprisingly, after the Irish deity Lugh. Among Lugh's greatest deeds was his role in the overthrow of a tyrannical king named Bres, who had been chosen more for looking the part than being an effective leader. This led to a longstanding theme of Lughnassadh as the celebration of the sometimes necessary work of the warrior in protecting their people from the evils of the world, including those of would-be tyrants. That resistance to mis-rule can take on numerous forms, and becomes more effective the more people are involved. Any relevance of this theme to current events is left as an exercise for the reader.
Midsummer is upon us, and that means that the crops are planted and growing and the sun is high. The sun is one of the most obvious targets of human worship since time immemorial, which makes sense since he/she/it gives us so much of what is necessary for our lives and the lives of almost all living creatures, and Midsummer is an obvious time to give the sun its proper honor, so this is an attempt to do just that.
It's time for another song! This one is focused on the Sidhe-folk, literally the people of the mounds. What they are is confusing at best to us humans, but they're a clearly important group of beings in Irish lore and thus worthy of honoring with song in this a season where they are traditionally given extra attention. Since I've been doing a bunch of gardening and yard work as of late, I decided to focus on the idea of making pacts with them to try to make the land healthier and happier.
Our group is back to doing Greek-focused rites for spring equinox, which is great fun, because it means I get to honor Dionysos, the happy god of wine, fertility, and general frivolity. And sure, that stuff is fun, but I've always thought there was more of a point to it, namely that your personal truth, the things you really really want and believe, can be found only after you've stripped away a lot of social graces, habits, and nicities that you've learned over your lifetime to hide yourself for the sake of convenience or livelihood.
We're now in the time that passes for winter in this time of warming climate, so it seems appropriate to focus on what can be experienced huddled indoors. In the wider human situation, there are people who very justifiably believe themselves to be in danger, and in times like those deities that might not be normally prayed to as warriors or protectors start falling into that role.