Here is my latest painting of the Irish god Lugh for the Celtic festival of Lughnasadh, which is celebrated on August 1. It is Watercolor, 12" x 16." The original is available for sale, just shoot me an email.  The Irish holiday Lugnasadh traditionally takes place on
August 1 and is attributed to the Irish god Lugh. It also celebrates the harvesting of the
first fruits of the year, often corn and potatoes. It is the custom to talk of
sacrifice at this time of year, as heard in the folk song of John Barleycorn. When I was a young lass in college, one of my classmates was
a huge fan of the band Traffic, who released the album “John Barleycorn Must
Die” in 1970. This was the early 80s, and all good Fine Art students were
eschewing the Reagonomics of the day to become self-styled hippies. As I toiled
in the printmaking and painting studios, the minor chords and melancholy
harmonies of Steve Winwood’s version of the song pealed through the halls and
permanently imprinted in my brain. To this day, I can’t run a printing press
without thinking of that album. Many years later, I learned of the song’s attachment to the
harvest holidays of the British Isles. The song tells of the sacrifice of John Barleycorn
to create home brewed ale. Poor John Barleycorn goes through many indignities
(if you listen to the song at the link below you will know what I mean) in
order to become the ale enjoyed by everyone.
Another story of sacrifice attached to this holiday is that of the god
Lugh’s foster mother Tailtiu, who dies clearing the fields of Ireland. Lugh
created a feast day and a day of athletic competitions to honor his mother and
her sacrifice. These stories together syncretically make up this holiday still
celebrated by many, although it now goes by other names such as Lammas and
Loafmas. The grains sacrificed for these holidays are the ones that make bread.
Thinking about sacrifice also makes me think about loss.
Sometimes it can be hard for me to separate the two – a feeling of “Why me?”
when things go awry. Friends of mine and
I were recently discussing Eeyore of Winnie the Pooh – the friend who always
says, “oh why bother, why is it worth it?” A very big loss can make one feel
very hopeless and if somehow we were forced to sacrifice something. As I write this blog today, it feels as though the past
several months have seen much loss of many good compatriots and friends. The
passing of Margot Adler on July 28 is particularly poignant. As
the author of Drawing Down the Moon,
she brought so many people together who would not have otherwise found one
another. On May 13, 2014, Morning Glory
Zell-Ravenheart of the Church of All Worlds died of cancer. Several months
earlier, on March 20, we lost Judy Harrow of Covenant of the Goddess, Cherry
Hill Seminary and a number of other important groups and accomplishments, and
on February 6, the Philadelphia community lost Fran Toscani, former owner of
Morgan’s Cauldron, once the best esoteric shop in all of Philly. I mention these things because I think it is important to
take time to honor those we have lost and things that we ourselves may have
lost over the past year. The pain of losing friends can feel like a sacrifice,
because it cuts us right to the core. I know so many people right now without
jobs, people who have had hard economic times due to circumstances beyond their
control. I do not view the world in a
Pollyanna way, however, I do believe in opportunities arising from loss and
crisis.
I feel strongly that the lesson we can learn
from Lughnasadh is that sometimes sacrifice is good for the benefit of all,
which also plays out in my Tarot card “Sacrifice,” (which in traditional decks
is The Hanged Man). Lugh’s foster mother died so the fields of Ireland would be
cleared. As we begin to lose our Elders, the lessons they left behind become
more precious. The time we have together on this Earth is limited. Let us
remember to be kind to one another. Let us remember we may not know what others
have sacrificed so that we may have better lives.
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