This year's solsitice is on 21st December at approx 3pm, of course the actual time is the same every year by the sidereal calendar, but by our modern Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1585, it changes slightly, every year. In Ireland the most famous Winter Solstice site is of course Newgrange, part of the Brú na Bóinne complex of 3 sites. Newgrange itself is called Sí an Bhrú or its older name of Síd in Broga. The pillar-box light shaft, once filled with 2 quartz stones, famously allows the illumination of the stones in the rear of the passageway, on the solstice. The word in Irish, grianstad, translates as 'sun standing' or rather 'sun standing still', which is because for approximately 3 days the minimal height of the risen sun remains constant, before it starts to slowly ascend again. The latin based word solstice has a similar meaning - 'sun stopped', but of course the sun never actually stops or stands still, it is just an illusion from the perspective of humans standing here on E

So, as you all know, we're coming up to Halloween, which is on the 31st of this month. Now, a lot of people would not know what Halloween is really about or what it's based on. So, I’m going to try to explain that in a short blog post. So Halloween it is basically means All Hallows’ Eve. So it’s the night before uh All Hallow's Day, otherwise called All Saints' Day, which is one of the most holy days in the Roman Catholic calendar and that was carried forward sort of into the Protestant calendar as well in an unofficial way, but its origin is in the Catholic church. Som following on from All Hallow's Day, the following day (2nd November) is All Souls’ Day. So, you have these two holy days put together. And it's no accident where they fall - to coincide with an ancient Irish Pagan festival - because um at this time of year (dates can vary. anything between 20th of October through to the 7th November), you have a much older Pagan festival called Samhain, which originates in pre-Christian

Blessings of Lughnasadh to you. May all your endeavours bare fruit. This is the traditional time for harvesting wheat and other cereals. In modern Irish it is called Lúnasa, which is also the name of the month of August. The significance of Lughnasadh lies not only in its agricultural implications but also in its deep ties to Irish mythology and culture. At its core, the festival honours both Lugh (Lugh Lámhfhada /Lugh of the Long Arm),, the Celtic god of the sun, skills and fertility, and his Forster Mother, Tailtiu, who died after clearing the land for agriculture. Lughnasadh was established to honor her memory and the life-giving nature of the harvest. Tailtiu was the wife ofthe last Fir Bolg Ard Rí (High King) of Ireland, Eochaid mac Eirc. Eochad named his capital city after her which is now known as Teltown. Lugh established a harvest festival and funeral games, Áenach Tailteann, in her honour, which continued to be celebrated as late as late 1700s, highlighting the importance of

Walking a path between tradition and invention Published in Issue 3 of Pagan Ireland (Spring 2022). Get a copy of this issue here: https://paganireland.com/buyissues It was wonderful to participate in so many celebrations of Brigid, and of Imbolc, around February 1st. There was beautiful art, poetry, songs and stories. Moving traditions such as laying out Brigid’s Brat, weaving crosses, clearing hearth and house, walking ancient pathways, going to the well were revitalized. I felt uplifted by it all. It raised my spirits to be part of such a wide and diverse movement of celebration, and I look forward to next year when there will be a national holiday centred on her day and on Imbolc. In the middle of all of this I felt aware that there were some sceptics on the side and some critics and all kinds of different approaches to Brigit and to Imbolc. To begin with – how do we even spell these words? There is Brigit, Brigid, the two main spellings. There is Brid and Bridget and Brighid. Like

Beannachtaí Grianstad an tSamhraidh oraibh (blessings of the summer solstice to you). The remarkable good weather continues here in Ireland, we are into the second week of very hot weather and an abundance of growth, with fruits rippening earlier than usual. Whatever way you choose to celebrate we wish you health, happiness and abundance. Events will take place at the Hill of Tara (shown above), and other places all over the country this weekend. On the East coast it is more customary to hold events for the sunrise, and on the West coast it's the opposite, events are for the sunset. With the day at it's maximum length that means a very early or a very late ceremony, although many choose to celebrate at midday - often with a traditional bonfire on a hilltop. At the Hill of Tara (Teamhair or Cnoc na Teamhrach), many will gather at the stone known as the Lia Fáil at the Inauguration Mound, or the near-by ringfort mound known as Cormac's House (Teach Chormaic), after Ard Rí (high king) Cor

I (the Editor) posted not that long ago on my own page about Earth Day and how it shouldn't be a once a year thing. We should care every day, but for many all the distractions of life take us away from thinking about that. A friend posted this poignant image earlier today on his page - so I decided I would share it. Shocking, but sometimes it takes shocks to wake us up from our default laziness and inaction. Now we are in the middle of a summer heatwave in Ireland. We can all buy less crap, use less, plant more, learn more, do more. The world should be a paradise, but we lack the basic empathy to preserve it, despite all our knowledge and intelligence. That really has to change, and a Pagans we should have than inbuilt empathy for the natural world, we are part of it too, but with modern living it is easy to forget that. "Be the change" is a well worn phrase, but it really is how it works, each action, each person you touch, each trapped bee you save, each sappling you plant all makes