The Celtic Wheel of Initation

The Creator has made available to us all the
laws, principles and values which we need to
know to live in harmony. The Creator also
designed each human being to learn and grow
by trial and error. We have tools to help us live
the right way. We have prayers, visions,

nature, teachers, Elders, and we have the Great
Holy Spirit to talk to and ask for help when we have
problems. We also have choice. To walk the
Good Road takes courage and a lot of prayer.

Creator, give
me courage to
walk the

Good Road.

The Celtic Festivals

1 Samhain

2 Winter Solstice

3 Imbolc

4 Spring Equinox

5 Belaltaine

6 Summer Solstice

7 Lughnasadh

8 Autumn Equinox

SAMHAIN

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

THE CELTIC NEW YEAR

First Frost Oct.31st)

Honoring the darkness/fear of positive change within us is a time of reflection and over the coming months there will be a lot of time to spend in reflection around the fire on those short days and long nights of winter.

THE CELTIC NEW YEAR

Within our lives this Calendar is I hope a way in which we can begin to create and welcome positive change into our lives every day. Using the Calendar or Cycle of the Wheel we can learn to consciously acknowledge the constant flux of change that exists within the Universe and that constant change is healthy and in balance with all of Creation. Only when we move within this change are we fully moving within our own divinity, intuition, trust, consciousness and honoring of the Great (Holy) Spirit.

So the wheel of change that exists in every year must be addressed as the Seasons are celebrated by our Celtic Gatherings .We can learn to increase our awareness and the need for constant change to experience Spiritual and Personal growth.

By addressing the impact the changing Seasons have on our psyche we can celebrate in Sacred Ritual and Prayer the positive change we wish to embrace. This will ultimately assist all to evolve Spiritually within the Universe. The Universe supports us as our Mothers did within the darkness of the womb. We are not fully sighted yet as our eyes have not fully opened to the awareness of who we really are .To achieve ones full potential and to individually empower oneself is to know who one truly is.

This awareness or wisdom of our worlds need for balance creates ultimate empowerment and Healing and can be experienced from the Creator through the Mothering Earthly experiences of the Inipi Sweat Lodge ceremony as taught to the Lakota people by the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This wisdom or self awareness we receive as Spirits in human form From our birth we are taught in Celtic ceremony by the passing and celebration of each festival and the great changes it effects on all creation to hold its balance despite the pressures we unbalanced people of the present world create From our birth to our passing we complete the cycle of life within the Celtic Wheel Calendar. So the Celtic Wheel Calendar is more in harmony with all of Creation/ Spirit, particularly here in Ireland where for generations our Ancestors worked the land honoring it as the provider Goddess Mother Earth Brigit to survive.

November 1^st. is seen as the day to celebrate this feast others choose the full moon of that month. The Celebration of Samhain heralds the beginning of the Celtic New Year

For so many these changes have a huge impact and many suffer with depression and other related disorders because they are not fully aware of the earth is moving into another Season of change and so repressed fears that are planted within the psyche rise and the control of consciousness is maintained. Like the Moon with its 28-day cycle that influences the female menstrual cycle. So too the Sun has its power as well as it goes through the different Astrological signs making its way to the most Northern point. These festivals are not determined by any astrological sign but rather by the influences closer to us here in Mother Earth she is the one who rules these times and teaches us how to create HARMONY and so live and experience peace as is the ultimate goal of all living things.

These festivals are an open doorway from our souls to the earth and the grounding from which all the nourishment we require here is received from the Great Spirit Creator through our Earth Mother. After all if change and rebirth is required here on earth I feel that it is more appropriate to go to the Mother of creation to experience rebirth. For is it not the mother who carries nurtures and gives birth to us. Is it not the woman who was given the power to give life here on Earth or is this something that male dominated institutions are still uncomfortable with.

Hence the powerful inipi(Sweat Lodge) ceremony given to us by the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Through the Lakota People is one way we can help to save the future generations from destruction. Watch the leaves of the trees the growth of the grass the insects the birds the changes in temperature the changing light the smell of the air .A time of rebalancing and putting things in order. Things must be put back in order before the coming of winter otherwise we will not survive the dark time of winter spiritually emotionally or psychically.

So many fall deep into depression from here up to winter solstice because of great unbalance within .

Hence from Summer Solstice to its lowest Point at Winter Solstice there are obvious changes talking place around us.

Many turn to addictions to fill this void of Soul loss created by discomfort and distress caused by unbalance so the struggle continues to keep balance all hallows the Christian celebration of all souls has overshadowed this feast for many years hence the original relevance from our own Indigenous Celtic perception was buried but not forgotten. Because of this deliberate deception it is so clear that those responsible knew exactly what they were attempting to repress and destroy. FEAR controls and destroys. Love liberates and heals the truth can be buried but it will never die like the resurrection of the Spiritual Master Jesus people are now becoming more aware of the changes coming to us and our awareness. It took 500 years to right the wrongs done to Joan of Arc. How much longer will it take to rectify this deceit and burial of the truth.Truth can be buried but it never dies it spring forth eternally through the eyes of our youth. It is only the fear of the old that keeps us in the sickness of imbalance. Samhain marks the end of summer. A time to ritually honor the Ancestors .A time of letting go to begin anew. The summer Oak King is burnt on a bonfire and the Holly King is welcomed. It was a time of ritually slaughtering any animals that it was feared would not last the winter. For many this could mena life of death for the family as there was sometimes not enough food to last through the winter. Starvation was a very common situation found in ancient Celtic times. So it is seen as a time of sacrifice.

The animals offer themselves up to us so we can survive the dark times of winter ,the same way our Power Animals protect us just like a loyal guard dog. The ritual and offerings giving thanks was most important to our ancestors so giving thanks and making sacrifices or offerings oh thanks was a commionting. Giving is receiving maintaining balance and respect with all our relations on Mother Earth.

SAMHAIN

Honoring the darkness/fear of positive change within us is a time of reflection and over the coming months there will be a lot of time to spend in reflection around the fire on those short days and long nights of winter.

__________________

WINTER SOLSTICE

With

Dermot O Hara

Celtic Shaman Dreamweaver Lodge Keeper

Hands on Healer

MIDWINTER YULE

Dec.21St. (Rebirth)

The Celebration of light

The Shortest day of the year Midwinter, Winter Solstice (Yule) This is the DAY. It is a time of celebration and renewal as the power of darkness weakens and the Sun God is reborn to grow in power all the way through to Summer Solstice. This celebration is to lift the spirits of all at the darkest and potentially most depressing time in the year. Midwinter day is when Darkness rules the longest upon the earth.

THE DEATH AND REBIRTH OF THE SUN GOD

From this time forward the Great Mother gives birth to the Sun God(Son of God) Celebrating the beginning of a new Light embracing the darkness with his great splendor. The turning of the great wheel of the Celtic calendar continues as we again remember our place within creation .Solstice celebrates the continious, infinite wheel of time change growth and healing. This is the time when the night reaches it longest duration. From this day on the nights become shorter days become longer. This is caused by the Sun returning to the northern hemisphere from the southern. This is the turning of the season and the return of the Sun God a time of rebirth the coming of the light and the days becoming longer and brighter We are moving out of the Crones dark cloak of Winter The third aspect of the Triple Goddess .The others being the Maiden Spring and Mother Summer

See our website www.celticshaman.com

_______________________________________________________

IMBOLC

(Snowdrops Feb 1st)

feast of the Triple Goddess

Brigit

(Maiden, Mother, Crone)

The patron of Fire, Poets, Seers, Healers and Smithy’s.

IMBOLC

The birth of the first lambs

A time of honoring the Light innocent purity of childhood The end of Winter and the beginning of Spring .

Imbolc celebrates the Sacredness of the Female, Feminine, Mother Earthly aspect of the Creator.

It is Mother Earths time of transformation, a time of empowerment for women . The Crone of Winter is now moving into the Maiden of Spring

As the Goddess of Fire she can burn away all that is bad and purifies all that is good. The fire of the heart nourishes and uplifts body, mind and spirit. The fire of inspiration drives us on in our journey of learning.

Imbolc is an empowerment ceremony both physically and spiritually. The demands upon the ancestors at this time was great as they prepared to begin clearing and opening Mother earth to sow and plant for a good harvest. This required a certain amount of fitness, nourishment and inspiration

This of course applies as much to-day as we still require abundance in our lives to exist and to provide a healthy standard of living.

This is the first festival of Spring as the sun child that came through the Ceremonial birth of light at Winter Solstice continues the journey now growing stronger to cast rays of light hope and warmth upon all living things within creation The fire of Imbolc is the tender light of new life as Mother Earth warms to open and receive the seed of the sower. The seed represents our hopes, dreams and ideas for the journey ahead in the coming year. Brigit the Goddess and patron of Fire and Smithy’s metal forges within the light of the ceremony the tools we need to make our way through the fields of opportunity that will meet us on our journey in the year ahead .With this celebration we honor the feminine power to give life and a so pay tribute to all who walk this path

It is a time to acknowledge and give thanks to our own Mothers, Grandmother’s the Ancestors and Mother Earth as the sustainer of life. Imbolc otherwise known as Brigit’s Day to our ancestors or in Christian belief as Saint Brigit’s day is a celebration of the Mother Feminine Triple Goddess Maiden, Mother, Crone the giver of life. In Wales the Celebration is called Gwyl Fair. The feast of Mary .Some Druids call it Candlemas. In parts of Scotland it is called the Festival of Brigit or Bride of Brigit referring to the Maiden aspect of Brigit or in Ireland the ancient Goddess of worship was transferred to a Christian saint called Saint Brigit. To the First Nations People of America she is the Great White Buffalo Calf Woman .This Celebration was seen as a time of great empowerment for all women and were so honored . After all is it not Mother Earth who provides us with the food we eat the air we breath and the water we drink during the year .Was it not our mothers and their mothers mothers who gave us life. So Hail ! Brigit the sustainer of life here on our earth walk.

HAIL! GODDESS ST.BRIGIT

_______________________________________________________

SPRING EQUINOX

(Balance March 21st)

Light triumphs over darkness.

The arrival of the Maiden

The celebration of new life Energy is increasing the sap is rising.

__________________

BELTAINE

(Fertility May 1st)

Celebrates the coming of Summer

Symbolically announces a fresh beginning. Cattle were driven into the stone circles between two fires for cleansing against disease. The two fires represent the Masculine and Feminine Interaction. A celebration of sexuality a time of union. The May pole enters the warmth of mother earth Symbolizing the seed entering the Mother Earth to bring forth the harvest at Lughnasadh. A time of youthful energy and freedom.

SUMMER SOLSTICE

(Highest Light June 21st)

Light conquerors darkness

The sun is furthest north resulting in the longest day pushing back the long dark nights of winter. Light conquerors darkness the holly King is slain by the Oak King.

__________________

LUGHNASADH (Harvest August 1st)

. A celebration of the Harvest

and our labors of the year past.

Lughnasagh is the fourth and last celebration marking the completion of the season of growth and the first fruits of the harvest gathered .This period begins with Spring Equinox ,Beltaine then Summer Solstice and coming to an end with the celebration of luaghnasadh marking the first fruits of the harvest. The harvest would continue up and until Autumn Equinox September 21st when all meats and foodstuffs were preserved and stored away for the winter.

In wales it was celebrated as the Feast of August Gwyl Awst

Celebrating Luaghnasadh the beginning of Harvest is a masculine celebration honoring the sun god lugh.It marked the beginning of the hunting season

Men would dance in animal skins and masks to attune themselves with the animal kingdom feats of sternght such as the tailtin games and fares were held as well as the making of straw figures Crowds would drum and chant to build up the power needed by the warriors and huntsm, to take with on their journey to battle or hunting.

THE CEREMONY

The corn king offers himself up to be sacrificed and being reborn as a loaf of freshly baked bread.

It is a time of fun and feasting The grain is also taken and used to make an ale and the straw was used as bedding for the winter to come.The summer is waning.The power of the sun God is given into the yellow grains of corn

The sacrafice of the King was at one time very real as blood was offered back to the Gods who had given the grain.The focus of the rite is still this weave exuberant life and release to death.It is both a celebration of what we have sown and nurtured which has come to fruition and an acklnowlegdgement of its dying as it dries in the heat of the summer giving it up to our needs.The hard work of harvesting must be done and so accepting the responsibility for gatherin it in

Lugh

Lugh was the father of Cuachulann and the

son of Ethlinn of the Tuatha de Dannan .Before these the Formorions ruled Ireland.The formorions were monstrous Sea Gods who ruled The Island. One of the fiercest was known as Balor

He was the Irish Cyclops. Balor was the most formidable of the Formorion Sea Gods who ruled before the coming of the Tuatha De Dannann. He was a one eyed monster who could destroy his foes with a glance from his eye.

There was a prophecy that he would and could only be slain by his own Grandson. So Balor locked his daughter Ethlinn in a crystal tower off the north west coast of Ireland on Tory Island

Even so he was slain with a slingshot held by the Sun God Lugh as the prophesy had foretold.

Ethlinns son and the Champion of the Tuatha de Dannann

Lugh’s father was Cian a lesser member of the Tuatha de Dannann. With the assistance of a female Druid he had entered the crystal tower and slept with Eathlinn

When Balor learnt that his sister had three sons he ordered that they be taken and drowned in a

LUGH

whirlpool near Tory Island . Balors servants wrapped them up in a sheet and took them to the whirlpool but on the way Cian fell out unnoticed and either the Druids handed the fortunate baby to the sun god Goibhniu or alternatively Mananan the God of the sea decided to foster him

Either way Lugh was saved and set on his destiny as the slayer of Balor and champion of the Tuatha De Dannan

The decisive duel took place at the

second battle of Maghtuaidh a fierce clash between the Formorions and the Tuatha de Dannan.

Nobody could stand up to Balors deadly gaze not even the great Tuath de Dannan leader Nuada The Tuatha de were almost routed when Lugh noticed the single eye of Balor was almost closing from weariness Lugh took this oppourtunity to creep slowly up close to Balor and the moment the giant eyelid opened he made his shot with his magic sling forcing Balors eye back further inside his head and turning the stare on his own Formori

This enabled the Tuatha de Dannan to defeat the Formori

driving them from the island forever.

BLESSINGS

Dermt OhARA

The Celtic Shaman

The Irish School of Shamanism

64, Sth William Street

Dublin ,2

Ireland

THE FORBIDDEN TRUTH

COPYWRIGHT 2005

www.celticshaman.com

________________

AUTUMN EQUINOX

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

September 21st(Balance)

So the wheel of change that exists in every year must be addressed as the Seasons are celebrated by our Celtic Gatherings .We can learn to increase our awareness and the need for Personal growth.

Equinox brings with it a time of balance a time of reflection to see what we have and what we still have not gained or are short of. A time of giving thanks to the Great Spirit the Ancestors and Mother Earth for a successful Harvest. A time to take stock of what we lack in our lives. Day and night are equal a time of balance days will begin to shorten . Darkness now conquerors Light and we balance ourselves with the cycle of our Celtic wheel calendar.

By addressing the impact the changing seasons have on our psyche we can celebrate and reinforce our balance in Sacred Ritual and Prayer. The positive change we wish to embrace will ultimately assist all to evolve Spiritually within the Universe. The Universe supports us as our Mothers did within the darkness of the womb. We are not fully sighted yet as our eyes have not fully opened to the awareness of who we really are so we must like a new baby re-experience birth/rebirth to awaken within us the eyes of the creator and the visions the great Spirit has in store for us all. For within us all creation is perfect and so each of us holds the seeds of truth buried for generations within our psyche and the land of our ancestors our land to-day Eire

Learning to Become as the child is to have mastered the balance of male and female and to have initiated into the role of Spiritual warrior

This balance can only be recieved with the assistance of Mother Earth and Father sky from the creator.So the importance of regular ceremony in balance with the Sacred Hoop of creation Only when we find balance and harmony of Mind and Spirit can we create a better world for all our relations .To achieve ones full potential and to individually empower oneself is to know who one truly is.

This awareness or wisdom of the need for balance creates ultimate empowerment and Healing and can be experienced from the Creator through the Mothering Earthly experiences of the Impi Sweat Lodge ceremony as taught to the Lakota people by the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman. This wisdom or self awreness we receive as Spirits in human form from our birth is taught in Celtic ceremony by the passing and celebtration of each festival and the great changes it effects on all creation to hold its balance despite the pressures we unbalanced people of the present world create

From our birth to our passing we complete the cycle of life within the Celtic wheel calendar. So the Celtic Wheel Calendar is more in harmony with all of Creation/ Spirit, particularly here in Ireland where for generations our Ancestors worked the land to survive.

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

September 21st is seen as the day to celebrate this feast others choose the full moon of that month. The Celebration of Equinox celebrates the balance of light and dark

Unlike the Roman calendar the Celtic calendar faces the real fears of change and illuminates it in balance not in the ignorance of fear.

The challenges of change, endings and beginnings within the relevance of the ever-changing seasons are what the Creator gave us to live by here so it should never be feared but rather embraced for only in dakness can fear ignorance and tyranny reside unchallenged breeding ultimate power and corruption and loss of balance and respect.

For so many these changes have a huge impact and many suffer with depression and other related disorders .This is caused because they have not been taught the truth about themselves they are not fully aware that the earth is moving into another cycle.

For some the imbalance is too great in their psyche and they turn to suicide because the balance of the equinox is causing so much to be put right that the pain and fear so great that it becomes almost unbearable for these dear souls. Some choose to leave and return home to Spirit. So the need for balance can sometimes magnify fear creating more imbalance.

The Impi sweat Lodge ceremony is so important it guide us back to balance again in a sacred way

Like the Moon with its 28-day cycle that influences the female menstrual cycle. So too the Sun has its power as well as it goes through the different Astrological signs making its way to the most Northern point.

These festivals are not determined by any astrological sign but rather by the influences closer to us here on Mother Earth. The Goddess is the one who rules these times and teaches us how to create harmony and so live and experience peace, the ultimate goal of all living things. These festivals are an open doorway from our souls to the Mother Earth through which all nourishment we require here is provided by the Great Spirit Creator in balance with our earth mother BRIGID.

Afterall if change and rebirth is required here on earth I feel that it is more approporiate to go to the Mother of creation to experience rebirth hence the powerful impi ceremony given to the Lakota Sioux Nation by the White Buffalo Calf Woman .This is the way we can help to save the future generations from destruction. Watch the leaves of the trees the growth of the grass the insects the birds the change in temperature the changing light .A time of rebalancing and putting things in order. Things must be put back in order before the coming of winter otherwise we may not survive the dark time of winter spiritually emotionally or psychically.

So Many fall deep into depression from here up to winter solstice because of great unbalance within .

Autumn Equinox falls between September 20^th and 23^rd. marking the completion of the harvest and a time of storing up for the winter. This is a time of giving thanks for what we have received and learnt over the harvest time. Night time becomes as long as day time as the balance between light and dark reverses in favor of the dark and the Sun God lugh withdraws from battle to return later victorious at Spring Equinox .The balance is more noticeable as this Festival is a more sedate one compared to the racing energies of the sap rushing up at Spring Equinox So now it is a time of reflection of what we achieved during the summer months and what we feel we may have felt short on at harvest time. Its a time to take stock before the winter arrives. Some extra meat maybe with a slaughter of the weakest of the animals that may not make the winter is done. A feast is held and food shared bread from the grain and mead from the blossom are taken and also given back to the Mother Goddess of the Earth to the spirits of place the ancestors and through the element of Fire giving thanks. Prayers are made that next year we will Endeavour to work more in harmony with the abundance available from Mother earth at her time of giving. Darkness now begins to grow strong. Lugh the Sun God retires to do battle again in the Spring Equinox. Having defeated darkness since Spring Equinox darkness now begins to creep back having spent time recovering his power of balance.

This is the final festival of the Celtic Calendar bringing together all those who labored in the fields or at their jobs etc. providing sustenance for the winter.

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Cead Mile Beannach Duit

One Thousand Blessings

Dermot O HaraSilverbirch

The Forbidden Truth

Copyright

2005

BLESSINGS

Dermt OhARA

The Celtic Shaman

The Irish School of Shamanism

64, Sth William Street

Dublin ,2

Ireland

THE FORBIDDEN TRUTH

COPYWRIGHT 2005

www.celticshaman.com

. The Celtic Wheel Of Initation

This program is geared to help with depression, behavioral problems relationship difficulties low self esteem, addictions and survivors of Abuse. Using Ceremony &Ritual

Its long been known that the power of visual impact on the human psyche is enormous hence the healing power of visual ritual and ceremony is most effective in enabling and assisting in the positive change and healing so many souls search for to day in modern society

Modern religion has failed socities all over the world so its back to the basics supplied free by the Creator

The Great Holy Spirit

SAMHAIN

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

(First Frost Oct.31st)

THE CELTIC NEW YEAR

SAMHAIN

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

This awareness or wisdom of our worlds need for balance creates ultimate empowerment and Healing and can be experienced from the Creator through the Mothering Earthly experiences of the Impi Sweat Lodge ceremony as taught to the Lakota people by the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This wisdom or self awareness we receive as Spirits in human form From our birth we are taught in Celtic ceremony by the passing and celebration of each festival and the great changes it effects on all creation to hold its balance despite the pressures we unbalanced people of the present world create From our birth to our passing we complete the cycle of life within the Celtic Wheel Calendar. So the Celtic Wheel Calendar is more in harmony with all of Creation/ Spirit, particularly here in Ireland where for generations our Ancestors worked the land honoring it as the provider Goddess Mother Earth Brigit to survive.

November 1^st. is seen as the day to celebrate this feast others choose the full moon of that month. The Celebration of Samhain heralds the beginning of the Celtic New Year

Hence the powerful impi ceremony(Sweat Lodge) given to us by the SacredWhite Buffalo Calf Woman is one way we can help to save the future generations from destruction. Watch the leaves of the trees the growth of the grass the insects the birds the changes in temperature the changing light the smell of the air .A time of rebalancing and putting things in order. Things must be put back in order before the coming of winter otherwise we will not survive the dark time of winter spiritually emotionally or psychically.

So many fall deep into depression from here up to winter solstice because of great unbalance within .

Hence from Summer Solstice to its lowest Point at Winter Solstice there are obvious changes talking place around us.

Many turn to addictions to fill this void of Soul loss created by discomfort and distress caused by unbalance so the struggle continues to keep balance all hallows the Christian celebration of all souls has overshadowed this feast for many years hence the original relevance from our own Indigenous Celtic perception was buried but not forgotten. Because of this deliberate deception it is so clear that those responsible knew exactly what they were attempting to repress and destroy. FEAR controls and destroys. Love liberates and heals the truth can be buried but it will never die like the resurrection of the Spiritual Master Jesus people are now becoming more aware of the changes coming to us and our awareness. It took 500 years to right the wrongs done to Joan of Arc. How much longer will it take to rectify this deceit and burial of the truth. Truth can be buried but it never dies it spring forth eternally through the eyes of our youth. It is only the fear of the old that keeps us in the sickness of imbalance. Samhain marks the end of summer. A time to ritually honor the Ancestors .Atime of letting go to begin anew. The summer King is burnt on a bonfire. It was a time of ritually slaughtering any animals that it were feared would not last the winter for many it was that way as there was sometimes not enough food to last through the winter. This was a very common situation found in ancient Celtic times. So it is seen as a time of sacrifice.

The animals offer themselves up to us so we too need to give thanks and make sacrifices or offerings oh thanks Giving is receiving maintaining balance and respect with all our relations on Mother Earth.

SAMHAIN

(First Frost Oct.31st)

THE CELTIC NEW YEAR

Within our lives this Calendar is I hope a way in which we can begin to honor and welcome positive change into our lives every day.

Using the Calendar or Cycle of the Wheel we can learn to consciously acknowledge the constant flux of change that exists within our Universe and that constant change is healthy and is in balance with all of Creation. Only when we move within this change are we fully moving within our own divinity, intuition, trust, consciousness and honoring of the Great (Holy) Spirit.

SAMHAIN

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

By addressing the impact the changing Seasons have on our psyche we can celebrate in Sacred Ritual and Prayer. The positive change we wish to embrace. This will ultimately assist all to evolve Spiritually within the Universe. The Universe supports us as our Mothers did within the darkness of the womb. We are not fully sighted yet as our eyes have not fully opened to the awareness of who we really are .To achieve ones full potential and to individually empower oneself is to know who one truly is.This awareness or wisdom of the need for balance creates ultimate empowerment and Healing and can be experienced from the Creator through the Mothering Earthly experiences of the Impi Sweat Lodge ceremony as taught to the Lakota people by the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This wisdom or self awareness we receive as Spirits in human form from our birth is taught in Celtic ceremony by the passing and celebration of each festival and the great changes it effects all creation to hold its balance despite the pressures we unbalanced people of the present world create From our birth to our passing we complete the cycle of life within the Celtic wheel calendar. So the Celtic Wheel Calendar is more in harmony with all of Creation/ Spirit, particularly here in Ireland where for generations our Ancestors worked the land honoring it as the Goddess Mother Earth Brigit to survive.

November 1^st. is seen as the day to celebrate this feast others choose the full moon of that month. The Celebration of Samhain heralds the beginning of the Celtic New Year

Unlike the Roman calendar the Celtic calendar faces the real challenges of Change, endings and beginnings within the relevance of the ever-changing seasons. So constant growth is embraced by our psyche assisting in our Spiritual evolvement For so many these changes have a huge impact and many suffer with depression and other related disorders because they are not fully aware of the earth is moving into another Season of change and so repressed fears that are planted within the psyche rise and the control of consciousness is maintained. Like the Moon with its 28-day cycle that influences the female menstrual cycle. So too the Sun has its power as well as it goes through the different Astrological signs making its way to the most Northern point. These festivals are not determined by any astrological sign but rather by the influences closer to us here in Mother Earth she is the one who rules these times and teaches us how to create HARMONY and so live and experience peace as is the ultimate goal of all living things. These festivals are an open doorway from our souls to the earth and the grounding from which all the nourishment we require here is provided for us by our Great Spirit Creator through our Earth Mother After all if change and rebirth is required here on earth I feel that it be more appropriate to go to the Mother of creation to experience rebirth.For is it not the mother who carries nurtures and gives birth to us Hence the powerful impi ceremony given to us by the White Buffalo Calf Woman is one w ay we can help to save the future generations from destruction. Watch the leaves of the trees this growth of the grass the insects the birds the change in temperature the changing light .A time of rebalancing and putting things in order. Things must be put back in order before the coming of winter otherwise we will not survive the dark time of winter spiritually emotionally or psychically. So Many fall deep into depression from here up to winter solstice because of great unbalance within .

And so the veil between Dark and light grows to its finest and we honor the return of the ancestors. Equally our ancestors were fully aware of the power of the dark but they did not fear it they knew that the light conquered all and so the great fires were lit and the ancient ways were honored in Ireland .Today it is celebrated by another name Halloween we are also on our guard by the great fires to guide home the lost darkened souls that travel with them masquerading as ancestors. In olden times people would dress up in animals skins and chase away the darkened ones. These unenlightened beings were guided by

The light of the fires to the light of redemption. This ceremony was later replaced by the Catholic ceremony of all souls day. So from Summer Solstice to its lowest Point at Winter Solstice there are obvious changes talking place around us.

Because a lot of what was practiced by our ancestors has been repressed and forgotten we have become disconnected from our own planet and environment i.e. The Creator, Great Spirit and Mother Earth all the necessary elements we require to create balance harmony we crave for Spiritually. Many turn to addictions to fill this void of Soul loss created by discomfort and distress caused by unbalance .The struggle continues to keep balance all hallows the Christian celebration of all souls has overshadowed this feast for many years hence the original relevance from our own Indigenous Celtic perception was buried but not forgotten. Because of this deliberate deception it is so clear that those responsible knew exactly what they were attempting to repress and destroy. FEAR controls and destroys

Love liberates and heals the truth can be buried but it will never die like the resurrection of the Spiritual Master Jesus people are now becoming more aware of the changes coming to us and our awareness. It took 500 years to right the wrongs done to Joan of Arc. How much longer will it take to rectify this deceit and burial of the truth. Truth can be buried but it never dies it spring forth eternally through the eyes of our youth. It is only the fear of the old that keeps us in the sickness of imbalance. Samhain marks the end of summer. A time to ritually honor the Ancestors letting go to begin anew. The summer King is burnt on a bonfire and replaced by the Holly King. It was a time of ritually slaughtering any animals that it were feared would not last the winter for many it was that way as there was sometimes not enough food to last through the winter. This was a very common situation found in ancient Celtic times. So it is seen as a time of sacrifice. The animals offer themselves up to us so we too need to give thanks and make sacrifices Giving is receiving maintaining balance and respect with all our relations on Mother Earth. Honoring the darkness/fear of positive change within us is a time of reflection and over the coming months there would be a lot of time to spend in reflection around the fire on those short days and long nights of winter.

BLESSINGS

Diarmuid Silverbirch

Sacred Hoop Lodge

64, Sth William Street

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Cead Mile Beannach Duit

One Thousand Blessings

Diarmuid Silverbirch

The Forbidden Truth

Copyright

2003

LUGHNASADH

(Harvest August 1st)

. A celebration of the Harvest

and our labors of the year past.

In wales it was celebrated as the Feast of August Gwyl Awst

Celebrating Luaghnasadh the beginning of Harvest is a masculine celebration honoring the sun god lugh.It marked the beginning of the hunting season

THE CEREMONY

The corn king offers himself up to be sacrificed and being reborn as a loaf of freshly baked bread.

Lugh

Lugh was the father of Cuachulann and the

son of Ethlinn of the Tuatha de Dannan .Before these the Formorions ruled Ireland.The formorions were monstrous Sea Gods who ruled The Island . One of the fiercest was known as Balor

There was a prophecy that he would and could only be slain by his own Grandson. So Balor locked his daughter Ethlinn in a crystal tower off the north west coast of Ireland on Tory Island

Even so he was slain with a slingshot held by the Sun God Lugh as the prophesy had foretold.

Ethlinns son and the Champion of the Tuatha de Dannann

Lugh’s father was Cian a lesser member of the Tuatha de Dannann. With the assistance of a female Druid he had entered the crystal tower and slept with Eathlinn

When Balor learnt that his sister had three sons he ordered that they be taken and drowned in a

Either way Lugh was saved and set on his destiny as the slayer of Balor and champion of the Tuatha De Dannan

The decisive duel took place at the

second battle of Maghtuaidh a fierce clash between the Formorions and the Tuatha de Dannan.

This enabled the Tuatha de Dannan to defeat the Formori

driving them from the island forever.

The Celtic Festivals

SAMHAIN

CELEBRATING OUR CELTIC SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

(First Frost Oct.31st)

THE CELTIC NEW YEAR

This awareness or wisdom of our worlds need for balance creates ultimate empowerment and Healing and can be experienced from the Creator through the Mothering Earthly experiences of the Impi Sweat Lodge ceremony as taught to the Lakota people by the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This wisdom or self awareness we receive as Spirits in human form From our birth we are taught in Celtic ceremony by the passing and celebration of each festival and the great changes it effects on all creation to hold its balance despite the pressures we unbalanced people of the present world create From our birth to our passing we complete the cycle of life within the Celtic Wheel Calendar. So the Celtic Wheel Calendar is more in harmony with all of Creation/ Spirit, particularly here in Ireland where for generations our Ancestors worked the land honoring it as the provider Goddess Mother Earth Brigit to survive.

November 1^st. is seen as the day to celebrate this feast others choose the full moon of that month. The Celebration of Samhain heralds the beginning of the Celtic New Year