Lughnasa

August 1, 2022

This one might be new to some of you - Lughnasa (pronounced LOO-nasa), halfway between the Summer Solstice and the Fall Equinox, right around Aug 1. This is a harvest festival, marking what would have been the time of the first grain harvest of the season. This festival included a great gathering, rituals, games, trading, and feasting in honor of Lugh, a supernatural being/hero/god of Celtic Irish mythology. I like Lugh. In folklore, Lugh was a warrior and eventually a king, but he was also multi-talented: a poet, a musician. A bit of a trickster god.

Interestingly, Lughnasa is also associated with matchmaking and signing contracts. So, here we have the themes of harvest, preparation for & investment in the future...mature themes that reflect personal and social responsibilities. Adulthood. You may have noticed this pattern of the wheel of the year also reflects the human life cycle. If you look at the eight-points of the wheel, Lughnasa is directly across from Imbolc, where I started this newsletter and quilt project. Imbolc was about gestation, seeds underground, dreaming about the spring and summer to come. Here we are, halfway around the wheel and immersed in Summer.

Bealtaine and the Summer Solstice felt so light and youthful. I have to admit that I don't feel so energized right now. I guess that's part of the theme, too. Summer is demanding. So much labor and energy to nurture crops/projects (whatever it is that you are cultivating) to this point of fruition. I had so much ambition for the garden this year - dreams of growing more medicinal plants, bringing in large harvests, and making big batched of infused oils and tinctures. I tell you friends, it did not happen as I'd hoped! The garden is a little wild from neglect and my harvest is modest. Below, you can see chamomile and calendula in various stages of drying for storage. But as I reflect on my disappointment in "not being able to do it ALL" (haha...), I realize that the harvest is still there, it's just not what I expected.

I learn so much from the garden, and one of the big lessons is about reckoning with my need for control and having humility in the face of complex ecology. The relationships between soil, plants, animals, weather, geography are so complicated - even in my little backyard. It's fascinating to observe how some of the perennials spread around without my help (but help from the birds, maybe). Many of the plants I hoped to harvest have gone to seed. There is a harvest without me. The plants are their own seed bank, and I can be content to let them stay where they are, and wait to see who comes up where next year. In the meantime, I'll continue to mow the pathways, trim things here and there, pinch off a few blooms for drying, and pull the occasional weed.

Of the four cross quarter festivals, Lughnasa is a my personal favorite, and it's because I associate it with my experience walking the Tochar Phadraig - the pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick. Croagh Patrick is a mountain near Westport, County Mayo, Ireland. The name is a reference to St. Patrick, but the mountain has been sacred for much longer than Christianity has been in Ireland. It's pre-Christian name is Cruachan Ailleand the pilgrimage is a ritual part of Lughnasa. To this day, people still climb the mountain as part of a ritual for "Reek Sunday" the last Sunday in July (the Sunday closest to Lughnasa). Many people start the climb at the base of the mountain, but there's an ancient road that originally led from Rathcruachan, the seat of the Kings & Queens of Connacht, to the mountain. Evidence of that is mostly buried, and when I did the walk in 2016, I started in Castlebar, and did the pilgrimage over two days. These photos are from that walk. Above is a glimpse of the mountain from the path.

The pilgrimage takes you through pastures, backyards, and a few wild boggy spots. One point of interest along the way is the Boheh Stone. It's a massive rock that protrudes from the ground. Now, it's just in someone's backyard, but thousands of years ago, it was a ritual site. There are concentric circles carved into the stone. Who knows how it was used - to stand on and give speeches? to lay out offerings? The Holy Mountain is visible from the Stone and twice a year (approx April 18 & Aug 24) you can view the "Rolling Sun" phenomenon: the Sun appears to roll down the side of the mountain.

The Lughnasa quilt is smaller than the previous ones. My experience during the Summer - feeling ill, desperately needing to rest - was a sign to not push too hard. I actually appreciate that this one is smaller. It feels more like a devotional object, that a quilt that might be used to cover and comfort the body.

The Holy Mountain and the pilgrimage walk were on my mind while making the Lughnasa quilt, as were the themes of harvesting and gathering in. All of these are embedded in the abstraction, though you can look for your own meaning and symbolism, too. Many of the fabrics are hand dyed - some from the osage orange vat, some indigo, and few ‘stone’ colored panels that are indigo dyed over black walnut. Some areas a filled in with dense stitching. And the last touch was a series of alternating running (walking?) stitches that travel around the edge and into the middle.