What Lies Beyond

Home
Help
Search
Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
What Lies Beyond
Witchcraft, Wicca, Divination & Spells
Dark Beings of Lughnasadh
Dark Beings of Lughnasadh
Joanna Dark Beings of LughnasadhJul 31, 2016 at 3:33am
Moderator Post by Joanna on Jul 31, 2016 at 3:33am

Posts: 2,097
Dark Beings of Lughnasadh
Lengthening shadows are an indication the days are slowly growing shorter as the Wheel
of the Year turns. Twilight is now rife with legends of darker ones who stalk the long
nights. The faeries of English and Scottish folklore have been classified in a variety of
ways. Two of the most prominent categories, derived from Scottish folklore, are the
Seelie Court and Unseelie Court.
The Unseelie Court. The Seelie court – “The Shining Throne,” “The Golden Ones” and
“The Summer Court” – are giving way to The Unseelie Court (above), which is made up
of darkly-inclined fairies. They appear at night and are said to assault travelers, often
carrying them through the air, beating them and forcing them to commit unsavory acts.
The time of the Seelies has ended, their reign begins with the Imbolc light and ends at
Midsummer, the shortest night of the year. But the Unseelie thrive in darkness and grow
more powerful until Samhain, their finest hour. It starts now, with the first Harvest, as
darkness quickens upon the air around us.

These darker beings are faeries that go bump in the night. Members of the Unseelie
Court generally dislike humans and when they play their tricks, they would rather harm
than help. Passion conquers love. Dark rules over light. The Unseelie way is passionate
and pragmatic. They stand for the principles of constant change and impulsive action and
have a reputation for fostering war and madness. They despise the weak and value
freedom and wild abandon and scoff at chivalry. The Unseelie consider themselves
radical visionaries, bringing about vital change and transformation.
In Norse mythology, Light elves were beautiful creatures considered to be “guardian
angels.” The god Freyr, was the ruler of Alfheim, the home of the light elves. Light elves
were minor gods of nature and fertility who could help or hinder humans with their
magical powers, and inspired art and music.
Dark Elves. These were the opposite of the Light Elves and resided in Svartálfheim. The
Dark Elves hated the sun and its light because if they were touched or exposed to
sunlight, they would immediately turn to stone. They loved to annoy and threaten
humans and it was believed these dark beings produced nightmares. The Dark Elves
would sit on a sleeping person’s chest and whisper bad dreams into his ear to haunt him.
They could also haunt animals, especially horses.
The Sidhe. The pronunciation of Sidhe is shee. It is believed the Sidhe are a distinct
race, different from human beings, but who have had contact with mortals throughout the
centuries. Belief in this other race of beings who possessed powers beyond those of man
to move quickly through the air and shape-shift at will were once prevalent in rural
Ireland and Scotland.
The Sidhe of subterranean mounds were once believed by the Irish to be the descendants
of the old agricultural Earth gods, one of the most important being Crom Cruaich, the
Crooked One of the Hill. These gods controlled the ripening of the crops and milk yields
of cattle, therefore, they required frequent offerings. In the Book of Leinster, we learn
that following conquest, the Tuatha De Danaan took revenge on the sons of Mil by
destroying their wheat and the goodness of the milk. The sons of Mil were thus forced to
enter into a treaty with the Sidhe and since that time, the people of Ireland have honored
this treaty by leaving offerings of milk and butter for the “Good People.”
Crom Cruach, the other Wicker Man. Crom Cruach, also called “Crom Dubh,” was a
god of pre-Christian Ireland. The festival for Crom Cruach was called Domhnach Crom
Dubh (Crom Dubh Sunday). According to Christian history, he was propitiated by
human sacrifice and worship of this particular god was ended by Saint Patrick. The
references in the 12th century dinsenchas poem regarding sacrifice in exchange for milk
and grain suggest one of Crom’s functions was that of a fertility god. The description of
his image as a gold figure surrounded by 12 stone or bronze figures has been interpreted
by some to represent the sun surrounded by the signs of the zodiac, suggesting he was
also a solar deity. Human sacrifices to Crom Dubh were necessary to ensure a rich
harvest and fair weather.

The legend of Crom Cruach is a sinister one. The ancient texts of the Metrical
Dindshenchas claim the people of Ireland worshiped the god by offering up their
firstborn child in return for a plentiful harvest in the coming year. Crom Dubh, the “dark,
stooped one,” who lived in the underworld, emerged around the time of what is now
August 1 to claim the “first fruits,” in the form of Eithne the corn maiden, and then
carried her on his back – hence his stoop – down to the underworld. He enjoyed
unreserved worship in Ireland and other Celtic countries before the church and tribal
wars brought about the cultural and ethnic genocide of old Europe.

The Burry Man. Every August in Queensferry, near Edinburgh, the Burry Man is the
primary figure in an annual ritual in which a local man is covered from head to foot in
thistle burrs. He is paraded through the town at a snail’s pace supported by two
assistants. For almost nine hours, he is required to remain in costume, often in sweltering
heat, and can lose close to 14 pounds in body weight. He must drink through a straw and
is sustained by a few wee drams and lots of water.
The significance of the ceremony has been lost in the mists of time, but could have been
a ritual to seek good fortune for the harvest or community. Warding off evil spirits,
connecting with nature and celebrating local identity could lead one to believe the man
in costume is suffering some sort of medieval punishment, but actually, it is considered a
great honor to be the Burry Man. Another suggestion is that the Burry Man is a
scapegoat figure with the burrs representing the guilt of the village being collected and
driven out.
Odin. It was also in August that the god Odin sacrificed himself on the World Tree to
gain knowledge of the runes. He hanged there for nine days and nights, staring into the
abyss, pierced by a lance and losing one of his eyes in the process.
Blood and Bacchus. The grape harvest also begins at Lughnasadh. Bread is considered
the body of the sacrificed god and wine is his blood. The ancients believed the inebriated
state induced by wine was sacred. In the myth of Dionysus (Bacchus), Hera would
attempt to smuggle him as a child and later in his life, drove him insane. His festivals
were the Bacchantia, celebrated by those who used alcohol to overcome inhibitions that
social mores would not normally permit. Dionysus was a god that defied social order,
broke taboos and customs and gained knowledge through divine madness. He was
attracted to the night and dark places.
Scathach. Scathach was a warrior queen whose name meant “The Shadowy One.” She
lived in Western Scotland and operated a training academy for young warriors. A strong
and fiercely independent woman, respected and revered by the warrior society, she is an
otherworldly character and her granting of the Gae Bolga to Cuchulainn is strongly
reminiscent of the Lady of the Lake’s granting Excalibur to Arthur. Through Scathach,
Cuchulainn, famous for her skills and magic, became the champion of all Ireland.
Described as a witch and prophetess, she gained the title Amazon Witch Queen. She
knew all the arts of war and every weapon, every trick and every strategy. She was also a
Druidess and mistress of the arts of magic, prophecy and shape-shifting.
Banshees. Though seldom seen, the mourning call of the banshee is heard by many,
usually at night. In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seeress,
or banshee, who foretold his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. There are
records of several human banshees or prophetesses attached to the great houses of
Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings. In some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as
the bean chaointe (keening woman) whose wail can be so piercing that it shatters glass.
The banshee is usually clad in a grey hooded cloak, winding sheet, or robe of the
unshriven dead. She may also appear as a washer-woman. Her name is connected to the
mythologically-important tumuli or “mounds” that dot the Irish countryside, which are
known as síde in Old Irish. The banshee is often described in Gaelic lore as wearing
green, or sometimes red, and she usually has long, disheveled hair and appears as an
ugly, frightful old hag. Banshees are sometimes seen standing on the branches of trees in
the eerie light of a full moon.
* * *
Witches of the past sometimes learned their magic from the fairies, meeting them in the
woodlands and at fairy mounds that most people avoided. It is said these otherworldly
beings provided herbs, potions and the secrets of the craft.

Source: Danette Wilson - Outside the Circle, Patheos, July 28, 2016.

See also “Deeper into Lughnasadh”:

whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/2138/essence-lughnasadh
 “How Neo-Pagans Celebrate Lughnasadh”:
whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/7212/neo-pagans-celebrate-lughnasadh
“Lammas: Its Origins”: whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/4104/lammas-origins
“Lammas Ritual”: whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/2135/lammas-ritual
“Lughnasadh August 1st”: whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/2127/lughnasadh-
august-1st
“Standing Stones and Lughnasadh”:
whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/4108/standing-stones-lughnasadh

Last Edit: Jul 31, 2019 at 6:53am by JoannaB

jane
Elder

Dark Beings of LughnasadhJul 31, 2016 at 5:08pm

Post by jane on Jul 31, 2016 at 5:08pm
Most of what people who call themselves Wiccans write is trash, but there's actually
some worthwhile information in this one.

Posts: 550
Kate
Moderator

Dark Beings of LughnasadhJul 28, 2019 at 10:52pm

Post by Kate on Jul 28, 2019 at 10:52pm
The Celtic celebration of Lughnasadh is Thursday, August 1st. Does anyone have any
plans to celebrate?
In the 1973 movie, "The Wicker Man," sacrifices are made to the gods by burning them
in a huge wickerwork figure at Beltane, but in reading about Lughnasadh and other
Celtic celebrations, I believe these sacrifices were actually made at Lughnasadh.

Posts: 588
LostLenore Dark Beings of LughnasadhJul 30, 2019 at 12:10pm
New Post by LostLenore on Jul 30, 2019 at 12:10pm
Member
 Jul 28, 2019 at 10:52pm Kate said:
The Celtic celebration of Lughnasadh is Thursday, August 1st. Does anyone have any plans
to celebrate?
In the 1973 movie, "The Wicker Man," sacrifices are made to the gods by burning them in a
huge wickerwork figure at Beltane, but in reading about Lughnasadh and other Celtic
Posts: 48 celebrations, I believe these sacrifices were actually made at Lughnasadh.
I'm not going to celebrate because I don't know anyone else celebrating it. But I do have
some questions. Is Lughnasadh, or Lammas, really a celebration of "first fruits" like they
say on neo-pagan websites? Also, do you think that one of the reasons that pagans had
festivals where everyone got together and feasted was because they could slaughter and
roast large animals, like pigs and cows, which they couldn't do as a family because they
had no way to preserve the meat when the weather was warm?
Dark Beings of LughnasadhJul 30, 2019 at 5:44pm
Post by madeline on Jul 30, 2019 at 5:44pm

madeline
Elder

Jul 30, 2019 at 12:10pm LostLenore said:

I'm not going to celebrate because I don't know anyone else celebrating it. But I do have
some questions. Is Lughnasadh, or Lammas, really a celebration of "first fruits" like they say
on neo-pagan websites? Also, do you think that one of the reasons that pagans had festivals
where everyone got together and feasted was because they could slaughter and roast large
animals, like pigs and cows, which they couldn't do as a family because they had no way to
preserve the meat when the weather was warm?

Posts: 654 Lughnasadh was celebrated during the wheat harvest, so I'm sure there would have been
bread and whatever kinds of fruits and vegetables that were ready. Probably the meat cooked
for summer celebrations would have been small animals, like chickens, rabbits and dogs, or
young pigs and lambs that could be roasted whole. If you butcher large animals when it's
hot, you have to deal with flies and worry about the meat spoiling before it can be cooked or
smoked.
Last Edit: Jul 30, 2019 at 5:47pm by madeline
Click here to remove banner ads from this forum.
This Forum Is Hosted For FREE By ProBoards
Get Your Own Free Forum!
Terms of Service | Privacy | Cookies | FTC Disclosure | Report Abuse