The Goddess at Lughnasadh

Taltiu, slow Magmor’s daughter,
‘Tis she that cut down the forest.
Lugh’s foster-mother, men declare,
The place of this assembly (is) round Tailtiu.

(The Edginburgh Dinnshenchas" by Whitley Stokes, Folklore IV)

Given that Lughnasadh is a time of joyous celebration, it is surprising to learn that Lughnasadh was originally funerary games for Tailtiu, the foster mother of the Irish God Lugh, who died clearing forested land for cultivation. This information is given in a Medieval poetic anthology known as the  Metrical Dindshenchas:

"Long was the sorrow, long the weariness of Tailtiu, in sickness after heavy toil; the men of the island of Erin to whom she was in bondage came to receive her last behest. She told them in her sickness (feeble she was but not speechless) that they should hold funeral games to lament her - zealous the deed."

Bila, Aboriginal Sun Goddess

The Aboriginal peoples of Australia have numerous myths associated with land and "country" (their particular location). This means that every "country" had their own particular "genii loci", protective spirits or localised myths., as well as what psycho-analysis Carl Jung would describe as the "collective unconsciousness" - similar themes appearing not only around the country but also around the world.

 

The beautiful Flinders Rangers, home of the Adnyamathanha people.

 

Water - the Source of Life

A new calendar year and the Summer's heat has arrived to this dry brown land.  With the Australian weather patterns often moving across the country from west to east, the heatwave that Perth was sweltering under around Christmas time, is now making its presence felt in the southern central states - however the heat has intensified due to the desert.

As the life force energies can very quickly be sapped from the living during this intense heat, I thought I would share an article that has a cooling watery feel that had originally been posted on my old blog.  It is important that in the heat we keep our fluids up.  It is also vitally important that we keep an eye out for those who may not be able to look after themselves - the elderly and infirmed, our pets, and local wildlife.  It doesn't cost much to put a couple of extra bowls of water out (in shadey places) or to knock on someone's door to ensure that they are coping, or even drop them off a bag of ice.

Yemaya and New Year

Around the first Full Moon of the year the Temple of the Dark Moon together The Goddess House will be hosting the annual "Blessing of the Waters" at Grange Beach, Adelaide.  This event is dedicated to the Africo-Carribean Mami Wata, the "Mother of the Waters", commonly known as Yemaya. 
 

Yemaya, or Ymoja as she was known to the Yoruban people of West Africa, was the Mother of the Ogun River. This is because she was said to have given birth to the world's waters ... and that new springs would appear whenever she turned over in her sleep, and springs would gush forth whenever she walked.

The Djanggawul Sisters

A Haiku by Luthiena o Lorien

Endlessly pregnant,

Produced the world's first sacred,

Holy artifacts

According to the Aboriginal people of north eastern Amhem Land, the human race evolved from three great ancestorial beings, known as Djanggawul and his two sisters: Bildiwuwiju (or Bildjiwuraru), the elder sister who had many children; and Muralaidj (or Miralaidj), who had just reached puberty.  Together, they lived on an island known as Baralku, the island of the dead.

One day they decided to load up their canoe with sacred objects and emblems (which they kept in a conical mat basket) and travel to Australia.  They landed on the Arnhem Land coast at a place called Yelanghara beach near Port Bradshaw.   When Djanggawul plunged his mawalan (walking stick) into the sand, a freshwater spring formed.  The stick then grew into a she-oak tree.

White Ribon Day - 25 November 2012

In 1991, a group of Canadian men initiated a White Ribbon campaign to recognise the anniversary of the deaths of 14 Canadian women massacred by a gunman in Montreal two years prior. Wearing a white ribbon was a public pledge by these men to never commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women.

Since that time, the White Ribbon campaign has spread to countries on every continent. It is now the largest organised worldwide event condemning violence against women.

Each year, 25 November marks both the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and White Ribbon Day.

More about White Ribbon Day can be found here.