Celtic Cycles of Light in the Ancestral Calendar
The time for publication of the first novel in the series Revealing the Druid Legacy draws near. I learned a great deal about the Celtic ancestors through the Muse who helped me write all three of the books that shed light on Dark Age Wales and conveyed the life and training of a Druid Priestess.
Although I was already following the Celtic Calendar and leading or participating in festival circles, one of the areas that became more meaningful to me was the ancestor's approach to the eight solar cycle festivals themselves.
To enhance your experience of Book One, The Last Priestess, I'd like to share some of the concepts of the festivals in general and offer a ceremony and practice for the coming cross-quarter festival of Imbolc* in a FREE Zoom presentation on the Celtic Cycles of Light, which will include a guided candle meditation. It will take place on Thursday February 2nd from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.. A recording will be available to those who cannot attend at that time. CLICK HERE to register (hopefully before the day of the event) and indicate whether you will be attending in person or require a recording sent.
More information:
*Imbolc is the Irish name and means "In the belly of the mother" as this is the time the lambs were being born. We don't know the pre-Christian Welsh word for this time, but it is now called Gwyl Fair, which refers to the Feast of Mary (who gave birth to Jesus at the Midwinter called Christmas). The English word for this celebration in the Catholic Church is Candlemas. In the novel I call it the Festival of First Buds as this is also an outer experience in the Northern Hemisphere now.
The Cross Quarter festivals are celebrated on the calendar dates (February 2nd for this one) and for others on the actual center point between the quarters formed by the Equinox and Solstice points (45 degrees bisecting the 90 degree quarters of the 360 circle). The coming cross quarter is at 15 degrees of Aquarius and coincides with the approach of our Full Moon in Leo on the 5th of February. If you missed the Feb 2nd live Zoom, the 4th or 5th are good days to listen and participate with the recording.
NOTE: If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, your cycles are naturally reversed and having had the point of greatest light in your Summer Solstice, you would be approaching the festival known as Lughnasadh (Irish); a celebration of the sun god and his gifts. I refer to this as the First Harvest Festival in the novels, as this is what is taking place in the outer world.