Celebrations & Festivals - The Blog - The Celtic Order of the Féth Fíada ~ Mystery School

Celebrating Lugnasad

July 30, 2023 No Comments

Although named for the Irish God Lugh (aka Lleu, Lugos, Lugus), Lugnasad (aka Gŵyl Awst) almost certainly ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root word for his name: *leu-g- (black, dark, dim; swamp) or *leug- (bend, bow, twist) + Old Irish násad (assembly, gathering — especially one of a festive or commemorative nature; death, put to death). It most likely means the “Gathering of the Black or Bent One,” but it could also mean “Black Death” or any other such combinations thereof. However, an enormous amount of weight must be given to the first interpretation, simply because Lugnasad is still today often referred to as Black Stoop Sunday, and largely connected with an Irish deity called Crom Dubh (Black Bent One or Dark Bowed One, etc.). This figure is associated, as well, with the Irish God Crom Cruach (Bent or Bowed One of the Mound or Stack [of Grain]), to whom the people made sacrifices in exchange for milk and grain.

Corn Dollies

July 26, 2023 No Comments

We are coming close to the First Harvest Earth Festival, a time to bring in the grain. This is a time of year when country fairs were held and still are…a time to share and show off the best that you have grown. For the First Harvest, it is all about the grain and the symbols that go with it.

Sacred Space of Altars

June 14, 2023 No Comments

Altars are a very personal thing, being everything from very formal to unrecognizable as an altar. Regardless of what they look like, they are the powerhouse of our magicks. This is where we hold our rituals, and everything we do at them holds a little residual energy from our workings. No matter what our altar looks like, it is a place we can go to reconnect to our magickal selves.

Celebrating Beltaine

April 30, 2023 No Comments

For those who don’t know, here at COFF, we follow astrological timing for our Wheel of the Year. That means that for us, Beltaine falls on May 5, at 15 degrees Taurus. Beltaine (pronounced “bee-all-tin-uh” < Proto-Celtic *Belo-Te(p)niâ Bright Fire) is the first day of summer. In Wales, it is known as Calan Haf (Calends of Summer).

Bringing in the May

April 26, 2023 No Comments

A wonderful old tradition on May Day involves the giving of flowers and candies. In England, this tradition is called “Bringing in the May.” This is the time to go out and pick budding flowers off trees and bushes, such as forsythia, lilac, magnolia, and the like to bring in the spring.

Writing Compelling Rituals

April 9, 2023 No Comments

Many (if not most) Pagan rituals are extremely poorly written (and that’s not just my own humble opinion, by the way, but one shared by many Pagans). That’s because the people writing them are not usually professional writers, or even amateur writers. So they frequently largely lack even the most fundamental knowledge and understanding of the elements of narrative writing: theme, characters, archetypes, symbolism, setting, time, plot, conflict, resolution, point of view, tone, and style. Rituals also need another element: mystery. We are, after all, working with the Mysteries.

WitchCrafting

April 5, 2023 No Comments

WitchCrafting is a unique word. The word “craft,” in fact, conjures up all sorts of fun, creative ways to add some magick to your life — if, of course, you are a practicing witch. In reality, when anyone makes anything, there is always a little piece of themselves in their work, whether they are aware of it or not.

Kitchen Witch BOS

March 29, 2023 No Comments

A project we did here at COFF was a weekly study and the creation of a Kitchen Witchery section for a Book Of Shadows —

COFF’s Wheel of the Year

March 26, 2023 No Comments

Here at COFF, we celebrate an eight-spoked Wheel of the Year, and we employ Old Irish names for all our Solar/Earth Festivals. A few of the reasons why we don’t use the “standard” Wiccan Wheel of the Year at COFF is because: (1) Féth Fíadans aren’t Wiccans; (2) the names of the Wiccan Sabbats are an admixture of Irish (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain), Welsh (Mabon), and Anglo-Saxon (Ostara, Litha, Yule); and (3) the God Mabon has no genuine historical claim to any Autumn Equinox tradition whatsoever. Rather, he is usually seen by Celtic scholars as being associated with either one or both of the solstices.

Of Snakes & Shamrocks

March 12, 2023 No Comments

St. Patrick’s Day is almost upon us. If you wish to refer to it by its nickname, please be sure you spell it properly: It’s St. Paddy’s Day (for the Irish Pádraig ), not St. Patty’s Day (“patty” is a hamburger or sausage). Now that we’ve got that sorted, let’s take a look at the man himself.

Category: Celebrations & Festivals