Reaffirmation of the TribeGenerously
contributed by Arch Druid Dyddgu
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While
teaching my Druid Grove - The Circle of Stone - about the Celtic
Feasts/Festivals, our Gwyl Awst/Lughnasadh ritual was in the works.
During Calan Mai/Beltaine we set our intent for our Tribe, at
Alban Heruin/Litha we nourished our intent, for Gwyl Awst/Lughnasadh
we reaffirmed our intent and married with the land as a tribute
to Celtic path workings of According to Alex Kondratiev, the Reaffirmation of the Tribe belongs to Land Goddess and the God of the Tribe with tribute to the God Lugh. A interchange of both Irish and Welsh mythology plays a hand in the Tribal order.
The Irish Story tells of Lugh who is born during a crucial time
of conflict between the Tuatha De Danaan who are Tribe and the
Formorain who are Land. Both Tribes are at war for the Land, the
Formorain who are the death of crops while the Tuatha De Danaan
are fighting to end the murderous outrage. Lugh is born of both
bloodlines to cease this war so the Tribe may survive and cohabit
with the Land. Queen Taltiu of the Fir Bolg is in retrospect the
Goddess who lays down her life in the fields and sheds her blood
in order for the Tribe to survive. The RDNA states in the Green Book of Meditations that the Reaffirmation of the Tribe should be preformed during Calan Gaeaf/Samhain during the time of New Year and New Beginnings. Perhaps so, however I feel it is more fitting to reunite the Tribe during the time of Gwyl Awst/Lughnasadh because the mythological stories fall in line with the festival itself as well as the energies of the Land and Universe.
In today's society we have lost touch reuniting the Tribe with
the Land at harvest time. We shop at the Farmer's Market and think
oh how wonderful fresh vegetables, yet not a thought goes into As this is a time of connecting with others, establishing new contracts and relationships, ensuring new projects will be in the works and pushed ahead, this is the moment for the Reaffirmation of the Tribe to resolve issues with the Land (as stated above) in order to move forward, however, it is not only the Land that needs resolving, we ourselves need to come to a State of Resolution in our lives, with our families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, community, nation and world as well as our internal selves. This is the climax before the descent into our newness and new lives. The time is now to prepare cynhaeaf (before winter) to release what is holding us back so we may move forward while harvesting our seeds that we have planted to sustain us for the long journey ahead into darkness, because all we will have in the end is what matters the most - the Land and each other (Tribe). Resources: |