Waning Moon in Aries

The Moon continues her quest in pioneering Aries today, with no classical aspects until her final flow of bright energy with Neptune, planet of dreams and visions, at midnight tonight. Today, we feel energized, motivated to take action on whatever is holding us back. A good day for clearing clutter, blasting through barriers, and exploring new territory.

In the Wheel of the Year, this is the time of Lughnasadh, third of the four great ancient Celtic festivals. Celebrated as Lammas or Lammastide, this is the time of first fruits. Seeing the shape of the harvest to come, we offer the first grains to the gods and goddesses. We collect the ripe fruits from hillsides, gardens and trees for pies, jams and wines.

The Sun in Leo revels in his home sign, resplendent on his shining throne. Each Celtic festival falls in one of the four fixed signs, and Lughnasadh is the sign of fixed Fire. Astrologically, Lughnasadh falls in the middle of this middle-of-summer sign, at 15 degrees of Leo (August 7 this year). According to the calendar, Lughnasadh is celebrated on August 1, or on the first Sunday in August.

Fitting for a solar celebration, Lughnasadh is a time of games and sport. Traditional events included foot races, horse races, and competitions of skill in battle and in song. Lugh, champion of the Tuatha de Danann and patron of Lughnasadh, was also invoked in matters of commerce, and so this was the time of the great fairs, where all manner of goods could be bought and sold, and deals struck. As people from many communities mingled at the fairs, marriage contracts were also made, including the ancient Irish trial marriage for a year and a day.

At night, great bonfires blazed on the hilltops, marking another turning of the year. In the ancient Celtic calendar, Lughnasadh marked the middle of the bright half of the year. Some communities marked the turn toward darkness by setting great wheels aflame and rolling them down a hillside to be doused in a pool or lake, signaling the coming loss of the Sun.

Underlying the games and contracts of Lughnasadh fairs was the understanding that a year of growth was coming to a close. Ancient tradition says that Lugh created this festival to honor his foster mother Tailte, queen of the Fir Bolg. It was Tailte who cleared the plains of Ireland, making them ready for the grain crops to sustain the people. After completing her great labor, she died, and Lughnasadh is her funeral celebration.

At this waning of the Moon in Aries, we have the chance to feel keenly what it means to let go of something, perhaps something that has been dear to us, knowing that this letting go is the next step in our cycle of growth. Today we harvest our own first fruits, sharing the food of our labor with our communities, trusting that all we need for the next turn of the spiral will be provided.

The images of bilberries, bonfire and barley were adapted from photos available through WikiMedia Commons.