Teltane — Celebrate!
Happy Teltane, everyone!
Today is the ancient Celtic celebration known as Teltane. It is a cross-quarter day, as we reach the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox. Although the days are still long, the sun rises later and sets earlier. The rhythm of the earth is shifting, and energies are beginning to draw inward. To ensure the balance between sun and earth energies necessary for a successful harvest, the ancient Celts celebrated a ritual marriage between earth and sun, male and female.
“Even as the fullness of the Sun hung heavy in the summer sky, our ancestors noticed that each succeeding day saw the Sun rising later and setting earlier. As an assurance that the Sun would retain its power until the harvest was complete, the Celts celebrated a ritual marriage on this day between Lugh, the Sun, and Eire, the Earth. This cosmic mating of the male and female energies was vital to the maintenance of harmony and abundance.
“We have seen in our time the effects of imbalance of yin and yang. The restoration of this harmony and abundance in our lives and on our planet is a sacred task that each of us must shoulder. The male and female in each of us must learn to love itself, and, from that, to love the other.
“On Teltane, or Lammas, or Lughnassad, Lugh, the Celtic god of Light buried his foster mother Tailltiu beneath a great mound in Ireland. This signifies the withdrawal of the Mother Goddess into the earth in preparation for the falling seeds that will need her care if they are to germinate in winter.”
(From The Essene Book of Days by Danaan Parry © Earthstewards Network Publications, Bainbridge Island WA)
I pay attention to the cycles of the seasons, and like to note the ways that different cultures recognized and honored them. For me, it’s important to remember these things. It’s one of the little ways that helps me to realize there’s always a lot more to this life than the appearances; that cycles far beyond the reach of mass media and the news cycle have an impact on us.
I choose to tune into these more natural cycles, rather than the hideous news cycle. I mean, really, how much more news about the current administration can I really take? I choose to not pay it much mind, nor to feed the cycles of hatred, the self-smug notion that “my side is right, and yours is nuts”.
I don’t need any of that. None of it does a damn thing for my soul. Like Pete Townsend once wrote — “I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution, take a bow for the new revolution, smile and grin at the change all around me, pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday, and then I’ll get on my knees and pray, we don’t get fooled again”.
No, I’d rather celebrate Teltane today. I’d rather celebrate life. Today, I celebrate health, the seasons, nature, life, and wish everyone I know, and those I don’t, an abundant and glorious day.
Ain’t it just grand just to be alive?
Originally published at cowbird.com. Edited and updated for this publication.
