The Nature and Character of Lugh

It seems like every year around this time, I’m fighting misinformation on the god Lúgh. Everywhere one looks on the internet, people are perpetuating the same outdated stuff; that Lúgh is a sun god, and/or a god of the grain. The origin of such notions is from new age books that never bothered to research beyond outdated Victorian-era anthropology.

I mean, you only have look it up on wikipedia to know that his name doesn’t link him to the sun: “The exact etymology of Lugus is unknown and contested. The Proto-Celtic root of the name, *lug-, is generally believed to have been derived from one of several different Proto-Indo-European roots, such as *leug- “black”, *leuǵ- “to break”, and *leugʰ- “to swear an oath”. It was once thought that the root may be derived from Proto-Indo-European *leuk- “to shine”, but there are difficulties with this etymology and few modern scholars accept it as being possible (notably because Proto-Indo-European *-k- never produced Proto-Celtic *-g-).”

Some of the later new age publications actually acknowledge that modern scholars say Lúgh isn’t a sun god, but word it so as to not step on the toes of the die-hard sun theorists. The main passage that comes to mind is one published in Lammas: Celebrating the Fruits of First Harvest by Anna Franklin & Paul Mason, and has been copied onto Lúgh articles all over the internet. It states: “While some writers state, without hesitation, that Lugh was a sun god, others, with equal force, argue that he was neither a god of the sun nor harvest.” What the author seems to be doing here, is giving both ideas equal merit. However, they don’t have equal merit. The actual historical record speaks for itself.

There is no record of Lúgh being worshiped as a sun god, but ample evidence that both his name meaning and his roles in Celtic religion were something else entirely.

“…helped along by Victorian scholars’ obsession with “solar myths”, it was taken for granted that Lúgh was a solar god… However, traditional, ritual-associated ideas about Lúgh show no trace of this… Lugus has his domain in storm rather than in sunlight, and that if his name has any relation to “light” it more properly means “lightning-flash”… This is the principal function of his invincible spear…” –Lugus: The Many-Gifted Lord by Alexei Kondratiev

Why does it irk me so that the misinformation persists? Because people who think Lúgh is a sun god are getting the story wrong. Because if you’re getting the story wrong, then you’re also misunderstanding the meaning of an entire holiday; Lughnasadh. Because if you think Lúgh is a sun god, you do not know the real Lúgh. The real Lúgh is much more interesting and complex.

So that is why I’m writing this. It’s time to go beyond calling out the sun myth debacle, and move on to telling folks about his true character.

Excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and hero, Lúgh?

He was known by the continental Celts as Lugus, by the Welsh as Lleu, and by the Irish as Lúgh. We must look to all these cultures to get a complete picture of who Lúgh is. When Romans encountered Lugus, they equated him with their god Mercury, patron of travelers, commerce, trickery, and eloquence.

Relief of Mercury and Rosmerta from Eisenberg in present day Rhineland-Palatinate.

Early depictions of Lugus show him with a Tree of Life, twin serpents, dogs or wolves, birds (especially two ravens), horses, and mistletoe. He has similarities with Cernunnos, as they are both threshold gods, psychopomps, have a triple form, and a magical bag.

He has much in common with, and may actually be the prototype for- Odin. Like Odin, he wields a spear and is associated with two ravens. They are both psychopomp deities (again, like Cernunnos and Mercury). Both are travelers and magicians. Odin is god of wisdom, Lúgh of intellect and of every skill. Odin is one-eyed. Lúgh closes one eye to do magic on the battlefield. Odin was hung on a tree, pierced by his own spear, died and was reborn. So was Lleu. There are a few similarities with Loki as well, as they are both tricksters and associated with the mistletoe, however Lúgh is seen in a much more positive light than Loki. (For more of such comparisons, read The Birth of Lugh – Óðinn and Loki among the Celts by Thor Ewing, and Of Norse Loki and the Celtic Lugh.)

Archaeological Museum of Dijon

So if you know a little about Norse mythology, you may be starting to form a picture in your mind of some of the aspects of Lúgh’s character; imagine a younger, smaller, Celtic Odin (especially in his traveler guise), with a fair bit of the trickiness of Loki. Now imagine that like Thor, he can also wield lightning. He shares some strikingly similar characteristics and powers with these gods.

I think of all the modern day depictions of Lúgh in art, the Magician in Lo Scarabeo’s Celtic Tarot captures his spirit the best; the slender wiry god sits perched in his sacred oak (a tree sacred to several Indo-European thunder gods), a floppy red Odin-eske hat covering one eye, and his magic bag slung over his shoulder. The torc around his neck is huge (or is it the god that’s small?). He is surrounded by some of his symbolic animals (serpent, horse…). Torcs and rings of gold hang from the trees. A fidchell board (Celtic chess- his invention) lies at his knee.

Lugus The Magician from Lo Scarabeo’s Celtic Tarot

In Irish lore, Lúgh was born of a Fomorian mother (Ethniu), and a Tuatha Dé Danann father (Cian). The Fomorians were an earlier race of beings that inhabited Ireland, sometimes depicted as monstrous giants, sometimes from under the sea. They represent wild chaotic nature. The Tuatha Dé were the race of divine beings that would later become the Sídhe, and were often represented as the gods of humanity and civilization.

Lúgh was born of both races, and so has a mastery of both nature and civilization, of the below and the above, of humankind and the divine. It is no wonder then, that his traditional places of worship are high hills with a nearby water source.

In the Battle of Mag Tured, Lúgh goes up against his own grandfather, the evil Fomorian king Balor. With his swift sling (or in folk tradition, his spear), he pierces Balor through his fiery poisonous eye (which represents the harsh summer sun). In winning this battle, he gains control of the land for the Tuatha Dé (and metaphorically saves the crops from scorching in the fields from Balor’s evil sun-eye).

He was fostered by Manannán mac Lir, the sea god and gatekeeper to the Otherworld, and so has many water associations and inherited much of Manannán’s magic. He was also fostered by Tailtiu, a Fir Bolg queen who died clearing land for agriculture. And it was in honor of his foster mother Tailtiu that Lúgh instituted the first Lughnasadh festival and funeral games.

I have just hit a very few of the highlights here, describing some of the points in the mythology that tie in with the season of Lughnasadh, and describing some of Lúgh’s traits that I find especially interesting. I know I have left out a lot of important parts of his lore. Find more of the story of Lugh in Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), and The Second Battle of Mag Tured (Moytura). Read about Lleu in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion.

He is god of Land, Sky, and Sea. God to kings, warriors, and farmers. He is the quintessential underdog, surviving and winning despite the odds and with intellect and magic rather than brute force only. He is both hero and trickster and sovereign protector of the land. He is patron of travelers, for he travels with the lightning, small and swift, many places at once. He traverses worlds.

As Alexei said, “His many gifts remain at the disposal of those who trouble to seek him out.” Indeed, I hope you do.

Kids’ Activities for Imbolc / Winter Thermstice

EXPLANATION & INFORMATION

• “The Ancient Celtic Festivals and How We Celebrate Them Today” by Clare Walker Leslie and Frank E. Gerace (for ages 9-12)

STORIES

• “The Earth Shapers” from the book “Celtic Wonder Tales” by Ella Young (for ages 9-12)

• “The Cailleach of the Snows” from the book “Celtic Memories” by Caitlin Matthews (for ages 8 and up).

CRAFTS

• Make candles with beeswax sheets.

• Make candle holders with salt dough.

• Make and decorate a brídeog and Bríd crosses.

• Make a wooly sheep for Imbolc.

ACTIVITIES

• Look for early signs of Spring. What is the first flower to make its way through the thawing soil? What kinds of birds and other wildlife do you see? This is a good time to start a nature journal.

• Do a Spring cleaning of your room, as well as helping the grown-ups clean the rest of the house.

• With a grown-up’s help, make juniper room spray with a few drops of juniper oil (or a sprig of juniper) in a small spray bottle of distilled water. Use this as a spiritual cleanse on Pagan holidays.

• Decorate a nature table with an Imbolc nature scene; put down a white cloth for snow, some green cloth for the greening land, a doll dressed like the goddess Brigit, and some of her animals (swan, cow, sheep, hibernating animals…).

• Help grown-ups with preparing special Imbolc foods.

Celtic Mythology for Kids

Whether you’re a Celtic Reconstructionist, Druid, or any other kind of Pagan, I hope you find this guide to teaching kids Celtic mythology helpful in some way. Though in traditional Irish culture, stories were told, not read, (and even then- only in the winter months), I have not adhered to that particular tradition. I am a visual learner, as are my children, so I have only recommended books with lots of illustrations. Illustrated mythology books can go a long way in teaching children the lore and providing a sense of wonder and understanding.

In Irish mythology, there is the special problem of early Christianization; the stories, written down by monks, do not specifically name the characters in the stories as gods. (The mythology of other Celtic cultures have similar problems.) The Tuatha Dé Danann, “peoples of the goddess Danu”, were depicted as heroes, kings, and queens from long ago. However, many of the Tuatha Dé have parallels, cognates across the Celtic world, which reveal their divine status. Another difficulty is that the mythology doesn’t always describe each deity’s role or function. For example, there are no characters described as sun or moon deities. Sometimes when the deities are attributed a function in nature, our modern mythology books get it wrong… the most common example of this is the depiction or description of Lugh as a sun god (a notion that came about in Victorian times because one probable meaning of his name is “brightness”). However, he was most likely a lightning god. Although not as apparent in children’s books, occasionally modern Pagans depict Brighid as a moon goddess, yet there is no evidence for it; historical lore depicts her as a fire and fertility goddess. And although many think of Danu as an earth goddess, she may rather be a river deity or simply an ancestral mother (see Danu and Bile: The Primordial Parents? by Alexei Kondratiev). It is best to have the true nature of the deities’ roles and functions straightened out in one’s mind, and in the learning materials, before teaching kids the lore.

Having said that, I have reviewed many illustrated books to come up with this guide. I have written reviews of  the ones I have found useful and have put them in several categories; first, ones to check out from the library from time to time, then, one that is nice to have as supplemental (but may not be a good source for your main mythology book), some that are more specific to certain cultures under the Celtic umbrella, then two that I recommend the most so far (one for the younger set, the last for older kids)- as introduction to the myths.

Check these out at library occasionally for variety…

• Myths and Civilization of the Celts by Hazel Martell (ages 8 and up) is a very densely illustrated book that goes back and forth between describing the history, artifacts, and way of life of the Celts, with short summaries of some of the myths. This one may be nice to check out sometime for a bit of Celtic inspiration, but doesn’t contain enough stories to be worth buying.

• Irish Myths & Legends by Ita Daly is a very folksy retelling of the myths, set in a style of “told to the author by her mother”, passed down through the generations. The paintings that illustrate this book are reminiscent of folk art as well, only there should be more of them, to hold the attention of young listeners (although I didn’t much care for Lugh being drawn wearing a horned helmet). For the most part, I really like the way the stories are told, especially Daly’s version of Deidre of the Sorrows. However, it was while I was reading this book that I was reminded that there’s one myth from Irish mythology only serves to denounce Paganism; there has been a version of “The Children of Lir” in almost every children’s Celtic mythology book I’ve read. The name “Lir” means the sea, and the name implies that the character King Lir is actually Manannan or some relation to him. His children are turned into swans by an evil stepmother and their curse is never lifted until “the bells of the new religion ring out in Ireland”. So the story seems to symbolize Christianity putting an end to the evils of Pagan magic. In Daly’s version of the story, the children, who are now quite elderly, beg to baptized into Christianity before they die. So you might want to skip over “The Children of Lir”, at least this version of it. On the other hand, it may come in handy later as a teaching tool, to use as an example of Pagan defamation.

Nice to have as supplemental…

• Celtic Memories by Caitlin Matthews is a treasured collection of tales and poems from several Celtic cultures; Breton, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh. There are six stories in all, with notes on each in the back of the book. I especially recommend “The Cailleach of the Snows” to be read at Imbolc. Although the story is of Caitlin’s own devising, it has a feeling of timelessness and wonder. The folksy illustrations are lovely, colorful and abundant.

 Get this, if it is your hearth culture…

• Tales from the Mabinogion by Gwyn Thomas & Kevin Crossley-Holland is the only illustrated children’s book I’ve found that retells stories from all four books of the Mabinogion. The illustrations are gorgeous. The stories themselves, though toned down quite a bit for children, still depict graphic subject matter, and so I cannot recommend it being read to young children. The stories are also set in the Medieval era, and like much other Celtic mythology, the characters are not referred to or acknowledged as deities. The style of the time was very Christian, which comes out often in characters saying such things as “for God’s sake” and references to sin. There is a glossary of Welsh names and pronunciations in the back of the book.

• The Names Upon the Harp, Irish Myth and Legend by Marie Heaney (ages 9 and up) contains two stories from the Mythological Cycle (Moytura, Children of Lir), three from the Ulster Cycle (The Birth of Cuchulainn, Bricriu’s Feast, Deirdre of the Sorrows), and three from the Fenian Cycle (Finn & the Salmon of Knowledge, The Enchanted Deer, Oisin in the Land of Youth). The beginning of each section has a short description of the cycle represented. The book is illustrated in sophisticated, beautiful, (and sometimes gruesome and frightening) watercolor paintings.

• Myths and Legends of Celts by Bernard Briais is a rather odd book that may actually be quite valuable to those of a Gaulish persuasion. I say it is odd, because the stories are more like historical descriptions and fragmented legends, than actual stories. The illustrations are abundant, but also kind of garish, though I do like the illustration of the goddess Sequana. This is the only illustrated children’s book I’ve found, so far, that is about Gaulish culture. (However it is hard to find, unless your library has it. The French edition is available here.)

These are the ones to get…

• Celtic Tales and Legends by Nicola Baxter is the book to get for younger children who can not yet sit still for long stories. I am happy to have found such a beautifully illustrated book; there are brightly colored “Book of Kells”-inspired illustrations on every page, such a wonderful words to pictures ratio that is sure to keep younger (or more visual-oriented) kids interested. (Also, there’s a leprechaun hidden on each page.) A collection of Irish, Welsh, and British, the stories are: Cormac’s Golden Cup, Deidre of the Sorrows, The Land of Youth, Bran and Branwen, The Three Troubles, Elidore, The Fountain, The Two Pig-Keepers, The Field of Gold, and The Gift of Healing. In the first story, Cormac’s Golden Cup, King Cormac is visited (and tested) by the god Manannan MacLir, and is given a glimpse of the Otherworld. To me this story seems to be a great introduction to some important aspects of Irish cosmology; with mention of the the silver branch and the nine hazel Trees (both symbolic of the tree hallow in ADF Druidism), and the pool of knowledge (symbolic of the well hallow).

• Druids, Gods & Heroes from Celtic Mythology by Anne Ross is from the same World Mythology series that gave us Gods & Heroes from Viking Mythology by Brian Branston, and though it doesn’t have the same author or illustrator, there is a similar style, notably; story panels on the contents page, plentiful detailed illustrations, and a lack of anti-pagan bias. Whereas most Celtic mythology books for children rarely mention that certain characters in the stories were gods, this one does. Also, the version of “The Children of Lir” found therein downplays the Christian aspects of the story. This is no ordinary children’s mythology book. It also contains a short history of the Celts, a chapter on their deities, and a map of lands that the Celtic peoples inhabited. The stories found within are from Welsh, Irish, Scottish and British cultures. There are 18 color pictures, and 40 line drawings. In the back of the book you’ll find a guide to the symbols used in the illustrations, and a pronunciation guide. The story panels on the contents page can be used as flash cards, quiz cards, and conversation starters such as I described for Gods & Heroes from Viking Mythology in my article Norse Mythology for Kids. Disclaimer: in this book, Lugh is briefly described as a sun god; I simply replace “the sun” with “lightning” when reading aloud.

Unlike the fore mentioned Viking mythology book, Druids, Gods & Heroes doesn’t have a page illustrating all the deities lined up in a row with their names underneath. I’m sure that it’s because there are so many deities, and so many different cultures under the Celtic umbrella, that this would prove a very difficult task. As an early tool for teaching young children the names and visual attributes of Celtic deities, you could use the Celtic Gods and Heroes Dover Coloring Book, or make your own picture book of Celtic deities and their attributes. Coloring pages give kids the chance to personalize their own deity images for their altar. They will also learn about the deities by participating in family (or community) rituals in which the deities are invoked, praised, prayed to, and offering given. The mythologies of many deities may even be included in High Day celebrations through story-telling and drama.

As with the Norse mythology guide, I haven’t given any teen recommendations because by the time your child is a teenager, she or he will be picking out his or her own books. At any rate, by that time she or he may know the basic myths (or inspired to delve deeper), which is the goal.

A Collection of Celtic Three Realms Blessings

Rhyming Invocation
Our world is made of the Sacred Three,
We invoke you Sky and Land and Sea.
We stand at the center of the Realms this night,
And may all be purified by the fire’s sacred light.
Within the cauldron of the Gods are we,
Connected and made whole by the Sacred Three.
~~~
Three Realms in Gesture
(Kneel or squat where you stand. Inhale and exhale deeply.)
We are at the center of the world.
(Exhale, move to one knee with palms on the ground before you.)
We stand firmly upon the Land.
(Inhale and rise to your feet, moving your hands behind at hip height, palms up, cupping. Exhale and move your hands in an arc until they meet in front.)
The Sea always surrounds us.
(Inhale, move your hands to the sides, spread your fingers wide, palms forward.
Exhale and raise your arms, bringing your hands together above your head,
thumb and forefinger meeting to create a triangle.)
The Sky spreads itself above us.
(Inhale, lower your hands to the heart.)
We are at the center of the Three Realms.
(Exhale and lower your hands to your sides.)
~~~
The Three Worlds (ADF)
Three Worlds symbols are passed deisil around the ring,
and each anoints themselves. Each or all say:
The primal Sea around me
The shining Sky above me
The holy Land beneath me
The Order of the Worlds stands firm
Around me and within my soul.
~~~
Eternal Three Realms
As it was, as it is, as it evermore shall be
I stand at the Center- of Earth, Sky and Sea.
~~~
A Three Realms Meditation:
The Tree of Life
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and as you let it out, imagine you are a tree sending a taproot down into the Earth… Now begin to feel the roots growing outward, spreading all around… Every time you exhale, send more and more energy down through those roots, until you feel firmly rooted to the ground…
We stand firmly upon the land.
Your roots grow deeper… Be aware of the cavernous Underworld kingdoms below you, where underground rivers seep through the unutterable darkness to their ultimate destination…
The Sea always surrounds us.
Now feel your roots absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. As you breathe in, feel this energy rising up though your roots, into your body… With each breath, the energy rises… until your entire body is filled with the energy of earth and water… Breathe deeper and let it flow out through the top of your head like a fountain of light… Feel your branches reach up and outward through the air… Become aware of your green leaves and how they turn toward the sun to receive warmth and light… Feel the energy of the light charging the chlorophyll in your leaves… Breathe in the air and life giving energy of the realm of Sky…
The Sky spreads itself above us.
We are at the center of the Three Realms.

Tailtiu Shrine

In Irish mythology, Tailtiu (pronounced tal-chuh) was the foster-mother of the god Lugh. Her name meant “The Great One of the Earth”. She died of exhaustion after clearing land for farming in what is now known as county Meath. Thereafter, every August, Lugh held funeral games in her honor. These funeral games (and fairs) became known as Lughnasadh; “the assembly of Lugh”. An older name for this holiday is Bron Trogain; “Lamentation of the Earth”.

“Great en the fair wood was cut down by her,
roots and all, out of the ground,
before the year’s end it became Bregmag,
it became a plain blossoming with clover.
Her heart burst in her body
from the strain beneath her royal vest;
not wholesome, truly, is a face like the coal,
for the sake of woods or pride of timber.

Long was the sorrow, long the weariness of Tailtiu,
in sickness after heavy toil;
the men of the island of Erin
to whom she was in bondage
came to receive her last behest.
She told them in her sickness
(feeble she was but not speechless)
that they should hold funeral games to lament her
– zealous the deed .”
-from the Metrical Dindshenchas

The Three Realms vs. The Four Elements

For eclectic Pagan groups that do not consider themselves Wiccan- this is my case for encouraging the idea of using a Three Realms blessing for at least the Celtic holidays, instead of the prevalent four elements system.

Three was a sacred number to the Celts. They viewed even numbers as unbalanced ones. They did not categorize everything into four elements, but rather they viewed the world as being made up of three parts.

The three realms are- the Land, Sea, and Sky.

Now, if you are used to categorizing everything according to the Greek elements, you might look at this and say, “Well that’s just the elements of earth, water, and air, leaving out the fourth element- fire.”

Remember though, the realms are places, not elements. The idea of the “elements” started in late Greek philosophy and was probably not put to the practice of “calling the quarters”, and assigning elements to the four directions until medieval times by ceremonial magicians. These ceremonial magicians would “cast a circle” to trap a demon, and the “Guardians of the Watchtowers” that they called forth were Archangels. So, the practice of “casting a circle” and “calling the quarters”, while having elements of ancient philosophy, were in fact, very much a part of the Christian world view and a product of the era it came out of.

Note above that I said the concept of the elements came from Greek philosophy, not ritual. There is no evidence that the Greeks “called the quarters”, and modern Greek Reconstructionist Pagans do not include this practice in their rituals.

In fact, the methods of “calling quarters” and “watchtowers” done by most Wiccans actually dates back only to the ritual magic work of the Golden Dawn (a revival of the western ceremonial magic tradition) in the early 20th century, later picked up and popularized in the 1950s by Gerald Gardner. So either way, part of the concept (the elements) is relatively old, but the practice of using them in ritual is rather new.

But I can give you even more reasons I don’t use a four-quarters-elements system- the concept is very abstract. The system puts an element in each of the four directions. But the earth is not in the north, the earth is beneath my feet. Air is not in the east, air is in the sky and all around me… etc.

Quarter calling encourages people to think of elements as a system to categorize, it encourages thinking of very real things in an abstract way and not acknowledging the chaos and limitlessness of the world around us… We need to acknowledge and experience the real world of nature, not an abstract concept of it.

Here are some links to a few examples of Three Realms blessings/invocations/meditations:

A Ritual Opener by Ceisiwr Serith

One CR house’s opening ritual by DubhTine

from ADF’s “A Simple Group Devotional” (item #6)

The Three Realms: An Introduction for Children

 In ancient Ireland, people made their oaths by saying:
“May the sky not fall,   
May the sea not burst its bounds,
May the land not open beneath me,
So long as I keep my oath.”

The earth is the home of all life. She has three realms, which are necessary for life.
These are:
the Sky, the Sea, and the Land.

Land
We stand firmly upon the land.
It is our foundation. It is always beneath us.
The earth grows our food so we may eat
and the trees make oxygen so than we may breathe.
The land is the mid realm that we share with the Nature Spirits.
Sea
The sea always surrounds us.
All things need water to live. Water flows in an endless cycle.
All life began in the sea. The sea is the underground realm, home of the Ancestors.
Sky
The sky stretches out over land and sea.
The atmosphere of the earth contains oxygen so that we can breathe.
Above the atmosphere,
The sun, moon, and stars all influence life on earth.
Without the sun, we would not be here.
The moon rules the flow of the tides, the rhythms of life,
And lights the sky at night.
The sky is the upper realm, home to the shining deities.
So when we say a blessing, prayer, or meditation of the Three Realms, we connect with the sacredness of all life. We imagine ourselves to be like sacred trees; our roots reaching through the land realm to the underground waters that flow to the sea, our trunk holding strong and steady in the mid realm, and our branches reaching up into the shining sky realm.

The triskele is a symbol that helps us remember that we are all part of the Three Realms. It has three spirals or arms. Imagine each of these is one of the Three Realms.

 

Crafts and Traditions of Imbolc

Brídeag – Bríde Doll
To make this “Little Bríde” take a long bundle of rushes or straw and fold in the middle. Tie a piece of string in a knot around where you’d like the neck of the doll to be. Split the body section of the doll into three parts; the two on the outside should be smaller than the one in the middle, and they should be about equal in thickness to each other. These will become the arms. Trim and tie off at the wrists. Tie a string in the middle section where you’d like the waist to be.  The Brídeag is a representation of the goddess Bríde and is dressed in her colors and decorated with greenery, shells, and crystals.  During ritual, she is placed in a basket (her bed), and a white birch wand placed beside her.

Brat Bríde – Bríde’s Mantle
The Brat Bríde is simple a piece of cloth that is placed outside (from sunset to sunrise) for Bríde to bless on the eve of Imbolc.  The cloth then has the power to protect and heal all the following year.

Cros Bríde –  Bríde’s Cross
These are woven from fresh green rushes (though they may also be made with wheat stalks -soaked until pliable) on the eve of Imbolc.  Woven left to right- sunwise- they are protective charms, placed above entrances to the home, even above windows.  There are many versions of the Bríde’s Cross…
The most common is the equal armed sun cross whose shape suggests movement (1).  (For instructions for making this click here.)

Another version that I don’t see as much is the binding knot, which keeps out evil spirits (2).  It is made with a simple basket weave pattern.

This next one you may know as the ‘god’s eye’ (3).  Only it’s made with rushes instead of popsickle sticks and yarn.

Number 4 is simply a braided cross inside a braided circle.  Incidentally, one should avoid turning wheels on the day of Imbolc.

Lastly, my favorite, one that actually isn’t a cross at all, but a triskele (5).  Whereas the others represent Bríde’s power as a goddess of light, this one reminds us of her triple nature.  (I have made these before by modifying the method for the equal-armed cross in the first picture.)

Bríde’s crosses will last for years before disintegrating.  The green color of the rushes will soon fade to a straw color.  The proper way to dispose of an old Cros Bríde is to either burn or bury it.

Crios Bríde –  Bríde’s Girdle
The Crios Bríde is a hoop of braided straw with (usually four) crosses attached.  The hoop and the Bríde doll was carried around neighborhoods and at each house, each family member was asked to step through the hoop to receive Bríde’s blessing and be reborn to another year of good health.  The verse recited was such as this:
“Bríde’s girdle is my girdle, The girdle of the four crosses.
Arise, housewife and go through three times.
May whoever goes through my girdle be sevenfold better in a year’s time.”

Introducing Samhain to Children

As much as I can, I like to make the holidays meaningful for my family. Raising my kids Pagan has been important to me, but also fun.  Just because you’re Pagan, doesn’t mean that Samhain has to be solemn. All the fun of costumes and trick-or-treating are an integral part of Samhain tradition.  Making sure your child learns the meaning behind the masks, and including the more serious aspects of the holiday, in addition to the fun and games, makes Samhain complete.

As for introducing kids to the meaning of Samhain- that can be a little overwhelming. There is so much information to relay. It is best to start with the simple explanation that…

Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) means Summer’s End. It is the Celtic New Year
and a time for commemorating and remembering our ancestors and Beloved Dead.

Let your child help you set up and decorate your family’s ancestor shrine. This is a good time to talk to kids about death, rebirth, the Otherworld, and the cycles of life. Teach her/him the song We All Come from the Goddess by Z. Budapest. (If your Pagan tradition isn’t goddess-centered, substitute the appropriate word in place of “goddess”.) Reassure your child that nothing ever truly ends, just changes. To further illustrate the point, read When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow.

Books that help explain Samhain:

• Myths and Civilization of the Celts by H.M. Martell contains an excellent description of the Celtic view of the afterlife titled “Tales from the Otherworld”.

• An excellent source for teaching kids more of the history behind Samhain, as well as crafts, jokes, and other fun stuff is The Halloween Book of Facts and Fun by Wendie C. Old.  It has really great information on Samhain, put in terms that kids can understand.

• Another good source is Ancient Celtic Festivals: and How We Celebrate Them Today by Clare Walker Leslie and Frank E. Gerace. It is a nice reference book for Celtic feast days and was written for kids ages 8 to 12.

Other sources:

• The Halloween Tree is a movie based on a Ray Bradbury book. The animated story very elegantly explains some of the history and meaning behind Halloween. I recommend viewing the movie instead of reading the book; Bradbury took a lot of liberties with historical information about Samhain, and a lot of those inaccurate details didn’t make their way into the movie.

• Also see my article Kids’ Activities for Samhain/Winternights.