Lughnassadh, pronounced LOO-nahs-ah, is the Celtic Harvest festival, celebrated July 31 or August 1. Named after the sun god Lugh, a tall, muscular warrior with sky blue eyes and a hallo of golden light which blazed around his thick flaxen hair. He was also known as Lugh of the long arm because of his magic spear, which never missed its mark. The earth goddess of Lughnassadh is Tailtiu in Ireland and Blodeuwedd in Wales. The difference between the two is shown in the Welsh and Irish versions of the tale of Lugh or Llew.

Irish Version

The Irish version begins with forbidden love between Cian, a Tuatha De Dannan and Eithne, a Fomorian. Eithne’s father locked her in a high tower. With the help of a druidess, Cian flew on a cloud to the tower and climbed in Eithne’s window. Nine months later they had twin boys. Eithne’s father threw the babies into the sea to waylay the chief-druid’s prophecy that his grandson would defeat him in battle. Though one baby drowned, the other swam away. The sea god, Mannanann MacLir, found the babe and gave him to a warrior woman, Tailtiu, pronounced tell-shuh.

After Tailtiu taught him everything she knew, the boy, Lugh, went to Tara, the hillfort of the Tuatha De Dannan. The porter asked him what skills he had to offer. When Lugh answered he was a warrior, the gatekeeper told him they already had warriors. Lugh continued, saying he was a healer, then a smith, and so on. Each time, the porter said they already had someone with that skill. Finally, Lugh told him if they already had one person who could do all those things, he would leave. The gatekeeper let him in and Lugh became King of Tara for a year and a day.

Leading the Tuatha De Dannan in battle against the Fomorians, Lugh struck the Fomorians’ evil eye with his slingshot. When the rock hit the evil eye, it looked at Lugh’s grandfather, Balor. As the evil eye killed all within its sight, Baylor died instantly. Thus the Fomorians were defeated. But Lugh’s foster mother, Tailtiu, who was a royal lady of the Fir Bolog, had to clear a vast forest to plant grain for her people. She died from the strain and exhaustion. Lugh ordered a fair, with feasting and funeral games, be held in her honor each first harvest, the Lughnassadh.

Welsh Version

In the Welsh version, the high-druid, Math the Ancient, brother of Don, needed to appoint a new virgin to sit by Don’s throne so he could place his feet in her lap to keep them warm. The god Gwydion suggested Arianrod, keeper of the circling Silver Wheel of Stars. Math preformed a magical test to see if Arianrod was indeed chaste. When he touched her belly with his wand, the goddess cried out with labor pains. Then and there, she gave birth to two sons, proving she wasn’t a maiden. 

One was a sea creature. Math named him Dylan and threw him into the sea. The other baby was a large unformed lump. Gwydion took him and put him in a dark, dry chest. There he grew into a beautiful boy. Arianrhod gave that baby three geases: she would not give him a name, nor a weapon, and he could not have a human wife. No one else could give him these three things men need.

When it was time for the boy to have a name, Gwydion disguised the boy and himself as cobblers. As the boy mended Arianrhod’s shoe, a bird flew overhead. With his slingshot, the boy shot the wren with a single stone. Impressed, Arainrhod exclaimed, Llew Llaw Gyffes, which means "the little one has many skills". As Gwydion took off his disguise, he told Arianrhod she had named the boy. 

Then her hill fort fell under sudden attack and she gave Llew weapons so he could help her fight. Arianrhod told Gwydion though she had been tricked into naming and giving arms to Llew, she would never give her son a wife. Math and Gwydion conjured Llew a wife out of flowers. Her name was Blodeuwedd, pronouonced Blod-Eye-With. The festival of Luchnassah celebrates the wedding of the Earth Goddess to the Sun God, the wedding of Llew to Blodeuwedd.

But Bloddeuwedd fell in love with another man. Gwydion had put a gease on Llew so he could only die if he was standing with one foot on land, one foot in water, and killed with his own spear. Blodeuwedd tricked Llew into standing with one foot in the bath and one foot on the floor while her lover stabbed him in the heart with his own spear. Llew shapeshifted into an eagle and flew away. Gwydion found Llew and changed him back. Then Gwydion changed Bloddeuwedd into an owl so she would only show her face at night.

During the Bronze Age, Lughnassadh included choosing a god king, a king for a year and a day. At the end of that time, the god king would be sacrificed in honor of the Earth Goddess. Thousands of years ago, sacrifices were replaced with other traditions.

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