THE SWORD OF NUADHU
"from Findias was brought the sword of Nuadhu. No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its deadly sheath, and no one could resist it".
[excerpt from the Irish text societies translation of the Cath Maige Tuired. Edited by E.A. Gray]

The Spring Equinox marks the last of the festivals in the giamos half of the year. It is mid spring, and is the point in the year when there is equal day and night. The quickening is occurring, everywhere we look life is burgeoning from leaf and bud, shoots are bursting forth from the earth, which in some years at this time, may still be frozen. But the samos period of light is well on its way. We celebrate the balance of night and day, light and dark, the dual aspect in nature.

Lugh is acknowledged, in his guise as" an Samildanach". We welcomed him at the winter solstice, where he was born into the darkness of the Fomorian stronghold of Balor's tower. But now he is grown, and as one of Ireland's primary sun gods, he is the newly rising sun in the east, just as his grandfather Balor is the setting sun of the west. We shall be exploring this theme of the dual sun gods inherent in Irish myth. The telling of stories is a fundamental part of shamanism. Our own ancestors the druids, spent many years learning cycles of stories and bardic poetry. They were the lineage keepers of the tribe, they kept the records and tales. As it was an oral tradition, all these tales would have been memorised. This tradition of storytelling is shared by shamans all over the world. At each of the eight workshops a different tale from the Irish mythological cycle will be told, and journeys made to the gods and goddess in the myth. Each tale will be relevant to the season at hand.

Throughout the year on the certificate course, we are going to be working with the four gifts which were brought to the land of Ireland by the tuatha de dannann. Together they represent the soul of the land. These gifts are emblematic of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. I believe a store of lost knowledge can be retrieved by working with these gifts, and in particular, the four elemental shamans, Morfessa, Esras, Semias and Uiscias are powerful teachers.
On this workshop, we will be studying and journeying to the "Sword of Nuadhu", where we will journey to the city of Findias to meet Semias. This gift is situated in the east, and is the element of air, so much can be learned about this element through working with this gift.
We will also be journeying to the FEARN [ALDER] ogham. On each of the eight festivals, we will be undertaking the study of and journey to, an ogham which resonates with the energy of that particular festival or time of year.

SPRING EQUINOX,"SWORD OF NUADHU"

ELEMENT: AIR
DIRECTION: EAST
THEME: BALANCE /BALANCE OF LIGHT & DARK / FERTILITY

CORE SHAMANIC PRACTICE:

** RETURNING SOUL PARTS TO OTHERS
** FINDING A GUIDE TO HELP WITH SOUL RETREIVAL

OTHER WORK WE WILL BE COVERING ON THIS FESTIVAL:

*** OGHAM FEARN/ALDER
*** COLOUR
*** PLANT
*** GOD/GODDESS
*** MYTH THAT RESONATES WITH THIS TIME OF YEAR
*** ELEMENT BALANCING RITUAL

We will be gathering together at "Bruideann na re Lan" for the day long workshop.
All of the festivals are held the weekend closest to their calendrical date. Exact dates will be given closer to the festival.
COST: 80 euro. Quality vegetarian lunch included.
11.00 a.m, -------------- 7.oo p.m