THE SPEAR OF LUGH
"from Gorias was brought the spear which Lugh had. No battle was ever sustained against it, or against the man who held it in his hand"
[excerpt from the Irish text societies translation of the Cath Maige Tuired. Edited by E.A. Gray]

At the Summer Solstice, we celebrate the longest day. We are at the midpoint of the samos half of the year, but from this day forth, the days will reduce in length. But for now, the earth is at her most fertile, and we acknowledge the Goddess in her guise as Lady of the land, the great fertile Mother.
All around us is proof of her abundance in fertility. So it is at this festival that we work with the healing aspect of shamanism, working with the herbs and plants of the land for their help in extraction work. We cover the tale of Dian Cecht, the chief druid and physician of the Tuatha De Dannann. And his two children Airmid and Miach, who act as tutelary deities of herbalists and healers.

Throughout the year on the certificate course, at the cardinal solar festivals of the Solstices & Equinox's, 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 "Spear of Lugh", where we will journey to the city of Gorias to meet Esras. This gift is situated in the south, and is the element of fire, so much can be learned about this element through working with this gift.

We will also be journeying to the Duir [oak] 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.
SUMMER SOLSTICE,"SPEAR OF LUGH"

ELEMENT: FIRE.
DIRECTION: SOUTH
THEME: HEALING & HERBS /FULLNESS OF LIGHT; AFFIRMATION OF THE SUN'S LIGHT/PROTECTIVE FIRE

CORE SHAMANIC PRACTICE:

** VISION QUEST ON MOUNTAIN
** CREATING A HEALING RITUAL
** TUNNEL HEALING JOURNEY
** EXTRACTION WORK

OTHER WORK WE WILL BE COVERING ON THIS FESTIVAL:

*** OGHAM DUIR/OAK
*** COLOUR
*** PLANT
*** GOD/GODDESS
*** MYTH THAT RESONATES WITH THIS TIME OF YEAR

On this workshop we will be doing an overnight vision quest, and therefore will be held over a weekend, commencing on the Friday. Students will gather at "Bruideann na Re Lan" at 4.pm, and put up tents. A light evening meal will be provided, and we will gather in the cabin for the opening circle.
The workshop will end at 5 p.m on Sunday, and we will work throughout the weekend on the topics outlined above.
All food provided over weekend.

COST: 170 EURO
[please, note on costs. Presently all workshops and weekend moots are held in my sacred space here at "Bruideann Na Re Lan". In time it may be necessary to hire a larger space to facilitate a bigger group. When this happens, unfortunately I will have to charge more for workshops to cover the cost of the hired space. ]