Lammas / Lughnasadh

Beginning at sunset on July 31st and ending at sunset on August 2nd is the sabbat or festival of Lughnasadh, commonly known as Lammas, it is the first harvest festival in the pagan calendar, the other two being at the autumn equinox (Mabon) in September and Samhain (Halloween) at the end of October.  

The first grain harvest is signalled by Lammas and much celebration is associated with it, it is told that the Sun god transfers his remaining light and warmth to the goddess Nass to ensure the continuing growth of crops; he will also protect the land and die defending it. Traditionally, soldiers and men who were working away from home would return just to help with the harvest and make sure all the grain was stored safe and dry before the autumn rains came so that the store would last until harvest the next year.  

There is a lot of tradition related to Lughnasadh, certain things are eaten, made and done for the festivities. Bread is very significant to the sabbat, to make bread on Lammas eve and stir it with family and friends whilst making a wish for the harvest you desire should ensure a good crop, to give some of the bread to the birds and then eat the rest of the loaf at breakfast on Lammas day will seal the ritual. Other foods that are important are nuts and fruit especially from local sources, homemade pies, elderberry wine and ale. Herbs associated with Lughnasadh are incorporated into decorations and meals, some of these are cornstalks, oak leaves, wheat, heather and acacia flowers.  

Decoration is an important and lovely way to personalise any festival and the most traditional decoration and symbol for Lammas are corn dollies or corn animals, in some rituals they are burnt as a sacrifice to the gods but most often they are placed on an altar or Lammas table display sometimes where the main meal will be eaten, or maybe on a mantelpiece. Together with candles in the colours of the land, golden yellows, oranges and greens, and dried grasses tied with ribbons, thanks are given to the gods and wishes for a continued spell of good weather for the harvest has more intensity. 

The Lughnasadh sabbat is said to be a perfect time for handfasting ceremonies, the ‘wedding’ of a couple in nature is very symbolic in pagan culture and there ceremonies are beautiful occasions. The marriage vows may be taken for a year and a day, a lifetime or for all of eternity. It is a joyous event with merriment and laughter way into the night! At the warmest time of year, with family and friends of the couple home for the harvest, together with the long summer evenings, the perfect handfasting scene is made. 

(This post is also on the blog at my site https://www.pagannature.wixsite.com/home )

Newspaper snippet

I just came across a little snippet I cut out of a UK newspaper last year (I think) about people's top 10 favourite spooky phenomena, thinking about writing about them all in due course although a couple of them - the origins of Stonehenge especially - are so vast a topic that I wouldn't know where to start, so many opinions, conflicting arguments etc, but fascinating nonetheless. They run as follows:

10 - Hampton Court ghosts, Surrey
9 - Highgate vampire, north London
8 - Devil's footprints, Devon
7 - Rendlesham Forest UFO, Suffolk
6 - Agatha Christie's 'missing 11 days', Harrogate, Yorkshire
5 - Suicidal Dogs at Overtoun Bridge, West Dunbartonshire
4 - Enfield Haunting, north London
3 - Beast of Bodmin Moor, Cornwall
2 - Origins of Stonehenge, Wiltshire
1 - Loch Ness Monster, Scottish Highlands

Is your favourite there? 

Elf holes and fairy doors.

I think of myself as very lucky, in the way that when I was a child, my parents and I walked a lot. On these walks my Dad would sometimes tell me tales, superstitions and stories of the countryside, being from a farming family superstitions were rife with his elders...everything (or so it seems) could bring bad luck! Never bring snowdrops into the house, red and white flowers mixed in a vase would mean a death in the family, never bet on a horse with one white foot, they go on and on.

However, on a lighter note, elves and fairies were not always a bad thing. Holes and cracks in cliffs and rock formations were elf entrances to their homes, and similar crevices in trees were where fairies lived. We would often leave a little present (a sweet, a penny, a flower) by the hole as a good will gesture for passing through their area - to a small child this was fantastic. 

In my adult life I have found many similar things, fairy doors are now made by craft people to put in one's garden for example. Research I did for an article about the Domovik house spirits seemed very familiar and I could see in my mind's eye farm houses from my childhood being home to such helpers.

Are children still told these tales? I do hope so. Sadly in the age of political correctness I wonder sometimes if these age-old stories will be allowed soon! The resurgence in storytelling and folklore should hopefully keep these encounters alive...fingers crossed.

The Buckhurst Hill Shuck, Essex.

One of the most recent sightings of this spectral black dog was in 1989. A small group of teenagers were walking through a local graveyard one night when a large hound appeared and scared them, shortly after this, the beast leaped the churchyard wall and 'landed' on the bonnet of a passing car, much to the driver's shock.

Thoughts on Paranormal Perceptions.

The world of the paranormal conjures many feelings in us, curiosity, fascination, amazement, but more often than not it is fear, and this is usually a fear of the unknown, mixed in with influences of the movies and horror stories.

There are many positive, even happy experiences within the realm of things classed as paranormal. To see a loved one in a dream, to catch a glimpse of a departed pet in the corner of your eye or small a waft of scent someone used to wear. But positive experiences often have to be hunted out from behind the easier to believe and more ‘interesting’ scary accounts.

As with many things in life, especially with a subject as diverse and personal as paranormal experiences, we are often told only the negative, scary, unsettling things. Due to the nature of paranormal happenings there is usually a factor to expand upon for effect - to set the scene, such as things happening in the dark of night or in an old, cold, damp building.

Tales of ghosts and spirits were often used as tools to keep people away from certain places or to deter children from being naughty. These almost ingrained feelings are naturally passed down to each generation - the supernatural is something scary and unpredictable and must therefore be feared. Add to this the more recent influence of Hollywood. Stories such as the Amityville Horror or The Blair Witch Project, based on ‘true’ events have been transformed into blockbuster movies by artistic licence leaving scores of people hypersensitive to strange happenings or the slightest bump in the night. This kind of movie mania isn’t just restricted to films of this type of course, a good example is the fear that 'Jaws' has struck into the hearts of those who have seen it for example. Sadly as a consequence an irrational fear of sharks the world over resulted, animals persecuted due to a horror story and a very effective theme tune.

It is a natural reaction of self-preservation of course, to fear that which we are told to be afraid of, and feelings of fear should not be ignored, but there has to be some rationality too. Fear of most things can be overcome or at least eased by learning – knowledge really is power. Research and information is the best defense against feelings of fear getting out of control. The paranormal is a vast and varied area of experience, it cannot all be frightening. By looking up positive tales of protector spirits, helpful entities and friendly ghosts for example, one can realise that nothing is all bad, and that there is so much to be gained from thinking about the paranormal in a different way.
For those who have had paranormal experiences, they may well be unsettling or confusing, but are they to be feared? Some undoubtedly will be yes, and fear is an instinct that is within us for a reason, but the paranormal as a whole need not be tarred with the same brush. Culture, media and these days social media has an undeniable impact on every aspect of our lives, but how you react to a deeply personal experience is your business and nobody else's.
Just my thoughts!

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The Tarr Steps, Exmoor.

The Tarr Steps is a 50 metre long clapper bridge situated on the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park. It is the largest example of its type and is a well known landmark and tourist attraction. The bridge is designated as a grade 1 listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument by English Heritage. 

The exact age of the Tarr Steps is unknown, many theories say the bridge dates from the Bronze Age whilst others claim is was built from 1400 AD onward, however most clapper bridges were erected in medieval times. The word ‘clapper’ comes from the medieval Latin word ‘claperius’ meaning ‘pile of stones’ which is descriptive of this style of bridge, they are constructed from large slabs of rock, commonly granite or schist which weigh between one and two tonnes each, these are supported by stone piers if the bridge is placed across a river, or the slabs rest on the banks of smaller streams. Clapper bridges are mostly found on the moors of Devon and other upland areas of the UK. 

There are several local legends associated with the Tarr Steps, it is said that the devil placed the bridge across the River Barle and would kill any person who tried to cross over, he was eventually confronted by a brave local parson who challenged the devil, he finally conceded and agreed to let people cross the bridge, except when he was sunbathing upon it. It is said he still has the right to sunbathe on the bridge to this day. 

Another legend states that the Tarr Steps will only be damaged in years ending in the number two, and this seems to be eerily true. It was partially ruined by flooding in 1952, and again in 1982, however the worst harm in living memory happened in December of 2012. Cables had been installed upstream of the bridge to protect it from raging flood water, but these were themselves broken by fallen trees. Following weeks of heavy rain, the River Barle had swollen dramatically and the fast flowing waters, filled with debris washed around a third of the bridge away. Some of the slabs travelled a long way downstream, luckily however all the stones had been numbered following previous floods so they can be retrieved and put back into place to keep the bridge in situ. 

The bridge was again damaged during Storm Angus in 2016 however, several thousand pounds had been spent on repairs prior to the storm, with winter coming, and more storms on the way lets hope the bridge stays put for the foreseeable future.

Trolls in folklore and mythology.

We have all encountered trolls in childhood fairy-tales and stories; they have a deep history in folklore and mythology as well as finding a new role in modern fantasy fiction, but are they comedy characters or symbols of a darker power?

A Troll is a type of ogre found primarily in Norse and Scandinavian mythology, generally larger than humans and invariably ugly, they are always very strong, but slow and not too bright, they are often said to have magical powers and they are sometimes depicted as being man-eaters. Trolls are dwellers of isolated mountains, rocks, and caves - the most famous troll of all, from ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’ lives under a bridge - normally alone but they sometimes lived in small family groups usually consisting of either a mother and son or a father and daughter.

They always lived in dark places, either because they preferred night time or because they feared the daylight, some legends in Scandinavia tell that trolls would turn to stone if exposed to direct sunlight. There are many landmarks in Scandinavia are attributed to trolls, rock formations, natural statues and features in the landscape where trolls are said to have roamed.

These kinds of trolls were said to probably be descended from the 'Jotunn' of Norse mythology. The Jotunn were giant nature spirits and were the enemies of the gods, they kept out of the human world as much as possible. They were banished to remote hills, forests and mountains away from human settlements, where it is told they awaited the end of the world when they would have the chance to break free to do battle with the gods that shunned them.

In Iceland, trolls are seen a bit differently, they would often treat people well and return favours for favours, only becoming dangerous if cheated or harmed. Like the Scandinavian ones, Icelandic trolls lived in mountains, caves and cliffs, but they lived together in larger groups with more of a social basis, they were said to keep animals, farm their land and hunt as well as holding feasts, gatherings and celebrations. The trolls in Icelandic folklore were said to be very skilled at crafts and were seen more as a strange but valuable member of the world rather than something to be feared all the time.

The modern world thankfully has a place for these giants of old folklore. They are regular characters in role playing games, cartoons, films, computer games and science-fiction and also in fantasy fiction by authors such as J.R.R Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, Tolkien’s trolls holding a very similar, traditional description to the Norse legends, and the ones of the Discworld being more original and comical. Trolls have the ability as characters to be described as scary, evil, pathetic, funny or sweet depending on the situation; their future is looking quite secure.

Fairy Rings.

Fairy rings are circles or arcs of fungi that seem to magically spring up overnight on the lawn, in a forest or on moorland; there is a lot of folklore and mythology connected to them from all over the world, some good and some bad but all fascinating.

It is generally thought that a fairy ring appears when a fairy, pixie, or elf is present, in European folklore they are the location of gateways into fairy kingdoms, and are places where elves gather and dance, such ideas date back to at least the early medieval period.

Welsh and Manx mythology removes dancing from the legend but states that a fairy ring will spring up over an underground fairy village. In Austria however, the rings were put down to the activity of flying dragons; legend has it that if a dragon created such a circle, nothing but toadstools would be able to grow in the spot for seven whole years.

Whatever culture tales of fairy rings come from, one factor is common throughout and that is that it is a dangerous thing for a mortal human to enter a fairy ring and many legends warn strictly against trying. It is an especially bad idea on May eve or Hallowe’en, should a human violate the ring he would anger the fairies and thus be cursed. A mortal who has entered the ring may become invisible to other mortals and never be seen again once back outside the ring, the fairies may also force the mortal to dance to the point of exhaustion or even death, that is if he didn’t go mad first.

According to legends, the only safe way to investigate a fairy ring is to run around it in the direction of the sun nine times under a full moon – eight times or ten times will not do. By doing this a mortal can hear the fairies dancing underground and no harm will come to him. The ring will slowly disappear without trace in less than a week, but if the mortal waits for an elf to return to the ring, he will be able to see it, although must never try to capture it.

Weekend of storytelling.

We were lucky enough to be able to attend the wonderful Festival at the Edge again this year, a whole weekend of storytelling including lots of folklore and fable. I wish there were more events such as this, it is such a simple thing but so important, storytelling goes back through the ages as a method of keeping tales alive and engaging people as a group, well done again FatE.

A week old!

We are a week old today! Pleased with the look of the blog, a few teething problems ironed out and files found for more sinister stories to come.

Welcome!

Hello to you, and welcome to the Dark Legends and Moonlit Myths Blog (no followers yet but hopefully we will have soon and they'll look back). This will be a place for sharing the many tales we have collected over the years, archived away, filed and cobwebby. The UK and wider world has so many stories, accounts and reports of weird and wonderful things, fascinating things that make the hairs stand up on the back of one's neck...join us.