THE GAME OF LIFE
IS WON ON THE PLAYING FIELDS OF LUGHNASADH
by Rev. Michael McGuinness, Druid of the Fellowship
The year turns again to Lughnasadh, the harvest games of
strength and skill instituted by Lugh in honor of his foster mother Tailltiu.
Tailltiu, an Earth Goddess of the Fir Bolg, died at this time of year after
accomplishing a harvest of sorts all on her own, clearing the forests and
creating the great open plains of
Another Irish mythological figure of strength and skill is, of course, Fionn mac Cumhail.
Like Lugh (whose name seems to mean “light,” or “lightning”), Fionn’s name (meaning “blonde,” “bright” or even “white”) has connotations of light, and Fionn is also a multi-faceted figure, combining the virtues of a warrior, a druid and a poet.
The Fianna, the warriors who followed Fionn, had to be as versatile as their leader, excelling in strength, intellect and skill. Before they were accepted into the ranks of the Fianna, candidates for membership had to undergo certain tests. Lady Augusta Gregory, in her Gods and Fighting Men, describes these tests:
And there was no man taken
into the Fianna till he knew the twelve books of poetry.
And before any man was
taken, he would be put into a deep hole in the ground up to his middle, and he
having his shield and a hazel rod in his hand. And nine men would go the length
of ten furrows from him and would cast their spears at him at the one time. And
if he got a wound from one of them, he was not thought fit to join with the
Fianna.
And after that again, his
hair would be fastened up, and he put to run through the woods of Ireland, and
the Fianna following after him to try could they wound him, and only the length
of a branch between themselves and himself when they started. And if they came
up with him and wounded him, he was not let join them; or if his spears had
trembled in his hand, or if a branch of a tree had undone the plaiting of his
hair, or if he had cracked a dry stick under his foot, and he running.
And they would not take him
among them till he had made a leap over a stick the height of himself, and till
he had stooped under one the height of his knee, and till he had taken a thorn
out from his foot with his nail, and he running his fastest.
But if he had done all these things, he was of Finn's people.
These varied initiatory tests of the Fianna, when viewed in connection with Lughnasadh, the harvest games inaugurated by Lugh, the Master of All Arts, reminds us that reaping a harvest from the Land takes many types of effort: strength and skill, hard work and knowledge, individual effort and cooperation. Even though we might not be farmers, we still want our actions to result in increased health and happiness for ourselves, our families and our communities. Can we connect the tests of the Fianna, and the contests of strength and skill of Lughnasadh, to our daily life?
The Fianna were first required to have a knowledge of poetry. The modern Irish word for poetry is filiocht, from an older Celtic root vel-, meaning “to see,” suggesting that poetry isn’t just entertaining rhymes, but communication of a sacred vision, a divinatory wisdom from the Otherworld. What inspiring words can we read or create to remind us that we are always connected to the strength, the generosity and the wisdom of the Land, the Ancestors and the Shining Ones?
The Fianna then had to defend themselves with a hazel rod against nine spears at once (the wood of the hazel and the number nine, of course, both have strong Otherworld associations). Sometimes life can certainly seem like one disaster on top of another; what inner strengths or personal relationships or “magic” words or tools can we call upon at times like those to ward off “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?”
The Fianna had to run faster than their pursuers while maintaining the agility to leap over and crouch under any branch that blocked their way. Similarly, how can we keep away from destructive thoughts and reactions that seem to pop up in our minds before we know what’s happening, and how can we adapt ourselves to the highs and lows of life?
May Lugh and Fionn inspire us this Lughnasadh season and throughout the year, granting us the power, the wisdom and the generosity we need to improve our lives, and to share the benefits with our friends and families.