Rites of Passage
In the Druid tradition, each of the great 'rites of passage' is marked in
the calendar by one of the fire-festivals: death, or Parting, is marked
by Samhuinn, 3I October to 2 November, when the old Celtic year ends and
there are three days of No-Time before the new year begins. Birth, and consequently
Naming, is marked by Imbolc on I/2 February - the time when the snowdrops
appear and we can sense the first stirrings of spring. Mating, the Great
Rite of making love, is marked by Bealteinne on I May - when the forces
of spring are in full flood. Marriage, the formal recognition of having
found a long term partner after the explorations of the spring time of one's
life, is marked by Lughnasadh on 1 August, when the Celts sensibly offered
the option of year-long trial marriages. If after the year you were still
talking to each other, you could formally 'ratify' your marriage at the
following Lughnasadh.
These four events in our lives do not, of course, always happen at these
times of the year not every baby is born in February, we do not make love
only in May, but the Druid scheme of the year depicts the archetypal relationship
between the outer and inner worlds: between ourselves and Nature. Living
close to Nature, particularly in this part of the world, we sense the dying
of the year as October comes to a close, we feel ourselves being stripped
of our leaves as we shed the preoccupations of summer and move towards the
long winter nights. In February we feel the birth of the year, it is as
if the gestation which began with conception at the winter solstice is now
reaching its term. In May, as the sap rises in the trees and plants we often
feel a new surge of vitality which in some of us seeks expression through
our sexuality - statistics show that the frequency of intercourse amongst
couples over the year is highest between April and June - or creativity.
Of course we do not all feel like marrying in August, but there is a way
in which the summer ushers in a time of meetings and coming together. Friends
visit and stay in the summer, and we go on holiday - to meet new faces in
new countries.
The Druid Path
The Druid Grove