The Nudge - Dispatch 30 | Lughnasa 2025
Welcome to The Nudge
Lughnasa 2025
“Dancing as if language had surrendered to movement - as if this ritual, this wordless ceremony, was now the way to speak, to whisper private and sacred things, to be in touch with some otherness. Dancing as if the very heart of life and all its hopes might be found in those assuaging notes and those hushed rhythms and in those silent and hypnotic movements. Dancing as if language no longer existed because words were no longer necessary...”
Brian Friel - Dancing at Lughnasa
Dear Friends, Kindred Spirits and Anam Chairde
Táimid ar bís - we are excited to prepare our seasonal care package, The Nudge, for you, as Lughnasa approaches here in the northern hemisphere.
“I recently saw the Gate Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of Dancing at Lughnasa in Dublin. On my way home I found myself wondering what will our descendants say about these times?
It feels like humanity is in freefall, plunging into a collective dark night of the soul. In alchemy, this is the breakdown moment when the psyche decomposes, reducing us to our rawest essence, what the alchemists called prima materia. But it is not the end, it is the beginning of transformation. It’s part of a deeper alchemy of renewal, if we have the courage to stay with it.
Everything moves in cycles. Empires rise and fall. Our ancestors knew this process. They encoded it in myth, legend, and ritual across cultures. The crucifixion before resurrection. In the wild world, a seed becomes a tree. The tree flowers, fruits, and falls. The fruit rots and returns to the soil as compost, a sacred offering to the next cycle.
We are composting now. Our systems and structures are collapsing. Old stories are crumbling and certainties dissolving.
And so we arrive at Lughnasa, a turning point in the Wheel of the Year that invites us to pause and take stock. To honour and give thanks for what has grown in us, even amidst the death and decay. Gratitude is more than a sentiment, it’s a somatic practice. It regulates our nervous system, softens anxiety, and rewires our brain to orient toward possibility, even in the midst of sorrow.
So can we find something to be grateful for? Even now, there is beauty. Even here, there is life. The great eco-philosopher and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy recently became our ancestor. Our words of encouragement are vital.
“The most radical thing any of us can do at this time is to be fully present to what is happening in the world.”
Hold onto your hearts
Beir Bua - with victory”
Lughnasa is the Irish word for August and marks the transition into the Harvest Season. It is one of the most joyous festivals and was a time of great celebration in Ireland, where our ancestors gathered to honour the cycle of life and give thanks for the bounty of the season. The energies of this time are about appreciation, gratitude, wildness, exuberance and joy.
Lughnasa, which means the 'Assembly of Lugh,' is centred around the honouring of the great Celtic God, Lugh. He held a prominent role as the chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the supernatural Irish gods and goddesses. He was renowned as a great warrior and master craftsman, earning him the names Lugh Lámhfada (Lugh of the Long Arm) and Lugh Samildánach (skilled in all Arts). His expertise ranged from music and poetry to healing and magic. Lugh was a true polymath, celebrated as the patron of scholars, craftsmen, warriors, and magicians. In Star Wars, George Lucas morphed the Sword-of-Light carrying Celtic warrior Lugh into the light-saber-wielding hero Luke Skywalker.
The word dán in Samildánach has many meanings. It signifies art, poetry, gift, skill, destiny, fate, and faculty. Our dán is a unique soul-gift that each of us possess. It is a gift to be nurtured, treasured & shared with the world, especially at this time.
During Lughnasa people celebrate the triumph of light over darkness and the abundance of the land. They also prepared for the descent into winter by resting before the intense work of the harvest began. This season honours meitheal, the ancient Irish tradition of communal effort. People gathered to work for the greater good, celebrating kinship, reciprocity, and connection with the spirits of the land. Lughnasa invites us to celebrate the harvest within and around us. As the Great Wheel turns, may the creative life force (neart) of this sacred time inspire you. May this care package offer moments of rest and joy.
journal prompts to inspire you:
- What are you noticing within and without as the season of Lughnasa approaches? What cues and clues are being offered to you by the wild world?
- How is your Dán or soul-gift ripening and manifesting itself? What’s ripe and ready to be harvested in your life? What lights you up — and how does that joy move through you? Where do you feel it in your body? Does it have a sensation, texture or colour?
- Lughnasa is a time of community and Meitheal: who are the key allies in your life? How can you honour and thank your expanders for their support and companionship?
what's coming up at the trailblazery:
As the Great Wheel turns, we are excited to let you know what the future holds for our community here at The Trailblazery.
Homecoming Retreat
We’re delighted to be welcoming people from all over the world for our Homecoming retreat on Beara Peninsula, West Cork this summer. Together we will journey to come home to ourselves, each other and the healing powers of the wild world during the luminous season of Lughnasa. We will create time & space for creative explorations that weave rewilding with ritual & rest.
* If you’d like to hear about future seasonal retreats with Kathy, you can sign up here to join the waitlist and be the first to know when we make announcements.
Moon Medicine
Our monthly gatherings, which moved online in 2020, align with the lunar cycle. We meet around every Full Moon and welcome inspiring guest luminaries to share her story, experience and wisdom with us. We also invite extraordinary musicians and performers to play at our gatherings. This is an opportunity to illuminate and celebrate our creative life force and sovereignty.
We are taking a little break with Moon Medicine for the month of August, but tickets for our September gathering with the luminous Vedic Meditation teacher Susan Quirke will go on sale on Friday, 22 August. Cost is €27. We offer a limited number of free spots each month for those who need it.
If you haven’t already, you can sign up to our Moon Medicine mailing list here to be informed of all upcoming events.
3 curated resources to nourish your senses in the days ahead:
♪ Listen: For your ears
Enjoy this Lughnasa gift of a mytho-sensory wonder voyage recorded by Kathy to mark Féile Lughnasa. To mark this high holy day, we're giving you an exclusive wild Immram experience that will transport you to a realm of wonder and joy.
Find a tranquil and comfortable space to lie down, enabling you to fully embrace the sounds and insights that await you. Let go of tensions as you become one with the harmonious flow of this immersive sound journey. Let this soundscape lead you into a state of deep relaxation and appreciation for the bounty of this Harvest Festival.
✮ Watch: For your eyes
We have opened the vault to share a few gems from our Library of Resources with you. Enjoy these bite-sized moments of seasonal wisdom from some of our luminous guides at The Hedge School. We recently welcomed Katie Holten (Artist, Activist, author & creator of The Irish Tree Alphabet) & Nick Roth (Composer, Producer, Educator) for Lughnasa at The Hedge School. Katie shared this amazing nugget & Nick offered this piece on their own relationships with the trees and the wild word around them. You can also listen to Ogham String by Caimin Gilmore here.
✦ Smell: For your nose
This collection from Wild Grace in honour of Lughnasa, the harvest festival in Ireland, celebrates slow beauty, the ebb & flow of the Earth's rhythms, and the harnessing of Summer's fire.
EnJOY these days - may the radiant light be yours.
Thank you for walking this path with us,
Beannachtaí,
Kathy & all at The Trailblazery