Dear Friends

Welcome, as the great wheel turns we prepare to celebrate the Celtic festival of Lughnasa.

Traditionally, August marked the beginning of the Harvest Season and it was a time of great celebration in rural Ireland. The festival of Lughnasa stems from an Irish-Gaelic word which translates as ‘Commemoration of Lugh’ and our Lughnasa is out native word to signify the month August.

According to Celtic mythology, the festival was begun by the Celtic sun god Lugh in honour of his mother, Tailtiu, who died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture. The Great King Lugh was a hero among the Celts, and held the title of High King of Ireland at one point in his earthly life. He is also known as Lamhfhada, which means ‘long hand’, because of his exemplary skill with a spear. He was a great warrior, a master craftsman, a king, and a saviour to the people and (in the words of scholar Alexei Kondratiev) “trickster, psychopomp, experimenter, mover between worlds, granter of success and wealth through intelligent manipulation, and granter of continuity through change”

Of the four great Celtic festivals - Samhain, Imbolc and Bealtaine, Lughnasa was the most joyous. It was a great tradition for entire communities to gather at a chosen meeting place in the hills, by a river or lake, or perhaps at a holy well to celebrate the fresh abundance of a new harvest with joy and enjoyment. People gathered to celebrate the bonds of community through social mixing, and to strengthen and honour the bonds between the people and the spirits of the land and the gods through decorating wells and standing stones, the re-telling or re-enactment of mythological tales, acts of blessing and ritual.

Walking Each Other Home

Lughnasa is an invitation to appreciate the bounty of the natural world and also to honour, harvest and share our own gifts with the world. We will be marking Lughnasa with ‘Walking Each Other Home’- a live Moon Medicine call on August 01. Our monthly Moon Medicine Circle invites women to rise and lift other up along the way and this call promises to be very special. We are beyond excited to welcome Elena Brower to the fold.

Elena - our guest luminary is one of my very favourite Medicine Women. She is a Mama, internationally acclaimed Teacher, bestselling Author, Artist, Poet, Mentor, Women’s Leader, Global Wellbeing Advocate and so much more. I first met Elena in 2008 when I was working for a spell in New York and felt a calling to attend some of her classes in person at her amazing studio ViraYoga in SoHo. After that very first practice I knew I had found my teacher, guide and so much more.

As a student I have attended many trainings with her, enrolled in both of her mentorship programmes (Elevate and Simplify) and she has been one of my greatest cheerleaders - supporting me every step of the way with my mission at The Trailblazery. She has also introduced me to many other great teachers Rod Stryker, Abbie Galvin and Hari Kaur which eventually led me to train as a Kundalini teacher and also commence an intensive training in Katonah Yoga. She has been right by my side during the pandemic as I also can practice with her online anytime via YogaGlo.

Her books (The Art of Attention, Practice You) have paved the way for thousands and her Practice You podcast is a home for raw, real inquiries into relationship, lifestyle, healing, education, spirit, service, ancient practice, and modern wisdom. Her poetry and spoken word offerings are elixirs for the spirit. We share a love and deep appreciation of culture and beauty - art, literature, music with a special devotion to Hilma Af Klint the Swedish artist and mystic. Her collaborations with Flavorpill, Wanderlust, Above& Beyond and East Forest are exquisite. She has inspired me to teach in museums and unusual public spaces after this extraordinary response to Pipilotti Rist exhibit at the MoMA, Feb 2009 (see above).

But what really gets me every time about this trailblazing woman is her generosity of spirit and commitment to guiding people with fierce grace so that we can walk each other home.

She has consistently shown up for me (professionally and personally) and helped me to get back up on my feet when I have been on my knees. I have met extraordinary people through her and forged friendships with inspirational women all over the world because of her inspired introductions. She has helped me find my way home and I am so moved to share her with all of you.

You can join us both on August 01 for Walking Each Other Home. We will also be joined by our glorious musician-in-residence Margie Jean Lewis. Together, we will share stories, songs, music, breath, ritual, practices and resources for the times we live in.

Book your Moon Medicine Spot

When the way forward seems uncertain and our hearts are low how do we find our way home?

Walking each other Home is an exploration of ways to practice, live, love, serve and show up with courage and compassion. The concept of walking each other home means we do not need to go through life alone. There are people waiting to guide us, illuminate the pathways and help us find the way home. Elena Brower is one of those luminaries, she has guided and elevated thousands of students around the world to locate and experience their ‘home frequency’ and serve creatively from that place.

In her own words

“We often feel this sensation when we’re in Nature – she puts us into an attentive state of ease. In that ‘home’ state, even in the presence of confusion or distress, we can intuit the traces of a path forward. We can relax into a vision that opens us, guides us, invites us to our highest potential. The frequency of home is what we feel when we are deeply at home within ourselves. When we find ourselves in good alignment and we feel our consciousness right in the centre of ourselves, that’s home. The frequency of home is mostly about simple listening, love and respect, and it’s a repeated choice. Practice landing and situating yourself in that frequency; your body will thank you…”

We are still working on bringing her here to Ireland but in the meantime I look forward to welcoming you on our live call next weekend.

Enjoy celebrating the rites of Lughnasa and harvesting your gifts wherever you are on our planet.

until soon

Kathy xo