Exploring Celtic Spirituality - ARCHIVE                                           This is a rich record of the Exploring Celtic Spirituality classes and ceremonies for 2009-2010.

    For current activities see exploringcelticspirituality


A Series of Classes and Ceremonies Celebrating the Celtic Wheel of the Year
with Edie Stone, MA
2027 Broadway, Suite H, Boulder, Colorado 80302     
303-415-3755

Learn more about the Exploring Celtic Spirituality Series        
All photo credits on this page

Lunar Samhain and New Moon Ceremony

The True Celtic Halloween

Samhain and Halloween Traditions –

Honoring the Ancestors and the Dark Night of the Year


Explore Celtic traditions associated with the end of the harvest and the death of the old year, honoring the ancestors, Hallowe'en, All Hallow's Eve, and Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

Please bring:Samhain Floor Altar, ©2009 Edie Stone Many thanks to Maria Jekic, who is helping to plan and co-lead our ceremony. She has led many seasonal and Celtic rituals at The StarHouse, and co-led last years Samhain celebration.
Thanks also to our crew of volunteers.

Background: Why is Halloween called Samhain?

The oldest record we have of this name and tradition is found in the Coligny Calendar, a set of bronze tablets from 1st Century Gaul. There are two groups of months, one headed by Samon (Samonios) and Giamon (Giamonios). On the date Samon xvii is a notation Trinouxtion Samonii sindiu, meaning "the three-night period of Samonios begins today."

"In the modern Gaelic languages the festival is called Samhain (Irish), Samhuinn (Scots Gaelic), and Sauin (Manx).  The night on which it begins (Oíche Shamhna in Irish, Oidhche Shamhna in Scots Gaelic, Oie Houney in Manx) is the primary focus of the celebration.  The Brythonic languages call the feast by a name meaning "first of Winter", borrowing the Latin term calenda which designates the first day of a month (Welsh Calan Gaeaf, Breton Kala-Goañv, Cornish Kalann Gwav), but the beliefs and practices associated with it are consistent with what we find in the Gaelic countries, and will help us discover a pan-Celtic theology of Samhain." (Quote from the late, great scholar of Celtic ritual, Alexei Kondratiev, "Samhain: Season of Death and Renewal"- http://www.imbas.org/articles/samhain.html )

Later,  the Catholic Church tried to suppress the folk traditions of Samhain. Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saints' Day in the 730's, and Pope Gregory IV made it obligatory in 835. (It had previously been celebrated on May 13, the Roman festival of Lemuria or Feast of the Lemures, when the restless souls of the dead were appeased with offerings. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, All Saints' Sunday is still in the spring, the Sunday after Pentecost.)

All Souls' Day, or the Feast of All Souls, a day of prayer for souls who were not quite so saintly, was celebrated on November 2, starting in 998.

In English, the term All Hallows' Day or All Hallowmas was often used instead of All Saints' Day. But the Celtic sense of time continued, with the days starting in the evening. So All Hallows' Even was celebrated starting the night before All Hallows' Day. The Scots dropped the v from Even, creating All Hallows' E'en, which was further shortened to Hallowe'en.

The three celebrations, the Eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were commonly referred together as Hallowmas in English.Thus the three-day Christian period of prayer for the departed, Hallowmas, came to be mapped precisely on the pagan period of honoring the departed, Samanios or Samhain.
A dancer from the All Souls' Day Procession, Tucson, AZ, 2008. In the Southwestern culture of the US, Samhain/Hallowe'en is  greatly influenced by El Día de los Muertos. Creative Commons Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_DayAll Soul's Celebration in Tucson, AZ - Creative Commons
 Snap Apple Night in Ireland, 1832 by Daniel Maclise   
"Snap-Apple Night by Daniel Maclise showing a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The young children on the right bob for apples. A couple in the center play a variant, which involves retrieving an apple hanging from a string. The couples at left play divination games." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

All photo credits on this page 

LINKS
Check out the article that appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera, Saturday, January 23, 2010, about our Imbolc celebration! http://www.dailycamera.com/archivesearch/ci_14248469
Text of the article is copied Here.

Exploring Celtic Spirituality with Edie Stone, MA

Current Event DETAILS and DIRECTIONS

Samhain, Halloween & the Ancestors

DATE: Friday, October 29

TIME: Plan to arrive between 7:00 and 7:15. Doors close at 7:30

LOCATION: Edie Stone's office, 2027 Broadway, Suite H, Boulder, 80304.
          One-half block north of the Pearl Street Mall, directly below OM Time Yoga.

DIRECTIONS: My office is 1/2 block north of the Pearl Street Mall, between Pearl and Spruce, in downtown Boulder.          After parking, come back to the sidewalk on the west side of Broadway. At street level, look for OM Time Yoga, then come downstairs. Parking is available on the street or in the Spruce Street Garage. The southbound Skip bus stops right in front of my building. Be aware that parking fills up early on Friday nights

 COST: By donation. $10 to $25 appreciated, if you have the ability to give. No one turned away for lack of funds.

RSVP: 303-415-3755 or estone@ediestone.com


Please bring:
Return to top
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com

Exploring Celtic Spirituality

A Series of Classes and Ceremonies Celebrating the Celtic Wheel of the Year
with Edie Stone, MA


Hollow Hill, Ynys Mon, Wales ©2008 Edie Stone                  The Green Abbey of Glastonbury ©2008 Edie Stone

A Hollow Hill on Angelsey                                           The Green Abbey of Glastonbury   

How beautiful they are,                                           
     The lordly ones
Who dwell in the hills,
     The hollow hills.
             Fiona MacLeod, The Immortal Hour, Act 1, Scene 3   
                    

About the Exploring Celtic Spirituality series with Edie Stone, MA

An on-going series of monthly classes adn ceremonies exploring Celtic worldviews, spiritual traditions, ancestral connections, and mythic imagery.

Celtic spirituality bridges ancient traditions of the British Isles and old Europe, early Celtic Christianity, revivals of written and visionary knowledge, and a living flow of mystical awareness and love of nature.

All classes will include information and time for questions. Each session also will include a participitory or experiential activity such as a shamanic journey or a simple ritual.  Often we will end with a prayer and blessing circle.

I also offer individual sessions to support you in exploring spiritual questions and paths of deeper knowing. Call me at 303-415-3755 or email me.

Brigid's Well in Kildare, Ireland           Celtic Wheel of the Year         

Well of St. Brigid in Kildare, Ireland                                         Celtic Wheel of the Year     

Solstice Sunrise at Stonehenge, source Photobucket    
Solstice Sunrise at Stonehenge
All photo credits on this page
Return to top
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com

My background in Celtic Studies

I have a lifelong interest in mythic imagery, dreams, and Welsh fairy tales. I also have always been drawn to Native American spirituality. I was delighted to discover in 1993 that much of the worldview, practices and elements of Celtic spirituality had a deep resonance and affinity to Native American spirituality.

While at Naropa University from 1994 to 1997, I was a core member of a Celtic spirituality group, with Frank Owen MacEowen and others. We co-created three years of seasonal Celtic ceremonies. This was a very rich and exciting time of research and spiritual development for all of us.

Since then, I have completed an in-depth apprenticeship with a Native American teacher, Kayla Moonwatcher, to become a Certified Shamanic Journey Guide. I also have studied shamanic traditions from South America, especially the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition with Oscar Miro-Quesada.

I continued to study with other Celtic teachers, including Frank, Tom Cowan, Geo Cameron Trevarthan, Mara Freeman, and Caitlín Matthews. I led three years of Celtic shamanic circles in the Boulder area, and gave presentations and workshops in Colorado and Wales, 2000-2008.*

Most recently, I have participated in an extended series of teachings with renowned author and teacher R J Stewart, on many aspects of Celtic spirituality, British mystical traditions and inner work.

If you are interested in an on-going group or a workshop, or if you would like to schedule a presentation, please contact me at 303-415-3755 or EStone@ShamanicJourneys.net

I also offer individual sessions of Soul-Centered Counseling and Heart Vision Shamanic Journeys.

Photo of Edie Stone, MA

Presentations

*I have taught the following seminars and courses in Wales, England, and Colorado:
For information on the UK tours, see http://www.ediestone.com/PeruvianShamanismCelticTraditionsWales.html
and http://www.shamanstone.co.uk/

If you would like to schedule a presentation on these or other Celtic topics, please contact me at 303-415-3755 or EStone@ShamanicJourneys.net

    Return to top
    Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com

Articles

Links:

http://www.dailycamera.com/archivesearch/ci_14248469

Celtic celebration honors spiritual woman of mystery, history

Megan Quinn, For the Camera
Posted: 01/23/2010 12:04:44 AM MST

Celtic goddess and Catholic saint Brigid carries a sense of mysticism in two seemingly different but intimately connected traditions.

Edie Stone, who has been organizing Celtic festivals in Boulder since the early 90's, hopes to shed light on Brigid and Imbolc, her upcoming Celtic celebration. The holiday honors Brigid, a woman with dual identities as a Catholic saint and a pagan goddess of healing and poetry. The Imbolc celebration takes place 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31 at the First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street.

Brigid is a dynamic symbol because of her multiple identities, Stone said.

"The qualities and symbolism of goddess and saint overlap and merge in a lovely way, making it difficult to tell where the myth of one ends and the legends of the other begins," she said.

The celebration, which is open to the public, will feature stories, music, and poetry inspired by Brigid, and participants will pass around candles that symbolize the fire that continuously burns in Kildare, Ireland, where Saint Brigid established an abbey around the year 470. In the Pagan tradition, Brigid's flame symbolizes Spring's growing warmth.

"There's a lot of crossover when it comes to Brigid in the historical sense and the mythical sense," she said.

Stone became interested in Celtic rituals as a graduate student at Naropa in the early 90's. At first, she studied Native American traditions and their connections to the earth. After meeting another student who described his spiritual experiences with Celtic traditions, Stone threw herself into learning everything about Celtic ceremonies and their similar ties to nature. A group of students got together and organized celebrations for each of the four major Celtic celebrations.

"We started really getting into it and taught each other. It was a joyful process, and we were always discussing how we could do it so it was interesting and exciting for people," she said.

There are four "cross-quarter" holy days that fall in between solstice days and equinox days. They also include Samhain or Halloween, Beltane or May Day and Lughnasa or Lammas. Stone often holds workshops that delve into the other three celebrations.

Stone said the First United Methodist Church was a good place to hold the event because of the church's large indoor labyrinth. Another part of the ceremony will include a contemplative walk through the labyrinth.

Labyrinths have also appeared in both early pagan and Christian traditions, Stone said. The winding, circular path is meant to help generate a meditative state where people can reflect on their life and spirituality.

Julie Heins of First United Methodist Church said the church has rented out the labyrinth room to many organizations since it is one of the few indoor labyrinths in Boulder.

"It's a pretty popular spiritual practice around here," she said.

The church's large basement labyrinth was the brainchild of former pastor Trevor Potter, and a committee helped maintain it and integrate it into spiritual events. In the past few years, however, the most active users have moved away, gone back to school or joined other churches, Heins said.

The labyrinth, open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, it is available to people of all faith traditions, she said.

Those interested can also walk a few other labyrinths around Boulder. St. John's Episcopal Church, 1419 Pine Street, has a stone labyrinth just outside the building. Those who are looking for a nature-centered maze can walk the gravel labyrinth behind the Boulder Public Library. The labyrinth sits right next to Boulder Creek.

Megan Quinn writes a weekly faith column for the Camera and can be reached at bubblegumandbibles@gmail.com.

Return to top
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com

Resources

(in progress)

Archive of Classes and Events

Past Times with Good Company (prior classes in Exploring Celtic Spirituality)

Class 1:Evening Introduction with Edie Stone

This is the first meeting of a series of monthly classes exploring Celtic worldviews, spiritual traditions, ancestral connections, and mythic imagery. Each session will include an experiential activity such as a shamanic journey.  Often we will end with a prayer and blessing circle.
Class 2: Ancestors, Samhain, and All Hallow's Eve
Class 3: Celtic Solstice TraditionsWinter solstice sunrise floods Newgrange with light
Class 4: Bringing Light & Mirth to the Dark of the Year.

Class 5: Imbolc -- The Festival of Brigid, Goddess and Saint

Check out the article that appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera, Saturday, January 23, 2010, about our Imbolc celebration! http://www.dailycamera.com/archivesearch/ci_14248469

Complete info on Imbolc 2010: The Festival of Brigid, Goddess and Saint


Class 6: A Green Spring: Celtic Spring and Equinox Traditions

Sunday, March 14, 2010, 3 pm
Exploring Celtic Spirituality class with Edie Stone, MA           
Alban Eilir

ALSO: Flamekeepers of Brigid meeting at 2 pm. For anyone interested in observing the 20-day cycle keeping the Flame of Brigid. You would tend a candle once every 20 days to honor Brigid and the spirit of peace.

A southerly sun
A full bellyDaffodils for St. David's Day in Wales
Prepare the Spring.
        Cornish saying         

Join us in celebrating the return of green energy, as daylight is rapidly expanding, the Earth is warming, green shoots are emerging, and life energy is stirring beneath the ground.

Some themes and traditions we might explore:
 The Equinox class starts at 3 pm. I will meet with people interested in becoming Flamekeepers of Brigid at 2 pm. More information on Flamekeeping to follow.

Class 7: May Day & Bealtaine - Summer bursts forth in the Glory of Green Man and the Power of the Queen

Organizational meeting Tuesday, April 27, 7 pm.
     • Edie Stone's office, 2027 Broadway, Boulder (below OM Time Yoga)
     • RSVP to Edie: 303-415-3755 or rsvp@shamanicjourneys.net

Celebration: Sunday, May 2, 2010
Private location
         
Some spellings: Bealtane, Beltane, Beltinne, Beltaine, Bealtaine, Beltine, Bhealtaine, Lá Bealtaine, Latha Bealltainn, Calan Mai

Class 8:Summer Solstice Traditions - June 15 and 24 

Stonehenge Summer Solstice AlignmentLearn about Summer Solstice traditions in the Celtic realm and old Europe.

Similar classes, same location, slightly different themes:

June 15



June 24 - Summer Solstice Traditions 

Solstice Sun Wheel Rolling Down Hill

            

CONTENT: See above

ADDITIONAL THEMES ON JUNE 24:         Dancing around the Midsummer Bonfire

Why are we celebrating the Solstice on June 24?

Well, historically, most European Midsummer customs are celebrated on the evening of June 23 and the day of June 24. Customs include May Poles and Green Crosses in Scandinavia and Central Europe as well as Britain.

June 24 is the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. As usual (thanks to Gregory the Great), the Catholic Church placed a saint's day on top of a traditional seasonal festival. Then the Church spent centuries trying to stamp out the frivolities and festivities, such as:  
     * Rolling wheels of fire
     * Naked midnight swims
     * Battles between the Kings of Winter and Summer
    
Also, learn more about magical ferns, invisibility, and St. John's Wort ... which is of course associated with the happy, sunny days of the Feast of St. John the Baptist.

Other names: Lá Fhéile Eoin (Irish), An Fhéill-Eoin (Scottish Gaelic), Gwyl Ifan (Welsh), Golowan or Gol-Jowan (Cornwall), Gouel SAnt-Yann (Breton), Laa l'Ean (Manx)

TIME: 7:00 to 9:30 pm

LOCATION: Edie Stone's office, 2027 Broadway, Suite H, Boulder, 80304. One-half block north of the Pearl Street Mall, below OM Time Yoga.

DIRECTIONS: My office is 1/2 block north of the Pearl Street Mall, between Pearl and Spruce, in downtown Boulder.  After parking, come back to the sidewalk on the west side of Broadway. At street level, look for OM Time Yoga, then come downstairs. Parking is available on the street or in the Spruce Street Garage. The southbound Skip bus stops right in front of my building.

 COST: By donation. $10 to $25 appreciated, if you have the ability to give. No one turned away for lack of funds.


St.Johns Fire WheelAnd now for something completely, Celtically obscure and wonderful:
On the Isle of Man, they celebrate Midsummer on July 5. Why? Because the Manx pegged their national holiday, Tynwald Day, and its Midsummer Court Ceremony, to St. John's Day, June 24. But when they converted from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar in 1753, they kept Tynwald on the same natural day, 11 days ahead of the Gregorian date, July 5.

And another bit on July 5th as Midsummer:

FEILL-SHEATHAIN, or MIDSUMMER July 5th is the date of the Old Midsummer [i.e. before the Gregorian calendar change]. Feill-Sheathain means "Swithin's Eve." Swithin is the old form of John, the common form being Iain, Eoin, and Eathin. Many ancient Pagan sites dedicated to Baldur were rededicated, by the Christian Church, to St. John the Baptist. Baldur was, of course, a radiant Sun god.

Throughout Scotland, and the rest of Britain, villagers would make "cartwheels" of straw and dip them in pitch. On Midsummer's Eve these would be set alight and bowled down the hillsides, to give power to the sun god. It the flames went out before the wheel reached the bottom of the hill, it presaged a bad harvest.
Quote from http://www.brenna.co.uk/Seasons.html  

Class 7: Lughnasa - The Festival of Lugh - August 1, 2010

Come co-create and celebrate the Festival of Lugh - The Harvest, the Arts, and the Divine Masculine.
 Lughnasa (LOO-nah-sah), August 1st, is a celebration of the first harvest, the beginning of autumn, the season of golden grain and golden sunlight.

In the ancient Celtic calendar, this feast day was dedicated to the young god Lugh, master of all the arts, embodiment of the Divine Masculine. In partnership with the Goddess of Sovereignty, he confirms rightful Kingship and right relationship to power.

In the Church calendar, Lammas Sunday, the first Sunday of August, is celebrated with the Blessing of the Loaves.

We will playfully celebrate the arts and skills in each of us, hear Lugh's tale, then feast on berries, bread, and ale, and other potluck!

Bring: Potluck! Foods of all kinds, including seasonal berries, ripe fruits, local produce, and bread products. Protein and veg dishes also welcome so we don't carb out. Red ale is ritually significant, and other drinks potent and plain to quench our summer thirst.

Bring: Skills! arts, crafts, poetry, song, dance, mime, mumming, padded swordplay, magic spells, jumping, racing hobby horses, joinery, smithcraft, music, storytelling, jokes, festive costumes ... Lugh was skilled in all the arts: builder, smith, champion, harper, warrior, poet, historian, magician, physician, cupbearer, and brazier.

Other names for this festival: Lammas, August Eve, Feast of Bread, Harvest Home, Dozynki, Luhnasa; Lunasda, Lunasdal; Laa Luanys and Luanistyn; Gwl Awst, Thingtide, Garland Sunday, Bilberry Sunday, Fraughan Sunday, Crom Dubh Sunday, Black Stoop Sunday, Lammas, Cornucopia

Class 8, Celtic Equinox and Harvest Traditions - September 22, 2010

The Harvest by Robert Zund

Enjoy the fruits of the maturing year, celebrate the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine

Bring fruit or something you have baked, brewed, or harvested.
Join us in celebrating the richness of Celtic harvest and autumn traditions on the Autumn Equinox.
We will break bread together, create a harvest altar, explore seasonal, mythic, and archetypal themes, and do a group journey or simple ceremony.

Actual Equinox time is Sept 22, 2010 at 9:09 PM Mountain Daylight Time or Sept 23, 3:09 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). So we will be in ceremony on the exact equinox.
A good site for calendar and astronomical info is
    http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/september-equinox.html

Some or most of the themes we will cover are:A sheaf of barley with sickle. The last one harvested would become the Harvest Queen (or the Hag of the Harvest).


1. The Celtic Wheel of the Year - Autumn phase
The Celtic Sun-God Lugh, from Wilson's Almanac2. The balance of day and night, of dark and light, and of masculine and feminine:
      Historic image of Lugh as Celtic warrior-king is from Wilson's Almanac, one of the most interesting websites in the world.
www.wilsonsalmanac.com






Bring fruit or something you have baked, brewed, or harvested.

Other names for this time of year:
Autumnal Equinox, Alban Elfed (modern Druid), Festival of Mabon (modern Wiccan)
Harvest Home, 2nd Harvest, Midharvest, Fruit Harvest, Wine Harvest, Gŵyl Ganol yr Hydref (Welsh, Feast of Middle of Autumn), Goeldheys (Cornish, feast of ricks), Foghar (Scots Gaelic, harvest), Feast of the Ingathering (England), Kirn(Scotland), Mell Supper (Northern England)
Michaelmas (Sept. 29), Lá Fhéile Michil (Irish), Gwyl Fihangel (Welsh), Gouel Sant-Mikael (Breton), Goel Myghal (Cornish), Goel Myghal (Manx)

Let us give thanks. Consider the hours of labor it used to take to reap enough grain by hand to keep family and community alive through the winter. Accounts of Irish harvest labourers employed in Scotland, for 5 to 15 shillings per acre, could harvest 300 sheaves a day using a sickle, and eat 10 pounds of porridge, 3 pounds of milk, and "2 gallons of good ale" per day!

Reaping machine from ancient Gaul
How to put the cart before the bull! A reaping machine from 1st Century Celtic Gaul, described by Pliney the Elder.
Harvest info from the 1888 Chambers’s Encyclopedia of Universal Knowledge, excerpts quoted on http://vickipedia.multipledigression.com/ 
Entry on August 9, 2007, Reaping.

The sun enters Cairn T Loughcrew on the Equinox
The sun enters Cairn T at Loughcrew at dawn on the Equinoxes. Martin Brennan, who wrote The Stones of Time, gathered volunteers to document the movement of the sun across the figures on the interior stones of many cairns near Newgrange. He suggests that the whole comples of cairns in the Boyne Valley, Newgrange, and Knowth, could have been used as a giant calendar of sun events around the year.

Martin Brennan also wrote The Hidden Maya, a fascinating exploration of Mayan glyphs using his knowledge of  Native sign language.

Martin spoke in Boulder with the Diné Anthropologist Charlie Cambridge and the late Dr. Bob McFarlane about the stone circles next to NIST, which caught the sunset shadow of the neck of Bear Mountain on the Winter Solstice. That area may also have served as a large prehistoric calender site, now it is home to the atomic clock!


Photo credits below.

Another past event with Celtic themes:


Photo Credits:
Return to top
Edie's main page, www.ediestone.com