The ancient Irish were very much in tune with the land and the changing of the seasons. They observed the changing of the seasons and the movement of the sun across the sky as the cycle of life of the Mother Earth and the Father Sun. Their existence depended on the continued warmth of the Sun and the ability of the Earth to provide them food. These observances told the people when to plow, plant, and harvest. The ancients held great festivals and fairs at the beginning and end of the agricultural cycle, with rituals held in honor of the land and the overall cycle of life. The beginning of each of the four seasons was marked as an especially important time in the lives of these agricultural people. The Solstices and Equinoxes were marked points in the “life” of the Sun as it traversed the heavens. (more…)

A Cosmological Map of the Irish - The ancient peoples known as the Indo-Europeans developed a system of belief that held that everything in existence is composed of three distinct, yet also interconnected parts. The later progeny of the Indo-Europeans, the Celts, maintained and further refined this threefold philosophy. The Celts saw everything in existence as being composed of three aspects or states. These three states were and are necessary for something to exist within the universe. Everything, from the brightest star to the smallest creature, was composed of the three vital states of being: mental, spiritual, and physical. (more…)