THE MANY WIVES OF LUGH
Though the festival was originally held by Lugh to commemorate the death and achievements of his foster mother, Tailtiu, there were other women in his life. These were his mother Ethlinn, daughter of Balor, and Birog, the Druidress who enabled his father Cian to woo his mother via a magical fog, much as Merlin did in the film "Excalibur". There was also Bua, or Bui, who was known as the Cailleach Bheara, who lived through seven periods of youth and is buried in the brugh of Cnogba (Knowth). Lugh was married to her sister, Nás, as well, these two being known as the daughters of Ruadri. Other wives were named Echtach, daughter of Daig, Englecc, daughter of Elcmar, and Buach, daughter of Daire Donn. Lugh was also the father of Cú Chulainn by Dectaire. Having all these wives at once may not have been unusual at that time, since there were ten different types of marriage available, ranging from marriage of a few nights, to marriage of a year and a day, or forever.

Bron Trograin Lughnasadh was celebrated from the last days of July through the first days of August, though nowadays it is considered to be on the first day of August. This period is listed in the Celtic/Gaulish Coligny calendar as "Equos" -- "Echrais" in Old Irish means "horse race" or "horse-time" -- and "Elembiuos" or "claim-time" (in Old Irish, the word ellam refers to the "bride price" paid to the father of the bride by the bridegroom). It was dedicated to Lugh Samildánach and his foster-mother Tailtu. It was also the Celebration of the Harvest, the great horse fair of Ireland, and a major festival throughout the Celtic world. It was the time of settling legal and clan matters the time for the choosing of the King, a time of games and competitions. Lughnasadh is the time when the "Dark One" (Crom Dubh) yields his harvest from out of the Earth, which is why the first Sunday of August is also known as "Domnach Chrom Dubh."

Sometimes Lughnasadh is called "Bron Trograin," "the Sorrows of Bron". It is thought that "Bron" refers to Bran, which is another name for Lugh's totemic animal, the Raven. Trogan or Trogain was an even earlier name for the festival held during this time. I personally think it means the "Earth Festival at Sunrise" since "trogain" refers to sunrise and "bron" refers to the raven or earth.

SYMBOLS OF LUGHNASADH
The symbols of Lughnasadh include the Horse, the Eagle, the Raven, the Stone, the Land, and the Sheaf.

MEANING OF LUGHNASADH
This is the Moon of Arbitration according to the Coligny Calendar. This is the time of reckoning, of judgement and of arbitration, as well as initiation and the celebration of the Fields and Bounty. These are borne out by the tasks carried out during the festival: choosing the kin, judgements and reckonings, Brehon marriages, etc.

LUGHNASADH CUSTOMS
This festival celebrates many different events in the Celtic year. It celebrates the wheat harvest and as such the last sheaf of wheat that is harvested from the field is sometimes made into a doll, sometimes called the Cailleach, in a similar fashion to the one made at Imbolc, which is called a Brideog. This wheat straw doll is given the position of prominence in the house, sometimes being placed on the mantel and at other times being placed on or above the dining table. It can even be returned to the soil and buried as a magical offering to promote the future harvest.

No harsh words were allowed between wives and husbands at this time. The levying or collecting of debts was also not allowed during Lughnasadh.

The Horse Fair:
Lughnasadh is also a great Irish horse fair. Many horses are traded and raced at this time. If the festival was near water then the horses were raced along the shore and through water. Horses were also purified by taking them into the waters.

The Games:
Hurley, Irish football, footraces, horseraces, sword dancing, and storytelling all took place at the Lughnasadh festival. The games at Tailteann were considered to be the Irish Olympics and were held every year until 1169 CE, the year the first English invaders came to Ireland during the reign of the High King Roderick O'Connor.

The Banais Rigi:
In this Wedding Feast of Kingship, there is the rite of the marriage of the king to the Goddess of Sovereignty. The fate of the king and the land were bound together. If the king was good then the land prospered. Under a bad king such as Bres, the land would be barren. Nowadays, the festival of Lughnasadh is associated with the Sacral Kingship. In olden days, this ritual was conducted at the Feast of Tara. Many different ritual acts and tests were held to choose a king. The Lia Fal would give a loud cry when touched by the rightful king. Sometimes other objects such as the royal chariot or the royal mantle would be used to identify the rightful king.

If none of these tests proved successful in selecting a king, then the Tarbh Feiss was preformed. This ritual was a Druidic rite that involved the sacrifice of a sacred bull and the consumption of its flesh and broth by a Druid. The dreaming druid would sleep within a circle of chanting druids until he saw the face of the rightful king. Once a king had been selected, he was initiated into a marriage with the land by ritually mating with the Goddess of Sovereignty. This mating could have involved an actual mating with a woman, a symbolic mating with a totemic representation of Sovereignty such as a horse, or it could have been an actual shamanic ritual involving the Goddess of Sovereignty. Ritual bathing and feasting was also involved. Perhaps the garlanding with flowers that occurred at this time of the largest pillar stones at Rannach Chrom Dubh (near Lough Gur) symbolized this marriage.

Judgements:
In addition to Brehon Marriages, at least one day was set aside for rendering judgements and for resolving disputes. This was done by the Brehons according to the Brehon Law, as set down in the Senchus Mor.

Brehon Marriages:
These are commonly thought to be marriages that last for a year and a day. The ancients were much more sensible than we are today. They believed that trial marriages, such as a Brehon marriage, should precede a more lasting union. There are actually 10 degrees of marriage. If at the end of a year and a day the couple was unhappy, either could dissolve the marriage by publicly announcing it and walking away. Likewise, the marriage could be renewed for another year and a day. A Brehon Marriage was probably a marriage of a 4th degree according to the old laws.

Initiations:
Since this was a time of competitions, both athletic and poetic, it is to be expected that many young warriors, Druids, Filidh, and others would be initiated into the next rank of their order at this time. Many times the competitions WERE the initiations.

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