Lughnasa (CTD)

Lughnasa, August 1st, is a Festival of the Shadow Court remembering Lugh, High King of the Tuatha de Danaan.

Overview

Not even acknowledged by the Seelie, the festival of Lughnasa (which some pronounce as “lunacy”) is of great importance to the Shadow Court, especially those of House Balor, who see it as their own special holiday. Commemorating Lugh, High King of the Tuatha de Danaan, this fire feast celebrates both of his sides: that of the quintessential sidhe, and that inherited from his mother, Balor’s daughter, a queen of the feared Fomorians. Thus, it celebrates both aspects of fire: the creative and destructive impulses.

Ostensibly a festival partaking of the first fruits of the harvest, Lughnasa also celebrates the cutting down of the king. After a summer of growth and cultivation, corn and grain are cut down, bundled up, or ground into meal for the winter, and the remnants plowed under to provide fertile soil for next year’s harvest. The king, as the embodiment of the land, has given of his strength and now becomes a sacrifice to increase the land’s fertility, and prepares it to withstand a long cold winter. Sometimes a queen assumes this office, taking on the role of the mother who sacrifices herself so that her children might live. Thus a gloomy ritual of death instead becomes a time of joyous celebration of the sacrifice which allows others to continue and blossom anew.

The Shadow Court, seeing the coming of Endless Winter, realize the importance of such rituals to winnow out those who have made their contributions and need to move on. They have taken it upon themselves to enact these sacrifices wherever they can. In the past, some Unseelie grumps, fearing their waning strength would be a burden on the community, willingly assumed the role of sacrifice. More often nowadays, the Shadow Court captures and ritually slays a Seelie monarch or overlord. To them, this is only just. This is the Seelie time of rulership and taking on the burdens of the harvest sacrifice is their responsibility. Also, the lighter-hearted Seelie disposition is needed to enrich and warm the soil (or spark the fires of creativity) throughout the cold of winter. Though the Seelie have yet to discover exactly what's going on, some have noticed an increase in the disappearance of Seelie rulers around this time of year.

Rule of Conjunction

On certain days, the Dreamstuff in some materials becomes more potent. It is a good idea to harvest materials according to these dates. The following chimerical Dreamstuffs are most potent when gathered on Lughnasa.

• Corn and all grains (all parts)
• Wax
• Insect larvae
• Leaves of uncommon trees
• Heartwood of common trees
• Snake skin
• Gold
• Branches of rare trees
• Flint
• Charcoal from burned uncommon wood

References

• CTD: The Shadow Court, p. 47-48
• CTD: Dreams and Nightmares, p. 121