Lora O'Brien – Irish Author & Guide

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Tag: Festivals

Lughnasadh in Ireland

Lughnasadh in Ireland

Posted on August 1, 2019July 7, 2022 by Lora O'Brien

The 1st of August (sometimes the 2nd) is Lúnasa (Lughnasadh, Lughnasa, Brón Trogain) – the harvest festival in Ireland. In her excellent book, ‘The Festival of Lughnasa’, Máire MacNeill wrote: “Garland Sunday and Domhnach Chrom Dubh are two of the many names of a festival celebrated by Irish country people at the end of July…

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Beltane - Bealtaine Traditions in Irish Folklore

Beltane – Bealtaine Traditions in Irish Folklore

Posted on April 22, 2019September 25, 2019 by Lora O'Brien

Beltane is the anglicised version of our Irish word Bealtaine – still in use and meaning ‘the month of May’ in our own language. Bealtaine is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature, and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Irish folklore still holds the legacy of the traditions and customs…

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Irish Pagan Holidays and Pagan Festivals

Irish Pagan Holidays

Posted on October 25, 2018January 4, 2021 by Lora O'Brien

Pagan Holidays (Holy Days) worldwide are coming back to a more general use and understanding, with folk often asking questions about whether Christmas is a Pagan Holiday (it is, sort of), and observing the 8-fold Wheel of the Year. The current Neo Pagan calendar (and its primarily Wiccan holidays) is ostensibly based off the ‘Celtic…

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Worties - Irish Cabbage for Medieval Cooking

Irish Medieval Cooking – Worties

Posted on July 2, 2018September 25, 2019 by Lora O'Brien

‘Worties’ was the common name in Ireland, from the English ‘wortes’, which were vegetable greens and members of the onion family, such as cabbage leaves, spinach, beet greens, leeks, wild garlic leaves and so on, as well as some of the leafy herbs used for seasonings, like borage, parsley, and sage. When cooked together with…

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Yellow Flowers on May Eve at Bealtane in Ireland

Bealtaine – May Eve Magic in Ireland

Posted on April 30, 2018April 22, 2019 by Lora O'Brien

Fadó, fadó, sure there were only the 2 seasons in Ireland. Summer and Winter. Even after things moved on, for people, and for the land, these main boundaries in time loomed large every year for the Irish people. And the turning between the two was a time of magic, and mayhem… you’d never even know…

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Irish Spirituality Q&A

Irish Paganism Q&A with Lora O’Brien

Posted on March 6, 2018November 14, 2019 by Lora O'Brien

It’s been suggested a couple of times that I should get on ‘the other side of the interview’, and talk about my own Irish Spirituality, and Pagan or magical practices. So recently I queried my Community for their questions on Irish Paganism and Spirituality (or my history/practice in particular). Then I went on FB Live and…

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Winter Solstice Fire

An Irish Winter Solstice

Posted on December 19, 2017February 13, 2018 by Lora O'Brien

The Longest Night. A woman sits by her fire, wrapped in a blanket to keep out the chill, watching the flames in the quiet of a room. Her house is silent around her, family sleeping as she waits. Lights burn through the darkest hours. When the deep blackness begins to lessen, she makes her way…

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Lora Black Bob

An Interview with Lora O’Brien

Posted on October 30, 2017February 13, 2018 by Lora O'Brien

Samhain Interview with Lora O’Brien First Contact Hi Lora, I hope you’re keeping well. My name is Lisa [xxxxx] and I’m a freelance journalist for the Irish [xxxxx]. I am currently working on a Halloween special for the newspaper and I would like to include a feature on modern Irish women who practice witchcraft. I…

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Darkness

Samhain in Ireland

Posted on October 31, 2016November 14, 2019 by Lora O'Brien

No, it’s not ok to pronounce it Sam-Hane… “How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole” ? C.G. Jung In Irish (Gaeilge), it’s pronounced Sow-wen, with sow as in female pig. It’s a word that has a huge cultural and…

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