The Lammas Wickerman

Lammas is a Neo-Pagan holiday, often called Lughnasadh, celebrating the first harvest and the reaping of grain. It is a cross-quarter holiday halfway between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumnal Equinox (Mabon). In the northern hemisphere, Lammas takes place around August 1.

The wheat had run low before Lammas, and the new harvest began a season of plenty. Lammas also marked the end of the hay harvest that had begun after Midsummer, thus there was a spirit of celebration and thanksgiving..

The Wickerman film at Summersisle famously presents a certain view of this pagan festival. Sir James Frazer (incorrectly according to Ronald Hutton) cites John Barleycorn In The Golden Bough as proof of a Pagan cult in England that worshiped a god of vegetation, sacrificed to bring fertility to the fields.
Some see in this tradition echoes of human sacrifice as portrayed in The Wickerman film (1973), but that is not really what this time is about.
Whilst there was a Celtic ritual of dressing the last sheaf of corn to be harvested in fine clothes, or weaving it into a wicker-like man or woman, it was believed that the Sun 's spirit was trapped in the grain and needed to be set free by fire, so the effigy was burned. This tradition is thought by many to have been the origin of the misconception that Druids made human sacrifices, along with Julius Caesar's politically motivated accounts.
More details at my Blog The Dance Of Life here ( http://bit.ly/H8HOOA )



Grateful thanks to The Bard of Ely for permission to use his song I AM;
(http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_...)
Creative Commons Sampling Plus 1 License
( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/s... )
The Bard of Ely's albums are avaliable from DMMG Records:
( http://dmmg.webs.com/ ) and at iTunes.

Royalty Free Music via Kevin MacLeod of incompetech.com;
Licensed under Creative Commons "Attribution 3.0"
( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... )
for use of Baltic Levity and Feral Chase.
Creative Commons Licenses Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)

Lammas poem c. + narrated by The Bard of Ely.
Welsh Translation by Gareth Owen
Rheolwr y Theatr / Theatre Manager, Theatr y Pafiliwn / Pavilion Theatre, Rhyl.

Filmed at;
Gaia, co Enchantress Sao,
Hinterland Orkney co Tim Mersereau
Woodhenge, Madrigal co Julius Forwzy of The Druids of the Second Realm

As The Bard of Ely, Celestial Elf
Rowan Morrison, Sienna Panthar,
The Sergeant, rocketman Foxdale
The Fox Headed Pagan, Wicked2712 Bearsfoot

Many thanks to Laufey Markstein of Trident for providing;
Wicker Man, Apple Barrels-Crates, Hay Stack, Grains and Seeds sacks, Corn Rack, Druids Belt.
and to Fanda Ryba for the BwO bagpipes

Filmed on SecondLife via Phoenix 1.5.2.908,
On Windows XP using Fraps and Serif MoviePlus X3.
Casting Coordinator Sienna Panthar,
Conceived, Directed and Produced by Celestial Elf 2011

• Category

  Film & Animation

[SporeRainbow]

This video is amazing and beautiful, it moves something in my soul that is magical and enchanting and sacred! :)

[tuscan3161]

Thank you CE for always bringing so much more to the holidays/sabbaths for me!

[Threetails]

Even if the Druids had been observed practicing human sacrifice, it doesn't really say much. The Romans (who famously wrote of the supposed Druid sacrifices) had themselves performed human sacrifices for various reasons. But what people forget most of all is that nearly all cultures that performed human sacrifices usually did them in times of great distress. These were not "normal" offerings. An observation of human sacrifice says very little about the usual character of a culture.

[laughing1wolf]

well done, ce!

[Astral Jester]

Wonderful!

[Lindsey Starborn]

so much I had to say it twice

[Lindsey Starborn]

I loved the bagpipe playing dancing fox, the sea and gulls!

[BlueAsrai]

Amazing film and brilliant work! Thankyou for sharing :-)

[textcavation]

I loved hearing the Welsh in this.  Sorry that it takes me so long to post my praise on YouTube.... For me it was a REAL THUMBS UP on M.A.G. Bravo! (and how I love the little fox character! lol)

[Wiccan Alex]

Beautiful video :)