Celebrate Aine, Irish Goddess of Summer & Sovereignty
with Daughter of the Goddess
Thursday, July 9, 7:30PM
Concord location, directions given upon RSVP
$15 newcomer discount, $35 one time exchange
This ritual is for cisgender women.
Please RSVP to 925-787-9247 or Leilani@DaughtersoftheGoddess.com
Aine is an Irish Goddess of Summer, Wealth and Sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and especially the Sun. Aine is also a Goddess of love and fertility and ruled over crops and animals and so is connected with agriculture and land. She was originally associated with the Celtic Tuatha De Denann, and is so part of the faerie clan with all of their magical powers. Her main place of worship is in Munster which is in the County Limerick in southwestern Ireland.
The Hill of Knickainey (Cnoc Aine) is especially sacred to her and was one the most powerful royal ceremonial centers of the land. The ritual marriage between the King and the Goddess was performed there, legitimizing their kingship. Here also sacred rites were celebrated in Her honor that involved the use of fire and blessings of the land and animals for fertility.
Nearby, a bit northwest of the Hill of Knickainey, is another of Her sacred sites, the “enchanted” Lough Gur (lough is a lake in Irish). The oral tradition of the area says that Aine not only created the lake but presides over it. Aine had two sisters, Fenne and Grainne, and when the moon was full the three sisters would ride their horses from their sidhes (underground mounds where faerie Goddesses live) to laugh and play in the moonlit waters of the sacred Lough Gur.
There are several stories of Aine and Her lovers, most included some form of rape or attempted rape. In those times raping a womyn made her your property, and of course who would not love to possess a Faerie Goddess? An early tale tells of how Aine was raped by King Ailill Aulom of Munster. Knowing that the King of the land had to be “unblemished”, Aine bit off his ear (“Aulom” means one-eared), making him unfit for kingship, and so he lost his crown and his lands. Various stories exist about Her marriage to Gerald, the Earl of Desmond. Some believe that Aine fell madly in love with him and enchanted him into marriage. A different version tells that he fell instantly in love with her when he happened upon Her while she was bathing in a lake. He used his magic cloak to win and marry Her, and on their wedding night instead of having consensual sex he tried to rape Her. She retaliated by turning him into a goose or by killing him or both.
Aine teaches us of the sovereignty and power of womyn. She grants the boon of land and life. We come to Her altar on this night to ask for assistance with our sovereignty. Too many of our female elders are struggling, houseless, without the support needed for basic living. And many, many womyn in general are struggling to survive, to have a roof over their heads or keep it there. Come to Her altar to look for support needed to claim your sovereignty, your place to live, to worship, to blossom into the powerful womyn we are meant to be.
For the altar, please bring a candle of any color that represents power to you. Sacred to Her are cattle, the red mare, lakes and mounds, and the Moon. Please bring any representation of Her you wish to the altar. And as always we have a feast after the ritual so please bring a snack to share if you are so called.
If you are interested in participating in a ritual or celebration, please help out by doing the following:
Please bring a snack to share (if possible, food of the culture we are celebrating), washable eating utensils (bowl, cup, plate, utensils, etc. In honor of Mother Earth, we do not provide disposable items), a candle (for safety reasons, we highly recommend a candle in a glass container, often called a novena), and pillow or chair to sit on to all rituals. For more information about our rituals please visit our FAQ page.
Please see our current series schedule and check the web page for the specific ritual to see what items to bring and how to prepare yourself. Please take the time to read this, especially if you are a newcomer. New information is added from time to time so even if you feel you have already seen this, it is important to check back in every now and then.