East

Fáilte East, element Air: I re-member the energies associated with the east:

I am; birth and beginnings, the rising of the Sun, Moon and Stars. The swiftness of wind and the breath of life, the startling beauty of the dawn chorus, the energy that sponsors inspiration, thought, creativity and logic.

Spring of the yearly cycle and dawn of every day.

Archangel Raphael the healer is associated with this direction and from our Celtic mythology we recognise Cesair, the first woman to set foot on Ireland's soil. Ogma of the Tuath Dé Danann, the champion of Lugh and inventor of writing, holds this inspirational energy. Saint Brigit had and shared inspiration in abundance.

In this direction we look towards Clougherhead seat of the goddess Áine. Here in the past we have celebrated with labyrinths on the beach.

I bring this energy here and now.

⧫ I Place this feather to remind us of the energy of inspiration and leadership in ourselves.

Front Door

People often talk about facing the directions.... here is one take on that... This image shows a person standing at the door of his house. The door is facing east. What is astounding is how these words for direction of movement and orientation match in the Irish (Gaelic) language...This language characteristic can only be explained if we assume that this part of the Irish language was developed by the culture which lived in a world which faced east...Where facing east was something everyone did every day...Like if their houses were built in such a way that the house entrances faced east...It turns out that most rectangular [Irish] Neolithic houses had east facing entrances...The same goes for the Irish Bronze Age round houses, which were also predominantly built with their doors facing East or South East... old european culture.blogspot

Christian beliefs

In the Bible - Matthew 24:27 - the teaching is that at the Second Coming of Christ he will come from the east. This belief affects how Christian churches are built. The entrances face the west so that during services, worshippers face the east, looking at the altar.

In Genesis 2:8 "the Garden of Eden was planted in the east", thus making it the direction of Paradise.

Riddle

Q. Two men were born at the same time and at the same place and they died at the same place and at the same time. One was fifty years older than the other when he died. How did this happen?

A. One went west and the other went east and one gained two per annum on the other. (If you travel westward, you gain a day, and if you travel eastward, you lose a day.)

A riddle from Limerick - Duchas School's Collection

Burial and grave orientation

The practice of burying the dead so they would face the rising sun goes back to ancient Egyptians and Greeks who worshipped the sun god. According to their beliefs, it was most proper for their dead to face the sun, to greet each new day.

For Christians the practice of east-facing tombstones can also be traced to the Matthew 24:27 again. The feet of the person are placed to the east, the head to the west, with a memorial at the head.

However, clergy may face west, ie. facing their congregation. Thus when Christ - the Light of the World - returns and the dead rise they are in the right position to lead them again.

For a Muslim burial, the grave should be perpendicular to the holy city of Mecca, with the deceased's body positioned so their right side faces Mecca.

In Fenshui (the way of wind and water) a burial should be placed on the south facing side of a hill. It is also advantageous to have a river flowing below the grave. A tomb is a Yin building.

Hindu practices involve an after death practice of placing the body - until cremation - with head to the north. The belief is that the soul leaves the body and travels north leaving the earthly life.