West

Fáilte West, element Water: I re-member the energies associated with the west.

Everything that is born, grows and develops must mature and ripen. I am the healing water of every well. I am that which gives us deepening, that which ripens and provides harvest. I am that energy of wisdom borne from experience that gives maturity of thought. I am the evening of every day and the Autumn of the yearly cycle.

In Celtic mythology, Brigit blessed many wells which are still used for drinking and healing.

You are the doorway to the wisdom of life, death and the underworld.

Archangel Gabriel of mercy is also associated with this direction.

In this direction lies the mysterious Rathcroughan, home of queen Meabh and Inishcrone in Sligo, where we blessed and celebrated water.

I bring this energy here and now.

⧫ I place this water to remind us of intuitive wisdom in ourselves.

"A warm wind is the west wind it puts fleece on the sheep." Duchas Schools Collection

Galway

Martin in Galway Spring Equinox 2020 - I headed west through the fields while I realised Susan on Donabate beach would be walking easterly. Nora would be further east and others would be tuning in too. Susan at the centre.

West, west, west. I am the gateway to memory. I am water. I am the wisdom that comes with engaging with life. I am the wisdom of the ancestors and the record keeper. The fossil remains on my wrinkled skin show you this. Read well. Place me to the west of the egg.

16th July 2022 - Anne is in Galway celebrating Macdara’s Day - Féile Mhic Dara

Old lrish folklore suggested St. Mac Dara would subject storms on those who didn’t acknowledge him through the old tradition of dipping your sails three times when passing by the island.

One account, written by the Irish historian, Roderic O’Flaherty (1629–1718), stated that in 1672

‘a certain captain of the garrison at Galway, neglected to dip his sails and ended up being killed in a shipwreck.'

Thanks in large part to stories like this, the old tradition is as widely respected now by Connemara boaters as it ever has been.

Sunset

The Celtic day was seen as beginning at sunset, not midnight as our modern Roman calendar dictates. Life was a dance between apparently opposite and conflicting energies of darkness and light. Sunset is the end of the day but the beginning of night. A time of transition.

Dowth

Anne-Marie Moroney has been observing winter sunsets since 1997. From the beginning of October to the end of February the Sun sends it's rays from the south west into the chamber. As the sun appears progressively lower in the sky towards the winter solstice, the beam travels first over the sill stone then enters the chamber and finally shines directly onto the stone at the back of the Chamber. I've seen this for myself and it sure is magical. Magic of the Land - Dowth

Dowth (Dubthach or dark house) is the place of death, the setting Winter Solstice sun shining into the chamber of Dowth South every year.

Release to the transformative fire energy of the sun....

Stand facing the west, the setting sun. Imagine all intentions and blocks which are in your life and let them flow from your heart into the sun, as the sun sets.

It carries with it your cares and concerns to be transformed by it's purifying energy.

Or you may prefer to write them on a piece of paper and burn it in a fire along with the symbol if drawn on paper.

Ayurveda

At sunrise, the sun's rays increase kapha - earthy - qualities of nature until about mid-morning.

Then, as the sun rises to midday, solar heat increases pitta - fire - energy.

As the sun sinks into the west, sunlight that supports vata - wind - energy becomes more abundant. Ultra-violet light is filtered by the atmosphere, calming vata. With less ultra-violet at sunset, infrared and red light provide deep tissue repair and calm the nervous system.

Watch the sunset

At twilight a radiance still spreads over the land, even though the sun has disappeared. This also happens before sunrise. Earth's atmosphere scatters the sun's rays to create the colours of twilight. The air molecules scatter the blues and purples - shorter wavelengths - of the day. Longer wavelengths, such as orange and red, can pass more freely to the ground, giving us the glorious sunset and sunrise colors.

Sunset is said to be the gateway to heaven or a path to connect with the Divine.

Watching the sunset gives you a better sense of peace and contentment of the natural beauty of the Universe. In the coming time of peace and rest you rid yourself of any distractions and feel higher levels of satisfaction and gratitude.