Happy Sheela's Day!
Tuesday March 18, 2008
According to Irish tradition, the day after St. Patrick's day is "Sheela's Day." Some legends say this Sheela is the mother of the saint, but the tradition more likely pays homage to a a Sheela who long predates Patrick, the ancient Celtic fertility goddess whose image still dots Ireland's ancient stones.
Comments
I am glad to know there is an additional Celtic celebration we can use besides St. Patrick’s Day which is Christian even tho he was pretty Celtic in his Roman religion that early in history. A friend of mine celebrates it as “All Snakes Day” since Patrick was said to have driven all the “snakes” out of Ireland which probably meant the pagans since serpents were a symbol of the Goddess to some pagan Celts. So Happy All Snakes Day to pagans on March 18th.
Ive lived here my entire life and Ive never heard of Sheela’s day. Sounds like some new-age marketing ploy to me.
Sheela na gigs exist mainly on Monastic sites. Their exagerated labia resemble the vesica piscis and are thought to represent Mary mother of Jesus presented in the role of the area’s teutilary deity.
On one hand yeah it reflects a pagan trad of our culture (sacral kingship and the first ancestors) but on the other hand the term sheela na gig wouldnt refer to a single deity its not an irish word at all…
Its another manifestation of the cultural continuum that exists in Irish society.
In high Irish culture a fine and tuath had its own mother god that sometimes literally birthed them into the world and always watched over the people, land and cattle. Each fine had a leader and in turn each tuath had a king and so on up to high king. Each king married the mother god and his firenne (Literally trans its his truth but a better translation is potency) would stimulate the God to bring fertility to the land and cattle and strength in battle to the people.
Mary is the best known mother god in Christianity it only makes sense for Irish monks to have the mother represented on their monasteries.