Beltane

Beltane, Bealtaine or Beltain (Gaul: Ambivolcaia, Kymric: Calan Mai), is one of the four Celtic festivals, recognized in the Spring Festival celebrations, but that originally marked the summer, is also the name of the month of May in Gaelic, in which month the festival happens. Beltane is strongly focused on soil fertility and consequently on human sensuality. The Beltane is the happiest of Celtic Festivals, where people dancing, and rejoice in the campfire.

Opposite of Samhain, Beltane is a festival of fertility, symbolizing the union between the male and female, the fertlity of Earth and the fires of the Celtic god Bellenos, God of Sun, and all his energy and light.
In ancient times during the festival, bonfires were lit on the tops of the mountains and places considered sacred and is an important ritual in the Celtic lands. And as tradition, people burnt offerings, for example, totems so that the power of fire was passed to the flock, and jumped to the fires that fill the same powerful energies.
Represents the beginning of summer and marks the death of winter, being celebrated with dances and banquets.

It occurs on May 1 in the northern hemisphere and November 1 in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Fertility contained in this celebration as the blossoming of spring, with the opening of the flowers, seeds, and the life of offspring considered in the Animal Kingdom. A party that must be watered with joy, with dancing, wreaths and a feast of food that values ​​time and especially the fire, or something representing the fire. So we can let this element in disease-free and to restart life in primordial form, pure and simple.

Nobody celebrates today with the intention of increasing the population of your city or your village, but seen as a metaphor, the full and harmonious sexual union between the King and Queen is the clearest statement of what paganism is on the way to happiness. represents the reconciliation of all opposites in love, and fruit that is born there. Fertility can also be seen as a metaphor for any number of things. Not necessarily referring to plantations or babies. But we must not forget the hungry in our modern world, and many endangered species.

The spirituality of pleasure, a strange concept in our present culture is the theme of the Rite of Beltane: the innocent pleasure of sensuality and creativity that results from the union of opposites.

According to Nora Chadwick, in Celtic Ireland "Beltine (or Beltaine) was celebrated on 1 May, a spring-time festival of optimism. Fertility ritual again was important, in part perhaps connecting with the waxing power of the sun, symbolized by the lighting of fires through which livestock were driven, and around which the people danced in a sunwise direction".

In Irish mythology, the beginning of the summer season for the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians started at Bealtaine. Great bonfires would mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people from any harm by Otherworldly spirits, such as the Aos Sí. Like the festival of Samhain, opposite Beltane on 31 October Beltane was also a time when the Otherworld was seen as particularly close at hand. 

Moderns pagans celebrate Beltane today as one of the eight sabaths of the wiccan Wheel of the Year.

Nowadays there is a very famous cultural festival that takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, celebrating this festival, Beltane Fire Festival.

Website of the organization: http://beltane.org/about/beltane/

Spring Equinox

The first day of spring is also known as the Vernal Equinox. Alban Eiler, which means, "Light of the Earth," is one of the two days that night and day stand equal. The equinoxes and solstices were holy times of transition for the ancient Celts, a celebration of the miraculous balance of nature and life cycles of renewal.

The Vernal, or Spring, Equinox takes place on or about March 21. An equinox refers to the time of the year when the Sun crosses the plane of the Earth's equator, making night and day equal length all over the planet. Crops were typically sown at this time, a time of transition.

The Neolithic predecessors of the Celts aligned numerous megalithic monuments with the solstices and the equinoxes. The passage tomb Sliabh na Caillí ("Hill of the Hag") in Loughcrew County Meath is aligned with the Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes, when the sunrise shines on several sunwheel carvings.

The Spring Equinox is the mid-point of the waxing year. The spark of light that was born at the Winter Solstice has reached maturity. Today the light and dark are equal; from this day forward, the days grow longer than the nights. We have survived another Winter and are once more surrounded by the delights of Spring. It is a time for celebrating the greening of the Earth, and crops are typically sown at this time.

This is the time of full Dawn, and was the time of the festivals of the Grecian goddess, Eostre, and the Germanic Ostara, both goddesses of Dawn. Some believe that this is where we get the word "Easter". Since the Spring Equinox is a time to celebrate fertility, and many cultures see eggs as a symbol of Life or the home of the soul, decorated eggs have been part of spring celebrations for centuries.

Here is a spring equinox ritual appropriate for Christians. Stand outdoors at sunrise, forming a circle with those you love. Put a small tree (representing "the tree of life") or a shrub in the center of your circle, or stand around a living tree. Meditate silently together with a sense of awe and wonder about the teeming abundance of life God has created. Tie festive ribbons or attach brightly colored pieces of paper onto the tree. As you do so, state your intention for yourself or a loved one with respect to personal growth, fertility, or spiritual renewal. End with a prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle that is the Continuity of Life, and ask that everyone around you might have a Bright and Blessed Spring.

Alban Eilir is considered the light of spring. This is the turning point within the season of Embolic (spring).
Midwinter Gathering: (Calan) Calends of summer, winter, spring and fall.
Honor spirits of darkness now behind this culture, the sacred land and the welcome of the spirit is of the new cycle. The lessons of the darkness are spoken of, or the beauty and power of winter. The seeds of spring are sewed into the land.

The internal is a mirror for the external, and the external is a mirror for the internal. So, by making an offering to the spirit’s of winter, people are also honoring own dark inner world(s), all that lurks and hides within the cracks, possibly unaccepted by one’s own consciousness and rarely, if ever, expressed. Honoring inner strength and stoutness that brings one through harsh times is essential.

Common seeds that people plant are barley and wheat, which will sprout and grow ripe in time for harvest. Other seeds such as sunflower, beans, sweet peas, or annual grass are also used. It is important that when choosing a seed to plant that an easily grown plant will avoid stress and heartache. This is the time when fertility is awakening. The culture turns their foes to the point of balance.

Creativity, emotion, and desires of the new growing season are seed thoughts of which plans are expressed during painting of eggs. If one takes the time to listen, leaning up against a tree, it is possible to feel the energy of that extraordinary flow - the sap rising. As the warmth of the sun’s light warms the earth, people are inspired to stretch - reaching for the skies - growing and learning, finding freedom in new directions.

The Spring Equinox is celebrated between March 20 and March 23, on the day when the day is the same length as the night. It is also known by the name Alban Eillir (sometimes written Eiler) Eilir is Welsh for “regeneration” or “spring”. Poetically Alban Eilir is expressed as “Light of the Earth”.

The spring equinox, being a time of new life is a celebration of childhood, where games are abundantly played. The symbolism of the egg is prominent. It is a festival filled with laughter and anticipation. It is a festival of excitement for balance with tipping the year toward lightness and growth.

The darkness is behind us and we begin our journey into the light part of the year. Similar to the autumn equinox many, who are attune to the energy of the cycle, feel a balance over the few weeks before and after the event.

At the Spring Equinox, energy is increasing. The tides are high and the moon is high and bright.

The core of Alban Eilir lies in honoring the seeds that will become the year’s harvest. They might be sown in pots and cared for on windowsills or in greenhouses, protected from the frosts. These seeds are a part of a Druid’s ritual work of caring for the land. They are consecrated with the elemental forces of flowing air, of sun warmth, of moisture (rain) and of earth (soil).

Ostara

Ostara is the first day of spring occurs around March 21 in the northern hemisphere and September 21 in the southern hemisphere. The beginning of spring also marks the return of the sun and a time of year when day and night are of equal length after the winter. For Wiccans is the awakening of the earth with a sense of balance and renewal. Ostara, also known as Eostre (Anglo-Saxon Goddess, which means Goddess of Dawn) or Easter (Easter in English) because Easter is held in the northern hemisphere at this time, are goddesses of spring and rebirth and resurrection has as the rabbit symbol. One of the main traditions of this festival is the decoration of eggs. The egg represents fertility of the Goddess and God. Another ancient tradition is to hide the eggs and then find them. (Perhaps there came the custom of Americans to hide chocolate eggs on Easter for children to find them.) Even non-Wiccans feel is different this time, more likely, eat less, sleep less and wake up earlier.

For Wiccans it is also time to start planting, time of love, promises and decisions, for the earth and nature awaken to a new life.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is the time at which the sun is at its southernmost point in the sky, appearing at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon. The winter solstice usually occurs on December 21 to 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and June 20 to 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. The axial tilt of Earth and gyroscopic effects of the planet's daily rotation keep the axis of rotation pointed at the same point in the sky. As the Earth follows its orbit around the Sun, the same hemisphere that faced away from the Sun, experiencing winter, will, in half a year, face towards the Sun and experience summer. Since the two hemispheres face opposite directions along the planetary pole, as one polar hemisphere experiences winter, the other experiences summer.
More evident from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest. Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as "midwinter", "the longest night", "the shortest day" or ""the first day of winter".

Celebrate the rebirth of the sun, it is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
The symbolism of the winter solstice ceremony is ancient and deep. This is a moment of time, the turning between the year’s darkness and its new light – the time of nadir and rebirth. It marks beginning and completion. The seed of light is born in the dark womb of midwinter.
It is time of the longest night, when Earth’s very breath seems to falter in the face of the overpowering dark. Then barely noticeable at first, the sun begins it’s long journey towards the opposite pole, and all of creation begins to exhale. A cycle of new life can begin once again.
The return of the sun is the promise of continuation of life on Earth. It is time of the energetic reawakening – symbolically and literally – in our lives.
The dark side of the year starts to recede, and the light half of the year is reborn.
When the sun god is reborn we too experience rebirth. So many legends and myths bring us this celestial truths to remind us of our connection to the Earths natural cycles, and how they are played out within our bodies, minds and souls.
For us today, the winter still has profound impact on us. We too can feel unfit, chilly and less than motivated… imagine how must felt for our ancestors – the hunger, the darkness, lack of outdoor time and wondering wether the sun god would come back to the tribe.
Solstice night came an outpouring of people’s darkest fears and simultaneously an outpouring of gratitude for the sun’s return and the understanding the we are indeed divinely cared for.
For the 21st century the winter solstice is still absolutely a time of renewal of the flow of energy.
Think of how you feel at this time – blankets are your best friends, cozy and snug and maybe a little lazy, as if special projects, dreams and wishes belong on the back burner, you may still holding on to relationships that need to be let go of, and sometimes you may find your material resources are stretched thin.
You find it difficult to motivate yourself or you think dark thoughts at this time, you may be feeling deep crone energy and her influence on the winter dark.
Don’t despair soon the energy of solstice will bring a lightening to your spirit and your energy as the sun god and the maiden awaken across the land – and within you.
As above, so below.
The energy within has its cycle without, and you are connected to these cycles.
From the first sunrise following solstice night you’ll feel a shift.
Gradually and naturaly you will feel your energy start to flow anew, you’ll begin to feel refreshed and re-energized and ready to take on the world.
It can be a challenge to celebrate Yule in the midst of the feast of materialism that Christmas has become for many people… but in fact the roots of Christmas are in fact Yule.
We should simply focus our attention in the rebirth of the sun, and of al that is new in our lives, and farwell with respect the wisdom of the crone, then we’ll have a ceremony that speaks to our hearts.
Rize early and gaze at the early morning rays, because they’re going to be lengthening from now on. Turn your face to the sun and welcome the new life it brings. Be prepared for changes after solstice time!
Old habits, jobs, partners have a way of disappearing – reasonably painlessly, as it’s the natural order of things – after this time.
However if you are in the right place and with the right person, you will bloom and grow.
It’s all about moving into the most fertile patch possible, so you will really grow over the coming months.

While the Solstices were not as important to the ancient Celts as the major fire festivals; Lughnasadh (August 1); Beltane (May Day, May 1); Imbolc (February 1- Bridgit); and Samhain (November 1, Halloween), they were none the less celebrated. Of the Solstices and Equinoxes, the Winter Solstice was the most important, since it marked the rebirth of the sun after the shortest day. Many cultures celebrated this time to commemorate the birth of various gods. The Winter Solstice falls between two major fire festivals Samhain (sow-an) or Halloween and Imbolc.

The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days, it helds a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around the time. As climate, the sun and astronomical events has the power to control the mating of animals, sowing of crops and metering of winter reserves between harvests.

The festival may also be called Alban Arthan. Alban comes from the early Briton (Britain) word, which means “bright”. The later corruption Arthuan refers to the British hero king, Arthur.

To some (especially female) the darkness of winter is thought of as a nourishing womb. The sun is seen as an immortal spirit inspiring conception new growth and rebirth.
Traditionally ceremonies are held within a sanctuary of stones or wood or simply energy; where peace has been affirmed, and into which spirit presences plus, with which the Grove has normally its works invited.

The heart of the ceremony is the cessation of mourning for the death of the light. The year, which was ended by the onset of winter, is left behind and the infant light begins to emerge.

Folk customs may be incorporated into a ceremony or practiced around the fire or the feast afterwards.

The burning of a winter oak log symbolizes the spirit of the hearth fires that warm the community. Mistletoe may be distributed carrying with it, its properties of healing, fertility and presence. Boughs of evergreen, which decorate the house, hold the spirit of life through the dark months. Presents, which express the energy of our spirit are given to friends and loved ones affirming the bands of love and community.

This celebration is often held close to or, at home. It is a time for sharing, and feasting with our closed friends and family.

In Newgrange, County Meath, there is an ancient tomb covered with beautiful artwork, which remains in darkness for much of the year. The double spiral on this site is one of the symbols which can be seen at the Newgrange site. Once a year, on the Winter Solstice, the tomb fills with light to reveal the beautiful artwork on the walls. While it seems best to leave its origins to the historians, there is no doubt that the ancient Irish considered this day important.

It also marked "The Shortest Day" or "The Darkest Midnight" and was cause for celebration, since - once the shortest day has passed, it meant the journey toward Spring could begin.

The customs that are associated with modern day Christian Christmas as decorating the tree, the act of hanging mistletoe and holly, burn think of Christmas, are beautiful pagan customs that date back to pre-Christian era. (Christmas, which happens a few days after the winter solstice and celebrates the spiritual birth of Jesus Christ really is the Christianized version of the ancient pagan festival of the Christmas season.)

Some traditions of the midwinter include,

Going Door to Door

While the tradition of "caroling" and going door to door to sing for ones neighbors is only done during the Holiday Season in recent years. In times gone by, it was common to carol from door to door for many of the major festivals. It is thought that certain tunes were found particularly useful for this tradition.

A dance entitled "The Horn Dance" was performed from All Souls to the Twelfth Night in hopes of bringing in the luck for the New Year! In many of the Celtic cultures, the tradition of going door to door and caroling or the idea of procession was common. All Souls Night or Samhain (sow- an) has come down to us as Halloween, when going door to door is still part of our culture.

"The Horn Dance" comes from Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire. Eight men danced through the village with antler horns on their heads in order to "bring in the luck" for the New Year. The tradition still continues in Abbots Bromley. This dance is thought to have its origins in Pre-Christian Fertility Rites.

The Kylemore Carols
The Kylemore carols are a beautiful collection of Christmas carols from the village of Kylemore. In the depths of harsh winter, a reminder of sacred celebration invests these haunting old melodies, many of which are sung to this day in Kylemore and elsewhere.

Little Christmas
Traditionally Yule ended on January 6th. The Christian Calendar celebrates "Little Christmas" on January 6th also. This was the day that the decorations were taken down and yet another turkey was cooked to mark the end of the season.

December and the Sun Gods
December marks the celebration of many solar "saviors" and Gods, usually on December 25th. Many of them have the word "Light" in their titles. They include, Baal, Dionysus and of course, Jesus Christ.

The Mummers
While the origin of the mummers remains unclear, they were still a vital part of Irish tradition up to the present century. The "Straw Boys" or "Mummers" dressed in disguise, often using straw to cover their faces, and went from door to door. They usually requested and received food or money or some token of gratitude for their "performance." This tradition was particularly strong in the North of Ireland. County Armagh has long been associated with mummers.

Hunting the Wren
The tradition of Hunting the Wren was originally associated with pagan ritual. Historically, a wren was captured and was though to bring luck for the new year. In modern times, the tradition of "hunting the wren" involves musicians who go from gathering to gathering playing music on "St. Steven's Day" (December 26th), and "passing the hat."

Yule & the Yule Log
Yule marks the rebirth of the suns power. It is yet another symbol of death and rebirth - going from the darkness into the light. For many, Yule runs from before the Solstice until New Year's Day. Many people associate Yule with the "Yule Log," a piece of wood decorated with evergreens, mostly holly and candles. Holly was another ancient symbol for the Irish; it was thought to hold special properties, since it was "neither tree 'nor bush".

Yule
Yule iss a midwinter (winter solstice) festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples, absorbed into celebrations surrounding Christmas over time with Christianization. The earliest references to it are in the form of month names, where the Yule-tide period lasts somewhere around two months in length, falling along the end of the modern calendar year between what is now mid-November and early January. It's a celebration of Northern Europe that exists of this pre-Christian times. The Germanic pagans celebrated Yule from late December until the first day of January, covering the Winter Solstice.


Yule begins on day 20, mother's night, dedicated to Frigg and ends on the twelfth night that would be July 2, of course there are differences of opinions in which the Yule lasts 09 days and must begin on June 23 option is that I do not particularly follow the styling as the Yule solstice, but as a celebration of 'main' during the solstice and the March solstice being 22 days.

It was the first seasonal festival celebrated by Neolithic tribes of northern Europe, and is still considered the beginning of the Wheel of the Year by many Pagan traditions. Today is one of the eight solar holidays or Sabbats of Neopaganism. In modern Neopaganism, Yule is celebrated on the Winter Solstice, around December 21 in the northern hemisphere and around day 21 June in the South

In modern Germanic language-speaking areas and some other Northern European countries, the etymological cognates to Yule are employed for the Christmas. Various traditions are present in these branches, some of which extended from the pre-Christian period. Examples include Jul (Sweden), Jul (Denmark), Jul (Norway) , Jól (Iceland), Joulu (Finland), and Jõulud (Estonia). Additionally, Yule is the traditional name used for Christmas in Scotland in the Scots Language.

Besides these explanations, there is other reports on ancient Scandinavia, where the Yule begins with the death of Baldr, death engineered by Loki, Baldr is killed by his blind brother Höðr that would have used a mistletoe, there are theories as it was a plant, or would be a weapon called mistletoe. The darkest night of the year marks the death of God and the third day after the death of Baldr after his mother Frigg have cried for three days and three nights for the death of the Son pleading for his return would have been the mistletoe white and red Baldr would risen from this story that we know the home today. The home would be a pagan festival is celebrated as a Christian feast besides the fact that suggests that Christianity stole this part of Odinist belief and transformed Baldr in his call Jesus. Another curious fact is that the "Santa Claus" could be a image  stolen from  of Odin, as in the former German land was the custom for children to leave the window a boot full of sugar to Sleipinir it is when Odin passes over Midgard on horseback toward the land of the dead Niflhel the search of his son Baldr as described in the Poetic Edda the Baldrs Draumar.

As forms of Neopaganism can be quite different and have very different origins, these representations can vary considerably despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a way as close as possible to how they believe Ancient Germanic pagans observed the tradition, while others observe the holiday with rituals culled from numerous other unrelated sources including Germanic.
In Germanic Neopagan sects, Yule is celebrated with gatherings that often involve a meal and gift giving. Further attempts at reconstruction of surviving accounts of historical celebrations are often made, a hallmark being variations of the traditional. Groups such as the Asatru Folk Assembly in the US recognize the celebration as lasting 12 days, beginning on the date of the winter solstice.
In most forms of Wicca, this holiday is celebrated at the winter solstice as the rebirth of the Great horned hunter god, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home, while others do so with their covens.



"To attune with this special energy of the time:

-  On the longest night, turn out all the lights in your house and spend some time feeling thr darkness. Then light a single candle, and take it around your house from room to room, relighting candles in each room;
- Go to bed with a seed catalogue;
- Decorate your altar with mistletoe;
- Drink mead in celebration of the rebirth of the year. Treat this time as the ending of the year, and look forward to the year that is beginning by daydreaming, then planning your coming year;
-  Travel by tube (underground train); eat the fruit cake/fruit gin you made at Alban Elfed; plant garlic; visit a cemetery; see where the sun enters or leaves your house/flat;
- Take two advent candles. Cut a few days off one. Light it on the solstice. Start lighting the second one around 12th night. That will last you till Imbolc!
- Dance or movement meditation: Start lying flat on your back. Slowly wake up, get up, and begin moving to some joyous music.
- Ring bells to greet the solstice morning;
- String popcorns and cranberries and hang them on an outdoor tree for the birds;
- Donate food and clothing to others;
- Decorate the Solstice, or Yule, tree;
- Hang little bells on yule tree to call spirits and fairies;
- Volunteer at a Homeless or Animal Shelter;
- Smile J It is free, and it is the best gift of all.


For kids: 
- Light candles; 
- Read stories with Christmas/Yule theme. (for ex.: Meagan and the Winter Solstice by Kat Dyer) ; 
- Talk about the history of Yule with your children; 
- Let your child be your guide. Don’t just start offering them a lot of information that they may or may not need to know. If they ask questions, give them simple, but honest answers. 


Deities: 
Odin 
Frigga 
Freya 
Skahdi 
Cernunnos 
Isis 
Demeter 
Dagda 
Brigit 
The Oak King 


Sacred Animals: 
Robin 
Wren 
Boar 


Magical Stones: 
Ruby 
Bloodstone 
Carnelian 
Citrine 
Garnet 


Plants: 
Ash 
Yew 
Laurel 
Birch 
Silver fir 
Cranberries 
Pine tree 
Cedar 
Nuts 




Herbs: 
Bayberry 
Thistle 
Holly 
Mistletoe 
Sage"
© Ana Lopes 2010; Yule, http://returnofavalon.blogspot.com


The traditional food of the pagan Winter Solstice Sabbat are the roast turkey, nuts, fruit cakes, round cakes of caraway, eggnog and mulled wine.

Incense: laurel, cedar, pine and rosemary.
Candle colors: gold, green, red, white.

Sacred gemstones: cat's-eye and ruby.

Traditional ritual herbs: bay leaves, fruit of the laurel, holy thistle, cedar, chamomile, evergreen, frankincense holly, juniper, mistletoe, moss, oak, pine, rosemary and sage.

The Fall of the Order of Druids

Honored colleagues,

It is with sadness and regret about me that you tell the story of the end of the great Order of Druids. It was not by the hand of foreigners who fell, but by our own blindness. I begin my story in Emain Macha, where Naoise and his brothers Ardan and Ainnle were paving the way for home and Deirdre with them.


Conchobar, Deirdre who loved more than she loved him, came to me and said, "Go, great Druid, where the children are making a killing Uisna between my guards and my fortress, a ruin and holds a spell over them, therefore, unless prevented, will destroy the men of Ulaidh forever. I will give you the word of a true hero: me not suffer any damage, but let me just make an agreement. " So I went and brought my knowledge and art to spread on them and put the likeness of a dark sea around them, with big waves that opposed them. And so were the Sons of Uisna, helpless and swimming against the land, although the men of Ulaidh not touch them until they drop their swords. And when their swords fell, Conchobar seized them and ordered them killed. With the sword of Naoise, that given him by Manannan, the son of Lir, they were beheaded at one stroke.

That day, Conchobar, the son of Nessa, betrayed their trust to me and to the men of Ulaidh. When the men of the Red Branch came to know of his betrayal, there was fighting in the field of Emain Macha and the fort was burned and many great warriors left the service of the King to place themselves under the orders of Medb of Cruachan. I realized that my place was no longer next to the King and that the time had come for me to return to the deep green forests, where I had made a home when young.

And Druids communicated to the children of Éire Uisna were dead and how it happened. Thinking of the Druids Hill Uisna like to know how I was involved with it, I told my story to historians and guardians of the forest. When finished my narrative, I left the room, they no longer trusted the mortal kings to give true judgments. "If good judgments is what you seek," I told them to leave, "seek them in the gray stones in the high trees and white clouds, and surging in the great sea, for they never find it in the hearts of kings."

Some of my students came with me to Emain Macha Uisna and talked at length at the top of the hill down to the sun to the west and the red clouds follow him there. And that's what they were saying that maybe I had been too hasty in leaving Emain, for kings can not move hand or foot without his Druids to tell them whether it is good or bad. "Conchobar no longer need a father," I said, "if it has to cause the death of his own cousins, because there is no greater crime than killing someone within his family." But one of my students said again: "Do not abandon the hope for all the warriors and kings, as can still see another to keep close to your heart Druidic wisdom that Conchobar forgotten." And I agreed with it, although we wanted to. "But I will not return again to the royal courts until such a king is found. And such a king," I said, "know what a strange way to win the love of a woman is to kill all other applicants!" And we laugh like children at fairs and dance until the division of master and apprentice disappeared as the breath in the wind and all that was left were fairies dancing under the moon, in a land of Druids, the Druids, with a song!

And the night turned into day and winter, summer and time passed. And I had a cabin to myself and to my dear this with my knowledge and art, and that near a lake. And every day I greeted the sun and never was it so warm for me in Emain Macha as beside the lake and it was a miracle for me because, even though the sun on me in court and in the forest, his voice was very clearer to me next to my pond, my apple tree branch in my hand and barefoot between me and the earth. And Conchobar called me to hear my advice on any matter of importance to him because I was committed to the earth before any commitment to the tribe. "And turn your royal court," I told him every time, "because it is where they belong. And the deer and salmon and the crane and the fox and the gray wolf is my tribe now. And it is a surprise to me that your tribe you allow to stay king, after what you did to the children of Uisna! " Conchobar and then left and became more and longer the time between your visits to me.

And my friend Olc Aiche, the druid, came to me once to tell me the story of his daughter Achtán. She conceived a child and Art son of Conn, was the father of the child. OLC Aiche sang with his lips and did this prophecy: "There will come, no doubt, a respectful son, so will call Cormac." So, I went into the mist on the lake that night to the first rays of the sun on the earth and the Men of Dea, who were waiting for me there told me that a child would be born and a great king of Éire and its all good thanks were with them.

OLC Aiche instructed to go where Cormac was born by his art and preparing to launch protections on it. This he did with five tracks from his forge protection against murder, drowning, fire, witchcraft and wolves. That done, a party was prepared to honor the newborn King.

I took my staff and Druidic disguised myself in the form of a wolf in order to reach the fortress where the festivities were taking place. And at night, I saw Achtán go to the field and falling asleep, was celebrated as much as young people do so often. I was annoyed with his little mind and great drinking and, therefore, did take the boy Cormac and put it under my own protection.

Thinking that Cormac needed a better home than I could give, because I was no longer young and the young are the tribe of Danu, let him run with the wolves to where he was caught by Luigne Fer Tri, a hunter from Fianna in whom I trusted, and took it home, where he spent the years. But he was found by Achtán to end, and she took it north to Fiachnae Cassan, adoptive father of Art son of Conn. When she crossed the mountain at midnight, put on the shape of wolf hunters and myself to return the child by force. For, as I was thinking, the forest and the forest would be better parents than to Cormac bards and knights of the royal court. However, the Knights of Another World went out of their mounds in the shape of wild sheep on themselves to protect him. And the house of Fiachnae Cassan he was for thirty years.

It was a lucky day that Cormac made his way to Temhair to claim his rightful inheritance. On the same day, Mac Conn gave a fake trial, saying that the sheep of a woman should be punished for eating the garden of the queen. But Cormac has a real trial, exchanging one for another shearing and wool was shorn sheep in exchange for the queen's garden. Upon hearing this news, I thought there might be some of the wisdom of the Druids with him and that Cormac was the king who would bring honor to the royal courts that Conchobar had lost. So I went to the hill of Teamhair and shape of a stranger was about me through my druidic arts and asked her questions that I might know your thoughts. I told him: "O Cormac, grandson of Conn, I want to know how should I behave myself among the wise and foolish, among friends and strangers, between young and old, between the innocent and the wicked."


It is not hard to tell, said Cormac.
Do not be too wise or too foolish,
Do not be too cocky, or too timid,
Do not be too proud or too humble,
Do not be too talkative or too silent,
Do not be too harsh nor too weak.
If you are wise, will expect too much from you.
If you are very foolish, will be achieved.
If you are very convinced, think they're annoying.
If you are very humble, think that you have no honor.
If you are very talkative, you will not care.
If you are very quiet, you will not be estimated.
If you are too rigid, it will be broken.
If you are very fragile, you will be crushed.



I knew then, in my heart, the wisdom of the Druids was with him. I told it to my friends who had accompanied me in my shelter in the forest. And this is what they said, they were pleased to have again a wise king on the throne. Maybe I imagined that he had learned wisdom while in the woods with hunters and comigo.Mas if I did not take long to get away from that idea.
Soon, Cormac imposed a double tribute to the province of cattle Mumhan and when they were not able to afford it, he broke with his entourage of Mumhan court druids and soldiers. The wind sent a warning to Ruith Moghadam, the old blind druid who had left his royal court, as I had left my many years, and moved beside the still waters and the forest. Although Moghadam Ruith were blind in this world, he saw clearly in several other worlds, and when the battle was combined, he was quick to accept the challenge. I would not join me to deal with them that day because he had aged since the days of Emain Macha, but my vision was able to show me the battle. Moghadam Ruith Druids and made ​​great poems against each other and much heroism was seen and many were lost on both sides. Cithruad, the Druid of the Great King, dried up all the rivers of Mumhan, but Mogh Ruith caused a torrent of water burst the banks, holding and releasing false Druids Druids true. In the end, who was pronounced Mogh Ruith strongest poems, for he spoke of the earth. Cithruad spoke with feathers and bells, and the mantles pins and was so covered by the ornaments and decoration of the Druids that their footsteps were heavy on the ground. And while he sang like a silver bell, Mogh Ruith thundered like a gray rock. I saw him climb the pillar of smoke from the fire of his report and manifest your ultimate magic spell of combat:


Form-and-mouth plays a spell,
His power of clouds, a form
Rain of fire on a man.
Be good the wound.
Be incited the crowd to drown shaking,
Drown in the rapids
The strength of each fighter.
Let there be a supreme power of poetry.
Oh man too vile, remains on the run forever.
The triumphs of the armies,
A blessing above all on the Great Eoghan.
Moghadam Corg is repulsed, necessarily vanquished, overthrown.
What is a proverbial saying, sovereignty will spread,
Form-and-mouth plays a charm!



Oh Druid of the future, hear this warning of mine. It was the betrayal that I left my place beside my king, but it was my decision that stayed away. It was not to lose sight of the land, not to break my relationship with her and she lived to witness these events when they occurred. And I saw more than that, because when they reach the priests of the god called Christ our sacred island, and Lonchru Lucet Mael were buried so deeply in politics who have lost their connection with the land and thus could not defend themselves and were overwhelmed.

Oh Druid of the future, hear this warning of mine. There are those who wear the name Druid as a cloak, and there are those who drink the name Druid as water. If you would be Druids, do not try to live as we live. Do not try to see how we see. Be as you are. Do as we did. The Fog of Manannan can carry you, but can also confuse you Be ever vigilant of the earth and all her mysteries and Danu welcome you in their tribe.

Oh Druid of the future, hear this warning of mine. Do not lose the land, for then ye are lost.

Cathbad, and Writing the Woods season Lughnasad the year 1999.


Source: http://bellovesos.multiply.com/journal/item/83/A_Queda_da_Ordem_dos_Druidas
Translation by me.

Imbolc

Imbolc or Oilmec, (Kymric: Gŵyl Fair, Gaulish: Ambivolcaia), is one of four Celtic religious festivals, it's also one of the eight Sabbats of the Wiccan religion, the festival honors the Goddess Brigid (Brigantia, Brigidh and its variations). That's when the land is recovering from the winter sun and getting stronger for spring. Happy holiday season, torches and fires, spicy foods and juices and flavors of outstanding wines. It is traditionally celebrated on February 2 in the northern hemisphere and August 1 in the Southern Hemisphere, these dates fall approximately halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. it's also called the Festival of the Bride, and it's the time to start the process of plowing the land and planting. 



Evidence of how Imbolc was celebrated in Gaelic Ireland is found in medieval Irish texts that mention the festival, besides folklore collected during the 19th and early 20th century in rural Ireland and Scotland.


Among agrarian peoples, Imbolc has been traditionally associated with the onset of lactation of ewes, soon to give birth to the spring lambs. Chadwick notes that this could vary by as much as two weeks before or after the start of February. However, the timing of agrarian festivals can vary widely, given regional variations in climate. This has led to some debate about both the timing and origins of the festival. The Blackthorn is said to bloom at Imbolc.


The holiday is, a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Celebrations often involved hearthfires, special foods (butter, milk, and bannocks, for example), divination or watching for omens, candles or a bonfire if the weather permits. Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to the North American Groundhog Day. A Scottish Gaelic proverb about the day is:

Thig an nathair as an toll

Là donn Brìde,

Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd

Air leac an làir.

"The serpent will come from the hole

On the brown Day of Bride,

Though there should be three feet of snow

On the flat surface of the ground."

Imbolc is the day the Cailleach — the hag of Gaelic tradition — gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she intends to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people are generally relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over. On the Isle of Man, where she is known as Caillagh ny Groamagh, the Cailleach is said to have been seen on Imbolc in the form of a gigantic bird, carrying sticks in her beak.


Fire and purification are an important aspect of this festival. Brigid (also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd) is the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.


Wiccans celebrate a variation of Imbolc as one of four "fire festivals", which make up half of the eight holidays (or "sabbats"), of the wheel of the year. Imbolc is defined as a cross-quarter day, midway between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Ostara). The precise astrological midpoint in the Northern hemisphere is when the sun reaches fifteen degrees of Aquarius. In the Southern hemisphere, if celebrated as the beginning of local Spring, the date is the midpoint of Leo. Sometimes the festival is referred to as "Brigid". Among Dianic Wiccans, Imbolc (also referred to as "Candlemas") is the traditional time for initiations.
In Wicca, Imbolc is commonly associated with the goddess Brigid, and hence the Wiccan Goddess, and as such it is sometimes viewed as a "women’s festival" with specific rites only for female members of a coven.




Picture: http://waxingmoonbirthing.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/imbolc-on-a-new-moon/

The (reconstructed) aremorican calendar

The working Calendar of Aremorica and Celtica: 

As Aiia described to Demetrios her families belief in the way the world works, how the seasons are the embodiment of gods and goddesses in a way that he, the Greek, can understand: “We believe that the winter is Cronus, the Summer is Aphrodite, and the spring Persephone, and that we call them by these names and believe that from Cronus and Aphrodite all things have their origin. Cronus is asleep in the winter and awake in the summer, we will sing lullabies for him in the winter and in the summer chants to arouse him, after the manner of those Bacchic worshippers. Even though he sleeps – his powers are of this world – the dreams of Cronus as he sleeps in his cave deep in golden rock on the island in the western ocean. He even anticipates in his thoughts everything his son Zeus does.” 

Ocean: Mori 
Winter is time for lobster and crab to come close to shore and enter the traps from September 23 through March 22 (Sepit in samanios au-c gamonios etsi cammari eti crabanca sos scetos con mori-milon.) 

March 23 begins the herring, anchovies and sardines swarming along the coast and runs until September 22 (Siluri-c Arinci eti Iscili) 

April haddock and cod cruise along the coast of Denmark, Germany, Britain, France and Spain and run up to September 22 (Codaci eti Codi) 

May is when the Mighty Atlantic Tuna (Tunni) sweep into the Bay of Biscay and through the Channel islands, and the Perch (perca), Striped-Bass (lupus), Halibut, (curroco), and Sole (palaica) will run from May up to September 22 

Rivers: Abona 
Salmon (Esox) run from March 23 to September 22 (the spring season) 

Shad and Elvers (Alousa eti Iouincocilis) run from June 22 to September 22 (Eels = enocilis, enochilis || Elvers = Iouincocilis) (the summer season) 

Minnows and Dace (Uari eti Uindisi) run in the fast flowing, icy rivers from September 23 to March 22 (the winter season) 

Forest and Field: Cetio eti Clunia 
June 22 to September 21 we see the rutting begin of the oxen (Uri) and the bison (Uisontos) with the bear (Artios) hunting the salmon in the rushing river in the hot months of summer. 

September 22 to March 22 the running of the boar (Torcuos) in the forest, the hare (casnos), rabbit (cuninca), coney (laurex), short-eared mountain-rabbit or pika (hysex), elk (Alcis) and deer (Gammos) herald the cold winter months return, all during the dark half. 

March 23 to June 21 the song birds (Etni) all hail the coming spring and the hunting of the geese (ganti eti anaganti), pheasant (tetaros), woodcock (cetiocaliacos) and other fowl on their return to the breeding grounds. 

March 23 to September 22 the lowing lion (marocattus) in his pride hunting the oxen (uri), buck (caruos), elk (alcis) and bison (uisontos) during the light half. 

Of Farm and Pasture: Storo eti Etu 
Ambaxtios || Samanios : (Libra, the Scales is the Cauarian lord Belenos, with serpentine legs) (September – October): a time to harvest peas; breed cattle; harvest honey; plow fields for winter grain; sow winter wheat and rye; harvest apples, blackberries; take excess stock to market. Fruits picked and dried or stored, grapes picked and pressed for juice and wine. With my flail I earn my bread. Rye, the grain, is sown at this time, germinates, and overwinters in the fields, resuming growth in the spring. 

Dumomandios : (Scorpio, the Scorpion is the serpent entwined egg that Toutatis Medurix will be born of) (October – November): Sow winter barley and oats; harvest grapes; make wine and grape-juice; breed sheep; let pigs forage on acorns and beechnuts. Gather nuts, roots, and berries, and mushrooms, fields’ plowed and empty fields sown with winter wheat, repairing and cleaning equipment. And here I sow my wheat so red. "Broken flax and hemp stalk" time (indicating the traditional time of processing flax and hemp for the production of linen, a process which, as a waste by-product, created light-weight dendrites floating in the wind. Festival of Farewell to the Lark occurs halfway through the circuit of Scorpio when we bid fare-flight to the Lark as he flies to his distant hiding place in the south. This is the “Setting of the Doves” and is a festival of lights on the full moon coinciding with the setting of the Pleiades setting in November this effectively ends the deep water sailing season on the rough Atlantic, which also signals the time of plowing your fields and starts the slaughtering season. 

Riuregus : month of the frozen rye (RIV), sleeping peacefully under the frozen earth (RI). (Sagittarius, the Archer is Epos, Riuos, Sucellos, Half-man, half-horse, a prodigal son of Epona (who is Reiia) and Belenos) (November – December): The time when unsuspecting pigs get fatter and fatter; threshing and winnowing continue through the winter. Firewood is gathered, split, and stacked for themselves and peat for the hearth is also gathered, pigs and cows slaughtered and meat smoked, flax and hemp processed to make thread and rope. 

Anagantia : (Capricorn, the Goat is Gabronos the goat with the huge primal penis) (December – January): The slaughter of Mid-winter Geese; and it’s never too early to shovel manure. Trim trees, grape vines pruned, and hunting. And we drink our red wine. 

Ogorunia : (Aquarius, the Water Carrier is Esus and his pruning knife approach the tree of the universe) (January – February): Clear ditches; cut wood; breed sows; spread manure; lambs are in the belly and some early lambs are born. Work indoors repairing hunting nets, sharpening tools, making utensils - on mild days work outdoors gather firewood, prune vines and mend fences. By this fire I yet warm my hands. 

Cutios : (Pisces, the Fish is Iscos the whale) (February – March): Prune grapes and fruit trees; prune and mend hedgerows; mend fences; kill moles; plant willow; add lime, chalk and manure to soil; lambing continues; calving begins. Work indoors repairing hunting nets, sharpening tools, making utensils - on mild days work outdoors gather firewood, prune vines and mend fences. And with my spade I delve my land. Festival of the return of the Lark halfway through the constellation of Pisces marks the coming springtide and the festival of the Mother goddess, when peace reigns and all weapons are sheathed. 

Sonnocingus || Gammionia: (Aries, the Ram is Gabronatirx, the Ram-Horned serpent) (March – April): Plow and harrow as soon as the ground is soft enough; sow spring grains; calving continues. Work in the fields, plowing and cultivating. Here I set my thoughts to spring. The Raven, Crow or Rook time symbolizing the struggle. Rooks increase their activity at this time, building their nests and mating. The alternate derivation, to struggle’ refers to the struggle between winter and spring. This is when deer hunting begins under the auspices of Artiona. 

Simiuisonna: (Taurus, the Bull is Taruos and Trigaranos hiding in the tree of the universe which Esus is chopping at) (April – May): there is a pause to celebrate the new life bursting out of the ground, the vigor and vitality coursing through the world’s veins. Plant onions and leeks; plant flax; wean calves; get milking and dairy work underway; furrowing (birth of piglets). Clean ditches, pruning trees, fixing sheds, hauling timber, and repairing roofs. I hear the fowls sing. Spring Time Sowing. The Pigeon month, which at this point has begun to coo, nest and mate. The rising of the Pleiades in May signals the beginning of the deep ocean sailing season and the fishing season as well as the beginning of the spring harvest. Pregnant spring in all her myriad forms overwhelms our senses with colors, tastes and the pungent rutting smells. 

Ecui: (Gemini, the Twins is Eposognatos, the divine twins and the herds that they watch, march together, armed with spears, shields and swords) (May – June): Weed winter corn; remove moss from thatched roofs and repair; sow pulses; capture swarming bees; mark sheep; plant beets, carrots, cabbages, and other garden vegetables. Hunting of the lowing Stag, sheep cleaning and shearing, planting and field maintenance. I am as light as a bird in her bower. The cuckoo. Its call is felt to herald the final arrival of spring. 

Eluembia: (Cancer, the Crab is The cauldron that feeds the world, with the fruit of the harvest, boils and seethes, this is party time) (June – July): Wash and shear sheep; shear lambs later in the month; start mowing hay. Mowing hay crop and raking it into piles. And I weed my corn well I-know enough. This is the traditional time of gathering the larvae of the carmine insect (coccon) to make a red dye from the carmine scales. The birch, which flowers during this month, its branches are used as decorations during this time. A canopy is created under which oaths are taken. Midway through this month is the “Time of Giants” (Cauariama) when whicker work giants parade through town and village, and those giants from the year prior are burned in sacrifice and their ashes spread across the fields to bring in a prodigious harvest. 

Edorinios: (Leo, the Lion is The Great-Hound of Sucellos, rests beside the cauldron of prosperity, lapping from its contents) (July – August): Keep mowing that hay; harvest flax and hemp; begin harvesting winter corn. Harvest grains, bundle sheaves, weeding gardens. With my scythe my meadow I mow. The elm tree (lemos), which flowers during this month; the flowers pleasantly scent the air, are used to make herbal teas, and attract honeybees. 

Cantolegios: (Virgo, the Maiden is Reiia or Riia Matir, The beautiful goddess, she is the Earth-goddess, Mother Earth, mother of the gods, Goddess of the harvest, and of sexuality, love, pregnancy, birth, child bearing, rebirth, child-rearing, she is pregnant and she carries a sheaf of corn) (August – September): Finish harvesting winter grain, begin on spring grain; gather in straw; plant turnips. This is the Falconer’s season. Threshing and winnowing of grains, grinding of grains into flower, The Lord and Lady go a Falconing. And here I shear my corn full low. The time of Bread making, beer making, winnowing, milling, brewing. 

The Gaulish planets: 
Sun: Sauelios, Sonnos, Sonna, Grannos, Grenna, Sulis 
Moon: Luxna, Leucara, Leucaros, Diuona, Gontia 
Mars: Cocidios, Roudios 
Mercury: Lugos, Luxtos, Boudios 
Jupiter: Tectos, Taranis 
Venus: Reiia, Riia, Uasnia 
Saturn: Melnos, Uosiros, Nucturos. 
Uranus (maybe since it was barely visible in the best of conditions): Cenos “the distant one” 
The Stars = tSironae 




Source: Celticaconlang
Michael.Cassell@portsamerica.com

Earth-like planet is found around Sun-like star

Star may contain liquid water on its surface.
NASA has announced new data from the Kepler spacecraft on Monday (12/5).


U.S. space agency (NASA) announced on Monday (5) discovered the first planet similar in size to the Earth which revolves around a star like the Sun The planet is 600 light-years distance and was detected by Kepler spacecraft, launched in 2009 with the aim of discovering new "Earths" in space.


Another feature of the star is that it is at a distance from the star that could allow the development of liquid water and atmosphere, ideal conditions for the emergence of life as we know it. When a planet is under these conditions, it is said that he is in a "habitable zone" (also the common term "goldilocks").


The planet was named Kepler 22b. Their discovery is reported in the journal "Astrophysical Journal", a major scientific publications on astronomy.


In February, NASA astronomers had announced a list of 54 stars that could be habitable. Of these, only Kepler 22b was confirmed as a planet. The star has a radius 2.4 times larger than Earth and rotates around its star in 290 days. Scientists still can not say the planet is rocky or gaseous.



Illustration shows what the planet Kepler 22b. (Credit: Ames / JPL-Caltech / NASA)




Data from Kepler


The new balance of Kepler revealed the existence of 1,094 new planet candidates. Of these, 10 were in the "habitable zone" of the stars they orbit. Future observations should confirm that these bodies are planets or not.


Currently, only 600 stars are confirmed as planets by astronomers. The Kepler spacecraft is currently the main unveiled new worlds. The instrument scans the surrounding area of 150 000 stars, all located in a strip in the sky between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra.


To confirm that Kepler 22b was actually a planet, the probe had to check the signal coming from that region at least three times. The star it orbits is a little cooler than our Sun.


Since the last review in February, the number of candidate planets grew 89% and now reaches 2326. Of these, 207 have a size similar to Earth's 680 is larger than our planet, and 1181 are as big as Neptune. The list is completed by 203 stars with the same size as Jupiter and only 55 larger than the biggest star in the Solar System (after the Sun).


Other recent discoveries in astronomy point to the existence of places in space with conditions similar to those of our planet and may even contain life, such as Jupiter's moon Europa.


The yellow traces on the surface of Europa may indicate the presence of bacteria, the ice-covered world may have liquid water, energy, and organic compounds - all three of the ingredients necessary for life to survive, its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. Strong evidence that there is an ocean beneath the ice surface that will house life as well as early life on earth that would have begun in the oceans.

                                                      Europa.

Another discovery points to a planet with sufficient conditions to host life. The star with only three times Earth's mass was detected at 20 light years away from our Sun, orbiting a star in the constellation Libra known as Gliese 581, a red dwarf. Astronomers at the University of California and the Carnegie Institution of Washington say that the planet is the first to have real potential to support life.

The discovery was announced on Wednesday (29) by the National Science Foundation in the United States. The star called Gliese 581g, is in a region in which astronomers think that a planet may have liquid water to form oceans, rivers and lakes. On site, the distance from the star would allow an environment with a mild climate, neither too cold nor too hot.

A ilustração mostra um formato possível para o exoplaneta que orbita a estrela Gliese 581, a apenas 20 anos-luz de distância da Terra. (Crédito: AP / Zina Deretsky / National Foundation of Science)

The planet's orbit around the star Gliese 581 is just over one month on Earth, with the possible stations year lasting only days.

It is the first planet discovered in the "habitable zone" of the star. In 2007, another planet, located near the same star was cataloged, also with the potential to contain life.

Scientists also estimate that the average surface temperature varies from 31 to 12 degrees Celsius. The team also says that the planet orbits with one side always faces the star, similar to how the Moon always shows one face to Earth.

For astronomers, the planet can "sustain life", which means it has the potential to meet conditions of life. Living things can not necessarily be similar to humans.

According to Steven Vogt, coordinator of the study which included 11 years working in the Observatory W. M. Keck, located in Hawaii, the discovery is an indication that there may be many other similar bodies in the universe.

Results will be published in Astrophysical Journal, but are available online at arXiv.org. By September, 490 planets have been discovered outside our solar system.

Via G1.