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The final edition of Mėnuo Juodaragis will be illuminated by the miraculous light of Dawn. The starry shroud of night descends, the light of the rising Sun begins a new Day. Mėnuo Juodaragis completes his cyclic journey with inspiring hope – the Dawn fills the world with fabulous beauty, idealism, radiant holiness.
Dawn marks fulfilment and the beginning of a new time, a change in the wheel of Nature. It is a particularly magical moment between night and day, when the Sun has not yet risen, but its rays are already clearing the Sky, where Aušrinė (Lituanian name for the Morning Star and Dawn) still shines. When the human spirit is reborn and filled with the clearest inspiration for new ideas, dreams and deeds.
Dawn is also a fundamental name of national revival in the history of Lithuania. Dr Jonas Basanavičius’ newspaper Auszra, started in Ragainė in 1883, brought together the movement of idealistic dawn-bringers, aušrininkai, and led to the miracle of the restoration of the Lithuanian state.
Aušrinė is very important in Lithuanian mythology – the goddess of perfect beauty, youth and love, the giver of health and happiness. She is known as the second Sun, the Maid of the Seas of extraordinary splendour, whose mythical stories date back to very ancient times. A well-known cosmic tale tells of the Sun’s husband, the Mėnuo (Moon), who falls in love with the beautiful Aušrinė (Morning Star) and is cut in half by the sword of Perkūnas (Thunder).
Aušrinė and her sister Vakarinė (Evening Star) are depicted as young maids, they served the Sun and her husband the Moon: Aušrinė made the fire, carried the water, cooked the food, and in the mornings lit the way for the Sun, while Vakarinė laid the bed for the Sun. The myth of Aušrinė was explored by famous Lituanian semiotics guru A. J. Greimas. The tales mention the brother or servant of Aušrinė, who appears in the form of a stallion or a bull and who keeps the secrets of the Seas and protects the sisters’ cows. The morning dew is the rubbed necklace of Aušrinė.
The Balts are also familiar with other deities of the cosmogenic family of The Dawn Goddess, such as Auska, Ausšveitis, Aušsveikas, Auštaras, the Prussian Aušautas, the Latvian Auseklis, and the goddesses Žara, Brėkšta and Bezleja (Žlēja). Aušra is also mentioned as the goddess of light-darkness, whose time, according to Matthew Praetorius, was “the morning glow, when the sun is about to rise”.
In the mythology of other nations, Aušrinė’s relatives would be the Roman Aurora and Venus, the Greek Eos and Aphrodite, the Indian Vedic Ushas, the Proto-Indo-European H₂éwsōs, the German Gott der Morgenrothe, and the ancient Slavic Uzra and Zorya.
In the world of magic, the theme of Dawn is reflected in the Elder Futhark rune Dagaz (Day) – the mystery of awakening, light, completeness, hyper-consciousness, embodying the paradox of perceiving all opposites as one, a sensation that cannot be put into words. At the intersection of Dagaz, the concept turns into invisible spirit. It marks a change that is inevitable, like the breaking dawn.
The dawning of the day reveals and allows us to perceive things in the clearest, most essential, true light. Many people go to distant countries in search of enlightenment of consciousness. But we can also experience it on the magic island of Dūburys lake in Norther-east Lituania.
Lituanian word švinta (dawning) has a strong relation to šventa (sacred) and šventė (celabration).
The dawn is a sacred time and Juodaragis invites You to a true celebration!
Dear Friends, let us meet in the magical moment of Dawn!
