Really long post under cut
“Lugh is the Celtic Sun God and He rains down upon the crops”
Somewhat of a confused idea there. Sun and rain? Usually in rain is something given to thunder gods (and I understand that in his native lands this would be a time of summer rain and storms, unlike the dry Mediterranean climate where I live). This idea of Lugh as a sun god is pervasive in modern Neo-Paganism, but I’ve found convincing the arguments that, aside from craft and skill (obviously), Lugh is a god associated with the shine of lightning, not the sun. Not that he’s a thunder god, more of the lightning flash, which can be conceived of as a spear. See http://davensjournal.com/lugh (unfortunately the link to the webpage she cites about this, with a fairly lengthy quote, is broken).
I’ve also seen interpretations that Lugh defeating Balor can be taken as an allegory for life-giving summer rain defeating a killing dry, hot sun/drought, although I would think that would be a fairly rare weather event in Ireland, which is a relatively wet place (this sort of narrative is more prevalent in places like Egypt, where sun and heat have much more potential to be deadly, vs the deadly cold in northern climes).
