Hail to Thalia, Grace of Flowering and Mirth!
Hail to blessed Flora and Aglaia, Who carry blossoming glory and well being!
Welcome this comfortable day beloved Maia Majestas!
We bow in gladness to The Lord and The Girl!
We merrily welcome the King and Queen of Faery!
Track of Beltane
I’m the calm, I’m the quickening,
I’m the intoxication and the drive,
I’m the silence, I’m the singer,
I’m the stallion galloping to its supply.
I’m the intense pavilion and the feasting,
I’m the marriage couple and the mattress,
I’m the morning refrain and the heartbeat,
I’m the objective to which all paths are led.
While within the Southern Hemisphere, our brothers and sisters observe Samhain as we speak, right here within the northern lands, we’re celebrating Beltane, Beltainne (pronounced Bel-tinna), Cetsamhain (‘reverse Samhain’), and Walpurgis (German).
The medieval Church tried to rename this celebration Roodmas in an try to shift the frequent individuals’s allegiance from the Maypole (an apparent phallus and image of life) to the Holy Rood (the Cross – image of their God’s loss of life and resurrection). One way or the other, it simply didn’t fairly catch on.
Equally in additional fashionable instances, in international locations which have tried to fully eradicate all people traditions and spirituality, resembling within the former Soviet Union, the place Could Day was modified to a day for army and workforce demonstrations.
In each cases, when these in energy aren’t forcing the individuals to obey, these appropriations haven’t been as well-liked.
Dancing with the Flame
Beltane is a reference to ‘Bel-fire’, the hearth of the Celtic God of sunshine (Bel, Beli or Belinos). He, in flip, could also be traced to the Center Jap God Baal.
No matter you select to name it, it is a Hearth Pageant celebrating the start of Summer time, when the breezes are scented and the evenings are getting heat.
Right this moment we have fun Life’s inventive ecstasy. The veil is skinny as we dance the mysteries of fertility, magnificence, and Nature’s flowering.
That is our nice competition of affection, lust, and fertility. This Sabbat honors the good inventive life drive in all issues. The younger Oak King has received the hand of the Maiden Goddess and with their union, She turns into pregnant.
We honor and emulate the divine union of the Lord and Girl. Celebrations embody the apparent pleasures of sexual coupling, like most all of Nature is doing in every single place proper now!
And in instances earlier than social distancing (and hopefully after) we observe this magical time by weaving an internet of life across the Maypole and leaping the Beltane fires for luck.
Lilacs, roses, lily-of-the-valley, and different blossoms might be introduced inside on at the present time to signify the fertility of the candy Earth. And I particularly adore Could wine – made with white wine infused with (pesticide-free!) candy woodruff blossoms, with strawberries including a beautiful taste and magic.
But it surely’s finest to not lower hawthorn with out clear permission, and any specimens which can be particularly inhabited by the Good Folks are finest left outside, else grave misfortune befall you. Additionally, you’ll wish to assume twice about bringing honeysuckle into the home except you need a wedding ceremony quickly!
For a lot of generations in my household, lower flowers have been bred and tended as items of affection, hospitality, and beauty. Nevertheless, I’m studying to assume twice about slicing blossoms. That’s as a result of residing blooms are Earth’s laughter (as Emerson famous), however a lower flower is however a smile.
However each as soon as in a uncommon whereas, after I ask permission to snip a number of of my very own blossoms on particular events, which one ought to unfailingly do, it’s typically granted to me. Respect and honor are important when communing with any of our Inexperienced kindred, and significantly if you end up eradicating a few of their potential for regeneration.
Talking of which, it is a time of specializing in our personal fertile prospects! You would possibly make a want as we speak and plant the seeds of your personal needs.
And I actually hope you remembered to clean your face within the dew very first thing this morning, making certain youth and sweetness eternally.
Magical Trysts
Wiccan handfastings are frequent at Beltane, nonetheless the smart grandmothers knew very nicely that the majority lusty trysts shaped within the merry month of Could weren’t more likely to final, so precise marriages had been averted and thought of unhealthy luck throughout this month.
As a substitute, the smitten {couples} had been inspired to get pleasure from their pleasures, however wait at the very least one lunation earlier than the intense enterprise of marriage.
That’s why June is taken into account a a lot extra favorable time for a long-lasting union and to at the present time is the most well-liked wedding ceremony month.
And if a being pregnant resulted after the Beltane revelries, nicely, so what? The mom was thought-about blessed and the kid was certain to be magical. Each had been supported and welcomed by the entire village, and all was nicely.
Don’t you simply love this smart approach to work with our horny nature, relatively than to sentence it, and forbid it to take its course?
The Truthful Ones
At Beltane, we keep in mind the arrival of the Tuatha de Danann in Eire, and we honor on at the present time the Nice Mom-Goddess Danu (or Danann). The Tuatha de Danann (which means, “the individuals of Danann”) had been the fourth invading tradition to reach in Eire, many centuries earlier than the Christian period.
They had been fairly lovely and astonishingly superior, being extremely expert in science and metalworking. They got here to be understood as a race other than people.
They inhabited Eire for about 200 years, till the fifth and final invaders, the Milesians (Gaels), conquered them. When the Tuatha de Danann had been lastly defeated, they withdrew to the hole hills, the place they reside to at the present time.
Now often known as the Sidhe (pronounced “shee”), they’re the supply of a lot of our lore concerning the Celtic Gods, Goddesses, and our communion with the Faery races.
So this is a crucial time to offer choices to our Cousins and co-walkers. The actions of the Individuals of Peace at the moment are rising and can attain their peak at Summer time Solstice.
Now then, my dears — sufficient speak! Get your self exterior!
Gentle the Bel-fires, sing to the bushes, dance with the Wild Ones, give up to this most historic enchantment.
Revel within the sensuous delights of life and love.
Could your magickal rites be most gladly savored!
Blessed Be!
