Thursday, April 28, 2016

Sabbat Beltane


Beltane_by_Kaeriya.jpgTraditionally, Beltane is the first day of summer in Ireland, in Rome the earliest celebrations appeared in pre-Christian times with the festival of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flowers, and the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries.  In the south, it is Samhain.  The ceremony for the day can begin at Sunrise with freshly picked flowers.

This holiday incorporates traditions from the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, but it bears some relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as May pole dancing).  It is the celebration of the mystical union with the land, honoring Freyr and Freya.  Observed on May 1, festivities typically begin the evening before, on the last night of April.  It's a time to welcome the abundance of the fertile Earth.

May Day on May 1 is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures.  May Day is a festival that has been somewhat lost but is best known for its tradition of dancing the maypole dance.

 

Other Names: Beltane, May Day, Walpurgisnacht, Rudemas, Celtic Summer, Floralia, Giamonios, Bhealltainn

Activities: Wrapping May Pole, The Great Rite, Gathering Flowers, Bonfires, Handfasting, Plant Trees   

Altar: Upon a green cloth lay flowers, leafy branches, a great bowl of May wine, the figure of the Green Man and the May Queen, green candles, incense of flowers, and pots of herbs.

Animals: Goats, Rabbits, Honey Bees, Frogs

Attunement Teas(Individually or Blended): Burdock, Damiana, Hibiscus, Rose Hips, Saffron

Colors: Red, Green, White, Dark Yellow

Deities: Marriage/Sexual Union of Deities, All Mother Goddesses

Element: Earth

Foods: Dairy Foods, Sweets, Honey, Oats, Mead

Goddesses: Aphrodite (Greek), Artemis (Greek), Skadi (Teutonic), Var (Norse), Zochiquitzal (Aztec), Freya (Norse), Lofn (Norse), Pershta (Slavic), Rainbow Snake (Aboriginal), Venus (Roman)

Gods: King Arthur (Welsh-Cornish), Bel/Belanos (Celtic), Cernunnos (Greco-Celtic), Cupid/Eros (Greco-Roman), Frey (Norse), The Great Horned God (European), Beltene (Irish-Scottish), Odin (Norse), Pan (Greek), Robin Goodfellow (English)

Meaning: Union of God and Goddess, Sacred Marriage, All New Life, Fertility for All Living Things

Mythical Creatures: Faeries, Pegesus, Satyrs Giants

Offerings: If possible, safe ritual sex, alone or with others, should be offered up after the ritual. Otherwise, work in the garden nude among the green things.

Plants: Primrose, Cowslip, Hawthorn, Rose, Birch, Rosemary, Lilac

Ritual Oils: Passion Flower, Rose, Tuberose, Vanilla

Stones: Sapphire, Bloodstone, Emerald

Symbols: Eggs, Flowers, Chalice, May Pole, Butter churn, Flower Chaplet, May Baskets, Crossroads

 

Walpurgisnacht

beltane8210526_59835.jpgThe wind is stirring outside,
rebelling at the thought,
that woman, or man,
witch or Goddess,
telling tales of days gone by,
or weaving the wyrd of days yet to come
have had the temerity
to set themselves against it--

You can hear the last whispers
of winter in its voice--
Commanding to be allowed
to hold onto the land--
Yet, grain must grow,
rain must fall,
sun must shine anew--

Winter's time has passed,
the cloak of white
which lay upon the ground,
the jewels which hung upon the trees,
giving them a majesty
not to be rivaled
in the courts of man,
these garments must be laid aside--
The gray that ruled the sky,
as the Wild Hunt did ride,
has mellowed.
Showing Odin has passed--
His hounds are kenneled--

Dance with me around the pole,
winding ever closer,
shall we share a fire?
beltane29976267731.jpg
Shall we dance until our skin flames,
our blood warmed beyond boiling,
wod has taken us in it's arms?
Shall we lay together,
this Walpurgisnacht--

~ Ayla Wolffe

 

Spring Song

Spring has a new song, can you hear its tune?
It is carried on the winds, a blowing harmony.
It is written in the blue sky, like a mighty rune.
Sung by returning birds, as a great symphony.

Sunna dances across the sky in perfect unison.
The cicada's use their tymbals to add a little chime.
Mani does a slow waltz when day's time is done,
While crickets play a slow rhythm keeping with the time.

If you listen very closely you will hear the new Spring Song.
It will fill your soul with gladness, a cadence of delight,
This magic tune will affect you, all through the season long,

And change your balanced heart beat, to its rhythmic rite.

~ Glenn Bergen

 

A Garden Blessing

God of the World,
The soil is Your blood.
All good things come from You,
As this land is mine, this land is Yours.
Seed-wealth to soul-wealth,
May this ground yield much fruit.

beltane 5.jpg~ Nornoriel Vanyahildë

 

The God is man, holding his rightful place in the sky as the waxing Sun.  He is king among the deer herds and the Goddess has taken him as her rightful consort once more.  Seeds have been planted and the Goddess is becoming a Mother once again.

 










 

 

Beltane 451162_15154974.jpg