Beltane Blessings!!

To the ancient Celts, it symbolized the coming of spring. It was the time of year when the crops began to sprout, the animals bore their young and the people could begin to get out of the houses where they had been cooped up during the long dark cold winter months. Keep in mind that the people in those days had no electric lights or heat and that the Celtic countries are at a much more northerly latitude than many of us are used to. At that latitude, spring comes much later and winter lasts much longer than in most of the US. The coming of fair weather and longer daylight hours would be most welcome after a long cold and dark winter.

The most ancient way of observing this day is with fire. Beltane, along with Samhain (Nov. 1), Imbolc (Feb. 1), and Lughnassadh (Aug. 1), was one of the four great "fire festivals" which marked the turning points of the Celtic year. The most ancient records tell us that the people would extinguish all the hearth fires in the country and then relight them from the "need fires" lit by the druids (who used friction as a means of ignition). In many areas, the cattle were driven between two great bonfires to protect them from disease during the coming year.

One of the most beautiful customs associated with this festival was "bringing in the May." The young people of the villages and towns would go out into the fields and forests at Midnight on April 30th and gather flowers with which to bedeck themselves, their families and their homes. They would process back into the villages, stopping at each home to leave flowers and to receive the best of food and drink that the home had to offer. These revelers would bless the fields and flocks of those who were generous and wish ill harvests on those who withheld their bounty. As I like to proscribe to the ...Rule of Three...as well as ...The Rede... as a reveler I would not wish ill on someone, but I might wish for them to learn generosity.

Some of you may remember the joy and fun we had as children when in school we would all dance the maypole dance and the girls would dress up and have flowers in their hair and general silliness and fun would follow. The maypole was actually an adjunct to the festival of bringing in the May. It is a phallic symbol, and as such represented fertility to the participants in the festival. In olden days, the revelers who went into the woods would cut a tree and bring it into town, decking it with flowers and greenery and dance around it clockwise (also called deosil, meaning "sun-wise", the direction of the sun's apparent travel across the face of the Earth) to bring fertility and good luck. The ribbons, which we associate with the maypole today, were a later addition.

The people who originated this custom lived in close connection with the land. If the flocks and fields were fertile, they were able to eat; if there was famine or drought, they went hungry. It is hard for us today to relate to this concept, but to the ancients, it was literally a life and death matter. The Celts were a very close tribal people, and fertility of their women literally meant continuity of the tribe. If you think of us as young people (ok heck, even some of us ...not so young ones) being friskier this time of year, you can see that it's totally natural, although my wife may wonder if it is possible for me to be friskier than I already am (hey I'm an enthusiastic intimate partner). So I offer a toast to ...spring fever... and all the flirtatious and intimate play it may bring.

So how did all this come to be in our modern time? When Christianity came to the British Isles, many of the ancient holy sites were taken over by the new religion and converted to Christian sites. Many of the old Gods and Goddesses became Christian saints, and many of the customs were appropriated. Charles Squire says," An ingenious theory was invented after the introduction of Christianity, with the purpose of allowing such ancient rites to continue with a changed meaning. The passing of persons and cattle through flame or smoke was explained as a practice which interposed a magic protection between them and the powers of evil." This is precisely what the original festival was intended to do; only the definition of "evil" had changed. These old customs continued to be practiced in many areas for centuries. In Scotland in 1282, John, the priest in Iverkething, led the young girls of his parish in a phallic dance of decidedly obscene character during Easter week. For this, penance was laid upon him, but his punishment was not severe, and he was allowed to retain his benefice.

Modern day pagan observances of Beltane include the maypole dances, bringing in the May, and jumping the cauldron for fertility. Many couples wishing to conceive children will jump the cauldron together at this time. Fertility of imagination and other varieties of fertility are invoked along with sexual fertility. In Wiccan and other Pagan circles, this is a joyous day, full of laughter and good times. A dear friend of mine in Ft. Lauderdale especially looks forward to this time of year as she feels and enjoys the "friskiness" that seems to abound. On a personal note for her, I hope that not only the body is fertile, but her mind and soul as well, as she has been going through a tough time and now is the time I feel for her hopes and dreams to bloom.

For me personally, I feel a sense of joy and hopefulness that the things I have worked hard to cultivate (relationships, job growth and opportunities, etc.) will be fruitful and that the spirit and intent of the season will take hold and that my and my friends futures will be Blessed.

So dance the dance, bask in the warmth and joy of the sun, enjoy that which nature has given us, merry meet and merry part, bright the cheeks and warm the heart! Time for this wolf to be bright of eye and bushy of tail, not to mention...well you get the idea. *grin*