The Sabbats
Beltane (Lord & Lady Song)
A Few Beltane Songs for Your Merriment
I shall go as a wren in spring: With sorrow and sighing on silent wing
And I shall go in our Lady’s name: Aye, till I come home again
We shall follow as falcons grey: And hunt thee cruelly as our prey
And we shall go in our Master’s name: Aye, to fetch thee home again
Then I shall go as a mouse in May: In fields by night and cellars by day
And I shall go in our Lady’s name: Aye, till I come home again
But we shall follow as fat tom cats: And chase thee through the corn and vats
And we shall go in our Master’s name: Aye, to fetch thee home again
Then I shall go as an autumn hare: With sorrow and sighing and mickle care
And I shall go in our Lady’s name: Aye, till I come home again
But we shall follow as swift greyhounds: And dog thy tracks by leaps and bounds
And we shall go in our Master’s name: Aye, to fetch thee home again
Then I shall go as a winter trout: With sorrow and sighing and mickle doubt
And I shall go in our Lady’s name: Aye, till I come home again
But we shall follow as otters swift: And snare thee fast ere thou canst shift
And we shall go in our Master’s name: Aye, to fetch thee home again
Aye, and I’ll come home again
Traditional, British Isles
Maypole Chant
Round and round the maypole: Weaving in and out
We sow our seeds in the spring of the year: We scatter them all about
HEY!
By Gina Ellis
Spiral Dance Song
Men sing:
Turning, re-turning, transforming, our heart’s fire is (repeat)
Women sing:
Winding, binding the seeds we’ve sown, weaving the truths we’ve known
And drawing them home again (repeat)
By Pashta MaryMoon
Beltane and Its Holiday’s Significance
Beltane
Witches usually celebrate Beltane on May 1, although some prefer to mark it around May 5, when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Taurus. The sabbat is named for the god Baal or Bel, sometimes called “the bright one.” In Scottish Gaelic, the word bealtainn means “fires of Belos” and refers to the bonfires pagans light on this sabbat. The joyful festival celebrates the earth’s fertility, when flowers bloom and plants begin sprouting in the fields. The Christian Church adopted this ancient holiday as May Day, and some of Beltane’s old rituals (sans the overt sexuality) are still enacted today.
The Holiday’s Significance
The second fertility holiday in the Wheel of the Year, Beltane coincides with a period of fruitfulness. To ancient and modern pagans alike, this holiday honors the earth and all of nature. In early agrarian cultures, farmers built fires on Beltane and led livestock between the flames to increase their fertility.
Sexuality is also celebrated on this sabbat—the Great Rite has traditionally been part of the holiday’s festivities. In pre-Christian days, Beltane celebrants engaged in sexual intercourse in the fields as a form of symbolic magick to encourage fertility and a bountiful harvest. Children who were conceived at this time were said to belong to the Goddess.
Ways to Celebrate
It’s best to celebrate Beltane outside in order to appreciate nature’s fullness. Because Beltane is a fertility holiday, many of its rituals contain sexual symbolism. The Maypole, around which young females dance, is an obvious phallic symbol. Witches often decorate the Maypole with flowers in recognition of the earth’s beauty and fruit fruitfulness. Sometimes a woman who seeks a partner will toss a circular garland over the top of the pole, signifying the sex act, as a way of asking the Goddess to send her a lover.
Another fertility ritual utilizes the cauldron, symbol of the womb. Women who wish to become pregnant build a small fire in the cauldron, then jump over it. If you prefer, you can leap over the cauldron to spark creativity in the mind instead of the body.
THE MAYPOLE AT BELTANE
In the spirit of Spider woman,
Who wove the earth and the universe
We weave this Maypole of desires
Come true at Beltane.
Dance the Maypole for the
Beauty of the earth, the Goddess
And all of her people.
Weave the Maypole to make all wishes come true.
We are the flow, we are the ebb
We are the weaver, we are the web.
We are the weaver, we are the web
We are the spider, we are the thread.
We are the spider, we are the thread
We are the witches, back from the dead.
Incantation for Love
Incantation for Love
As the day fades into night
I draw a love that’s good and
right.
As the night turns into day
We are blessed in every way
Info About Beltane/Walpurgis Night & Two Do It Yourself Ideas
Beltane/Walpurgis Night
Beltane is celebrated on April 30th (May Eve) and is primarily a fire and fertility festival. Beltane, meaning “Bel-Fire,” is derived from the Celtic God Bel, also known as Beli or Balor, which simply means “Lord.” Some seem to think that Bel was comparable to the Celtic Gaul God, Cernunnos. This is possible, as most male Gods relate to the sun and fire aspects.
Beltane was the time of the May Queen, when a young woman was chosen from her village to represent the Earth Goddess and reflect the transformation of maiden to mother. In addition, this was the time of the kindling of the Need Fire, when all fires in the village were extinguished and then ritually relit the following day.
Fertility played an important role at Beltane, as it did with all Spring celebrations. The principle symbol of this Sabbat was the May Pole, also known as the axis mundi, around which the universe revolved. The pole personified the thrusting masculine force, and the disk at the top depicted the receptive female. There were seven colored ribbons tied to the pole representing the seven colors of the rainbow. possibly Walpurga- hence her association with May Eve and Witches.
Magickal Activities
Flower Wreath
Items needed:
Floral wire and tape;
fresh daisies and carnations;
seven different colored ribbons,
6 to 8 inches in length.
Begin by making a circle out of the wire that will sit atop your head. Twist the ends together and cover with a bit of tape. Lay the first flower on the wire and secure with the floral tape. Place the second flower next to the first and secure with the tape. Continue this process until the wire frame is almost completely covered. Leave a ‘/2-inch space between the first and last flowers to tie the ribbons from. Tie each ribbon individually so that it hangs from the back of the crown.
Maypole Center Piece
Items needed:
A 12-inch tall wooden dowel approximately 1 ½ inch diameter:
one 4- inch diameter disk
one 2-inch diameter disk
one small jar of Petal Porcelain fabric striffener
seven different colored 13-inch strips of ribbon
green paint
wood glue
silk flowers
The 4-inch disk will serve as the base of your maypole. Pound a small nail through it to affix the dowel to the base. Use a small amount wood glue to secure. Glue the smaller disk to the top. When the glue has dried, paint the entire thing green. Glue the end of each ribbon to the top of the smaller disk, spacing them evenly. Glue the silk flowers to the top of the maypole. Use the Petal Porcelain to stiffen the ribbons so they will stand out and hold their shape.
The Witches Correspondence for Tuesday, April 30th
The Witches Correspondence for Tuesday, April 30th
Alternative Names: Beltaine, Bealtaine (Irish Gaelic), Bealtuinn (Scottish Gaelic) Cetsamhain (‘opposite Samhain’), Walpurgisnacht (Germany), and Roodmas (Medieval Christian).
Symbolism: The Union of the Goddess and the God, Fertility in all things. A time of making things fertile.
Astrological Associations: 15 deg. Scorpio 9Southern Hemisphere), deg. (Northern Hemisphere)
Symbols: Maypole, Mayday baskets, bonfires, flowers, ribbons, flower crowns, fairies.
Food: Dairy foods, foods made with flowers, red fruits such as strawberries and cherries, green herbal salads, red or pink wine punch, maybowl (an icebowl decorated with spring flowers and filled with maywine), large round oatmeal or barley cakes (known as Beltane cakes or Bannocks), shellfish and other aphrodisiacs.
Drink: Red or pink wine punch, milk,
Plants and Herbs: Rose, elder, mugwort, mint, lily of the valley, foxglove, broom, hawthorne, almond, angelica, bluebells, daisy, marigold, frankincense, lilac, yellow cowslips, thyme.
Incense and Oils: Rose, sandalwood, frankincense, lilac, mint.
Colours: Red, white, green, yellow
Stones: Emerald, malachite, carnelian, amber, sapphire, rose quartz.
Animals: Bee, goat, cat, lynx, horse, leopard, swallow, dove, swan.
Mythical Beings: Faeries, Pegasus, satyrs, giants.
Associated Goddesses: All fertility, flower, song & dance, hunting, and virgin-mother Goddesses; Aphrodite (Greek), Artemis (Greek), Belili (Sumerian), Bloddeuwedd (Welsh), Cybele (Greek), Damara (English), Danu (Irish), Diana (Greek), Fand (Manx-Irish), Flidais (Irish), Flora (Roman), Frigg/Freya (Norse), Ishtar (Assyro-Babylonian), Rhea (Greek), Rhiannon (Welsh), Venus (Roman)
Associated Gods: All fertility, love, hunting, and young father Gods; Baal (Phoenician), Bel (Sumerian), Cernunnos (Celtic), Cupid (Roman), Eros (Greek), Faunus (Roman), Frey (Norse), The Great Horned God (European), Herne (English), Orion (Greek), Pan (Greek)
Altar Decorations: Lots of flowers, flower wreaths, ribbons.
Traditional Activities: Making Maybaskets, Maypole dancing, jumping bonfires, May Water activities as listed above, gathering flowers, enacting the Great Rite, blessing your garden by making love in it. Making (Rose Beads) beads.
It's Super Simple, Make A Donation! We Will Then Enter You Into The Raffle Were You Will Have A Chance To Win Some Great Prizes.Check It Out!
Very Inspiring Blogger Award (Silver)
Very Inspiring Blogger Award (Gold)
One Lovely Blog Award
Sunshine Award
Follow Us On Pinterest
Subscribe To Our Feed
Whose On-Line?
Friends Of The WOTC
What’s The WOTC Talkin’ Bout?