Beltane May Day, the celebration of Summer. |
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Beltane in Modern Wicca The center of most Wiccan celebrations is the dance around the Maypole, with accompanying enactments of the courtship chase of Maiden and Bright Lord and perhaps a ritual jumping of a small Bel-fire for luck and fulfillment. Fires for this purpose might be made by burning kindling within an iron cauldron. Couples often jump the fire together. The Maypole Dance is not only fun, but is also a weaving of magick for the fertility and fulfillment of hopes, wishes and personal intents for the season ahead. You need a long and sturdy pole, firmly anchored. Some use tall dead tree trunks still rooted in the ground and kept for Maypole use. Permanent structures are not always possible though. There are some temporary poles you can use that are there for everyday use, just look around. I have a neighbor that has a regular flag pole in his front yard. If anyone has a flag pole it would work perfectly. Think about what you have around the house or in your yard and you will come up with something. You will need to be able to attach ribbons to the top and decorate it with flowers. The ribbons need to be long enough that each end can be held out at a distance at least the length of the pole and give each person enough room to wind the ribbons and dance around the Maypole. When all participants are standing around the pole, each holding the end of a ribbon, count off alternately one and two around the circle. Then have all the ones turn to face deosil (clockwise) and all the twos turn to face widdershins (counter clockwise). They will proceed in those directions as the dancing begins. Instruct the Ones to first lift their ribbons and the Twos to duck under then alternate. As the dance continues, the two groups of dancers, moving in opposite directions, alternately pass their ribbons over and approaching dancer and then duck under the ribbon of the next one. Dancers are to visualize as they move, what they wish to weave into their lives for the season ahead. Above them on the pole, the ribbons weave. At the beginning of the dance, the May Queen takes the flower garland she has been wearing on her head and rests it on the top of the Maypole sitting on the ribbons. As the ribbons weave together down the Maypole, the garland gradually descends with another act symbolic of the sacred marriage of Maiden and Bright Lord, Earth and Sun, with all the hope and promise for the future that it inspires. Drumming accompaniment inspires especially good energy for the dancing. The dancers may also chant as they dance. Here is one possibility from the Beltane ritual from The Witches Circle: Weave, Weave, it is our fate we weave By choice, not chance, with love and will It is our fate we weave. As the weaving progresses down the bottom half of the pole, the dance progressively more challenging. Especially for we Crones and Sages who are less agile than the young. It is usually accompanied by quite a bit of laughter, until finally the High Priestess calls the dance complete. The ends of the ribbons are tied off in a festoon at the end of the weaving. The woven ribbons will later slip right off the pole in a pretty cylinder pattern. Like all magickal charms, once their time is ended they should be ritually released. An appropriate time and method would be in a bonfire for Fall Equinox or Samhain. |
| Crowns of Flowers Of all Wiccan rites, Beltane is the one most likely to find many, it not all women crowned with wreaths of flowers. These can be fun to make, either as permanent wreaths of silk flowers or if enough fresh flowers are in bloom in your yard, a fresh flower crown. The base for fresh flower garlands might be vines or supple branches of flowering shrubs that can be formed into a circlet and bound with floral tape, light wire or twine. Extra flowers can easily be woven into the circlet. For a wreath of silk flowers, start with a circlet of ivy or leaf garland. Cut a piece long enough to form a circle that fits your head nicely with just a bit to spare so you can wire the ends together. This will give you a good base of leaves and vines into which you can easily insert a variety of silk flowers, securing them with a bit of floral tape where necessary. A cascade of narrow ribbons tied at the back makes a pretty finish. |
| Wiccan Handfasting at Beltane Traditionally a rite of the sacred marriage of Earth and Sun so necessary for fertility and abundance in the season of growth, is also an especially popular time for Wiccan handfastings. A coven Beltane rite might include the handfasting of a couple. It may also be a legal marriage ceremony, but is not necessarily so. Sometimes a handfasting is a commitment made for "a year and a day", perhaps preliminary to a full commitment. Wiccan couples who do marry legally, whether at Beltane or at another time, usually prefer a ceremony that incorporates the ancient handfasting tradition. At the central part of a handfasting rite, the couple join hands to be bound with cords as they are questioned about their intentions toward each other. At the end of the questioning, a series of cords are lightly draped around their clasp hands. The couple must then gather the cords and tie them into a big knot at the center. In this manner, they have "tied the knot". When the rite has ended, the couple, hands held with their cords inside run around the circle and jump a broom laid on the ground in emulation of an ancient folk method of sealing a marriage. In some modern day handfasting rites, a broom and a sword are laid on the ground in a cross to be jumped. The broom symbolic of the woman's dominion over the home and hearth. The Sword symbolic of the man's role to protect her and their home. |
Got the urge to grow your very own Witch's garden? Beltane is a great time of the year to start your herbal magick off with a real kick. Gather your plants, seeds and gardening supplies, bless the plants for luxuriant growth, gorgeous blooms, and healthy foliage. This charm will work for any size or style of garden. Sit or stand within the garden, or next to the new flowers and plants. Then hold your hands out, palms turned up, and repeat the charm. Call on the Lord and the Lady to assist you. At this time of the year their passionate energy will flow into all living things. If you plant your herbs and flowers at the start of May, whisper this Garden Witch's charm on Beltane day, "I enchant these green plants for power and magick true, Lord and Lady bless my herb-craft, and all that I do." After the charm is complete, turn your hands over and visualize all that magick flowing from your hands and into the garden plants. Happy magickal gardening! =ELLEN DUGAN All 'Magic' changed to Magick to fit the Wiccan spelling. From Llewellyn's Witches' datebook 2006 |
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Odess Moondragon HP )O(
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| This site was established in 2005 and is created with Yahoo! Sitebuilder (2.6-J). Content and Publication is the sole responsibility of Odess Moondragon HP, the self proclaimed Witch of Witchita! Copyright 2005 to infinity. Everything on this site has been taken from the internet, books, magazines, my imagination and inspiration from the Goddess. If you are owner of any content and can prove copyright, contact me and I will remove it from my site, but you have to have proof of ownership. All information contained within this site is purely for fun and amusement and any rituals or spells you decide to try are at your own risk for the outcome. By entering this site you are agreeing that I will not be held responsible for any magickal backlashes you create in your practice of magick. E-mail me at odess@witchita-witch.com with any comments, critiques, suggestions, etc. I would love to hear from you! Last updated 4-25-15. BLESSED BE |