Post by Mysti on Aug 6, 2007 19:07:29 GMT -5
Beltane Sabbat
May Eve-May Day
Roodmas
April 30-May 1
Beltane (Also spelled 'Beltain') is the second, and most intense, of the two Fertility festivals on the Wheel of the Year. With this Sabbat, the Maiden Goddess and the Green Man consummate their love for each other, having courted since their meeting at Ostara. She is full of promise now, as evidenced by the greening of the plants, the abundance of flowers, and the fertility of the livestock. He is the Green Man, transformed at Ostara from the Sun Child, Bel-Mawr, the White or Shining One. Also called Green George, or Jack in the Green, he protects the plants and animals of the forest as they grow. Tonight they meet in the rapture of Creation. She will become pregnant with the Sun Child of next year, and their successful union now brings fertility to all the world - plants, animals and human beings. Some call this Sabbat the night of the Marriage between the Goddess and the God, and it is a favorite time of year for Wiccan Handfasting ceremonies.
Because of the sexual nature of the Sabbat, the customs and rituals of this holiday are the ones that are most easily misconstrued and most often misjudged by non-pagans. Something to keep in mind is that the best preserved customs of Celtic paganism were held and continued in the small and relatively private agricultural villages - farming communities.
Beltane festivals and all the customs associated with this holiday were designed to bring about the Lord and Lady's blessings for a bountiful harvest at Summer's end. In West Country Wicca - A Journal of the Old Religion, Rhiannon Ryall points out that the people of the agricultural villages were (and are today) much more matter-of-fact in issues of sexuality than people who are not so closely connected with the land, or so directly dependent upon the natural cycles of life.
Sex is a part of life - both necessary and magickal. Modern witches who are removed from the agricultural roots of our religion - and non-pagans alike - may struggle with understanding this traditional perspective. Nevertheless, sexual rites do lie at the heart and center of the Beltane Sabbat, whether actual or symbolic.
In order to do this Sabbat justice in discussing the customs and their meanings, it is necessary to put the whole celebration into a traditional context. This information will require more than one web page to cover effectively. This page is intended to be an introduction. Those who are offended by sexual expression in pagan spirituality will want to seek their Sabbat information from a different source, as some of the information contained in the attached pages could be considered both frank and controversial. But for those who are unafraid of the heat, click on the bonfire graphic at the bottom of this page to continue this journey, and come a-Maying with us!
As above, so below...
Beltane night, marriage divine,
we celebrate with feast and wine.
The union of the Goddess and God,
female to male, cauldron to rod.
The young God walks the land with pride,
primal urges, burning inside.
He finds the Goddess with open arms,
they have no need for courtly charms.
Their joy suffuses the land around,
animal, plant, sky and ground.
Let us rejoice their sacred bliss,
with warm embrace and loving kiss.
Let us be a living reflection
of Goddess and God, nature's perfection.
And as we light this Beltaine blaze,
we keep in troth the ancient ways.
We send our thanks to those above,
and worship in both faith and love.
All your blessings let us see,
our rite begins, so mote it be!
--Author Unknown
ã Lady Ursula Grey, 2004. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only, providing that no changes are made to the original text, and providing that this copyright notice remains intact and in place at all times. FourElementsOneCircle
May Eve-May Day
Roodmas
April 30-May 1
Beltane (Also spelled 'Beltain') is the second, and most intense, of the two Fertility festivals on the Wheel of the Year. With this Sabbat, the Maiden Goddess and the Green Man consummate their love for each other, having courted since their meeting at Ostara. She is full of promise now, as evidenced by the greening of the plants, the abundance of flowers, and the fertility of the livestock. He is the Green Man, transformed at Ostara from the Sun Child, Bel-Mawr, the White or Shining One. Also called Green George, or Jack in the Green, he protects the plants and animals of the forest as they grow. Tonight they meet in the rapture of Creation. She will become pregnant with the Sun Child of next year, and their successful union now brings fertility to all the world - plants, animals and human beings. Some call this Sabbat the night of the Marriage between the Goddess and the God, and it is a favorite time of year for Wiccan Handfasting ceremonies.
Because of the sexual nature of the Sabbat, the customs and rituals of this holiday are the ones that are most easily misconstrued and most often misjudged by non-pagans. Something to keep in mind is that the best preserved customs of Celtic paganism were held and continued in the small and relatively private agricultural villages - farming communities.
Beltane festivals and all the customs associated with this holiday were designed to bring about the Lord and Lady's blessings for a bountiful harvest at Summer's end. In West Country Wicca - A Journal of the Old Religion, Rhiannon Ryall points out that the people of the agricultural villages were (and are today) much more matter-of-fact in issues of sexuality than people who are not so closely connected with the land, or so directly dependent upon the natural cycles of life.
Sex is a part of life - both necessary and magickal. Modern witches who are removed from the agricultural roots of our religion - and non-pagans alike - may struggle with understanding this traditional perspective. Nevertheless, sexual rites do lie at the heart and center of the Beltane Sabbat, whether actual or symbolic.
In order to do this Sabbat justice in discussing the customs and their meanings, it is necessary to put the whole celebration into a traditional context. This information will require more than one web page to cover effectively. This page is intended to be an introduction. Those who are offended by sexual expression in pagan spirituality will want to seek their Sabbat information from a different source, as some of the information contained in the attached pages could be considered both frank and controversial. But for those who are unafraid of the heat, click on the bonfire graphic at the bottom of this page to continue this journey, and come a-Maying with us!
As above, so below...
Beltane night, marriage divine,
we celebrate with feast and wine.
The union of the Goddess and God,
female to male, cauldron to rod.
The young God walks the land with pride,
primal urges, burning inside.
He finds the Goddess with open arms,
they have no need for courtly charms.
Their joy suffuses the land around,
animal, plant, sky and ground.
Let us rejoice their sacred bliss,
with warm embrace and loving kiss.
Let us be a living reflection
of Goddess and God, nature's perfection.
And as we light this Beltaine blaze,
we keep in troth the ancient ways.
We send our thanks to those above,
and worship in both faith and love.
All your blessings let us see,
our rite begins, so mote it be!
--Author Unknown
ã Lady Ursula Grey, 2004. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only, providing that no changes are made to the original text, and providing that this copyright notice remains intact and in place at all times. FourElementsOneCircle