Post by Mysti on Aug 6, 2007 19:10:34 GMT -5
The Maypole Dance
In its original use and meaning, the Maypole Dance is a fertility rite in itself. Through the encroachment of Christianity on our pagan ways, some have tried to sterilize the dance of its sexual associations, reducing it to a tame Spring activity for children, or troops of little girls. However, in its pagan form, the dance is performed by an equal number of adult men and women.
Each dancer approaches the Maypole and selects a ribbon based on color choice. Each colored ribbon represents a different kind of blessing to be requested (blue for peace, yellow for happiness, green for abundance, pink for love, etc.). Once a dancer has chosen a ribbon, they return to their starting place on the circle - several feet away from the pole, stretching the ribbon out from the pole as they go. The ribbons at the crown of the Maypole need to be untangled to begin the dancing in order to weave correctly. So, as each dancer selects a ribbon and pulls it out away from the pole to stand on the circle's edge, places may be traded around the pole to untangle any messes that the wind may have created. At the end of the preparations, the arrangement of the dancers will be in an alternating order of boy/girl/boy/girl, and the ribbons held in their hands will be freely stretched out from the crown of the pole looking a bit like a ribbon tent. Community members who will not dance that year can contribute with piping, drumming, or singing to accompany the dancers.
When the music begins, the May Queen and the Harvest Lord, standing side-by-side in the East, will turn toward each other and bow courteously. When they arise from their bows, the women in the circle will turn their side to the Maypole, facing the same direction as the May Queen, while the men turn the opposite direction so they are facing the woman next to them, and in the same direction as the Harvest Lord.
The May Queen and Harvest Lord will start the dancers moving - the men advancing around the pole clockwise, and the women counter-clockwise. Through this pattern each woman is meeting face to face with all the men, and each man meets all the women as they weave their ribbons together. As the dance begins, usually the May Queen will duck first under the ribbon of the Harvest Lord, then will raise her own ribbon high to allow the next man to duck beneath hers. She will duck beneath the ribbon of the third man, and pass her own ribbon above the body of the man who follows him. The whole circle of dancers is moving in this way - the women following the May Queen and the men following the Harvest Lord - under over - over under - as they meet one after another circling round the Maypole.
Their dance creates an intricate and orderly weaving of the ribbons down the pole shaft itself. With the Maypole representing the lingam or phallus of the god, and the Maypole's crown of flowers representing the yoni or vagina of the goddess, this weaving of the ribbons symbolizes the spirit of the community, weaving together their individual dreams and hopes for the coming fertile season, and asking for the blessing of the Lord and Lady on all these ventures.
As the ribbons weave together they lay tight against the Maypole, with the free lengths getting shorter and shorter as the dance progresses. As the ribbons shorten, the dancers find themselves in closer and closer quarters with each other, unable to avoid brushing up against one another in passing as they dip and stretch, weaving in and out from the center point of the pole. By the time the dance is finished, the ribbons are woven together to within a few feet off the ground, and the dancers are a writhing huddle of excited pagans ready to proceed with the fertility Sabbat's festivities.
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. Blessed be. FourElementsOneCircle
In its original use and meaning, the Maypole Dance is a fertility rite in itself. Through the encroachment of Christianity on our pagan ways, some have tried to sterilize the dance of its sexual associations, reducing it to a tame Spring activity for children, or troops of little girls. However, in its pagan form, the dance is performed by an equal number of adult men and women.
Each dancer approaches the Maypole and selects a ribbon based on color choice. Each colored ribbon represents a different kind of blessing to be requested (blue for peace, yellow for happiness, green for abundance, pink for love, etc.). Once a dancer has chosen a ribbon, they return to their starting place on the circle - several feet away from the pole, stretching the ribbon out from the pole as they go. The ribbons at the crown of the Maypole need to be untangled to begin the dancing in order to weave correctly. So, as each dancer selects a ribbon and pulls it out away from the pole to stand on the circle's edge, places may be traded around the pole to untangle any messes that the wind may have created. At the end of the preparations, the arrangement of the dancers will be in an alternating order of boy/girl/boy/girl, and the ribbons held in their hands will be freely stretched out from the crown of the pole looking a bit like a ribbon tent. Community members who will not dance that year can contribute with piping, drumming, or singing to accompany the dancers.
When the music begins, the May Queen and the Harvest Lord, standing side-by-side in the East, will turn toward each other and bow courteously. When they arise from their bows, the women in the circle will turn their side to the Maypole, facing the same direction as the May Queen, while the men turn the opposite direction so they are facing the woman next to them, and in the same direction as the Harvest Lord.
The May Queen and Harvest Lord will start the dancers moving - the men advancing around the pole clockwise, and the women counter-clockwise. Through this pattern each woman is meeting face to face with all the men, and each man meets all the women as they weave their ribbons together. As the dance begins, usually the May Queen will duck first under the ribbon of the Harvest Lord, then will raise her own ribbon high to allow the next man to duck beneath hers. She will duck beneath the ribbon of the third man, and pass her own ribbon above the body of the man who follows him. The whole circle of dancers is moving in this way - the women following the May Queen and the men following the Harvest Lord - under over - over under - as they meet one after another circling round the Maypole.
Their dance creates an intricate and orderly weaving of the ribbons down the pole shaft itself. With the Maypole representing the lingam or phallus of the god, and the Maypole's crown of flowers representing the yoni or vagina of the goddess, this weaving of the ribbons symbolizes the spirit of the community, weaving together their individual dreams and hopes for the coming fertile season, and asking for the blessing of the Lord and Lady on all these ventures.
As the ribbons weave together they lay tight against the Maypole, with the free lengths getting shorter and shorter as the dance progresses. As the ribbons shorten, the dancers find themselves in closer and closer quarters with each other, unable to avoid brushing up against one another in passing as they dip and stretch, weaving in and out from the center point of the pole. By the time the dance is finished, the ribbons are woven together to within a few feet off the ground, and the dancers are a writhing huddle of excited pagans ready to proceed with the fertility Sabbat's festivities.
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. Blessed be. FourElementsOneCircle