Post by Mysti on Aug 6, 2007 19:11:35 GMT -5
The May Queen and the Harvest Lord
Centuries before we had high school Prom Queens and Kings, rural villages would elect one maiden and one strapping lad to take the roles of the May Queen and the Harvest Lord. This pair, embodying the very essence of youthful beauty and vitality, would represent the Maiden Goddess and the Green Man, enacting those roles for the village community during the Beltane rites.
The May Queen is the maiden goddess, Maia, Flora, and Habondia. She is the unplowed field, burgeoning with promise and budding fertility, which is already visible in the plants and animals all around. She would typically wear a white dress with red sash, and a wreath heavy with fresh flowers for a crown. The Harvest Lord is Green George, the spirit of Bel-Mawr (the Bright or Shining One) transformed to the Green Man, also called Cernunnos, or Jack in the Green. His costume is generally a green tunic over brown leggings and he too wears a garland crown, but his is adorned with fern fronds, ivy vines, and other greenery of the forest. Sometimes a small set of deer antlers is incorporated into his crown as well. During medieval times, the May Queen and Harvest Lord were referred to as John Thomas and Lady Jane. During the Elizabethan era they were called Robin Hood and Maid Marian.
The pair was usually elected several weeks prior to the Beltane holiday, in modern times this typically occurs at Ostara. This intervening time allows for both parties to be properly prepared for their roles, which were taken very seriously even in the surrounding atmosphere of merriment and gaiety. As the living representatives of the goddess and god during their marriage and consummation rites, it was believed that the harmonious execution of these roles was vitally important to securing a rich harvest for the village community in the summer.
His duties would include the carrying of the Maypole to the village green from the place it was felled in the forest, and thus leading the Maying Parade on the morning of May Day. Her duties would include making the crown garland for the Harvest Lord. When he was later crowned with this garland it represented the goddess choosing her consort. Once the village was gathered together through the course of the parade, these two would then lead the festivities from the erecting of the Maypole, through the dancing and games, through the Maypole dance and finally to their private tryst in the woods afterwards.
After the Maypole dance, the May Queen and the Harvest Lord would retire to the woods where it was understood by the community that they would be performing the Great Rite, an act of sexual intercourse between priest and priestess embodying the living goddess and god. Although such an act would be performed for the benefit of the village, it was still a private matter between these two, and whether they engaged in the Great Rite actually or only symbolically was a secret known only to them. However, they would be sent on their way with good spirited teasing and well-wishes.
Sometimes their method of getting from the village green to the woods was called "The Merry Chase." After the Maypole dance, amid the cheers of the gathered community, the May Queen would leap the Bel-Fire and take off running toward the woods. The Harvest Lord would be held back by the village youth until the May Queen had what was considered sufficient head-start. Then he would be released amid their cheers and leap the fire himself, giving chase to the maiden. Somewhere in the woods, at a safe distance from the village itself, they would meet. Together they would celebrate their sacred roles, assuring a harmonious union between Maiden Goddess and Green Man, and in turn assuring blessings upon all the village ventures.
ã Lady Ursula Grey, 2004. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only, providing that there are no changes to the original text, and providing that this copyright notice remains intact and in place at all times. Blessed be. FourElementsOneCircle
Centuries before we had high school Prom Queens and Kings, rural villages would elect one maiden and one strapping lad to take the roles of the May Queen and the Harvest Lord. This pair, embodying the very essence of youthful beauty and vitality, would represent the Maiden Goddess and the Green Man, enacting those roles for the village community during the Beltane rites.
The May Queen is the maiden goddess, Maia, Flora, and Habondia. She is the unplowed field, burgeoning with promise and budding fertility, which is already visible in the plants and animals all around. She would typically wear a white dress with red sash, and a wreath heavy with fresh flowers for a crown. The Harvest Lord is Green George, the spirit of Bel-Mawr (the Bright or Shining One) transformed to the Green Man, also called Cernunnos, or Jack in the Green. His costume is generally a green tunic over brown leggings and he too wears a garland crown, but his is adorned with fern fronds, ivy vines, and other greenery of the forest. Sometimes a small set of deer antlers is incorporated into his crown as well. During medieval times, the May Queen and Harvest Lord were referred to as John Thomas and Lady Jane. During the Elizabethan era they were called Robin Hood and Maid Marian.
The pair was usually elected several weeks prior to the Beltane holiday, in modern times this typically occurs at Ostara. This intervening time allows for both parties to be properly prepared for their roles, which were taken very seriously even in the surrounding atmosphere of merriment and gaiety. As the living representatives of the goddess and god during their marriage and consummation rites, it was believed that the harmonious execution of these roles was vitally important to securing a rich harvest for the village community in the summer.
His duties would include the carrying of the Maypole to the village green from the place it was felled in the forest, and thus leading the Maying Parade on the morning of May Day. Her duties would include making the crown garland for the Harvest Lord. When he was later crowned with this garland it represented the goddess choosing her consort. Once the village was gathered together through the course of the parade, these two would then lead the festivities from the erecting of the Maypole, through the dancing and games, through the Maypole dance and finally to their private tryst in the woods afterwards.
After the Maypole dance, the May Queen and the Harvest Lord would retire to the woods where it was understood by the community that they would be performing the Great Rite, an act of sexual intercourse between priest and priestess embodying the living goddess and god. Although such an act would be performed for the benefit of the village, it was still a private matter between these two, and whether they engaged in the Great Rite actually or only symbolically was a secret known only to them. However, they would be sent on their way with good spirited teasing and well-wishes.
Sometimes their method of getting from the village green to the woods was called "The Merry Chase." After the Maypole dance, amid the cheers of the gathered community, the May Queen would leap the Bel-Fire and take off running toward the woods. The Harvest Lord would be held back by the village youth until the May Queen had what was considered sufficient head-start. Then he would be released amid their cheers and leap the fire himself, giving chase to the maiden. Somewhere in the woods, at a safe distance from the village itself, they would meet. Together they would celebrate their sacred roles, assuring a harmonious union between Maiden Goddess and Green Man, and in turn assuring blessings upon all the village ventures.
ã Lady Ursula Grey, 2004. This article may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only, providing that there are no changes to the original text, and providing that this copyright notice remains intact and in place at all times. Blessed be. FourElementsOneCircle