Beltaine 99
copyright Turtle Woman
Procession:
<Rattles, drums, tambourine and song>
We approach the Sacred grove
With hearts and minds and flesh and bone
Join us now in ways of old
We have come home.
Opening Prayers:
We are here today to celebrate the fertility in all things. As shown to us
by honoring the marriage of the Earth Mother (The Great Mother) and to her lover
Father Sky (The Young Horned God) .
Folk: Earth Mother: <All
kneel and kiss the
earth.
<Make an offering of grain, bread or flour(making a circle around the
grove)>
I call to you Mother of all
let us join in a celebration of your rebirth
kindle in our hearts the joys and abundance that you offer
with you , from you, we have all of life
Folk: Mother of all, accept our offering!
Makes an offering of tobacco, sweet grass, sage (smudging the participants)
I call out to you Father Sky
the breath of our souls
the winds of wisdom
fill us with your presence, expand us with the joy of living
Folk: Father of All accept our offering
Grove Attunement:
I circle around, I circle around the boundaries of the earth
I circle around, I circle around the boundaries of the earth
Wearing my long wing feathers as I fly
Wearing my long wing feathers as I fly
I circle around, I circle around the boundaries of the earth
I circle around, I circle around the boundaries of the earth
Wearing my long wing feathers as I fly
Wearing my long wing feathers as I fly
I circle around, I circle around the boundaries of the earth
I circle around, I circle around the boundaries of the earth
Fire, Well, and Tree:
I light this candle with love and hope in my heart so that
it may light the way for others along their path to the sacred Fire that burns in us all.
Folk: May the
sacred fire lead us home
The waters of the mother flow within us her joys becoming
our own
Folk: Her
wisdom we will share
The sacred tree spans to connect us with the gods its roots
ground us to our mother
Folk: Scared Tree
hold us firm.
Purpose and Precedent:
We gather here on what is referred to as May Day, the first
of May. May was originally named in honor of the goddesses Maia who was originally a
Greek mountain nymph. Later she was identified as the most beautiful of the
Seven Sisters, the pleiades. She is Hermes, the god of magic, mother with Zeus
as a father. Beltaine is the last of the three spring fertility festivals, and the
second major Celtic festival. Beltaine, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into
its two primary seasons, Winter and Summer. Beltaine joyfully heralds the arrival of
summer in full garb. It is said that if you bathe in the dew of Beltaine morn, your beauty
will flourish throughout the year.
Beltaine literally means "fire of Bel". Bel is
known as the bright and shining one. On the eve of Beltaine the Celts build two large
fires, created from the nine sacred woods. In the honor of summer they were lit, and the
herds were ritually driven between them, to purify and protect the herds. The fires
celebrate the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth. Celebration includes
frolicking throughout the countryside, dancing the Maypole, leaping over fires, and
"going a maying".
Beltaine marks the handfasting (wedding) of the Goddess and
God, the reawakening of the earth's fertility at its fullest. This is the union between
the Great Mother and her Young Horned God. This coupling brings new life on earth. It is
the unifying of the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine forms to bring forth the
third form, consciousness. May is the month of sensuality and sexuality revitalized, the
reawakening of the earth and Her Children. It is the time when we reawaken to the vivid
colors and vibrant scents of the season, tingling summer breezes, the rapture of summer
after a long dormant winter.
It is customary that Handfastings, for a year and a day,
occur at this time. These are the trial marriages that typically occur between a couple
before deciding to embark on life eternal. It was understood by our ancestors that one
does not really know another until they live with them, and things change. With this
understanding unions were entered upon, first as a test period, and then a further
commitment. It was kept in mind that only through the choice of both to remain, could the
relationship exist.
Beltaine brings our brightest hopes for the future. Hopes of
love, prosperity, friendship and peace. As we dance among the glorious scented flowers,
feeling the fresh dew-covered grass on our feet, our thoughts wander through our lives and
loves blessing us with their wondrous gifts of ecstasy.
Purification:
Make an offering to the Outdwellers
Opening the Gates:
Make and offering to the gatekeeper
<Something sweet to eat/drink>
Now, lord of ways, join your magic with mine and let the
fire open as a gate, let the well open as a gate, let the tree be the crossroads of all
worlds. Open as a road to our voices and to the spirits. Let the gates be open!
Folk: Let the gates be open!
Kindred Offerings:
Ancestors: <an offering of food and/or drink is made onto the
ground or into a shaft>
Nature Spirits: <an offering of herbs, flowers and/or trinkets
is scattered around the nemeton's edge or hung on the tree>
Deities/Shining Ones: <an offering of scented oil is poured on
the fire>
Key Offerings:
Folk: Welcoming of individual pantheons and offerings for the
season and personal patrons and matrons.
Sacrifice and Omen:
We have given of our love and our wealth to the lords and
ladies in honoring of the Old Ways. Let the Sacred Fire be the energy that
transports our words and gifts, let the Sacred Well carry the deepest of our feelings
beyond all boundaries to the otherworlds. We devote ourselves to you with love
and respect. And we are grateful for your many blessings.
Folk: We praise you Gods and Goddesses
We thank you and hope you find joy in our gifts
bless us always with your favor.
