La Baal Tinne, Beltane, Beltain, all are names for the ritual which was traditionally held on May 1st, also known as May Day. The astrological festival occurs when the Sun reaches 15 ° Taurus, which lately has been happening more towards May 4-6th. Either the traditional date or the astrological date can be used to determine when to hold your festival as both will have significant energies for the season.
And the season is Spring! The lusty month of May is called so for a reason! Watch the animals, they are "rutting" now, looking to attract mates to raise their families. Butterflies and insects are pollenating flowers all over, and trees are bursting into blossoms and new green growth. In spring, "the young man's fancy turns to love.." and the young girls fancies turn to young men!
Beltane, named for the Celtic Sun God, Bel, or Bal, or Baal, also means Bale, to banish, as in the bale fires, which are lit on Beltane to cleanse and purify. Cattle were led between two fires to cleanse them, and I have heard theories that the Druids quite possibly may have put purifying herbs on the fires to physically help the process along, but there is no actual proof of this. Couples would jump the fire to bless their union and to make it fruitful. You can jump the fire to leave behind bad habits or thoughts. Or stand close enough to the fire so that it's heat can "burn out" sickness. You may call upon the flames to burn away whatever you want to be free of by mentally casting it into the fire.
Virgin women would jump the fire to be blessed by a child of the fire, an immaculate conception, as it were. The fire symbolizes life, passion, love and sex, and can also protect you for the coming year. To gaze into the flames and become "firestruck" is to cause an altered state of conciousness that is useful for divination.
"Nine woods in the Bale fire go, Burn them fast and burn them slow..."
(from the Wiccan Rede) Those nine woods were usually:
Oak for the God
Birch for the Goddess
Fir for birth
Willow for death
Rowan for magic
Apple for love
Grapevine for joy
Hazel for wisdom
Hawthorne for purity and for May
Now of course if you live in an area, such as South Florida, where there is a definite lack of some of these woods (such as apple) you can always substitute another wood - as long as this wood is also known for the same properties! So do some research, and make intelligent substitutions.
Probably the most memorable and obvious symbol of Beltane is the May Pole. A phallic symbol, it represents the male regenerative force in nature, and is used to show the Sacred Union between the Goddess and God that takes place at this time. The pole represents the God of course, and the earth represents the Goddess. Red and white were the traditional colors of the ribbons on the pole, and there are different explanations for them, one being that they represent the male semen and the female menstrual blood, and are a reminder that this is a "game" that only men and women enjoy, and is not for children. The other is that the red and white represent the two fluids that women safely give, milk and blood, of which men were in awe.
Either way, these can still be seen in the cadaceus, the symbol of healing and also the red and white barbers pole. In ancient times, the Doctor was also the Barber, hence the similar symbolism!
Today we choose a ribbon color which represents something we wish to "weave" into our lives as we weave it onto the pole, hopefully something that will also benefit the community as a whole, since this is a communal dance. Yellow for wisdom and inspiration, orange for success, blue for peace, or peace of mind, pink for friendship or patience, green can be healing or financial gain, white for health, and protection, etc. I have even seen rainbow ribbons, and also plaid ribbons! They certainly do stand out in the pattern.
The pole is erected, with appropriate ritual ceremony (see the file containing the ritual for this Sabbat for details), with the ribbons all tied to the top of the pole. The dancers stand in the circle around it each holding to the ends of the ribbon. Typically this is done with the males and females alternating around the circle, but we almost never have an exactly even number, and it doesn't matter that much. If you do have an almost equal number, then you can have all the males go deosil, and the females go widdershins (clockwise and counter-clockwise) as they go around the pole. If your numbers are too uneven, then have the participants count off by twos, with all the number "ones" going one way and the number "twos" going opposite.
It is better to have some lively music to dance to, we use celtic jigs and reels, and have a half hour tape with just that on it, which is easy to leave on the player, so it can be unattended. 30 minutes is quite sufficient, even a bit long! Believe me, unless you are a professional dancer, you will be tired out long before 30 minutes are over. You can also use Louisiana cajun zydeco, or Tennesse bluegrass, as well as the celtic songs, since all of these have a similar beat, and are very lively. That is the most important thing for a successful dance, because we have found that chanting leaves you out of breath very quickly.
To start the dance, have all the people facing deosil raise their ribbons and the people going widdershins will go under them. Then the widdershins group will raise their ribbons and the deosil group will go under them. So it continues, over and under, over and under, as you progress around the pole. Very quickly a beautiful pattern will emerge, as these bright ribbons are woven together. Don't worry if people forget which way they were supposed to go, this often happens when you have first time dancers, or an uneven number of people, someone is bound to go under when they should have gone over, no matter. It is the enjoyment of the dance that matters most, not whether the weave comes out perfect, and no one can tell the difference anyway!
When the ribbons become too short to allow for comfortably continuing, then it it time to tie off. Tie the ribbon to the pole at the end of the weaving, and you can leave the ribbon hanging loose below the knot. Some groups leave the ribbons on year after year, and simply allow them to build up on the pole, until they decide a new pole is needed, then the old pole with all the layers of ribbons, is ritually burned during the Beltane circle. Other groups will carefully work the old ribbons off the pole just prior to this years dance, and these ribbons will be ritually burned in the balefire. Of course, you could use a new pole each year, and ritually burn the old pole with ribbons intact. Another exception I have seen is where a wheel was used at the top of the pole, and this group actually "unwove" all the ribbons, and left the pole bare again. Personally, I think that it is undoing the magick of weaving into your life if you unweave the ribbons after the dance, but each group must decide for themselves what works best for them.
Practicing Solitary may seem difficult but you can erect a simple small pole and wind a ribbon one at a time around this, fastening each one at a time. (Inside, outside)*S*. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to do this. It is symbolic.
Doll by
Awards This Site Won
Blessings & Prayers
Books - Recommended reading & Orders
Candle Colors & Meanings
Celtic Tree Calendar
A Christian Point of View
Circle Casting
Faeries - Different Kinds
Forever Friends
Friends & Visitors Poetry
Initiation for Solitary Practitioners
Introduction - About me, religion, child abuse
Italian Year of the Wheel (Strega)
Ladies of the Myst Special Page
Links to some wonderful sites & Link Signup
Memberships & Webrings
Never Again (Please Read)
PAIGE RENEE NEWSOME
Poems I wrote
Remembrance
Sabbats - History, Celebrations
Spells from my BoS
I Am A Proud Member Of:
Phenomenal Women Of The Web
HAVE YOU SIGNED MY TREASURE BOOK.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT
TO DO SO. THANKS! YOUR THOUGHTS AND
SIGNATURES ARE IMPORTANT TO ME.
