Tag: mayday
Beltane Customs- Fire Festival- Lady Dyanna
Fire was believed to have purifying qualities – it cleansed and rejuvenated both the land and the people.The ritual welcoming of the sun and the lighting of the fires was also believed to ensure the fertility of the land and the people.Animals were transferred from winter pens to summer pastures and were driven between the … Continue reading Beltane Customs- Fire Festival- Lady Dyanna
Beltane Herb- Sweet Woodruff
The Sweet Woodruff, a favorite little plant growing in woods and on shaded hedgebanks, may be readily recognized by its small white flowers (in bloom in May and June) set on a tender stalk, with narrow, bright-green leaves growing beneath them in successive, star-like whorls, just as in Clivers or Goosegrass, about eight leaves to … Continue reading Beltane Herb- Sweet Woodruff
Beltane Customs and Practices- Ravenhawk’s Magazine for Mind Body and Soul
In old England, the young people went out into the woods on May Day Eve and stayed all night, returning in the morning, laden with flowers and green branches. The Puritan writer, Philip Stubbes, has an interesting way of explaining the nature of the sacred rites which took place in the woods: I have heard … Continue reading Beltane Customs and Practices- Ravenhawk’s Magazine for Mind Body and Soul