The origins of may day

“Called Beltane by the Celts, Walpurgis by the Teutons, and Floralia by the Romans, May festivals were a time of “wearing of the green.” Throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the month of May is a time to celebrate renewal of life. May is named for Maia, grandmother, the Goddess of death and fertility. Maia scorns marriage, so it is a good idea to put weddings off until June. Although less stern goddesses now oversee May festivities, wreaths and baskets of Hawthorn are still used in some May festivals in Maia’s honor… The May-pole is the most familiar feature of May festivities, but it has three distinct interpretations. In some cultures, the May-pole represented the world center, or alternately, the hub of the Wheel of heaven. In ancient times, the intricate dance of weaving cords around the pole was a magical attempt to direct Nature, which had become topsy-turvy over the course of time, back in order. Today the dance is performed by any who wish to participate in weaving the magic.

In other cultures, the May-pole was the Tree of Life, or a symbol of it. And this tree– to borrow a phrase from Billy Holiday– bore strange fruit. This is where the Savior was sacrificed in order to cleanse the earth. Holy Communion, eating his flesh and drinking his blood was possibly restricted to the priest class, but symbolic May Wine was liberally imbibed by the whole community. Hundreds of years later, the Christian lunar festival of Easter would replace the ancient solar festival as the time of renewal and rebirth.

The third meaning of the May-pole most clearly remains today. It is the phallus, the male principle of fertilization. Female principles are represented by baskets and wreaths used in the dances around the pole. In past times, the hand-fasting movements of the dances would give young couples license to ‘go into the green’ together. In some regions, a merlin, or renegade friar, would preside over the mock marriages. Even today, unwed couples consummate the mock marriages performed around the May-pole. Merry-begats, as they were called in England, were usually not acknowledged by their fathers. These babies were said to have been fathered by god.”

For those of you who have no other way of celebrating, I think the closest thing you can probably find to dancing around the may pole, can be found at your local stripper clubs. It’s a saturday night, get a little pagan, make your way to a peeler bar, and watch someone twirl around the pole, raise a glass of ale in respects to the fertility of the goddess in all her glory, and sit back and enjoy. I would myself, if I didn’t already have other more nefarious plans. Going to a BDSM play party, bringing MY boy . Set it free, if it comes back to you it’s yours, if it doesn’t, hunt it down and kill it, isn’t that how the saying goes? anyways, he came back. I’m a happy Katt. It’s his first party, I’m going to have fun. Wolfe has a new toy, we’re going to be a foursome. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It’s a magical day, be careful what wishes you make, what seeds you plant, it’s a day of creation, celebration, lust, and potency.

I think I’m going to tap into some primal energy myself throughout the eve’s celebrations.

Regardless of your spiritual affiliations, let your senses roam, don’t you feel it stirring in the air… somethings up, and it could be you.

Feed some fuel to the fire, place some faith, in whatever way you concretize it, label it, manifest it, or interpert it, today is a day of fertility, creation, and magic.

GO OUT AND PLAY!

Live in love…

We are all truly blessed, if we only know where to look for it. And if we are brave enough, to open our eyes. Most of us, prefer to stumble around in the unknown gloom. Take a peek, it’s nice out here in the chaos.

XO
Leila

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 1st, 2004 at 10:26 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.