Beltane

From New World Encyclopedia
Beltane
Also called Lá Bealtaine, Bealltainn, Beltain, Beltaine
Observed by Gaels, Irish People, Scottish People, Manx people, Neopagans
Type Gaelic, Celtic, Pagan
Date Northern Hemisphere: May 1
Southern Hemisphere: November 1
Celebrations Traditional first day of summer in Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man
Related to Walpurgis Night, May Day

Beltane (pronounced /ˈbɛltən/) is the anglicized spelling of Bealtaine or Bealltainn, the Gaelic names for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.

In Irish Gaelic the month of May is known as Mí Bealtaine or Bealtaine and the festival as Lá Bealtaine ('day of Bealtaine' or, 'May Day'). In Scottish Gaelic the month is known as either (An) Cèitean or a' Mhàigh, and the festival is known as Latha Bealltainn or simply Bealltainn. The feast was also known as Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin from which the word Céitean derives.

As an ancient Gaelic festival, Bealtaine was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. There were similar festivals held at the same time in the other Celtic countries of Wales, Brittany and Cornwall. Bealtaine and Samhain were the leading terminal dates of the civil year in Ireland though the latter festival was the most important. The festival survives in folkloric practices in the Celtic Nations and the diaspora, and has experienced a degree of revival in recent decades.

Etymology

Since the early 20th century it has been commonly accepted that Old Irish Beltaine is derived from a Common Celtic *belo-te(p)niâ, meaning "bright fire". The element *belo- might be cognate with the English word bale (as in 'bale-fire') meaning 'white' or 'shining'; compare Old English bael, and Lithuanian/Latvian baltas/balts, found in the name of the Baltic; in Slavic languages byelo or beloye also means 'white', as in Беларусь (White Russia or Belarus) or Бе́лое мо́ре (White Sea). A more recent etymology by Xavier Delamarre would derive it from a Common Celtic *Beltinijā, cognate with the name of the Lithuanian goddess of death Giltinė, the root of both being Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ("suffering, death").[1]

In Ó Duinnín's Irish dictionary (1904), Beltane is referred to as Céadamh(ain) which it explains is short for Céad-shamh(ain) meaning "first (of) summer". The dictionary also states that Dia Céadamhan is May Day and Mí Céadamhan is the month of May.

The word Beltane derives directly from the Old Irish Beltain, which later evolved into the Modern Irish Bealtaine (pr. 'byol-tana'). In Scottish Gaelic it is spelled Bealltainn.[2] Both are from Old Irish Beltene ('bright fire') from belo-te(p)niâ. Beltane was formerly spelled 'Bealtuinn' in Scottish Gaelic; in Manx it is spelt 'Boaltinn' or 'Boaldyn'.

In Modern Irish, Oidhche Bealtaine or Oíche Bealtaine is May Eve, and Lá Bealtaine is May Day. Mí na Bealtaine, or simply Bealtaine is the name of the month of May.

In the word belo-te(p)niâ) the element belo- is cognate with the English word bale (as in 'bale-fire'), the Anglo-Saxon bael, and also the Lithuanian baltas, meaning 'white' or 'shining' and from which the Baltic Sea takes its name.

In Gaelic the terminal vowel -o (from Belo) was dropped, as shown by numerous other transformations from early or Proto-Celtic to Early Irish, thus the Gaulish deity names Belenos ('bright one') and Belisama.

From the same Proto-Celtic roots we get a wide range of other words: the verb beothaich, from Early Celtic belo-thaich ('to kindle, light, revive, or re-animate'); baos, from baelos ('shining'); beòlach ('ashes with hot embers') from beò/belo + luathach, ('shiny-ashes' or 'live-ashes'). Similarly boil/boile ('fiery madness'), through Irish buile and Early Irish baile/boillsg ('gleam'), and bolg-s-cio-, related to Latin fulgeo ('shine'), and English 'effulgent'.

According to the Gaelic scholar Dáithí Ó hÓgáin Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin means "first half," which he links to the Gaulish word samonios (which he suggest means "half a year") as in the end of the "first half" of the year that begins at Samhain. According to Ó hÓgáin this term was also used in Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. In Ó Duinnín's Irish dictionary it is referred to as Céadamh(ain) which it explains is short for Céad-shamh(ain) meaning "first (of) summer." The dictionary also states that Dia Céadamhan is May Day and Mí Céadamhan is May


Origins

In Irish mythology, the beginning of the summer season for the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians started at Bealtaine. Great bonfires would mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people from any harm by Otherworldly spirits, such as the Aos Sí. Like the festival of Samhain, which is celebrated on October 31 which is opposite Beltane in the year, Beltane was a time when the Otherworld was seen as particularly close at hand.

Early Gaelic sources from around the 10th century state that the druids of the community would create a need-fire on top of a hill on this day and drive the village's cattle through the fires to purify them and bring luck (Eadar dà theine Bhealltainn in Scottish Gaelic, 'Between two fires of Beltane'). This term is also found in Irish and is used as a turn of phrase to describe a situation which is difficult to escape from. In Scotland, boughs of juniper were sometimes thrown on the fires to add an additional element of purification and blessing to the smoke. People would also pass between the two fires to purify themselves. This was echoed throughout history after Christianization, with lay people instead of Druid priests creating the need-fire. The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today.[3][4][5]

In Wales, the day is known as Calan Mai, and the Gaulish name for the day is Belotenia[3]

For the Celts, Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season when the herds of livestock were driven out to the summer pastures and mountain grazing lands. Due to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, Bealltainn in Scotland was commonly celebrated on May 15 while in Ireland Sean Bhealtain / "Old May" began about the night of May 11.[citation needed] The lighting of bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine ('the eve of Bealtaine') on mountains and hills of ritual and political significance was one of the main activities of the festival.[6][7] In modern Scottish Gaelic, Latha Buidhe Bealtuinn ('the yellow day of Bealltain') is used to describe the first day of May. This term Lá Buidhe Bealtaine is also used in Irish and is translated as 'Bright May Day'. In Ireland it is referred to in a common folk tale as Luan Lae Bealtaine; the first day of the week (Monday/Luan) is added to emphasise the first day of summer.

In ancient Ireland the main Bealtaine fire was held on the central hill of Uisneach 'the navel of Ireland', one of the ritual centres of the country, which is located in what is now County Westmeath. In Ireland the lighting of bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine seems only to have survived to the present day in County Limerick, especially in Limerick itself, as their yearly bonfire night, though some cultural groups have expressed an interest in reviving the custom at Uisneach and perhaps at the Hill of Tara.[8] The lighting of a community Bealtaine fire from which individual hearth fires are then relit is also observed in modern times in some parts of the Celtic diaspora and by some Neopagan groups, though in the majority of these cases this practice is a cultural revival rather than an unbroken survival of the ancient tradition.[3][9][6] [10]

Another common aspect of the festival which survived up until the early 20th century in Ireland was the hanging of May Boughs on the doors and windows of houses and the erection of May Bushes in farmyards, which usually consisted either of a branch of rowan/caorthann (mountain ash) or more commonly whitethorn/sceach geal (hawthorn) which is in bloom at the time and is commonly called the 'May Bush' or just 'May' in Hiberno-English. Furze/aiteann was also used for the May Boughs, May Bushes and as fuel for the bonfire. The practice of decorating the May Bush or Dos Bhealtaine with flowers, ribbons, garlands and colored egg shells has survived to some extent among the diaspora as well, most notably in Newfoundland, and in some Easter traditions observed on the East Coast of the United States.[6]

Bealtaine is a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun's progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Since the Celtic year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, it is possible that the holiday was celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. The astronomical date for this midpoint is closer to May 5 or May 7, but this can vary from year to year.[9]

Placenames in Ireland which contain remnants of the word 'Bealtaine' include a number of places called 'Beltany' - indicating places where Bealtaine festivities were once held. There are two 'Beltany's in County Donegal, one near Raphoe and the other in the parish of Tulloghobegly. Two others are located in County Tyrone, one near Clogher and the other in the parish of Cappagh. In the parish of Kilmore, County Armagh, there is a place called Tamnaghvelton/Tamhnach Bhealtaine ('field of the Bealtaine festivities'). Lisbalting/Lios Bealtaine ('fort or enclosure of Bealtaine') is located in Kilcash Parish, County Tipperary. Glasheennabaultina ('the Bealtaine stream') is the name of a stream joining the River Galey near Athea, County Limerick.

Customs

Beltane was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (~1 November), Imbolc (~1 February), Beltane (~1 May) and Lughnasadh (~1 August). Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season, when livestock were driven out to the summer pastures.[11][12][13] Rituals were held at that time to protect them from harm, both natural and supernatural, and this mainly involved the "symbolic use of fire".[11] There were also rituals to protect crops, dairy products and people, and to encourage growth. The (often described as 'the spirits' or 'the fairies') were thought to be especially active at Beltane (as at Samhain)[11][12] and the goal of many Beltane rituals was to appease the . Beltaine was a "spring time festival of optimism" during which "fertility ritual again was important, perhaps connecting with the waxing power of the sun".[7]

Beltane (the beginning of summer) and Samhain (the beginning of winter) are thought to have been the most important of the four Gaelic festivals. Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion that the times of Beltane and Samhain are of little importance to European crop-growers, but of great importance to herdsmen. Thus, he suggests that halving the year at 1 May and 1 November dates from a time when the Celts were mainly a pastoral people, dependent on their herds.[14]

The earliest mention of Beltane is in Old Irish literature from Gaelic Ireland. According to the early medieval texts Sanas Cormaic and Tochmarc Emire, Beltane was held on 1 May and marked the beginning of summer. The texts say that, to protect cattle from disease, the druids would make two fires "with great incantations" and drive the cattle between them.[15][16]

Bonfires

According to 17th century historian Geoffrey Keating, there was a great gathering at the hill of Uisneach each Beltane in medieval Ireland, where a sacrifice was made to a god named Beil. Keating wrote that two bonfires would be lit in every district of Ireland, and cattle would be driven between them to protect them from disease.[17] There is no reference to such a gathering in the annals, but the medieval Dindsenchas includes a tale of a hero lighting a holy fire on Uisneach that blazed for seven years. Ronald Hutton writes that this may "preserve a tradition of Beltane ceremonies there", but adds "Keating or his source may simply have conflated this legend with the information in Sanas Chormaic to produce a piece of pseudo-history".[11] Nevertheless, excavations at Uisneach in the 20th century found evidence of large fires and charred bones, showing it to have been ritually significant.[11][18][3]

Bonfires continued to be a key part of the festival in the modern era, and were generally lit on mountains and hills.[7][6] Ronald Hutton writes that "To increase the potency of the holy flames, in Britain at least they were often kindled by the most primitive of all means, of friction between wood".[11] In the 19th century, for example, John Ramsay described Scottish Highlanders kindling a need-fire or force-fire at Beltane. Such a fire was deemed sacred.[11] In the 19th century, the ritual of driving cattle between two fires—as described in Sanas Cormaic almost 1000 years before—was still practised across most of Ireland[11] and in parts of Scotland.[12] Sometimes the cattle would be driven around a bonfire or be made to leap over flames or embers. The people themselves would do likewise.[11] In the Isle of Man, people ensured that the smoke blew over them and their cattle.[13] In County Dublin, the skull and bones of a horse were burnt on the bonfires.[12] On Beltane Eve, all hearth fires and candles would be doused and, at the end of the festival, they would be re-lit from the Beltane bonfire.[11][12] When the bonfire had died down, its ashes were thrown among the sprouting crops.[11] From these rituals, it is clear that the fire was seen as having protective powers.[11] Similar rituals were part of May Day, Midsummer or Easter customs in other parts of the British Isles and mainland Europe. According to Frazer, the fire rituals are a kind of imitative or sympathetic magic. According to one theory, they were meant to mimic the Sun and to "ensure a needful supply of sunshine for men, animals, and plants". According to another, they were meant to symbolically "burn up and destroy all harmful influences".[14]

In the Scottish Highlands, food was cooked at the bonfire and there were rituals involving it. In 1769, Thomas Pennant wrote that, in Perthshire, a caudle made from eggs, butter, oatmeal and milk was cooked on the bonfire. Some of the mixture was poured on the ground as a libation. Everyone present would then take an oatmeal cake. A bit of it was offered to the spirits to protect their livestock (one bit to protect the horses, one bit to protect the sheep, and so forth) and a bit was offered to each of the animals that might harm their livestock (one to the fox, one to the eagle, and so forth). Afterwards, they would drink the caudle.[11][12]

According to 18th century writers, in parts of Scotland there was another ritual involving the oatmeal cake. In this ritual, the cake (called the bannoch Bealltainn or "Beltane cake") would be cut and one of the slices marked with charcoal. The slices would then be put in a bonnet and everyone would take one out while blindfolded. According to one writer, whomever got the marked piece would have to leap through the fire three times. According to another, those present would pretend to throw him into the fire and, for some time afterwards, they would speak of him as if he were dead. This "may embody a memory of actual human sacrifice", or it may have always been symbolic.[11] A similar ritual (i.e. of pretending to burn someone in the fire) was practised at spring and summer bonfire festivals in other parts of Europe.[14]

Flowers and May Bushes

Yellow flowers such as primrose, rowan, hawthorn, gorse, hazel and marsh marigold were set at doorways and windows in 19th century Ireland, Scotland and Mann. Sometimes loose flowers were strewn at the doors and windows and sometimes they would be made into bouquets, garlands or crosses and fastened to them. They would also be fastened to cows and equipment for milking and butter making. It is likely that such flowers were used because they evoked fire.[11] Similar May Day customs are found across Europe.

The May Bush was popular in parts of Ireland until the late nineteenth century.[12] This was small tree, typically a thorn tree, that would be decorated with bright flowers, ribbons, painted shells, and so forth. There were household May Bushes (which would be set outside each house) and communal May Bushes (which would be set in a public spot or paraded around the neighborhood). In Dublin and Belfast, May Bushes were brought into town from the countryside and decorated by the whole neighbourhood.[12] In some places, it was customary to dance around the May Bush, and at the end of the festivities it was burnt in the bonfire.[19]

Thorn trees were seen as special trees and were associated with the or fairies. The custom of decorating a May Bush or May Tree was found in many parts of Europe. Frazer believed that such customs are a relic of tree worship: "The intention of these customs is to bring home to the village, and to each house, the blessings which the tree-spirit has in its power to bestow."[14] Sharon MacLeod wrote that May Bushes were set outside farmhouses "to encourage and protect the abundance of milk during the summer".[20]

Other customs

Holy wells were often visited at Beltane, as well as at the other Gaelic festivals of Imbolc and Lughnasadh. Visitors to holy wells would pray for health while walking "sunwise" (moving from east to west) around the well. They would then leave offerings; typically coins or clooties (strips of cloth or rags).[12] The first water drawn from a well on Beltane was seen as being especially potent, as was Beltane morning dew. At dawn on Beltane, maidens would roll in the dew or wash their faces with it. It would also be collected in a jar, left in the sunlight, and then filtered. The dew was thought to maintain youthfulness, increase sexual attractiveness, and help with skin ailments.[13][19][20]

People also took steps specifically to ward-off or allay the (who are often likened to fairies). This included turning one's clothing inside-out, carrying iron or salt, and leaving small offerings at the doorstep or at places associated with the .[20] In Ireland, cattle would be brought to 'fairy forts' and bled. The owners would taste the blood and then pour it into the earth with prayers for the herd's safety.[12] Sometimes the blood would be left to dry and then be burnt. It was thought that dairy products were especially at risk from the . To protect farm produce and encourage fertility, farmers would lead a procession around the boundaries of their farm. They would "carry with them seeds of grain, implements of husbandry, the first well water, and the herb vervain (or rowan as a substitute). The procession generally stopped at the four cardinal points of the compass, beginning in the east, and rituals were performed in each of the four directions".[20]

The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today.[3][4][5]

Revival

The bonfire lit on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, to welcome Beltane morning, 2008.

As a festival, Beltane had largely died-out by the mid-twentieth century, although some of its customs continued and in some places it has been revived as a cultural event. The lighting of a community Beltane fire from which each hearth fire is then relit is observed today in some parts of the Gaelic diaspora, though in most of these cases it is a cultural revival rather than an unbroken survival of the ancient tradition.[6][9][10] In some areas of Newfoundland, the custom of decorating the May Bush is also still extant.[21] The town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders holds a traditional week-long "Beltane Fair" every year in June, when a local girl is crowned Beltane Queen on the steps of the parish church. Like other Borders festivals, it incorporates a Common Riding.[22]

Since 1988, a Beltane Fire Festival has been held every year during the night of 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. While inspired by traditional Beltane, this festival is a modern arts and cultural event which incorporates myth and drama from a variety of world cultures and diverse literary sources.[23]

Neopagan

Beltane is observed by Neopagans in various forms, and by a variety of names. As forms of Neopaganism can be quite different and have very different origins, these representations can vary considerably despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a manner as close as possible to how the Ancient Celts and Living Celtic cultures have maintained the traditions, while others observe the holiday with rituals taken from numerous other unrelated sources, Celtic culture being only one of the sources used.[24]

Celtic Reconstructionist

Like other Reconstructionist traditions, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans place emphasis on historical accuracy. They base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore from the living Celtic cultures, as well as research into the older beliefs of the polytheistic Celts.

Celtic Reconstructionists usually celebrate Lá Bealtaine when the local hawthorn trees are in bloom, or on the full moon that falls closest to this event. Many observe the traditional bonfire rites, to whatever extent this is feasible where they live, including the dousing of the household hearth flame and relighting of it from the community festival fire. Some decorate May Bushes and prepare traditional festival foods. Pilgrimages to holy wells are traditional at this time, and offerings and prayers to the spirits or deities of the wells are usually part of this practice. Crafts such as the making of equal-armed rowan crosses are common, and often part of rituals performed for the blessing and protection of the household and land.[25][26]

Wicca

The Wheel of the Year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere these festivals are commonly shifted by six months to match the local seasons. The Wheel of the Year is a Wiccan and Neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth's seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are referred to by Wiccans as Sabbats.

Wiccans and Wiccan-inspired Neopagans celebrate a variation of Beltane as a sabbat, one of the eight solar holidays. Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate Beltane by enacting the marriage of the May Lord and Lady with maypoles and bonfires.[27]

Among the Wiccan sabbats, Beltane is a cross-quarter day; it is celebrated in the northern hemisphere on May 1 and in the southern hemisphere on November 1. Beltane follows Ostara and precedes Midsummer.

Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh

The burning Phoenix and sprites at the Beltane Fire Festival.
Fire festival dancers, 2006.

Beltane Fire Festival is an annual participatory arts event and ritual drama, held on April 30 on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is inspired by the ancient Gaelic festival of Beltane which marked the beginning of summer.[28] The modern festival was started in 1988 by a small group of enthusiasts, with academic support from the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Since then the festival has grown, with an audience of around 12 thousand people sharing the spectacular procession.

The main event of the festival is the procession of performers, starting at the Acropolis (National Monument), who perform a ritual drama loosely based on some aspects of the pre-Christian festival of Beltane, and other mythologies from ancient cultures. The fertility of the land and animals is celebrated and encouraged. Led by one of the Blue Men, the procession's guides and guards, the Green Man (in winter guise) appears through the columns. Next the Need Fire is made; this is the making of fire by traditional methods, and all fire seen on the night is produced from this first flame. The Torchbearers and Processional Drummers are next over the top of the Acropolis, followed by the White Warrior Women and finally the May Queen. A horn signals the May Queen's birth, and the drums begin. The May Queen and her White Women, four of whom are her Handmaidens, proceed to be born of the Earth, greet the (four) cardinal directions in back bends and bow to the crowd of spectators (in three directions). After they finally acknowledge the Earth and the sky, the Green Man (who has been watching this from the ground) is allowed to approach the May Queen at the very top. She accepts him as her consort and the procession begins, led by the May Queen. The four Handmaidens, White Women bodyguards and Processional Drummers then join the May Queen and Green Man, and all are flanked by Torchbearers and Stewards and guided and protected by four Blue Men onto one of the footpaths running along the top of Calton Hill.

The footpath reaches an intersection, and the May Queen spins to decide which direction to turn in, choosing the leftward path which leads to the Fire Arch. Between the intersection and Arch, the Handmaidens and White Women stir the air with their wands, gathering the energies of the Earth, while the Drummers change rhythms to indicate the difference in purpose.

At the Fire Arch, the Guardians first greet the May Queen and Green Man, and perform a dance which represents the rituals necessary to open a path into the Underworld. As the procession passes through the Fire Arch, the Handmaidens and White Women begin to keen, mourning the losses of the world over the past year. This continues until the procession reaches the Point of the Element of Air.

At the Air Point, performers representing the element of Air put on a display for the May Queen and Green Man and present them with a gift. Having awakened Air, the May Queen leads the procession through the point and around the side of the hill to the Earth Point, which is situated in the midst of a stand of trees on the North-eastern side of Calton Hill. More dancers and acrobats perform for the May Queen and Green Man, and they are presented with a bannock bread before the procession continues again, passing through the point and around to Water Point, on the Northern side of the hill with a view overlooking the Firth of Forth. Again a ritual performance occurs here, including the washing of the May Queen and Green Man's faces in the "dew." After this point's gift is presented the procession heads on to Fire Point.

Again, dancers and acrobats perform and offer the May Queen and Green Man a gift. The procession wends its way down the side of the hill to a lower footpath, where the Handmaidens and White Women begin gathering the energies of the awakening Earth and sending them deep into the hill. The procession pauses below the City Observatory to watch the Fire Point display on the hillside above and another gift is presented.

Once awakened by the power of the May Queen the Elements do not follow the procession but are drawn towards each other and move from their "points" towards a place where they can gather and unify, thus restoring the natural order.

Having awakened the four elements, the May Queen guides the procession around the Western side of the hill. The first of the Red Men, imps created with the May Queen's appearance at the Monument and representing the forces of Chaos, spot the procession as it passes below and are attracted to the May Queen and her Warriors. As the procession rounds the hill, the Red Men begin to taunt the White Women, and then stage a series of charges as the procession reaches the base of the hill on the South side of the Observatory. This represents the Red Men's interest in capturing the May Queen on behalf of their their lord the Green Man. The White Women ward the Red Men off in the end without 'killing' any of them as any unnecessary 'deaths' would lead to a lessening of the energies needed to bring about the change of the seasons from Winter to Summer.

The procession completes a full circle, arriving back at the path intersection, and turns to cross over the top of the hill and down into a valley where a stage has been set up for the final display. The Handmaidens perform a ritual to 'cleanse' the stage while the Torchbearers, Stewards and White Women form a circle around the open space surrounding the stage. The May Queen and Green Man mount the stage and the May Queen begins her ritual to awaken the Earth to summertime.

While she and her Handmaidens and the White Women begin to spin and focus the energies they have been gathering throughout the night, the Red Men are allowed to approach the stage and circle it, increasing the power further. Overcome with the May Queen's beauty and goaded by the presence of the Red Men, the Green Man can no longer resist and catches the May Queen. This act is strictly forbidden, and the Green Man is ritually killed by the Handmaidens, lifted and turned anticlockwise, his bulky Winter form stripped away and thrown to the Red Men, he is then turned clockwise and presented to the May Queen.

The May Queen takes pity on the Green Man and brings him back to life, like a young sapling breaking the earth after Winter's hoarfrost is melted away. Overwhelmed by the new life that fills him the Green Man dances presenting himself to the four directions, repeating the actions of the May Queen from the beginning of the procession.

The May Queen then crowns the Green Man and leads the procession up the hill to the bonfire, on a high Northern point overlooking the valley on the hill and the city of Edinburgh below. The White Women and Red Men surround the bonfire (making an outer and middle layer respectively) with the Handmaidens forming the innermost layer. A set of wax hands are then lit and the May Queen and the Green Man make their way into the very centre of the Reds and Whites. They walk around the bonfire with the lit wax hands three times, on the fourth circuit they light the bonfire with the flaming hands in four places. They then walk thrice more around the bonfire as the Beltane blessing is announced to the gathered people. The lighting of the bonfire signals the end of Winter and the coming of Summer, and the Green Man's Winter form is symbolically cast into the pyre. At the same time the stage is occupied by Fire Point, this symbolises the old tradition where farmers would drive their herds between two bonfires at this time of year to bless them.

Once the bonfire is lit, the procession passes through the crowds to the May Queen's Bower, on the side of the hill below and behind the Acropolis, where the procession can finally relax. The Fire Arch Guardians formally present their gift to the May Queen and Green Man, and Handfastings are held as the couples are blessed and jump together over the Willow-switch withies of the Blue Men, representing a commitment which will last through all trials for a year and a day.

After this, the four Elements and other groups (these vary but will usually include "No Point," that entertain spectators without being in a fixed location) formally present their gifts to the May Queen and Green Man, and the Red Men are presented before the Handmaidens and White Women. Symbolically, they seduce/are seduced by the White Women and Handmaidens, representing a union between the White Order and the Red Chaos. The rest of the performers are then invited into the Bower circle to dance and celebrate the arrival of summer, and finally so are the spectators.

Notes

  1. Delamarre, Xavier. Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, Editions Errance, Paris, 2003, p. 70
  2. Stòr-dàta Briathrachais Gàidhlig - Rùachadh. Sabhal Mòr Ostaig —Colaiste Ghàidhlig na h-Alba
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 James MacKillop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0192801203).
  4. 4.0 4.1 McNeill (1959) Vol. 2. p.63
  5. 5.0 5.1 Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-207-7 p.552-4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Campbell" defined multiple times with different content
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Kevin Danaher, The Year in Ireland (Dublin: Mercier, 1971, ISBN 978-1856350938).
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Nora Chadwick, The Celts (Penguin, 1981, ISBN 978-0140212112).
  8. Aideen O'Leary reports ("An Irish Apocryphal Apostle: Muirchú's Portrayal of Saint Patrick" The Harvard Theological Review 89.3 [July 1996:287-301] p. 289) that, for didactic and dramatic purposes, the festival of Beltane, as presided over by Patrick's opponent King Lóegaire mac Néill, was moved to the eve of Easter and from Uisneach to Tara by Muirchú (late seventh century) in his Vita sancti Patricii; he describes the festival as in Temora, istorium Babylone ('at Tara, their Babylon'). However there is no authentic connection of Tara with Babylon, nor any know connection of Tara with Beltane.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Michael Dames, Mythic Ireland (London: Thames & Hudson, 1996, ISBN 978-0500278727).
  10. 10.0 10.1 McNeill, F. Marian (1959) The Silver Bough, Vol. 2. William MacLellan, Glasgow ISBN 0-85335-162-7 p.56 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "McNeill" defined multiple times with different content
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp.218-225
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 Monaghan, Patricia. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Infobase Publishing, 2004. pp.40-43
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Koch, John T. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. 2006. p.202
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Suzeteo Enterprises, 2012, ISBN 978-19368304590).
  15. Stokes, Whitley (ed.) and John O'Donovan (tr.). Sanas Cormaic: Cormac's Glossary. Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society. Calcutta: O.T. Cutter, 1868.
  16. The Wooing of Emer by Cú Chulainn – Translated by Kuno Meyer. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
  17. Keating, Geoffrey. The History of Ireland – Translated by David Comyn and Patrick S. Dinneen. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts.
  18. Patterson, Nerys. Cattle Lords and Clansmen: The Social Structure of Early Ireland. University of Notre Dame Press, 1994. p.139
  19. 19.0 19.1 Katharine Clark, An Irish Book of Shadows (Galde Press, 2001, 978-1880090992).
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Sharon Paice MacLeod, Celtic Myth and Religion (McFarland, 2011).
  21. The May Bush in Newfoundland. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  22. The History of Peebles Beltane Festival. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  23. Beltane Fire Society The building blocks of a festival - Beltane Fire Society. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  24. Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0807032374).
  25. Isaac Bonewits, Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism (New York, NY: Citadel Press Inc., 2006, ISBN 978-0806527109).
  26. Elizabeth Healy, In Search of Ireland's Holy Wells (Merlin Publishing, 2001, ISBN 978-0863278655).
  27. Starhawk, The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess (New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1989, ISBN 978-0062508140).
  28. A Detailed History of Beltane, Beltane Fire Society. Retrieved December 17, 2013.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0807032374
  • Bonewits, Isaac. Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism. New York, NY: Citadel Press Inc., 2006. ISBN 978-0806527109
  • Cabot, Laurie, and Jean Mills. Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays in the Pagan Tradition. New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 1994. ISBN 0385309201
  • Campbell, John Gregorson. The Gaelic Otherworld. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd., 2005. ISBN 978-1841582078
  • Chadwick, Nora. The Celts. Penguin, 1981. ISBN 978-0140212112
  • Clark, Katharine. An Irish Book of Shadows. Galde Press, 2001. ISBN 978-1880090992
  • Dames, Michael. Mythic Ireland. London: Thames & Hudson, 1996. ISBN 978-0500278727
  • Danaher, Kevin. The Year in Ireland. Dublin: Mercier, 1971. ISBN 978-1856350938
  • Hamilton, Claire. Celtic Book of Seasonal Meditations: Celebrate the Traditions of the Ancient Celts. York Beach, ME: Red Wheel/Weiser, 2003. ISBN 1590030559
  • Healy, Elizabeth. In Search of Ireland's Holy Wells. Merlin Publishing, 2001. ISBN 978-0863278655
  • Hutton, Ronald. The Stations Of The Sun. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0192854483
  • Koch, John T. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2005. ISBN 978-1851094400
  • MacLeod, Sharon Paice. Celtic Myth and Religion. McFarland, 2011. ISBN 978-0786464760
  • MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0192801203
  • Monaghan, Patricia. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Checkmark Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0816075560
  • Patterson, Nerys T. Cattle Lords and Clansmen: The Social Structure of Early Ireland. University of Notre Dame Press, 1994. ISBN 978-0268008000
  • Starhawk. The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1989. ISBN 978-0062508140


  • Carmichael, Alexander. Carmina Gadelica. Lindisfarne Press, 1992. ISBN 0940262509


  • Evans-Wentz, W. Y. The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. New York, NY: Citadel, 1990. ISBN 0806511605
  • McNeill, F. Marian. Silver Bough: Calendar of Scottish National Festivals, Vols. 1-4. Glasgow: Stuart Titles Ltd, 1990. ISBN 0948474041

External links

All links retrieved


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