Beltane – 2014

Another high day has passed for our grove.  This one marks our 6th month anniversary, as Samhain of last year was our first public ritual.

Beltane is the Celtic fire festival which divides winter from summer. It was a time the livestock would be herded between a pair of sacred bonfires to rid them of diseases they may have contracted over the close winter confinement. It was a time when the hearth fires would be extinguished and then relit from the sacred bonfires.

Our modern rite was necessarily different, as we are not pastoralists and don’t share our houses with livestock. We didn’t have a pair of bonfires, though that would be a great idea for a future Beltane.  Instead, we honored the Kindred, and acknowledged the beginning of the Celtic summer.  We focused on the purification aspect of this holiday, in particular that of the storms that come to wash away the corruption of winter. We honored the Celtic god Taranis, who is master of thunder and storms. We acknowledged his role in this season as the bringer of storms; storms that clear the detritus left by winter; rains that slack the thirst of the land; and lightning that nourishes the plants through nitrogen fixation.

Mary drew and interpreted the oracle for this high-day.

Outside influences that have been negatively impacting the protogrove are being released.  We need to continue to be guided by our inner voice and conscience and our future will be bountiful.

May your Beltane be bright and joyous!

Blessings,
Dale