brythonic beltane

[blackwitch]

beltane is coming up!!! i will be doing a ritual with some wiccan friends. but i would like a way of making the festival more brythonic. does anyone have any suggestiongs how i could do this

bb moira

[Brochfael]

A Brythonic Beltane?

1. Don't call it Beltane.
try Calan Mai or Gwyl Mai

2. Ron Hutton suggests that the Britons invested the first of May with much of the same awe that the Irish do Samhain. This would suggest a time when the veil between the worlds is thin and the dead come to visit.
Therefore perhaps set extra food for the dead but be careful whom you welcome!

3. If you have a storytelling session how about the birth of Pryderi?

4. Try a procession between two fires as a purification ritual. If you really must then burn a wicker man (although references to this were made regarding the Gauls)

5. Sacrifice.
Make an offering to the gods.
I would suggest a written promise to do something environmental (make sure you honour it though) or something you have made like food or a piece of craftwork.

6. Drink!!!
An excuse (if one were needed) to imbibe large quantities of mead. don't overdo it though.........

7. Lovemaking
This is an excellent time of year to rekindle the flame of love. Also if trying for a baby, go for it on Beltane eve!

Good luck enjoy yourselves and have a great time
Do let us all know how it goes

[Blackbird]

I would echo all that good advice there. In addition, think about what 'Brythonic' itself means to you. Is it about the land of Britain? Or about the myths, tales and poetry? The Little Folk and the Gods? Is it an ancestral connection? Or a mixture of some/all of these?

Answering this question might give you some ideas about how you can celebrate this season. For example, if your primary connection is with the land, get out there, see what trees are in blossom, which birds are around etc. Perhaps set up an outdoor shrine, or hold your ritual in a special place. If your connection is with the Little Folk of Britain, you could make an offering to them as part of the rite.

Hope everyone here enjoys their Calan Mai

[siaron]

My group is doing two celebrations this year...one this past Sunday (the full moon) and one on the calendar date for Calan Mai.

Let's just say the full moon celebration was a gathering by a bonfire, then "traditional" celebrations after we broke up and went our separate ways

On May 1 will will do a feast and family get-together, including a May pole and a children's only sweat in our sweat lodge.

The original celebration would have followed the cycles of the moon rather than any calendar designation anyway.

[Blackbird]

Siaron said:

The original celebration would have followed the cycles of the moon rather than any calendar designation anyway.

Or perhaps the cycles of the moon would have been the calendar designation...

Your ceremonies sound great ;D As mentioned before, I'll be off to the New Forest camp, which always includes many and varied rituals. People from various traditions and paths take their turn, which makes for an interesting and sometime illuminating time. And of course, there will be my favourite bit, entertainments round the fire in the evenings.