My makeover by my daughter :)

Charlotte (my daughter) decided that it was time for mum to put on a bit of make up
and for me to wear a dress (un-heard of!) ..
This month I am the big 40 so I was in need of a pamper!!
It was a wonderful girlie eve with lots wine of course .... ;)
Thank you Charlotte & Samantha.... love you xxx

Beltane / Beltaine lore....

The Maiden

The Triple Goddess - worshipped by the Ancient Britons - at Beltane is now in her aspect of the Maiden :

The May Queen, May Bride, Goddess of Spring, Flower Bride, Queen of the Fairies - a symbol of purity, growth and renewal.

The Crone turns to stone on Beltane Eve.

Hawthorn

May blossom symbolises female fertility, with its creamy/ white, fragrant flowers. Hawthorn blossom was worn during Beltane celebrations, especially by the May Queen. It is believed to be a potent magical plant and it is considered unlucky to bring the blossom inside the house, apart from on May eve.

Samhain is one of the four Celtic fire festivals marking the quarter points in the year - feasts were held and bonfires were lit throughout the countryside. 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 als o believed to ensure fertility of the land and the people.
Animals were transfered from winter pens to summer pastures, and were driven between the Beltane fires to cleanse them of evil spirits and to bring fertility and a good milk yield. The Celts leapt over Beltane fires - for fertility and purification.

Young men would circle the Beltaine fires holding Rowan branches to bring protection against evil - its bright berries suggested fire - malign powers were considered particularly active at the year's turning-point.

It was considered unlucky to allow anyone to take fire from one's house on May Eve or May Day, as they would gain power over the inhabitants.

A Beltane fire festival is held annually in Edinburgh, at Calton Hill on 30th April - a May Queen and Green Man, representing Beltane fertility and renewal lead the celebrations on the hillside.

May Day - Beltane Traditions

Beltane is a time of partnerships and fertility. New couples proclaim their love for each other on this day. It is also the perfect time to begin new projects.

The maypole - a phallic pole planted deep in the earth representing the potency and fecundity of the God, its unwinding ribbons symbolized the unwinding of the spiral of life and the union of male and female - the Goddess and God. It is usually topped by a ring of flowers to represent the fertile Goddess.
Paganhill, near Shroud has one of the tallest maypoles. The Puritans banned maypoles during the 17th Century.

It was a Celtic tradition to fell a birch tree on May day and to bring it into the community. Crosses of birch and rowan twigs were hung over doors on the May morning, and left until next May day.

Beltane cakes or bannocks - oatcakes coated with a bake d on custard made of cream, eggs and butter - were cooked over open fires and anyone who chose a misshapen piece or a piece with a black spot was likely to suffer bad luck in the coming months. They were also offered to the spirits who protect the livestock, by facing the Beltane fire and casting them over their shoulders

Beltane Celebrations and Rituals

At Sheen do Boaldyne, in the Isle of Man, twigs of Rowan are hung above doorways as protection - the opening of Summer was regarded as a time when fairies and spirits were especially active, as at Samhain and the opening of Winter.

The 'Obby 'Oss, at Padstow, Cornwall - wearing of animal skins was believed to be a relic of a Pagan sacred marriage between earth and sky, and the dance enacts the fertility god sacrificed for the good of his p eople.

The May Queen - Maid Marion/the Maiden consorts with Robin/ the Green Man in Celtic celebrations of M ay day.

Going 'A-Maying' meant staying out all night to gathe r flowering hawthorn, watching the sunrise and making love in the woods
- a 'greenwood marriage'.

The dew on the May day morning is believed to have a magical potency - wash your face and body in it and remain fair all year, and guarantee your youth and beauty continues - men who wash their hands in it will be good at tying knots and nets - useful if you're a fisherman!

Handfasting

This ancient Pagan and Celtic ceremony mark ed the taking of a partner - this involves a commitment to perform an annual review of relationship. The couple's hands are ritually bound together to symbolize their union. Some people choose to use a ribbon that they have both signed. Between Beltane and the Summer Solstice is the most popular time for handfastings.

Beltane....1st May....Blessed be....)o(

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

Beltane is such a joyous festival, it symbolises the joining of the young God and Goddess and celebrates fertility, life force, vitality and energy. With Nature in full flow all around us, the hope is for a fruitful harvest to come. In days gone by, Beltane was the time of year when the cattle were released from their winter enclosures and moved to their summer grazing land. Two great fires were lit, laced with herbs and other aromatic plants and the cattle would be driven between the fires through the smoke so they could be cleansed of parasites and negative energies. We still use the Beltane fires (balefire) today, using the smoke to purify our body's and souls, the braver actually leaping small fires in hope of being granted fertility! The May pole has a prominent place in Beltane festivals, in ancient times it was a phallic symbol, the male energy being encased within the female womb (ribbons). The joining of the the male and female, represented the union of the God and Goddess and was in itself a fertility rite for an abundant harvest. We still use the may pole today as part of the Beltane celebrations, but for solitaries, the plaiting of white and red ribbons makes a good substitute. Beltane is a very traditional time for handfastings and of union. Handfastings at this time are especially blessed as the union is a mirror of the union of the God and Goddess and a baby born 9 months after Beltane was considered a very special child. As Beltane marks our official start of summer, our thoughts turn to the outdoors environment and we thought it would be nice to add a few new items for the garden this year. The signs are for a good summer ahead and the garden is a haven of tranquillity and peace in which we can take refuge from the days ravages. The gentle lullaby of the wind chimes, the scent of fresh flowers and the symphony of the birds in the trees give us our own sacred space. The smell of fresh mown grass fills the senses, the chatter of children playing outside hums gently in the background and a wash of colour paints the landscape - does life get any better?

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, opposite Beltane on October 31 Beltane was also 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

Wicca:

Wheel of the Year

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 'High Beltaine' by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and Lady.

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

Renee Award...big thank you x

The Renee Award

A big thank you to Michelle for thinking of me mwah x

http://thestudioatcrowhavenfarm.blogspot.com/

The Renee award was created by Bella and Ces in honour of their friend Renee.

In Bella's own words

"this is a brand new award and I have the pleasure and honor of spreading the seed, watching it grow. I hope it finds it's way to those who are like Renee: the acorn, a small package becoming a tall and sturdy oak, giving more acorns, becoming tall and sturdy oaks, giving acorns..."

(taken from Once Upon a Blue Crow)

I happily pass this award onto the blogs below..

although there are many more I could add I could only pass onto seven ...

here goes:

1 http://adriannemoro.blogspot.com/

2 http://verlenebrooks.blogspot.com/

3 http://funkysirenworkshops.blogspot.com/

4 http://gotart4u.blogspot.com/

5 http://tamalecat2.blogspot.com

6 http://deirdradoan.blogspot.com

7 http://loopyboopy.blogspot.com

love and light

Trace x