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BEALTEINNE Bealteinne is traditionally celebrated on MAY 1 It is the beginning of the Light half of the Year, and the beginning of Summer by traditional reckoning. Bealteinne is the polar opposite of Samhain, and is the Festival of Life. Bealteinne comes from the Gaelic “La Bealteinne” (pro; “Law BALL-tuh-nuh), and refers to the sacred Balefires; bonfires which were lit in ancient times for the God Bel, or Belenos. Bealteinne celebrates the union of Goddess and God, and is celebrated with great joy. Flowers are used to symbolize the Divine union, and the Maypole is used to represent the phallus of the God planted in the body of the Earth Mother.
Bealteinne is a Lunar or Grand Sabbat, and is sacred to the Great Mother Goddess. This Goddess has many names including Eartha, Demeter, Mati Suira Zemlya, Yemaya, Gaia, and others too numerous to mention. She is the Lady of Life, Who brings fertility to the Earth, and at this time Her power is on the rise as Earth brings forth an abundance of life. The Mother Goddess is the principle archetype of the Goddess.
Bealteinne is also known as Beltane, Kalenda Maia, Roodmas, Walpugis, May Day, or simply May.
- excerpted from the First Degree Course of the Correllian Nativist Tradition of Wicca as administered on Witchschool.com |
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