I thank you ladies for your help through this! You are making me a stronger witch and person overall!! I am eternally grateful to you!! Love and respect always!
Sonja Watson
Humanities
11.00-11.50
My project is on Beltane, a Celtic Fire
festival, held on 1 May. Beltane literally means, Bright Flame. It is a
Sabbat (a pagan religious festival commemorating
phases of the changing seasons) to honour Beli, the Celtic God
of the Sun, the father, protector and husband of the Mother Goddess, Belisama.
Beltane is a cross quarter day,
meaning the Sun is midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice.
It is also a Sabbat honouring Life (as opposed to Samhain, which is honouring
the deaths of those who have gone before), and is when the Sun is released from
his winter sleep and is able to rule over the Summer and life once again.
Bonfires are started the night of 30
April, in preparation for the following day’s festivities. The main bonfire
started is called the Fires of Tara and all other fires are lit from it. In the
past the ancient Celts would drive cattle into the fires as a sacrifice, but
now the smoke is used to cleanse before preforming the rites.
This cross quarter day goes back to
ancient times when the Celtic peoples petitioned the Gods and Goddesses in the
hopes of having a fertile summer. Crops and animals as well as the Celts
themselves were praying that the land would yield plenty of food to get them
through the winter, as well as to increase their own population.
The four ways of knowing (sensing,
intuition, thinking and feeling) are seen in the celebration of Beltane by:
The Celts sensed and thought that
through their beliefs and worship, the God(desse)s would be pleased they
honoured them, and so they would grant the requests of the people by allowing
them to have plentiful harvests and many children. The Fires of Bel gave
them a way to purify themselves for the God(desse)s and ready themselves for
the gifts that they would give them. The ancients believed (thinking and
sensing) that the Wheel of Life would not turn without their intervention,
which took form in sacrifice and prayers to the God(desse)s. They believed that
they could to encourage the Sun and his growth, so fire was an important
component of the ritual (feeling and intuition).
The Celts were using synergy by using
prayer, bonfires and sacrifices as well as dancing to gain the attention of and
to amuse their Gods and Goddesses. Synergy is the interaction of elements that when combined produce a
total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual
elements, contributions. They came together as a culture to persuade
the Gods to give them the gifts of life. In 44 BCE the Romans began invading
lands held by the Celtic peoples, by 305 AD they had conquered all but the
Highlands of Scotland (incidentally, these are the people from which I am descended)
and Ireland. The Romans adopted much of the Celtic religion, but renamed the
Sabbats and the Gods and Goddesses. Even though the Romans renamed everything,
the values and the rites were pretty much the same. So, synergy
was again used to expand the ‘religion’ of the Celts.
The ancient Celtic people were polytheistic,
meaning they had many Gods and Goddesses. There were deities for almost
everything conceivable, weather, nature, fertility, death, life, etc. The Celtic people are also well known for
their love of music! Music was used in rituals as well as daily life and bards
were important because they were the ones that passed down the legends and
stories of the tribes until the Celts developed a written language, around the
first century AD. Harps of the Iron Age were made of wood and the strings made
of animal intestines.
I chose Beltane for my project
because it coincides with when it is due, and because I am a Celt. I too
celebrate the Celtic Sabbats and follow most of the ritual myself, I am always
learning and adapting. It has a high level of value for me as it is a
part of my own faith to honour not only my Celtic roots, but my faith as well.
Every time I perform the rites or read about them, I learn more about the
deities as well as myself as a Celt. I would most definitely do this project again
and learned more in detail about where the maypole rituals came from (the
Germans), as well as which deities are being celebrated and why we have the
bonfires.
A Beltane ritual is beautiful and
rather simple. First a circle is cast (to contain the magick and energy that is
raised during the ritual). Then the large Beltane candle is lit and Beli and
Belisama are called to the circle (this can be changed to honour whichever
deities one honours). Purpose of the rite is stated, remembering that this is
the observation of the marriage between the God and Goddess and is also for
fertility and life. The sybolism of the deities is shown in the chalice (the
Goddess) and the dagger (the God) and they are united. Multi-coloured
ribbons are then tied to a tree with a wish being given to each ribbon, the
ribbons are braided together after being passed through the smoke rising off
the Beltane candle. Each wish is meditated on before going to the next. Food
and drink is enjoyed in the circle with prayers and meditations. When the
individual or group feels that the rite is complete, the candle is extinguished
and the circle is closed.
Beltane is still celebrated today by
the Celtic peoples as well as Pagans and neo-Pagans all over the world. It is
begun on 30 April with the lighting of a bonfire and on 1 May it is celebrated
with Beltane rituals, dancing around the Maypole, feasting, friends and jumping
over small bonfires. It is a Sabbat to welcome in the Summer and to petition
the God(desse)s for the fertility of the people, animals and the land.
1. Describe the project- The festival
of Beltane
2. I spent 2 weeks gathering information
from friends, reading many websites and books, and writing and revising my
paper.
I spent 2 hours gathering information about
the herbs, writing the paper and making the may basket.
3. In the body of the paper
4. Answered in the body of the paper
5.
http://www.merriam-webster.com
Synthesis Learning the Habit of Making Connections by Lawrence
Moorman M.A.
Hands-On History Celts by Joe Fullman
My best friends: MT and CM
6. This project is unique in that not
many people would consider writing about a Pagan Sabbat. It seems too “out there” as far as mainstream
people would think. This is, of course, my own opinion as I don’t know how many
of my fellow students would be open to the discussion of Paganism. This project reflects my faith as a Pagan as
well as my cultural roots as a Celt. I am proud of my heritage and have enjoyed
sharing a little bit of one of the festivities with you!
The May
Basket
Class presentation
I did my project on Beltane (Bel-tee-en) a Celtic
Fire Festival held on 1 May. It is a Sabbat to
honour Beli, the Celtic God of the Sun, the father, protector and husband
of the Mother Goddess, Belisama. Beltane is a cross quarter
day, meaning the Sun is midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer
Solstice. It is also a Sabbat honouring Life (as opposed to Samhain, which is
honouring the deaths of those who have gone before), and is when the Sun is
released from his winter sleep and is able to rule over the Summer and life
once again.
Flowers are traditionally gathered
and given to others ion what we now know as a May Basket. My May basket
contains:
Roses: for love and victory.
Rosemary: for remembrance
Lavender: purity, luck and devotion
(when given to another)
Thyme: Activity, courage and strength
Mint: Wisdom and virtue
And
Sage: Used in purification rituals,
wisdom and esteem immortality
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