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Merry May! and, uh-oh…something happened

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TWH – The Wheel has turned! 🔥Happy Beltane!🔥

Around May 1st, numerous major Spring/Summer festivals in modern Paganism (in the northern hemisphere) are celebrated. Beltane, Bealtaine, May Day, Floralia, Protomayia, and Walpurgis Night are among the prominent ones. These festivals signify the arrival of summer—a season of joy, festivity, and abundance—marking a liminal period where the boundaries between our world and the spirit worlds are believed to be especially thin.

This year, May 4, 2024, (yes, may it be with you) is the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the June solstice this year.

Across various traditions and cultures, this period is revered as a time of divine union and fertility.

More on that in a minute, we have some other news… 

The Wild Hunt turns 20 years old today!

Woot!  We recognize the privilege of serving our community, being an advocate, and doing our best to keep everyone informed.  Thank you for all your support over the years!

 

Now back to Beltane! 

Walpurgisnacht, observed on the night of April 30, is closely intertwined with Witches and is also known as Hexennacht. It’s believed to be the time when Witches convene and gather on the eve of May Day.

In ancient Greece, the festivities of Anthesteria were prevalent, now commonly referred to as Protomagia. This day symbolizes the resurgence of nature and is deeply connected to the myth of Persephone’s emergence from the Underworld. While some contemporary Hellenic polytheists commemorate this occasion in February, many observe it on May 1st. Furthermore, as spring progresses, certain modern Pagans honor Thargelia, commemorating the birthdays of Apollon and Artemis.

These celebrations, along with others, mark the approach of summer or the peak of spring—a period of festivity, renewal, and abundance, where the boundaries between our world and the spiritual realm are believed to be thinner. Across various traditions and cultures, it’s also regarded as a time of divine harmony and fertility.

However, such significance doesn’t uniformly apply to Pagans worldwide. Those living in the Southern Hemisphere are preparing for winter, with May 1st signifying the height of autumn and the culmination of the harvest season.

For many there,  Samhain and honoring the departed and mighty ancestors, take precedence.

Finally, there exists an international secular observance. In most parts of the world, May 1st is celebrated as Labour Day, associated with International Workers’ Day, which recognizes the accomplishments of laborers (although countries like Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States commemorate these achievements on different dates throughout the year). Consequently, it’s a prolonged weekend in numerous regions.

 

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Back to Beltane!  We gathered a few posts from around the web…

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some quotes for this holiday season:

“Today, I stand for beauty. Heart open to the world. Today, I conjure hope. And strength. With the courage and the love to carry on. Leap the fire with me, In Beauty’s name. Blessings be upon you. Blessings, all.” – T. Thorn Coyle, “Walpurgisnacht Manifesto”

“In the face of so much destruction of the natural world and so much disregard for life, Beltane is also an act of rebellion against the status quo. It says about us–as simple people, as a growing community–that we don’t give in to the death cycles imposed on us from Away, not in this season.  We plant and know that the harvest comes–not in the stately march from Lughnasadh to Samhain–but bit by bit and day by day.  We eat the impossible radishes in two weeks, we rip the dewy and crispy lettuce from the fat stem that sustains it. The hens fluff out and begin to lay again and life is there before us–irresistable, delicious. Magical.” – Byron Ballard, “Summer is Come,” PaganSquare

“Want to celebrate the fertile earth at Beltane? Go right ahead, but do so with a broader understanding of just what fertility is, and celebrate in a way that widens the circle instead of shrinks it. Want to cherish and honor Beltane? Understand its past and incorporate that into your rites as well instead of just focusing on modern tropes. Beltane is what we make of it, and I think we can make it the inclusive and accepting sabbat I believe it to be.” – Jason Mankey, “Finding & Building a Better Beltane” Patheos

“The Pagan festival that is widely celebrated at this time – May Eve or Beltane – celebrates the warmth of the sun, the blossoming of nature, fertility of crops and animals, and abundance in the natural world. It is the time before the sun’s peaking at Midsummer. Around us the birds sing, flowers bloom, trees blossom – everything is joyous.” – Vivianne Crowley, “The Beauty of the Green Earth: Honoring Venus,” Patheos

“In the words of Witchcraft writers Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Beltane celebration was principally a time of “unashamed human sexuality and fertility”. Such associations include the obvious phallic symbolism of the Maypole and riding the hobbyhorse. Even a seemingly innocent children’s nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banburry Cross …” retains such memories. And the next line, “to see a fine Lady on a white horse”, is a reference to the annual ride of Lady Godiva through Coventry. Every year for nearly three centuries, a skyclad village maiden (elected “Queen of the May”) enacted this Pagan rite, until the Puritans put an end to the custom.” – Mike Nichols, The Witches’ Sabbats

And some music for our friends in the North,

and,

and of course,

ok one more…

we lied…

 

 

and for our friends in the South,

and

 

May you all be blessed during this turning of the Wheel!

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