Beltane Celebrations
Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, NeoPagan Celebrations,
Floralia, Arbor Day, Springtime Festivals


General Preparations     Quotations     Bibliography     Links     Prayers     Poems     Notes    

March     April     May     June     July     Spring     Spring Equinox    Summer     Months    

Green Man     Nature Spirits     Trees     Flowers     Gardening     Druids     Taoists         

Mike's Cloud Hands Blog     Mike's Facebook     Eightfold Way    
 


Research by
Michael P. Garofalo
Cloud Hands Home, Vancouver, Washington, Northwest USA

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography and Links

Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, Neopagan Celebrations

 

 

April Events

April 1   Veneralia: Roman Festival in honor of the Goddess Venus (Greek: Aphrodite), the Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis

April 8   Buddha's Birthday 

April 22   Earth Day

April 24   World Tai Chi Day 

April 27 - May 3  Floralia   Roman spring celebration in honor of the Goddess Floralia

April 30   Arbor Day 

April 30   Walpurgis Nacht  Northern European Neopagan holiday

April   Easter, Christian holy day, on a Sunday, date varies from year to year

May 1   Beltane, May Day, May Eve 

May 1-3   Green Man Festival 

 

 

 

Ancient Ways by Pauline Campanelli.  Wonderful folk celebrations for the seasons. 


Aphrodite  Greek Goddess of sexuality, love, and war.  Compare with Inanna/Ishtar from Sumeria.   


Aphrodite  


April: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores  


Aprilis Calendar, Societas Via Roma  By M. Moravius Horatius Piscinus. 


The Art of Ritual by Renee Beck 


Artemis - Encyclopedia Mythica


Artemis   Greek goddess associated with wild places, forests, hunting, wild animals, childbirth, virgins and young girls. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. 


Artemis Festival: Greek goddess.  Her festival was celebrated around the 16th of April (Mounichion). 


Astaru Holidays   Germanic and Northern Heathen Celebrations 


Attis   A Phyrgian and Greek God associated with vegetation, death (autumn) and rebirth (spring) cycles, fig trees, and eunuchs. 


Attis 


Aurora  (Roman Goddess of dawn) 


The Babylonian Origins of Easter (Ishtar) 


Bacchus (Roman god) or Dionysus (Greek god) associated with fertility god, wild nature, wine, trees, fig trees, outsiders, licentiousness, intoxication, lovemaking, ecstasy.  The feast day in honor of Bacchus in Rome was March 16 and 17th, the Bacchanalia.  In America, this kind of feasting and wild partying is called "Spring Break" during the traditional week off from college during the week before or after Easter.  The Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans and South America are quite similar in nature.       


Beltane by Herne 


Beltane: Druid in the Garden 


Beltane Images from Google 


Beltane - Library Ireland


Beltane Lore and Rituals by Selena Fox 


Beltane Rite by Llyn Hydd Druid Grove 


Beltane Rite by Shadow Weaver Grove ADF 


Beltane:  The Season of Beltane from the Druid Network


Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore and Celebration by Raven Grimassi


Beltane - Tara Celebrations  Lovely photographs of Celtic Neopagan celebrations at Tara, Ireland. 


Beltane - Wikipedia 


Beltane - Witchvox 


A Book of Pagan Prayer by Ceisiwr Serith.  An extensive collection of pagan prayers. 

 

Flora

Flora by L. Abbema, 1913

 

Calling the Quarters, Casting the Circle, Magickal Protective Sphere, Creating the Sacred Sphere  


Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays by Laurie Cabot and Jean Mills. 


Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon by Ashleen O'Gaea.  A good study of four spring and summer celebrations that is rich in details and ideas. 


The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year by Caitlin Matthews


Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura) 


Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia

 



Circles, Groves and Sanctuaries: Sacred Spaces of Today's Pagans.  Compiled by Dan and Pauline Campanelli.  Ideas for creating indoor and outdoor altars and sanctuaries.   


Circle of Song: Songs, Chants, and Dances for Ritual and Celebration by Kate Marks


Cloud Hands Blog  Mike Garofalo writes about Gardening, Taijiquan, Mysticism, Walking, Qigong, and the Eight Ways. 


Creating Circles and Ceremonies: Rituals for all Seasons and Reasons by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart.  This is a valuable collection of information, poetry, rituals, songs, and craft activities for seasonal celebrations.     


Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham 


Demeter - Wikipedia 


Dictionary of Green and Roman Mythology and Biography by William Smith in 1869


Dionysus (Greek) or Bacchus (Roman)   


Dionysus  Greek fertility god, wild nature, wine, trees, fig trees, outsider god, ecstasy.  His feast days are more in the autumn than spring. 


Divination Methods: Tarot   Most Holy Day rituals include using some method for divination: Runes, Oghams, Tarot, Gazing, or Signs.  I use either the Crowley Thoth Tarot or the Voyager Tarot. 


The Domestic Witch Blog 


Draioch: Rites of Celtic Sorcery.  By Ian Corrigan 


A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Year by Ellen Evert Hopman.  Thorough research on the uses and lore of herbs.   


Druidry


Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. 


Earth Day International


Easter History  


Easter Lily 


Easter Lore   


Easter: Pagan Origins


Easter Page:  Traditions and History 


Easter, Passover, and Other Spring Festivals by Ann Morrill 


Easter Traditions 


Easter - Wikipedia  


The Eight Seasonal Religious Celebrations of Neopagans, Druids, Taoists, Wizards, Solitaries   


The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water and Earth in the Wiccan Circel by Deborah Lipp 


Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Drasskova


Fairies, Elves, Nature Spirits:  Lands Spirits, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk


February:  Quotes, Poems, Celebrations, Lore, Garden Chores 


Fertility Deities


Flora   The Roman goddess of flowers and spring time. 


Flora, Roman Goddess.  Feast Day, Floralia, April 27th - May 3rd 


Floralia - Encyclopedia of Rome  


Floralia - Encyclopedia Mythica 


Floralia - Florales Ludi Festival, W. Smith's Dictionary of Green and Roman Antiquities, 1875 


Floralia - Ludi Florales    


Floralia - Wikipedia   


Folklore Calendar 


Freya   A Norse Goddess worshipped in Germanic Heathenism and who is associated with beauty, love, fertility, divination, healing, motherhood, gold, death, and warrior cults.  She wears the necklace Brisingamen, wears a clock of falcon feathers, and rides a chariot pulled by wild cats, and her familiar is cats or a wild boar.   


Freyr  A Norse God worshipped in Germanic Heathenism and who is associated with farming, weather, and is a phallic fertility God. 


Greek Mythology Encyclopedia


The Green Man (Powers of Spring and Summer): Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Information, Lore, Myths, Role  

 


Heathen Gods in Old English Literature by Richard North, 1997


High Days, Sacred Days in the Year, High Holy Days of NeoPaganism 


Inanna  Sumerian Goddess:  Nin-anna "Queen of Heaven"  Goddess of sexual love, fertility, and warfare. 


Inanna and the Huluppu Tree  


Inanna/Ishtar


Inanna/Ishtar - Google Images 


Inanna: Journey to the Dark Center


Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer 


Inanna's Descent 


Inanna with Ereshkigal


In Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth by Patricia Montley


Ishtar the Lady of Heaven

 

 

  
Months and Seasons
Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays
Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations
Information, Weather, Gardening Chores
Compiled by Mike Garofalo
 

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

January

April

July

October

February

May

August

November

March

June

September

December 

 

 


June:  Quotes, Poems, Celebrations, Lore, Garden Chores 


Labyrinths: Lore, Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotes


Lammas, Lughnasadh, Summer Festival, First Harvest, August 1st  


Land Spirits, Nature Spirits:  Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ancestors, Ghosts 


Librarian of Gushen Grove, Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.L.S., Red Bluff, California, aka The Green Wizard 


List of Germanic Deities


The Magickal Year: A Pagan Perspective on the Natural World by Diana Ferguson 

 



March: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores 


March Ritual Days and Sacred Days


May: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Gardening Chores 


Mithraic Mysteries   


Months of the Year:  Quotes, Poems, Reading List, Links, Garden Chores, Holidays 


The Mysteries of Druidry: Celtic Mysticism, Theory and Practice by Brendan Cathbad Myers 


Nature Mysticism    


Nature Spirits:  Fairies, Elves, Alfs, Wights, Lars, Trolls, Dwarves, Sidhe, Devas, Otherworld, Little Folk, Ghosts 


Neo-Druidism  


Neopagan Rites: A Guide to Creating Public Rituals that Work by Isaac Bonewits   


Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner: A Book of Prayer, Devotional Practice, and the Nine Worlds of the Spirit by Galina Krasskova and Raven Kaldera    


The Obscure Goddess Online Directory and the A-Muse-ing Grace Gallery and the Art of Thalia Took


One Old Druid's Final Journey - The Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove 


Order of Bards Ovates and Druids.   The largest Druid organization in the world.  A complete training program in print and audio versions, discussion groups, library, extensive resources.  I am a member of this Order as a Bardic Grade student.  The OBOD celebrates the Eight Holy Days of NeoPaganism.  I find their liturgical cycle and rituals to be spiritually uplifting, wholesome, life affirming, earth centered, ecologically positive, profound, polytheistic, and open minded.  OBOD is more orientated towards Celtic spirituality. 


Oriental Religions in the West.   By Sir James Frazer, 1922. 


Ostara by Herne 


Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring By Edain McCoy


Ostara, Eostre, Austro  A goddess in Anglo-Saxon Germanic paganism honored with a ritual celebration in the month of April.  Customs included the use of eggs and hares - still popular in Easter celebrations in our own generation.  Her name means "East," and she is related to a dawn goddess, which would account for Greek "Eos", Roman "Aurora", and Indian "Ushas."  She is a spring fertility goddess.  Related to the Germanic goddess Rheda (Herde), associated with the month of March.  


Ostara in Wikipedia  


Ostara, Spring Equinox Celebration


Osterraeder:  Mysteries of the Osterraeder 


Pagan Prayers by Ceisiwr Serith.  A wonderful collection of thoughtful prayers and reflections. 


Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions by Joyce and River Higginbotham 


Pan  A Greek satyr or god.  Associated with wild places, rustic music, sexuality, hunting, shepards and flocks, panic/terror, woods, pastures, mountains, and fertility.  The Roman gods of Faunus, and Faun (Bona Dea) are similar.  As the Horned God in modern Wicca, his importance and shifted in a more positive direction.  In the 19th century, Christians gave the Devil (Satan) the appearance of Pan. 


Pan - Wikipedia


Pan - Green Mythology


Persephone   Greek Goddess of Springtime, Queen of the Underworld, daughter of Demeter, wife of Hades. 


Persephone and Demeter


Persephone Images from Google 


 

 

Persephone and Demeter by Svet-Svet

 


Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo  


Red Bluff, California. Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens.  By Karen and Mike Garofalo.


Roman Pagan Holy Days, Seasonal Celebrations, Religious Customs, Roman Pagan Hearth


The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways by Edain McCoy.  Practical suggestions for celebrating the pagan holidays in the Wheel of the Year. 


Sacred Circles  Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Notes.  Photos of the Gushen Grove sacred circle construction project. 


Sacred Fire, Holy Well: A Druid's Grimoire by Ian Corrigan.  Excellent resources for liturgy. 

 

 

           

 


Sexual Magic: Bibliography, Links, Quotes


The Solitary Druid: A Practitioner's Guide by Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison


Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation by Silver Ravenwolf.   


The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess.  Rituals, invocations, exercises, and magic.  By Starhawk.  10th Anniversary Edition, Revised and updated.  A very influential work on Goddess worship and pagan religious practices. 


The Spirit of Gardening   3,800 quotes, poems, sayings, and ideas about gardening, gardens, and the Green Way.  Materials organized by 250 topics; and a fully indexed collection with a search engine.  Online since 1999.  Over 6MB of text.  Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo


Spring and Easter Poetry 


Spring Celebrations 


Spring Goddesses 


Spring  -  Quotes, Poems, Sayings and Quips for Gardeners  


Summer  -  Quotes, Poems, Sayings and Quips for Gardeners  


Valley Spirit Sacred Circle, Red Bluff, California 


Veneralia (April 1), a Roman religious holiday, was held in honour of Venus Verticordia ("Venus the Changer of Hearts"), and Fortuna Virilis (Virile or strong Good Fortune), whose cult was probably by far the older of the two.


Venus, Roman Goddess, April 1st Festival in Rome.  Venus is similar to the Greek Goddess, Aphrodite. 


Vesta  Roman goddess of hearth, kitchen, fire, stove, and home. 


Vinalia urbana (April 23), a Roman wine festival shared by Venus and Jupiter.

 

Venus on a seashell, from the Casa di Venus, Pompei, circa 79 CE.

 


Walpurgis Nacht Images from Wikipedia


Walpurgis Nacht - Wikipedia


Walkers Between the Worlds:  The Western Mysteries from Shaman to Magus by Caitlin and John Matthews 


Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life by Pauline Campanelli  


Wheel of the Year, High Days, Seasonal Celebrations, NeoPagan Holidays


Wicca and Paganism 


Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham 


Winter - Quotes, Poems, Sayings, and Lore 


Wisdom of the Elements: The Sacred Wheel of Earth, Air, Fire and Water by Margie McArthur


 

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Beltane, Spring, May Day
Table of Associations and Correspondences
 

   

Time of Day

 

Time of Life

 

Decorations

Flowers, flowering branches, leafing branches

Fruits

Wine, dried fruits, figs

Herbs

 

Tools

Candles, Fire Pits, Axes,

Goddesses

Aphrodite, Freyja, Persephone, Venus

Gods

Attis, Bacchus, Dionysus, Freyr

Themes

Fertility, romance, lovemaking, flowering, budding, revelry

Farming Activities

Seed planting, fertilizing

Animals

 

Colors

Green

Sacred Circle (Valley Spirit)

Southeast,

Celebrations & Activities

Beltane Fires, Maypole dances, bonfires, dancing, lovemaking, staying up all night in the woods, baskets of flowers, washing face in morning dew, decorating with green budding branches, burning money

 


 

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General Preparations
Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, Neopagan Celebrations

 

1.  Clean up your garden, rake leaves, water as needed, put down fertilizer.  If you last frost date is in April, then you can begin to plant seeds and seedlings.  Do work appropriate for your agricultural Zone.  I live in Red Bluff, California, USDA Zone 9, Northern Hemisphere.  My April gardening chores might be quite different from yours, depending upon where you live.

2.  Do spring cleaning in your home.  Wipe up the dust.  Wash windows.  Give away unneeded items.  Scrub walls.  Bring in some potted plants.  

3.  Working and meditating in the garden is an important facet of my spiritual path.  I need to regularly reconnect with the earth and with the beauty and energy of the Spring season outdoors.   Tend your garden daily.  Water your garden each day.  Weed your vegetable garden.  Harvest from your late winter garden if you can grow on.  Review your own lists of chores for April and May, and act accordingly.      

4.  Read about Beltane, May Day, Walpurgis Nacht and other mid-Spring celebrations around the world.  Add notes and links to books, magazines, and webpages on the subject.  See my bibliography and links above Visit your local public library or college library to obtain access to books, media and magazines on the subject.  Study about ancient Indo-European religions.  I update my Months webpages on April and May

5.  Add some appropriate Beltane, May Day, Walpurgis Nacht and mid-Spring songs, chants, prayers, reflections, invocations, or poems to your Neo-Pagan Craft Journal, Book of Shadows, blog, website, or Ritual Handbook.  Write in your personal journal.  Most spiritual seekers keep a notebook, journal or log as part of their experimental, creative, magical and experiential work. 

6.  Stay at home.  Improve your home, backyard, or garden.  Eliminate long driving trips.  Do you really need to "Go" anywhere?  Do you really need to fly by airplane to another country?  Explore your backyard, neighborhood, local community, nearby city, county wide area, regional area within 50-100 miles.  Visit a local "sacred site."  For us, for example, this could be Mt. Shasta, the headwaters spring of the Sacramento River in Mt. Shasta City, the Sacramento River at Woodson Bridge Park, a long walk in the forest below nearby Mt. Lassen, sitting on the shore of Whiskeytown Lake, sitting in my backyard in the moonlight, or visiting a beautiful church or college or park that is nearby.  Watch a DVD on a spiritual subject, sacred place, or inspirational topic.  Learn more about your local environment. 

7.  Read solitary or group rites for Beltane, May Day, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter or other mid-spring celebrations available in books and webpages (see above).  Create your own ritual for Beltane.  Practice the ritual.  Conduct the ritual at a convenient time for you, or your family and/or friends, as close to the day of  May 1st as possible.  Attend a public Beltane ritual of a local NeoPagan group. 

8.  Improve your indoor home altar.  Clean and shine everything up on the altar.  Place a fresh offering on your home altar every day in April.  Add fresh flowers to the altar.  Bring in branches of trees that are budding out.  In Ireland, and were Celtic traditions are popular, the word "Bel" refers to a bright fire, a large bonfire, white, or bright, the month of May, and the beginning of the warm and bring summer season.  Therefore, lighting candles will be an essential aspect of home piety.  My home altar includes Druid, Roman, Wiccan, and Western Magickal influences, and is shown in the following two photos:

 

                  

 

9.  Key a close eye on flowering tree and shrub branches and leaf budding tree and shrub branches in yards and gardens.  This rebirth or resurrection of vegetation is essential to the meaning of this season.  Many gods and goddesses are associated with this rebirth, e.g., Persephone, Attis, Osiris, Jesus Christ.  Bring some of these reborn branches into your home and home altar. 

 

 


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Quotations, Information, Facts, Lore
Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, Neopagan Celebrations

 

 

"Many Wiccans and Pagans celebrate Beltane.  It is one of eight solar Sabbats.  This holiday incorporates traditions from the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, but it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as May pole dancing).  Some traditions celebrate this holiday on May 1 or May day, whiles others begin their celebration the eve before or April 30th. Beltane has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. The name means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times. In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health."
Beltane by Herne 

 

 

"Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name.   Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal.   Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance."
Easter History

 

 

"Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself.  I have been as sincere worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks.  I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did."
-  Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2

 

 

"In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime. Her festival, the Floralia, was held between April 28 and May 3 and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, drinking, and flowers. The festival was first instituted in 240 B.C.E but on the advice of the Sibylline books she was given another temple in 238 B.C.E.  Her Greek equivalent was Chloris, who was a nymph and not a goddess at all. Flora was married to Favonius, the wind god, and her companion was Hercules. Her name is derived from the Latin word "flos" which means "flower."  In modern English, "Flora" also means the plants of a particular region or period.  Flora achieved more prominence in the neo-pagan revival of Antiquity among Renaissance humanists than she had ever enjoyed in ancient Rome."

 

 

"Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht) is a traditional spring festival on 30 April or 1 May in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. It is often celebrated with dancing and with bonfires.  The current festival is, in most countries that celebrate it, named after the English missionary Saint Walburga (ca. 710–777/9). As Walburga was canonized on 1st of May (ca. 870), she became associated with May Day, especially in the Finnish and Swedish calendars.[1][2] The eve of May day, traditionally celebrated with dancing, came to be known as Walpurgisnacht ("Walpurga's night"). The name of the holiday is Walpurgisnacht in German and Dutch, Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish, Vappu in Finnish, Volbriöö, (Walpurgi öö) in Estonian, Valpurgijos naktis in Lithuanian, Valpurģu nakts or Valpurģi in Latvian, čarodějnice or Valpuržina noc in Czech, chódotypalenje Lower Sorbian and chodojtypalenje in Upper Sorbian."
Wikipedia 

 

"Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity and military victory. She played a key role in many Roman religious festivals. From the third century BC, the increasing Hellenization of Roman upper classes identified her as the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite which in turn is the copy and the equivalent of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. Roman mythology made her the divine mother of Aeneas, the Trojan ancestor of Rome's founder, Romulus.  Venus was offered official (state-sponsored) cult in certain festivals of the Roman calendar. Her sacred month was April (Latin Mensis Aprilis) which Roman etymologists understood to derive from aperire, "to open," with reference to the springtime opening of trees and flowers.  Veneralia (April 1) was held in honour of Venus Verticordia ("Venus the Changer of Hearts"), and Fortuna Virilis (Virile or strong Good Fortune), whose cult was probably by far the older of the two.  Vinalia urbana (April 23), a wine festival shared by Venus and Jupiter, king of the gods. Venus was patron of "profane" wine, for everyday human use. Jupiter was patron of the strongest, purest, sacrificial grade wine, and controlled the weather on which the autumn grape-harvest would depend. At this festival, men and women alike drank the new vintage of ordinary, non-sacral wine in honour of Venus, whose powers had provided humankind with this gift"
Wikipedia

 

 

"May Day is related to the Celtic festival of Beltane and the Germanic festival of Walpurgis Night. May Day falls exactly half a year from November 1, another cross-quarter day which is also associated with various northern European pagan and neopagan festivals such as Samhain. May Day marks the end of the unfarmable winter half of the year in the Northern hemisphere, and it has traditionally been an occasion for popular and often raucous celebrations. As Europe became Christianized the pagan holidays lost their religious character and either changed into popular secular celebrations, as with May Day, or were merged with or replaced by new Christian holidays as with Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and All Saint's Day. In the twentieth century, many neopagans began reconstructing the old traditions and celebrating May Day as a pagan religious festival again."
Wikipedia 

 

 

"In Greek mythology, Persephone (Περσεφόνη), also called Kore (the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest-goddess Demeter, and queen of the underworld Homer describes her as the formidable, venerable majestic queen of the shades, who carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead.  Kore was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld.  The myth of her abduction represents her function as the personification of vegetation which shoots forth in spring and withdraws into the earth after harvest; hence she is also associated with spring and with the seeds of the fruits of the fields. Similar myths appear in the Orient, in the cults of male gods like Attis, Adonis and Osiris, and in Minoan Crete.  Persephone as a vegetation goddess (Kore) and her mother Ceres were the central figures of the Eleusinian mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon, and promised to the initiated a more enjoyable prospect after death. The mystic Persephone is further said to have become by Zeus the mother of Dionysus, Iacchus, or Zagreus. The origins of her cult are uncertain, but it was based on very old agrarian cults of agricultural communities.  Persephone was commonly worshiped along with Demeter, and with the same mysteries. To her alone were dedicated the mysteries celebrated at Athens in the month of Anthesterion.  Her common name as a vegetation goddess is Kore and in Arcadia she was worshipped under the title Despoina "the mistress", a very old chthonic divinity. Plutarch identifies her with spring and Cicero calls her the seed of the fruits of the fields. In the Eleusinian mysteries her return is the symbol of immortality and hence she was frequently represented on sarcophagi."
Persephone 

 

 

"Fertility rights are ceremonies of a magic-religious nature performed to ensure the perpetuation of mankind and to control the environment.  Expressed as invocations, incantations, prayers, hymns, processions, dances, and sacred dramas, these liturgical endeavors were, and still are, believed to be closely connected with the mechanisms of nature.  The basis for such rites is usually a belief in sympathetic magic - that is magic worked on one level to have an effect on a different level, and based on the assumption that life and fertility, whether animal or vegetable, are one and indivisible.  If such fertility rites could induce fertility in the animal and human worlds, then the vegetable world would also be stimulated to reproduction, resulting in an abundant harvest."
-  Robert Ellison, The Solitary Druid, p. 130

 

 

 


 


 


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Poems, Prayers, Rites, Liturgy, Invocations
Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, Neopagan Celebrations

 

 

"The leaves are budding across the land
on the ash and oak and hawthorn trees.
Magic rises around us in the forest
and the hedges are filled with laughter and love.
Dear lady, we offer you a gift,
a gathering of flowers picked by our hands,
woven into the circle of endless life.
The bright colors of nature herself
blend together to honor you,
Queen of spring,
as we give you honor this day.
Spring is here and the land is fertile,
ready to offer up gifts in your name.
we pay you tribute, our lady,
daughter of the Fae,
and ask your blessing this Beltane."
Beltane Prayers 

 

 

"Beltaine Fire and Beltaine Blood
Bless us now with all that’s good
Winter’s bleak time now is past
Springtime has begun at last.
Goddess Great as Crone and Queen
All Her brightest praises sing
Maiden, Mother, Goddess She
All the greatest blessings be.
Take all that now is naught but blight
And fill us all with Your delight
Burn away the dross and chaff
Renew us with Your hearty laugh
Sing and dance and beat the drums
From Her Bounty all good comes
Weeping, moaning, go away
Blessings from Her come our way
Beltaine Fire and Beltaine Blood
Bless us now with all that’s good
Winter’s Bleak time now is done
Welcome Springtime, now begun!" 
-  Ryllwynn

 

 

Great earth mother!
We give you praise today
and ask for your blessing upon us.
As seeds spring forth
and grass grows green
and winds blow gently
and the rivers flow
and the sun shines down
upon our land,
we offer thanks to you for your blessings
and your gifts of life each spring.

 

 

"Bless, O Threefold Goddess,
My Coven, my family, and myself
My pets, my plants, and all children of the Great Mother.
On the fragrant plain, on the tall mountain slopes
On the fragrant plain, on the tall mountain slopes.
Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,
From Beltane Eve to Samhain Eve,
From Samhain Eve to Beltane Eve,
With goodly progress and gentle blessing,
From sea to sea, and every river mouth,
From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.
Be thy Three Faces taking possession of all belonging to me,
Be the Watchtowers four protecting me in truth;
Oh! Satisfy my spirit with the warmth of Belinos,
And shield my loved ones between the Beltane fires,
Shield my loved ones between the Beltane fires.
Bless everything and every one,
Of this little household by my side;
Place the pentagram of the Lady upon us
Till we see the Land of Promise.
Till we see the Land of Promise.
What time the kine shall forsake the stalls,
What time the sheep shall forsake the folds,
What time the goats shall ascend the mount of mist,
May the tending of the Triad follow them,
May the tending of the Triad follow them.
Thou are being who didst give me birth,
Listen and attend to me as I bow my head,
Evening and morning as is becoming in me,
In thine own Circle, O Goddess of Love.
In thine own Circle, O Goddess of Love."
Rowan Morgana, Sacred Wicca

 

 

"Unite and unite and let us all unite,
For summer is acome unto day,
And whither we are going we will all unite,
In the merry morning of May. 
I warn you young men everyone
For summer is acome unto day,
To go to the green-wood and fetch your May home
In the merry morning of May."

 

 

"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill."
-   Robert Frost, A Prayer for Spring

 

 

"Oh Earth-Mother
We praise thee
That seed springeth
That flower openeth
That grass groweth.
We praise thee
For winds that whisper
Through the shining Birch
Through the lively Pines
Through the mighty Oak.
We praise thee
For all things
Oh, Earth-Mother, who gives all life."
Beltane Rite by Shadow Weaver Grove ADF

 


 


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Mike Garofalo's Notes

Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, Neopagan Celebrations

 

My notes, observations, listing of local activities, and studies on the Beltane, May Day, May 1st, Walpurgis Nacht, Easter, Neopagan Celebrations. 

I've beem to the Gwers of the OBOD while I walk in the early morning (3/2012).  Very inspiring.   

Kathy Goodin gave us a large Hawthorn tree.  Karen and I planted it in our Sacred Circle Garden. 

 

 

  
Months and Seasons
Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays
Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations
Information, Weather, Gardening Chores
Compiled by Mike Garofalo
 

Winter

Spring

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January

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May

August

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Michael P. Garofalo's E-mail


Research and Indexing by
Michael P. Garofalo

Green Way Research, Cloud Hands Home, Vancouver, Washington, Northwest USA

Green Way Research, © 2010-2017. 

Indexed and Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo

 

Creative Commons License
This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, © 2017 CCA 4.0
 

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA (2010-2017)

Revised and updated by Mike Garofalo, Cloud Hands Home, City of Vancouver, State of Washington, Northwestern USA (April 2017-)


 

This webpage was first published on the Internet on November 5, 2010.   

This webpage was last updated or changed:  April 18, 2017; May 7, 2012. 

 


 

Michael P. Garofalo's E-mail

Brief Biography of Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.

 

 

 


 

Ripening Peaches: Daoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: Resources and Guides


Cloud Hands Blog


Valley Spirit Qigong

Ways of Walking

The Spirit of Gardening

Months: Cycles of the Seasons

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Zhou, Master Chuang)  369—286 BCE

Chan (Zen) and Taoist Poetry

Green Way Research

Yang Style Taijiquan

Chen Style Taijiquan

Taoist Perspectives: My Reading List

Meditation

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The Five Senses

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Pleasures, Satisfaction, Desires

Grandmaster Chang San Feng

Virtues and a Good Life

Epicureanism

Qigong (Chi Kung) Health Practices

One Old Daoist Neopagan's Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove

Cloud Hands: T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Index to Cloud Hands and Valley Spirit Websites

 

Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching 

Introduction

Bibliography  

Index to English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Thematic Index 1-81  

Chapter Index 1-81    

Concordance to the Daodejing

Recurring Themes (Terms, Concepts, Leimotifs) in the Tao Te Ching

Spanish Language Translations of the Tao Te Ching

Resources

The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE

 

 

 

Cloud Hands Blog

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching
 Chapter Number Index


Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Daodejing
Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE
Chart by Mike Garofalo
Subject Index
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81                  

 

 

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