May Marriages

The month of May is traditionally thought to belong to the Goddess and as such any man who was brave enough to marry during the month was said to fall prey to the lust and power of a woman!

The Romans too considered May an unlucky month for a wedding, due to the celebration of their festival of 'Lemuralia', at which sacrifices were made to purge each house of hostile spirits and therefore marriages were not considered wholly appropriate.

With the coming of Christianity, May became the month of the Virgin Mary and was a time associated with chastity and purity, therefore not a time to celebate the nuptuals!

If, however you are celebrating a wedding this month, may the Goddess smile upon you and bring you love, healthand happiness.

Mid-Summer Flowers

Flowers of all types abound at this time of year bringing colour, insects and aroma into our world. The classic summer flower however and one that is precious to many religions including Christianity and Islam is the rose, although they were revered long before either of these belief paths came into being.

Roses were sacred to the Roaman Goddess Venus and have been assocoiated with love for thousands of years. It was said that Cleopatra first made love to Mark Anthony on a bed covered one inch deep in rose petals and these fragrant petals have been scattered at wedding ceremonies for centuries.

Much legend abounds around the colour of roses and a Mediterranean legend tells of how the red and white rose came to be. The tale introduces a virgin who was falsely accused of a sexual deed and sentenced to burn. Her prayers however were so fervent that they quenched the flames at which point the unburned wood turned into white roses, whilst the charred wood became red roses.

In the 12th century the Virgin Mary was said to appear to St Dominic where she gave him the first rosary beads and each one was scented with the perfume of roses.

Growing roses in your garden are said to attract the fairies, whilst making a necklace of rose hips is said to attract love to the wearer.

If you don't have roses in your garden treat yourself to a bottle of rose essential oil and let its sweet aroma perfume your home this summer.

June Marriages

The month of May has never boded well for marriages but where exactly did this superstition come from? In ancient times it was considered unlucky to marry in May, as this was the month of the Goddess and any man who married during this time would fall prey to the lust and power of a woman! For the Romans May saw the festival of Lemuralia at which sacrifices were made to purge the home of hostile spirits, hence marriages were not considered appropriate. With the arrival of Christianity May was seen as the month of the Virgin Mary, a time associated with chastity and purity, therefore again not approriate for marriage.

On the 1st June however all of May's restrictions were lifted and at one time this became the most popular month for weddings. The full moon in June (which falls on 26th this year) is usually rich in colour and was known as the 'honey moon', hence the term following a marriage became known as a honeymoon.

If you have a wedding or civil ceremony this month, may the Goddess bless your union.