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.

The Joy of Beltane

The season of Beltane is upon us, joyful, beautiful and life giving. Beltane was the festival that marked the beginning of the Celtic summer, it was a time when the animals were put out to pasture and was celebrated with acts of love, lust and fertility.

Many love chases were madethrough thewoods on Beltane Eve, an act which was referred to as 'going a maying'. Here lovers would spend the night in the woods, doing what came naturally to them and these liasons were often known as 'greenwood marriages'. The Puritan writer, Phillip Stubbs was quoted as saying:

'I have heard it credibly reported by men of great gravity, credit and reutation, that of fortie three score maids going to the woods over night, there have scarcely the third part of them returned home again undefiled.'

Even when more formal marriage rites were introduced, the rules were still relaxed at Beltane. Any children resulting from these unions were often called after spirits or legendary characters of the woods such as Jackson, after Jack in the Green, a derivation of the green man. Hodson, after Hod, a woodland sprite or Robinson after Robin Goodfellow from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream or perhaps the legendary Robin Hood. Rudyard Kipling captured the essence of Beltane with these words:

Oh do not tell the priest of our art, or he would call it a sin: But we shall be out in the woods all night, a-conjuring summer in!'

May the season of Beltane bring you joy, love and hope.

From 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers'

Wells of Fertility

Wells have been used by the native people of these islands for thousands of years and many are dedicated to the once Irish Goddess Bride or the now Christianised, St Bridget. They have been used for a myriad of reasons, although many would visit Bride's sacred wells for a specific purpose; that of fertility.

As late as 1860, it was recorded that a group of women were seen dancing around St Bridget's well in Grampian, Scotland, whilst an old crone stood in the centre and sprinkled the dancers with water with which to sweep away their bareness. Another story from the same well tells of brides visiting the well the day before their wedding to ensure they would be fertile and bare children.

Searching for a soul mate

I have been asked this week to provide a spell, which will help to attract a soul mate and lead to a happy marriage.

Whilst this is probably something many of us ultimately desire, there is no magic wand that I can wave in order to bring the love of someone's life hurtling through the ether towards them. The magic wand lies within each and every one of us. Only we have the power to manifest what we need in our lives.

In order to attract a soul mate, we have to radiate positive energy outward into the world, for what we give out surely shall return. We can't expect good things to come from negative vibrations. Remember the words in the song, 'Something Good', from 'The Sound of Music'? 'Nothing comes, from nothing, nothing ever should.'

Therefore we must work on ourselves first and foremost before we attempt to work our magic on others. It isn't enough to look good, we must be happy with who we are, deep down inside, for that's where positive energies radiate from. We need to look at what we do; does our work satisfy us? We need to look at our relationships with others; are they nourishing? Once we are happy with who we are then our energies will change and hopefully attract that elusive someone.

In the words of Ghandi: 'Be the change you want to see.'

Good luck in your quest.

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.

The Festival of Beltane

Sunset on the 30th April heralds the Celtic festival of Beltane, the beginning of summer. It is a joyous festival and celebrates the gift of life in all its forms, from the gathering of greenery to decorate and protect homes, to making love in the woods until dawn. Many Pagans enact the marriage of the God and Goddess in their Beltane rituals which symbolises the masculine sun and the female earth, the union of which will hopefully result in an abundant earth as we move into the warmth and beauty of summer.

Celebrate this coming weekend by attending one of the many May Day festivals that are held around the country, perhaps the Green Man Festival in Clun Shropshire or the classic and evocative 'Obby 'Oss festival in Padstow Cornwall.

Whatever you decide to do for May Day however, make sure you celebrate the joy of life.