Dance is feeling the spirit.
Most people know instinctively
how to dance,
if they just let go naturally.
On Fey-Beltaine it is fun to
dress in green
& dance the Fey-May Pole Dance
or around they the Fey Tree,
in celebration of Life.
Wearing jewelery & makeup & costumes
was said to be important to our Pre-Celtic
& Celtic ancestors too.
They wore crowns, flower wreaths
on their heads & other headdresses.
Spring was a good time for their green robes
& multi-coloured vestments.
They had a long history of weaving
fabric clothes & also knotwork designs,
weaving in symbols rich
with meaning & magical spells.
Celtic jewelery rivals the egyptians,
& is thought by some to have inspired it.
Celtic eyes were often lined with black
or a glittery brown or green powder,
like cat-like eyeliner.
(For Fun: See the eyeliner on the image of the
Spring Fem-Fey with the bunny headdress, resembling Welsh Rhiannon to your left)
This type of eye-lining has been popular,
probably since the beginning of time,
throughout many cultures.
It is part of the collective conscious
of humans everywhere.
There is absolutely nothing ever wrong
with lining your eyes safely
or staining your lips with colour.
In fact it is lovely fun & people
have been doing it,
since time immemorial.

costume make-up tip: (although i wouldn't recommend
regularly wearing "natural look-foundation" base make-up
on your whole facial skin which could clog your pores.
Foundation make-ups may deceptively appear
to be the "natural look" (without eyeliner that is),
but it is the opposite.
So called, "Natural look" foundations clog your facial pores.
Your skin wants & needs to breathe.
Except on special occasions,
It is better to have fun with eyeliner & your lips
& normally leave your facial skin clean & clear)
 

In ancient Pre-Celtic & Celtic society;
men, as well as women, also
could line their eyes, paint & tattoo
their bodies & wear wonderful costumes.
What fun they had & how beautifully
& magically they adorned themselves,
especially at Holiday Celebrations.
It is not necessary to go naked during rituals
& ceremonies since energies can travel
right through clothes,
just like it can travel through the galaxies.
If anything, costumes with leaves,
flowers or colours & jewelery
with stones & crystals-
may aid as conductors which enhance
the energy's powers & focus too,
But they are not a requirement either...
They certainly do no harm,
especially when created by a
positive & playful mind.
Costumes need not be expensive
to make either.
You can usually find material
to make a simple cape
& you can embroider it yourself.
Or Natural materials that are easy to
find outdoors can be used,
& set your imagination free.
Some ancient Celtic Tribes even painted their skin on their whole body,
with indigo blue or greenish with something
that still allowed their skin to breathe. hehehe. Wild!
The "indigo blue"  dye came from the
leaves of a plant called woad.

An interesting historical note is that
woad was the chief source of blue dye
untill the 16th century A.D. when it was
replaced with synthetic dyes.
Scientists are just now re-discovering woad
as a non-toxic alternative to
modern synthetic blue dyes.
It seems our ancient ancesters
had the right idea after all. *smiles*
Woad dye is also what the
 Queen Boadicea
daubed herself blue with in 60 A.D.
just before chopping the Roman 9th Legion
to pieces in defense of her daughters,
homeland & countryfolk,
in the Iceni area
of now known as a part of Great Britain.
( It is also interesting to note that Britain & Britanica etc.. are names derived from the
Celtic Goddess Brigit,
Brigid or Brighid..of course)

Above is an example of a Catti-Tribe or
"Cat People" Costume with Headdress.
For us now, making headdresses
with nature & animal themes
is half the joy of preparing for
the Celebrations.
& part of the joy is delighting
in the imaginative costumes of others.
If you want to get more elaborate,
You can even make wings
for your back. ^i^~~~~
or dress up as your
favorite totem animal :0)
& wish it protection..
Whatever you do, feel it in your heart
& feel the delight in your spirit blossom,
just like spring.
It is said,
Traditionally in some places,
the tree used for a May-Pole
was the Oak, yet in other climates
& areas other trees are used.
You can use the same tree every year,
if you like or include another.
We have an Apple-Tree named
Avalonia & she has a wonderful Dryad.
This tree is so alive
with the Spirit of Nature.
She is the Tree we often enjoy sharing
Holiday Celebrations with.
You may have a favorite tree
of your own.
One that seems to just reach out to you.
It is never necessary that you harm
or kill the tree,
to use trees in your celebrations.
So feel free to include living ones.
Yet, you can also make a may-pole.
Old wood need not go to waste.
Decorate the pole by wrapping
springtime ribbons around it
& cover the stand
with green moss & flowers.
You can make a flower-wreath
& suspend it from the top.
You can be as original as you like.
You can even include symbols
of your favorite totems
amongst the flowers.
You can even make a smaller one
for indoors, if need be.
Children delight in helping to decorate
the May-Pole.
(Just as much as the Yuletide Tree.)
Once the May-Pole is ready,
you can dance & sing in a
"Merry go Round
the May-Pole" fashion-
to celebrate the Joys of Spring,
Mother Nature & just being Alive.

May is a wonderful time for contact
with the "Faeries".
The Veil between the Otherworld,
The Realms of Fey
& the physical-earth plane,
is said to only be quite this
very light or thinned
at Beltane & at Samhain.

This is said to be the time you are
most likely to espie the Fey & Fey-folk,
in their visits through the
Physical-Earth Veil. (or vice-versa)
Like children, they are attracted
to the fresh warm spring breezes
& the rejuvenation of
Nature in the air.
The waters teaming with life,
warm streams & water play.
Plants, Flowers, birds & animals
springing forth in abundance
are most delightful
for nature-lovers to behold.
Children are a very important part
of this Springtime Celebration.
In our youth, humans often possess
a special natural wisdom
that is on the par with
the Gifts of the Fay & Water-Fey.
Yet there is no reason why
you absolutely have to lose these gifts,
if you can remain young at heart.
Or simply reclaim this natural right,
even if some of the world has tried
to crush it out of you.
You CAN get it back!
Children are often able to speak
with Animals & Fey in a language
difficult for many adults to grasp.
Reclaim your sense of wonderment
& Love for Nature & her Creatures.
The Rebirth & Rejuvenation
& reincarnation found in Spring
is a Beautiful reminder of this.

The Loving Source
We believe that as emanating from
"The Source",
our
Divine Mother & Father
are limitless
& can take on any loving form
they choose !
Even when we see a little flower
we know that the same life energy
that illuminates it,
illuminates all of Nature & Life.

 Beltaine or Beltane
 Bel can mean:
"Bright Shining One".
Even before Before Bel,
there was a goddess Beli.
For some,
Beltane is symbolic of the sacred union
of Sun & Earth in Spring.
& can also be symbolic
of the return of the sun-child
to Mother Earth.
In some faiths it is symbolic
of the sacred union of Mother Nature
& The Green Man.
The spring return of their sun-child
& the brightening of daughter moon.
Thus the Moon of May is sometimes
known to some as: "The Bright Moon"
or "Flower Moon",
or "Flower Fay Moon".

If, Bel means :
"Bright Shining One".
then Beltane means "Fire of Bright One"
& in modern Irish,
Beltane means "May".

On the eve of May 1st,
the ancient Celts reportedly
set two large fires
using nine of the sacred woods.
On this night animal herds
were driven ritually, in between
these two sacred fires.
This was done to symbolically protect
& purify them from disease or harm.
This was done so happily,
that animals who had been there before,
would often walk this path
between the two sacred bel-fires
on their own accord,
without any prodding.
Also, after this
they got to go to the lovely Summer Pastures
untill Samhain, (Summer's End")
when they would be returned
to their winter shelters.

Like All Year Round,
May Beltane is a time for Dánu
(also called "Anu" or "Dana"),
Anu of the earlier Emerald Isle Folk,
Dánu of the Tuatha de Danann,
so also of the Pre-Celts, then Celts
& Many Other Tribes on Earth.
(Though our Great Mother
is sometimes known by different names
to different people.)
Dánu/Anu/Aine/Oryana/Dana,
& so on.
Brighid is also linked with Danu,
as her close divine descendent
much as a daughter or granddaughter
takes on many of the attributes
of her forebear in her honour.

May is also:
A Time for Fey-May-Pole Dancing
& celebrating the renewal of life.
A Time for the hard, yet joyous work
of seeding crops.
Yet, also a time for some to remember
Rhiannon of The Welsh.
Rhiannon's name translates to
"Great Queen"

Rhiannon rides a white horse
& she is also able to shapeshift
into a horse.
A horse that is faster than any other.

We have always known the Great Mother Dánu,
yet you can also learn more of Fae Queen Rhiannon
from *The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom-
A Celtic Shaman's Sourcebook*
by Caitlin & John Matthews
or from one of: Laurie Cabot's Books,
*Celebrate The Earth-
A Year of Holidays in The Pagan Tradition*.
"The theme of the Great Mother & her Son,
who is either stolen or lost
& then returned to become his Mother's hero-
occurs over & over again many times,
all throughout Celtic Mythology."
*L.C.
Rhiannon first meets her future husband,
Pwyll, at the Sacred Faery Hill
called: The Mound of Arbeth
(which is in Wales).
This is a beautiful story of a courtship
that starts out with him
trying to catch her on horseback.
He is unable to reach her,
until she decides to stop for only him.
(The story of their romance & the rest,
is a long but fascinating one
& so we'll give you the above resources
for the whole story at the end.)
Rhiannon & Pwyll are eventually
able to marry & they have a baby boy.
When the baby boy is stolen,
Rhiannon gets blamed & suffers
great trials & tribulations.
When her son is finally returned to her,
she says, "At last my troubles are over,
& now all is turned to joy"
& then names the child, Pryderi.
In myth,
whenever Rhiannon & Pryderi suffer,
the land suffers.
He is symbolic of the sun.
(sun-child)
& she is symbolic of the nature earth.
(earth-mother)
Thus, when they are reunited
it is symbolic of Spring.
The land rejuvenates even more beautiful
& full of life than before.
Rhiannon bears many burdens
for her people & the land.
Just as her troubles are over
on May 1st,
& she feels great joy & relief
at the return of her sun-child-
so too are our lives brightened
by the return of Spring.

Following are: Different Symbolic Representations
of Spring Replenishment Stories

Beltane, which is symbolic of the sacred union
of Sun & Earth.
& can also be symbolic
of the return of the sun-child
to Mother Earth.
In some faiths it is symbolic
of the sacred union of Mother Nature
& The Green Man.
The return of their sun-child
& the brightening of daughter moon.
Thus the Moon of May is sometimes
known as: "The Bright Moon"
or "Flower Moon" or "Flower Faery Moon".

The parent couple are sometimes symbolized
by some later adaptions as the Goddess & Kernunnos
& their nature children.
Kernunnos or "Cernunnos" is portrayed as
the stag-horned forest king.
He was considered as fatherly to animals.
He was considered to be father-figure
to both the hunter & the hunted.
Cernunnos wore the horns of a stag,
rather than a raging bull, to represent gentle authority
which is cooperative, rather than domineering or forceful.

Thus, Cernunnos is a later archetype of the Green Man
used by some tribes.
The Original Green Man was portrayed as a loving, beautifully
handsome & fascinating male looking face
surrounded by lush foliage.
& Originally, he was portrayed as peering out from this lush foliage
thus humans could only get a glimpse of his loving face.
Trying to portray him thus, became a unique art-form.

& these stone carvings were later greatly coveted by other cultures,
including the Romans.
The Romans tried to copy this Pre-Celtic & Celtic art-form,
but showed the foliage of nature, also sprouting from his mouth.
The Green Man was/is the loving helper of Mother Nature Goddess,
& still considered protector of tree spirits & a forest spirit king.
& Divine Mother Dánu in her role of the Flower faced Queen,
mentor of all Fae-Queens, fae-folk & of course often
the symbol of Mother Nature Giver of All Life, for all life,
Mother of all living Nature, for even more than an Earth Mother-
she is also Sky-Mother, Star Mother & Water Mother
& Spirit Mother on all planes of reality... & of all elements.
Anu Extra-Universal Mother of All
Giver of Life-
Dánu of The Tuatha de Danann.
Tuatha de Danann translates literally to:
"Children of the Goddess Danu",
or "People of The Goddess Danu" .

May is the month of
the Flower Faery Moon.

It is also known by other names:
Flower Moon,
Hare Moon, Merry Moon,
"Moon When Ponies Shed",
Dryad Moon, Dyad Moon,
Bright Moon,
Joy Moon, Planting Moon
& SproutKale Moon.

May 4th-Sacred Moon (thorn) Tree Day
Moon Tree Day in Ireland
Hawthorn Month Begins.

For a smaller Happy May Day Page
that you can send to your friends via icq
to wish them a Happy May!
Click Here

A Springtime Meditation for Healing & Unity.

Dearest Mother Danu,
Our symbol of Mother Nature's Bounty,
& Flower Faced Fay Queen Giver of Life.
Mother of All Our Dear Ones.
We Love You !
Mother Queen of Summerland,
All Otherworld Realms
& Nature on Earth,
We are your children & we love you.
No matter what anyone
may do to us,
we can never deny you,
our Divine Mother !
May We Remain Forever, your
Tuatha de' Danann.
Thankyou for our Sisters
that help defend You & each other
& your creatures,
& help teach our Brothers
respect for you,
for the Feminine & for Nature,
for rebalancing
spirituality & the earth,
Thankyou for our Brothers & Sisters
that help teach & do the same.
Thankyou for our Sisters & Brothers
who believe in Freedom & Unity.
Those who help
raise our children in Fairness,
instead of just trying to rule over us.
We realize
some "men" were taught unjustly
that they were entitled to rule over us,
to the demise of our planet & all beings on it,
yet we are thankful for those beings
enlightened enough to see clear of this
& work & love cooperatively.
May We Remain Forever,
your Tuatha de' Danann.

Dearest Green Man of the Fae,
helper of Mother Nature & Symbol
of our Forest Spirit Father.-
help us to help you, in defense
of our Dear Mother Nature.
Thankyou for our Brothers
that follow your
non-dominating example
& are helping their Sisters
rebalance Spirituality & helping
to protect endangered animals.
Thankyou Mother & Father -
 

Dearest Mother & Father -
Of The Source of Loving Energy.
Help us re-balance all.
Protect your children
& help us clean & heal the earth.
Help us to protect the waters,
the Rain forests, The Trees
& the Wildlife Creatures also.
May the victorious warriors, be of the
"Rainbow "or "Bright" & Love for Nature
& our Brother & Sister Beings,
great & small.
Help us stop the violence
& heal our planet.
Let us Love & Protect One Another.

Dearest Mother & Father,
We believe that as emanating
from "The Loving Source",
our Heavenly Mother & Father
are limitless
& can take on any loving form
they choose !
Even when we see a little flower
we know that the same life energy
that illuminates it,
illuminates all of Nature & Life."

To: Eclectic Nature Fey
Versions of Songs & Blessings

Click Back To
Universal Holiday House

To: The Catti-Tribe/ Cat-People

flwrfey © 1997,98,99
 
 

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Some Outside Links Below:

This is the image of :
The Flower Faced Fay Queen
that we created
through the inspiration of The Fay everywhere,
to celebrate The New Millenium!
"Iterum Viriscit" means:
It Grows Green Again.....!
 
 

Slán go fóill! (Bye! Til We Merry Meet Again!)

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Credits, Thankyous & Disclaimers:
flwrfey™ © 99-Graphics are for your viewing pleasure only.
 

Original Colour Images & Backgrounds
by the flowerfey Sisters & Kith
flowerfey™ © 98 & 99
copyright 1998 & 1999

A Magical Merfolk & Faekith Vale
Emerald Forest Isle

*We would like this to remain a non profit website*
More Credits:
Use of Ancient Stone Carving
of the Green Man-image,
negotiated with the kind &
express permission of
Sacred Source,
Gifts of The Goddess.
jbl.statue.com
jbl. statue's artisans make a wonderful plaque
which is a precise replica of the original stone carving,
which you can order from them.
The Green Man Plaque & many other plaques or statues
which are personally made by their Artisans
would be excellent for celebrating the New Millenium
or The Goddess 2000 project.
Also try your hand at making your own.
To See-Click Here-off-site link-: Green man Plaque

*L.C. paraphrase from Laurie Cabot
Celebrate The Earth
A Year of Holidays In The Pagan Tradition
(A great source of inspiration, please read her book.)
This is a wonderful book & she is one of our
favorite Pagan Authors, for she also includes
stories & traditions for the Faeries, Merfolk
& even some for The Catti-Tribe,
amongst her other writings there.
She also has many recipes for oils, incense & philtres
for celebrating the various holidays.
Read her chapter on Beltane to learn more
about the wonderful tale of Rhiannon, Pwyll & their son Pryderi. Also other tales are included.

Another very good resource which requires more advanced reading skills & is a bit more academic,
yet very enlightening is:
The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom
A Celtic Shaman's Sourcebook
by Caitlin & John Matthews

The Ladies of The Lake
by Caitlin Matthews

To Look For Books Like These & Others:
Click Here

The Celtic Midi Playing Is: Eponia by Enya !

Taylor's Traditional Tunebook
For Celtic Midis-Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English,
& some from "The Colonies"

A Magical Merfolk & Faekith Vale
Emerald Forest Isle
flwrfey © 97,98, 99, 2000 Graphics are for your viewing pleasure only.