May |
the fifth month of the Gregorian calendar and the third month of Spring's rule. The
name of the month is garnered from the Greek Goddess Maia, the most important of
the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades), and (some say) the mother
of Hermes. Some form of this Goddess name is known from Ireland to India.
The Romans called her Maius, Goddess of Summer. In Celtic Culture, May was called Mai or
Maj, a month of sexual freedom. Green was worn during this month to honor the Earth
Mother. The Wheel of the year now turns to Beltane, one of the four Grand or Major Sabbats celebrated each year by Witches throughout the world. |
Correspondences
Nature Spirits:Faeries, elves. Herbs: Dittany of Crete, elder, mint, rose, mugwort, Colors: Green, brown, pink. Flowers: Lily, foxglove, rose, broom. Scents: Rose, sandalwood. |
Stones:Emerald, malachite, amber,
carnelian. Trees: Hawthorne Animals: Cats, lynx, leopard. Birds: Goose, dove, swan. Deities: Bast, Flora, Maia, theHorned God, and all Gods and Goddesses who preside over fertility. |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Beltane
|
2 |
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| 3 Waxing Moon
|
4
|
5 Feast of the Dragon
|
6 |
7 |
8 Furry Dance |
9 |
| 10 Start of my personal 4th house |
11 Full Moon (9:13)
|
12 The Cat Parade |
13 Sacred Thorn Day
|
14 Festival of the Midnight Sun |
15 Day of Maia |
16 Voyage of St. Brenden |
| 17 |
18 |
19 Waning Moon (4:35)
|
20 |
21 |
22 Sun enters Gemini  |
23 Rosalia Festival |
| 24 Celebration of the Three Mothers |
25 New Moon (3:32 pm) |
26 Sacred Well Day |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 Feast of the Queen of the Underwold |
| 31 |
| May 1 - Beltane |
The Sabbat of Beltane is celebrated on this date by Witches worldwide. Beltane is also known as Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain), May Day, Rood Day, Roodmas (the medieval Church's name which came from Church Fathers who were hoping to shift the common people's allegiance from the Maypole, Pagan symbol of life, to the Holy Rood - the Cross - Roman instrument of death), and Walpurgisnacht. Beltane was originally a Celtic or Druidic festival of fire, celebrating the union of the Goddess and the Horned God, and the fertility in all things. In ancient days, cattle were driven through the Beltane fires for purification and fertility. In Wales, Creiddylad was connected with this festival and often called the May Queen. The Maypole (originally a phallic symbol) and it's dance are remnants of these old festivals. Although for Pagans of old, this was a 'floating' holiday, it is May 1 that Neo-Pagans consider the great holiday of flowers, Maypoles, and greenwood frivolity. It is still versed and sung about to this day. As recently as 1977, Ian Anderson included the following lyrics in his May Day song on the Jethro Tull album "Songs from the Wood" (which contains many references to Pagan customs):
| "For the May Day is the great day, Sung along the old straight track. And those who ancient lines did ley Will heed this song that calls them back." |
In ancient Finland, the Rowan Witch Day was celebrated annually on this date in honor of the Goddess of Earth, Nature, Weather, and ceremonies Rauni. It was thought that Rauni manifested herself in the Rowan tree and it's berries. Reindeer were sacrificed to the Goddess on this day to bring pleasant growing weather and insure a bountiful harvest. All the plants and vegetation on the earth were created by the union of Rauni and the God Ukko.
| May 2 |
This day is sacred to the Goddess Elena. As Helen, she is the Goddess of the holy road, more particularly the four royal roads of Britain. In Wales, the causeways and roads called Sarn Helen are her holy, old straight tracks. She is the Elaine of Arthurian Romance.
| May 4 |
On this date, Fairy Day took place in ancient Ireland. Irish folklore says that on this day the mischievous faery folk emerge from their hiding places. To prevent children from being stolen away by the faeries and replaced with grotesque changelings, an offering of tea and bread should be left on the doorstep for the "wee folk." Wearing your coat inside out when traveling through heavily wooded areas or open fields is supposed to protect against faeries. This is said to cause such great confusion amongst them that they are unable to cause any trouble
| May 5 |
On this date in some parts of China, the Feast of the Dragon is held annually on this date. As part of the celebration in ancient days, dolls were made from mugwort leaves which were considered sacred. The dolls were hung above gates and doors to repel negative influences and entities.
| May 8 |
On this day in Cornwall, England, the annual Furry Dance is performed in the streets of Helston in honor of the Horned God in the guise of Robin Hood. The festival is one of the oldest surviving Springtime ceremonies in the world, and features street dancing and a daylong procession throughout the town for good fortune.
| May 12 |
The Cat Parade is celebrated in Belgium on this date in honor of felines.
| May 13 |
Sacred Thorn Tree Day and the Hawthorn Moon Month begins annually each year on this date in Ireland.Sheila Na Gig is still seen carved in the decorations of Irish churches. The Goddess is pictured as a grotesque, often cadaverous, woman squatting and holding wide her private parts. Many Irish still know her as the protector of the poor and hang old clothes on hawthorn bushes all month beginning on this day to avert poverty. It is likely that the Australian term "Sheila," used as a name for any woman, refers to this ancient diety and her carvings.
| May 14 |
Pagans in far northern Norway annually celebrate the Festival of the Midnight Sun on this date. The festival pays homage to the Norse Goddess of the Sun, Sunna, and begins at sunrise marking the beginning of ten consecutive weeks without the darkness of night
| May 15 |
In ancient Greece, the Day of Maia was celebrated annually on this day in honor of the Full Moon Goddess for whom the festival was named. Maia was one of the Seven Sisters of Greek and Roman mythology; these sisters were later called the Pleiades. Their names are given as Alcyone, Calaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, Asterope, and Taygete.
| May 16 |
The legendary voyages of the Irish Celtic priest, St. Brendan the Navigator, are remembered today. According to some, St. Brendan was the first European to set foot in America. This is a good time to work with The Celtic book of the Dead by Caitlin Mathews.
| May 22 |
The Sun enters the astrological sign of Gemini on (approximately) this date. Gemini is an air sign, ruled by the planet Mercury.
| May 23 |
A sacred rose festival, the Rosalia dedicated to the flower-Goddess Flora and the love-Goddess Venus was celebrated annually on this date in ancient Rome.
| May 24 |
The celebration of the Three Mothers was observed annually on or around this date each year in Celtic countries, which honored the Triple Goddess, who brought prosperity and a good harvest. The Three Mothers or Triple Goddess are known world round in many cultures, and represent the three stages of life. This triad also symbolizes the three phases of the Moon: Crescent, Full and Dark. The Goddesses are most often known by the titles of Maid, Mother and Crone.
This is also the feast day of Hermes Trismegistus, patron of alchemy
| May 26 - Sacred Well Day |
On this day, it is traditional for Witches to decorate sacred wells with wreaths and toss offerings of flowers into the water in honor of the deities and spirits of the well.
| May 30 |
Lasting two days beginning on this date, the Romans held the Feast of the Queen of the Underworld, an annual celebration honoring the Underworld Goddesses such as Hecate and Persephone in her role as queen of the Underworld
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