Basic Stuff you should know!
Yule.
There are many traditions that are used today that have there origins back in time. The Yule log being one of them. It first appears in literature in pre-medieval times.
The Yule log would have been brought in from the wood, decorated with holly and ivy then placed in the hearth of the main hall. As the holiday was meant to last as log as the Yule log burned, the servants would try to find the biggest thickest log they could jamb in the fire place. This made sure the festivities lasted as long as possible.
Many of the traditional foods we enjoy today have their origins from this time. Mince meat pies were originally made with ground meat, spices and dried fruits. Christmas pudding has also not changed much since this period.
One of the major ways that we celebrate today is to tell the story, or re-enact it of the holly king and the ivy queen. Indoors or outdoors, the tale can be told, for the holly king resides in the wildwood. He is festooned with blood red berries and the ivy queen stretches her icy fingers around the trees, ever upwards.
So now I will tell you the story of the holly king and the ivy queen. All is quiet in the woods and not a creature stirs. For all is asleep beneath the snow. On the cold breeze a sound can be heard, it’s the ivy queen and her ladies fair. With lights held high they come this night. Laughter breaks the silence of the deep cold night. In the distance, more laughter is heard as the holly king enters, bright and bold. His men gathered about him to light his way.
The ivy queen steps forward and curtsies before the king and the king bows gracefully to his lady fair and with a smile says “Let the battle begin.”
The Ivy Queen turns toward him with an expression of ice and fire on her face. A small smile lifts the corner of her mouth. She crosses the space quickly between them and stops to caress his cheek with the back of her hand. She kisses him on the lips and swirls away with laughter in a flurry of silk and velvet.
“As my Lord wishes.” she says turning back to face him with dark eyes glittering. “I am the coldness of the snow. My icy fingers penetrate through the earth. My icy breath reaches the poor as the sit in front of their small fires. My cry is the child who is cold and hungry from the winter hardship. I refresh the soil and break it up in the springtime. My cold heart kills the vermin and disease that should not see the spring.” She looks at him with scorn and says, “What do you bring to the table my Lord?”
The Holly King steps forward with jollity and good cheer, lifting her hand to his lips, kisses it and steps away from her. “I bring the joy of hope. When they see my red berries, they know the birds will not starve. They take my joy into their homes. I am the laughter of the babe that sees my bright fruit for the first time, the warmth of the wood fire that keeps the old from your chill. So what if there is no snow or ice? It will not do the fields any harm. And a cold suffered this year might protect from the same cold the next. I think my lady, we’ll call our knights as a battle of words will make no winners this night.”
A couple of young people step forward, a male and a female with swords in their hands. They bow to each other. The young man steps forward and declares that it is his honour to defend his lord. The young woman also steps forward and smiles. She says that she agrees that it is an honour to fight for her Lady.
They both assume a defensive pose in preparation for the fight. They watch each other, looking for any sign of weakness. The young man lunges forward and the young girl repels his blade, the sound of steel on steel. Sounds of the fight and all its twists and turns of fate echo through the wildwood until the winning stroke is made.
The young girl drops to one knee and bows her head. “I can see young sir that you have made the winning blow.”
He reaches a hand down to her and pulls her to her feet and they hug each other tightly, as warriors do and walk together to the warmth of the fire.
The Holly King looks toward his Queen and offers her his hand. “My Lady, I may have won this night. But there is no bitterness in the winning or the losing of it, for this night I will keep all safe.” He leans close to whisper in her ear. “I love you my dearest wife, as you came to me as the maiden that first night.” He gently guides his beloved to the fire to join the celebrations.
Imbolg
Imbolg is a time between times, neither winter nor spring. It is a time when everything is changing. The first lambs are in the fields but so is the snow. In the past by this time of year the winter stores would be getting short as thankfully the days grow longer. There are many things that we celebrate, the light and the dark, the first lambs, snowdrops underfoot. It is the first time the crone and the maiden meet, as Ivy queen and the maiden of the woods. They share a cup of ewes milk, yet at the end of this sharing the maiden goes back to the shadows of the woods. The Ivy Queen lights candles upon a wheel to celebrate the coming of light.
People at this time should contemplate a new skill that they will undertake to learn for that year as they travel about the circle of candles. They say aloud what they have chosen to do so others may hear it. It is a time of new light and new beginnings, new pathways and oaths taken before the Lord and Lady. As the night goes on they share ewe’s milk, bread and honey.
Some groups, as the sun rises will roll a wheel down a steep hill and allow the young men to chase it. A dangerous but fun sport. The one who catches the wheel becomes King Stag or Lord of the Woods for the spring and the summer. He chooses his maiden and carries her off to the shadows of the woods until the spring equinox.
All this is done love and laughter. Often this rite is held indoors, but if you are going to do it outdoors., remember that it will be cold. Dress warmly in natural cloth. Greens and browns are good colours to wear as they reflect the time before spring comes. Several flasks of hot spiced apple juice are a good idea as temperatures can drop below freezing. If you are going to light a fire take a fire pit with you as you do not want to leave any evidence that you have been there. If you are going to hold it indoors, bring in the first of the snowdrops and place them in the centre of your circle of candles.
I hope you enjoy the information we have given you and that you find it useful.
Spring Equinox
The Spring Equinox is a time when nature drops her cloak for the first time and shows her beauty and colour to the world. At this time the Ivy Queen and the Holly King give way to the spring. The take off their circlets for the last time and cast them into the fire, thus burning away the winter. As they do so they become themselves, mortal man and woman, who spiral outwards and leave the circle. There they meet the maiden and the horned one as they leave. Both couples hug and the two that are leaving charge the new couple with looking after the children of the goddess.
The new couple make their way by spiralling toward the fire where they stand together. They make their oath to the Lord and Lady to look after the natural world and all the children of the goddess be they furred, feathered, scaled or soft skinned. They are then crowned with circlets of spring flowers and cloaks of green.
All to often we forget what the word equinox means. It is a time when the light and the dark are equal. The sun and the moon on equal terms as king of day and queen of night. This is a time when the sun and the moon can often be seen at the same time. The magic that we do at this time has often to do with male and female love and understanding.
If couples are having difficulties with their relationships this is often a good time to talk about the problems and to sort them out. The other work that can be done on the equinox is to do with relationships within the family itself. It is a good time for your coven or your family to come together and talk about how they feel, to air any grievances and find a solution. Spring cleaning is also theme that should be taken into consideration in all walks of life.
Look through your rooms and see if there is anything that needs to be mended, or cleaned for the coming summer. If you wish a new robe, green is a good colour as it reflects new growth.
Before we go and pass onto other subjects, don’t forget that now is the time when seeds are sown and it is a good time to start planting for you garden anything you wish to reap. One of the first tasks of the maiden and the horned one is to bless the soil of field, garden or allotment ready for fresh planting.
May you learn more from the spring by looking at and feeling it as you walk through the woods and wild places.
Blessed be.
Beltain
Beltain is one of the more famous festivals that we celebrate. Like Halloween, the 1st of May is mark by pagans and non-pagans alike. Even when Oliver Cromwell tried to destroy all the maypoles in England, many villages took them down and hid them somewhere safe and the May Queen was crowned in secret. Even today many children are taught to dance around a maypole without even knowing its male significance as the May Queen is woven around the pole in the marriage of the male and the female.
Many Morris teams through out the country still dance in the May on Beltain morn and welcome the green man back from the woods. This festival is all about the fertility of the land and there was a time when the Maiden sacrificed her virginity to the earth and the Stag King. Some groups still have a maiden dancing to draw the green man or kings stag out of the woods and into her arms. When they meet, they join deep in the woods to celebrate the mixing of male and female in honour of the land.
Sometimes, when there are two warriors, a young man will loose an arrow into the woods and the couple go off to retrieve the arrow together, taking some time to do so for obvious reasons. This is one festival that is still celebrated by fates and festivities on the village green. When the may queen is crowned with a circlet of flowers and her court summoned, this can be anything from the local mayor, but in older villages the court is often made up of honorary gentlemen. She may have a green knight, a hunter and other old style courtiers. Sometimes she is escorted in by the local Morris group to the village green, where she may bless the maypole for the coming year. In some villages they would burn the maypole and the ashes would be spread in the field to symbolise the fertility.
It is also important to remember that Beltain is a fire festival. A lot of communities would build a fire and jump over it for purification. In older times, two fires would be laid and through the gap farm animals would be driven to purify them. Within my own pathway we tend to use a fire sword. We use this to cast our circle and cut our way through time. To see someone juggle a fire sword around a darkened circle is quite a sight. It is then used to light the fire in the centre of the circle. What is left of the sword is then used in to draw and archway around each member to represent the cleansing of their souls and the integration of fiery spirit.
A mask of flower petals is made, which should be done taking time and reverence over its preparation. The maiden wears the mask into the circle and during the ritual takes it off and throws it into the fire to symbolise the sacrifice of her maidenhead.
Unlike most groups we not only have a male maypole, but also a female pole. The male pole is very masculine in appearance. After people have danced around it with great merriment and enjoyment, the ribbons a stretched across to the female pole and through the yoni to form an arch. Couples who wish to conceive during the year will often stand under the archway to ask for a blessing of fertility. And after a journey off into the woods a beltain babe might appear nine months later.
The beltain babe is thought to bring luck to a family as it carries the favour of the lord and lady. There are lots of other things that happen on this date, too numerous to mention in this small space. But I hope you have found this information both interesting and useful. Blessed be. n