May 1 - Beltane The Sabbat of Beltane is celebrated on this date by Witches worldwide.   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. 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 Full Moon at 11°38 Scorpio 11:51 pm PDT Sabian Symbol: - An embassy ball At the Full Moon the Moon has moved into Scorpio and is roughly in opposition to the Sun in Taurus and the rest of the planetary line-up. The Scorpio Moon will no doubt bring forth dark, hidden emotional issues that need to be processed and released. Scorpio is a fixed water sign, and symbolizes intense emotions and the mysterious, buried parts of ourselves.  Taurus can give us the patience and stability necessary to concentrate our emotional energy and help release it in ways that are balanced and healthy. It's important to have the courage and grounding necessary to face the dark sides of ourselves and embrace the lessons these buried aspects have to teach us. It's especially vital that we release whatever psychological barriers are causing stagnation and low energy in our lives.   This day is sacred to the Goddess Hecate in her anglicized form 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. According to the old folk calendar, summer BEGINS on May Day and ends on Lammas (August 1st), with the summer solstice, midway between the two, marking MID-summer. Like everything else it depends on where you live.  May can be a cold, cold month here in Washington -- in fact our prayer is that we actually have a spring. May 3   May 4 Festival of Cerridwen Ch'ing-ming The Wind of Pure Brightness. Direction: SE Trigarm: sun Instrument: wood clapper Season: Spring-Summer Element: latent Fire Issue presents of silk, keep all employed   May 5 . In 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.  The Dragon has always had positive connotations to the Chinese. May 6   The Cat Parade is celebrated in Belgium on this date in honor of felines. May 7 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, Sunnu, and begins at sunrise marking the beginning of ten consecutive weeks without the darkness of night.  Set a small electric lamp on your altar (something that reminds you of the sun would be perfect).  Turn the lamp on and let it burn for the next 10 weeks to mirror the 10 weeks of the midnight sun. Beaufort Scale Day (wind scale).  Wind is a very powerful element and Admiral Beaufort took it upon himself to give us the 12 levels of wind upon the sea.    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 9   May 10 THE FOURTH HOUSE . . .HOME LIFE OR THE BASE OF OPERATION. The fourth house of your astrological chart is your home base for magical operations. In a material sense the fourth house influences your magical circle and family altar. In a more spiritual sense it influences how you see the Goddess as Mother.    May 11 The procrastinator's May Day or the Norse May Day.  Since Beltane has such a Celtic flavor to it I decided to assign the old May day to the Norse version.  Ice Saints or Frost Saints. Those saints whose days fall in what is called "the blackthorn winter" - that is, the second week in May (between the 11th and the 14th). Some give only three days, but whether 11, 12, 13 or 12, 13, 14 is not agreed. May 11th is the day of St. Mamertus, May 12th of St. Pancratius, May 13th of St. Servatius, and May 14th of St. Boniface. 15th Cold Sophie's Day "Ces saincts passent pour saincts gresleurs, geleurs, et gateurs du bourgeon." - Rabelais.   May 12   May 13  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. Carved in stone, they hold bounty on their laps: a basket of fruits and flowers, an infant, a foal Invocation to the Three Mothers I am bowing my head In the eye of the Mother who gave me birth, In the eye of the Maiden who loves me, In the eye of the Crone who guides me in wisdom, In friendship and affection. Through thy gift of nature, O Goddess, Bestow upon us fullness in our need. Love towards the Lady, The affection of the Lady, The laughter of the Lady, The wisdom of the Lady, The passion of the Lady, The blessing of the Lady, And the magic of the Lady To do in the world of Midgard, As the Ageless Ones do in Asgard; Each shade and light, Each day and night, Each moment in kindness, Grant us Thy Sight. May 14 Mother's Day     May 15 In ancient Greece, the night of Maia was celebrated annually on this day in honor of the Star 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.   Maia" means "the maker," and every spring she makes the lush green grass and the fragrant flowers grow again. She is also praised as "the grandmother of magic" because her son [by Zeus], the god Hermes, was the first to discover that mysterious art. Soon after Maia gave birth to Hermes, she knew her son was a genius. While still a crawling baby, he created the first lyre by stretching strings across atortoise shell, and the first panpipe from marsh reeds. Besides being the first magician, Hermes is credited with the invention of medicine, astrology, and letters. Part of his duties as messenger to the gods and goddesses was the responsibility of bringing souls of the dead to the underworld. It is interesting to see how through this function Maia's son became the god of death, which contrasts to Maia's role as bringer of life each spring.   Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, Wish I may, wish I might, Make this wish come true tonight Festivals of Het-Hert and Bast; Great feast of the Southern heavens May 16 New Moon at 25°33  Taurus 12:44 pm PDT Sabian Symbol:   A strong Taurus streak says to quiet down and enjoy life a bit more. We've gotten overheated in our drives of late and need to realize there's more to life than just winning battles. It's time to reassess what power and drive are really for. As we head into the middle part of spring and experience the reemergence of Life first hand, it's important to see how we are part of the living whole about us. It's time to "get the war out of us" and feel what we truly stand for. Life is bigger than "I" will ever be.  The traditional skills of life can symbolize the story of both the past and present. Take time out to create something that is not only useful, but contains the symbols of your story. Also, some things need doing, just because they need to be done. You can see the results of your intentions at the Full Moon six months later so this moon with show up on November 9th 2007 May 17 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, and as background music for your work there's an album called Prayers of St. Brendan by Jeff Johnson from Hearts of Space.  Brigid, Goddess of sea and land, you endowed your servant Brendan with a bold and adventurous spirit to occupy himself for your business on the great waters and revealed to him your wonders in the deep: Make us, who recall with thanksgiving his voyages, your servants as well. Give us strength as we travel our own journey into the unknown. May 18 MAY    2 10 09   MAY  10  4 27 MAY   16 19 27   MAY   23 21 03 May 19   Since Athena seems to have more festival days than any other Goddess we try to make each one a little different and a little special.  This day is dedicated to Athena in her role as Goddess of Balance, specifically work/home balance. May 20   The Sun enters the astrological sign of Gemini .  Gemini is an air sign, ruled by the planet Mercury. Witches born under this sign are Jacks-of-all-trades.  They're trivia experts who keep an amazing amount of information about the strangest things in their brains.   They are wonderful with words.  They are the true eclectics, following the creed of the "the eclectic only steals from the very best."  They go with the flow and are adaptable to whatever style is prevalent in their area.  These people like to be members of several magical groups and/or traditions so as to have a variety of magical expressions.  They are the networkers in their communities, and also possibly the worst gossips.  Telepathy comes easily.  The like to write and communicate their magical experiences.  They are almost never solitaries and may have a number of partners and/or groups they work with.  Sometimes only they know who all their contacts are.  They're lost without a telephone or email.     May 21 Feast of the Triple Scoop - While this probably came into being as an advertisement for the ice cream industry, this is actually a special dragon day on my calendar.  After you've begun working with your dragon companions you will learn things that are completely unique to them.  My companion, as he has informed me, loves ice cream (preferably dragon sized in 5 gallon containers).  You will need to discover your own unique rituals but I ritually make an offering of ice cream on this day.  (Please remember that the essence of ritual is the action you take.  So you are not literally expecting a dragon to materialize and eat ice cream with you.  You are offering something of value in this world to a being in the other world.  It is the energy around your action that is in fact the gift) May 22 Sense of Smell day - this day is one when we work with aromatherapy if we're studying Draiochtgé.  If not then go shopping for a new bottle of perfume.  Since the moon is in Aries something woodsy would be appropriate. In Norway, this is the day the bear wakes from hibernation and leaves the den.   May 23 A sacred rose festival, the Rosalia dedicated to the flower-Goddess Flora and to Psyche was celebrated annually on this date in ancient Rome. Indulge yourself in roses. Eat biscuits with rose-flavored honey. Decorate with bunches of roses. Perfume yourself or your bath water with rosewater or rose essential oil. Scatter rose petals in your bed.   May 24 This is the feast day of Hermes Trismegistus, patron of alchemy "You shall separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, suavely, and with great ingenuity and skill. Your skillful work ascends from earth to heaven and descends to earth again, and receives the power of the superiors and of the inferiors. So thou hast the glory of the whole world--therefore let all obscurity flee from thee. This is the strong force of all forces, overcoming every subtle and penetrating every solid thing." - Hermes Trismegistus, The Emerald Tablet May 25 Limerick Day - this day is one when you can work on your skills as a poet  if your studying Draiochtgé.  For instructions on how to write a limerick go here.  I have a young puppy called Spark And I taught him to play for a lark      On my piano today      But he chewed upper A For his bite is much worse than his Bach Peter J Wilkins. The weather oracle - If it rain on the 25th, wind shall do much hurt that year; If the sun shine, the contrary._ May 26     May 28  By tradition Airmed tended a sacred well that the dead were placed in to be returned to life.  On this day, it is traditional for to decorate sacred wells with wreaths and toss offerings of flowers into the water in honor of the deities and spirits of the well. If you don't have a well (and not many of us do) then toss some petals and a drop of floral essential oil into your fountain or bird bath. May 29   Windmill Day May 30  Frigga's Day  May 31 Full Moon at 10°11 Sagittarius 6:03 pm PDT Sabian Symbol: An ugly old human figure is the carved representation of a god; near the left side is an ever-burning lamp.   The Moon in far-seeing and philosophical Sagittarius opposes the Sun in here and now Gemini. This is an especially high-spirited and enthusiastic Full Moon charged up by a conjunction with Jupiter, Sagittarius' ruling planet. Optimism soars with visions of a future far more fulfilling than the present. Electric Uranus chimes in with a square to the lunation that encourages escape from the drudgery of daily routine and responsibilities. Running away from reality is attractive, but what would you be running to? This isn't a time to finalize a master plan, but to explore alternative visions of your current situation and studying them carefully before making a major move. This Full Moon, known as the Dyad Moon or Lover's Moon celebrates the union of physical and spiritual. Sagittarius wants to understand the true nature of existence and relies heavily upon spiritual and physical journeying to accomplish this goal. This is the night to celebrate the adventurer within. Sagittarius is the consummate traveler, seeker and quester. What is your Holy Grail? Do you have the courage to go in search of it knowing that the real lessons are in the seeking and not the finding?   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.  Mugwort Day On the fifth day of the fifth Chinese month, dolls made of mugwort, a symbol of felicity, are hung over doors. Mugwort, the silvery artemisia vulgaris, is sacred in the Western tradition to Artemis whose temples were often centers of healing. Memorial Day The customs of honoring and communicating with the dead around this time (See Lemuria (May 9), Pentecost (May 19) and Trinity Sunday (May 26)), suggest an ancient origin for this festival. The American holiday derived from an incident on April 25, 1866 when four young Southern women, after scattering magnolia blossoms on the graves of the men they had lost in the Civil War, walked over to the other side of the graveyard where the Union soldiers were buried and decorated their graves as well. Sympathetic reports of this act of reconciliation encouraged communities all over America to hold their own "memorial" services, usually including a parade, a patriotic oration and a community picnic. WHAT IS REMEMBERED These are the gates of youth and age These are the gates of now and then These are the gates of memory and desire Pass through them Step between the worlds Pass through them You warriors, here your battles are over You who are hurt, here find healing You who are weary, here find rest for this is the land of youth the shining land the Isle of Apples Here is all that ever was None are forgotten Nothing fades forever All that has passed comes around again What is remembered, lives What is remembered, lives LAUREN RAINE