Join Corr réisc Grove for a celebration of Beltane!
Sunday 1st May 2022, 10:30 - 12:30
About Beltane
It is thought that the ancients only recognised two seasons, these being Summer and Winter. Beltane is the time when the Earth is literally buzzing with fertility. Life springs forth in all of its richness, and the land is covered with beautiful flowers; the freshly opened leaves of the trees are a quality of green that they only show at this time of year. (from the OBOD website)
Beltane celebrates the start of summer and the beginning of the crop and pasturing season. Its name can be translated as "bright fire" and may derive from the name of the solar god Bel or Belenus. It is a time when fires were lit on hillsides, and cattle passed through the smoke to be cleansed both literally and symbolically. Beltane is a festival of celebration, of long days, summer's warmth, and the blooming Hawthorn, or May Blossom.
Meeting place
We will meet outside the Cambridge Museum of Technology, facing the river, between 10:15 and 10:45.
Location for gathering itself
We usually wait for around 10-15 minutes at the location above before heading into Stourbridge Common. To join us if you are running late, walk straight into the Common, keep straight as you pass a children's playground to your right and as you enter the open fields down a wide dirt track, look to your left for a group of trees. Hopefully, you won't miss us!
First time with us?
If you have never attended or taken part in a pagan/druidic/OBOD ceremony, worry not! Our ceremonies are flexible, open to whatever you would like to contribute and inclusive of all identities. There are simple ceremony roles to have a go at, with pre-prepared lines to read out, but there is no obligation whatsoever to do so. If you'd like to have an idea of what's involved, please get in touch with us.
Preparing
All registered attendees will be sent a link to the ritual script online, with details of what to prepare/bring, a few days before the event. We will usually bring key items for the ceremony, as well as paper copies of the rite, that can be read from on the day.
We are mindful of the weather and dress appropriately, bringing water, a hat, suntan cream, coat and waterproofs, etc. Come rain or shine, hail or snow, we will meet, except when government advice regarding the pandemic prohibits us from doing so.
After the ceremony
Food and drink (usually alcoholic, sometimes non-alcoholic) are usually brought after an outdoor gathering. There is no requirement to bring anything or to take part in having something to eat and/or drink, particularly if you are socially distancing. We do share mead but again, please don't feel you need to partake, bring your own or share.
Gifts of music, poetry and readings for a small Eisteddfod afterwards are always most welcome and there will be an opportunity to sign up for any offering of creativity you would like to share, if desired, once the ritual script is circulated. Again, there is no requirement for you to do so: just an ask that we all support these bards as they share their talent and inspiration.
Subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date with this and future events and please do get in contact if you have any questions.
We look forward to seeing you for our Beltane celebration,
Corr réisc Grove.
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