Although many celebrate this Sabbat on May 1st, some choose to have celebrations for this holiday stretching over the next few days. My Beltane activities here were pretty quiet and minimal, but I did catch the video of the Beltane celebration in Scotland!
Every year, the Beltane Fire Society (a pagan volunteer group in Scotland) puts together a glorious performance open to the public. The festival is designed to combine pagan and Scottish traditions in a glorious and fun display for everyone to enjoy
Due to the pandemic, the celebration was aired online this year. Thereās a huge range of performances- from gorgeous dancing, fire work, to some very interesting cat sock puppets
You are welcome to watch the festivities through the YouTube video:
Something interesting about this year: the group cast a woman as the role of the Green Man for the first time. Thereās a great article in The Wild Hunt about their decision. I love how they put it:
āWhere other Beltane and May Day celebrations tend to cast along gendered lines, the Society has long acknowledged that anyone of any gender can house the right masculine or feminine energies to play these archetypal figures. Add in the gender-bending legacy of Scottish street theatre, a formative influence on the society, and there is a lot of space for spiritual experimentation and gender play within their festivals.ā
I think it is wonderful that the society looks beyond physical sex in determining roles, and instead prioritizes the unique energies of each individual actor. Really interesting!
I first heard about this festival at the start of 2020 and havenāt been able to get to one because th pandemic hit not long after but one day I will go
Sorry you couldnāt make it this year, @Liisa- but yes! Hopefully the situation will improve and the festival will become a wonderful in-person festival again very soon. Iām hoping to be able to make it there myself some day! Fingers crossed for both of us
@BryWisteria@Susurrus@Rowan@christina4 I will make sure I get lots of pictures and video when I do get to go for everyone to share it with me also there is always room at mine if anyone ever wants to join me That includes all in the community The video was amazing and my friend new one of the dancers (dark hair), she used to sing in a band with her in college, and they had a little romance for a while. I was so jealous when she said lol
That is amazing you found a connection to one of the dancers- itās such a small world sometimes!
And you are so kind to offer a room for coven visitors- I am very tempted to take you up on the offer someday! It would be so much fun to experience such a Beltane celebration in a coven group
Thank you for sharing, I wait to brighter days & I have lost so much but knowing that the plants and the trees will rise up! I will wait for brighter days, āshe is awakeningā and the wheel keeps turning!
I loved the drumming and listening to the birdās chirp! I like what she said for change we must move forward! She said women scars are like dry river bends and transformation is enevadble! I will soar like an eagle! I love this video!
Thank you!
Jeannie