~*Beltaine*~
May Day, Walpurgisnacht
May 1st or April 30th
A Grand Sabbat
©Jenny M. Heidewald
Preparation:
You will need to prepare three crowns: two woven of (dethorned) branches for hawthorn and blackthorn, and one woven of oak sprigs and leaves. All the materials for these crowns should be gathered on the day of the ritual, and it is wise to explain to the tree why you are cutting off its branches. A green silk scarf should be near the altar, and you should have one candle for each person in the coven ready near the cauldron. Instead of cakes, there should be a bowl of nuts ready for consecration in the Great Rite.
The Ritual:
Immediately after the Witche's Rune, the coven members should position themselves around the inner rim of the Circle and clap rhythmically. During this time, the High Priest picks up the scarf, and holding one end in each h and, he moves toward the High Priestess as if he is trying to catch her with the scarf. She backs away from him, while continuing to tease him. The women of the coven should interfere with the High Priest to aid in her escape.
After a short time of this, the High Priestess allows the High Priest to capture her by throwing the scarf around the back of her head. They kiss, and the Priest then throws the scarf to another man. The other man then pursues his partner, and so on, until each couple in the coven have participated. The last man hands the scarf back to the High Priest.
He again chases the High Priestess, but at a much slower pace. This continues until she is between the cauldron and the altar, facing the altar. The High Priest stops with his back to the altar and catches her with the scarf. They embrace and kiss. After a few seconds of the kiss, the Priest lets the scarf drop to the floor, and the High Priestess lets go of him and steps backwards.
The High Preist drops to his knees and sits back on his heels and lowers his head until his chin is resting on his chest.
The High Priestess spreads her arms wide. This is a signal for the clapping hands to stop. She then calls two women by name, who come forward and stand on each side of the High Priest, facing him. She picks up the scarf, and the three women spread it between them over the Priest, then lower it so that it covers his head.
The High Priestess then sends the two women back to their seats and calls two men by name. They put out the two altar candles (but not the Earth candle), and then return to their places.
She then turns and kneels facing the cauldron and gestures for the rest of the 
coven to kneel with her. The High Priest remains where he is. She blows out the candle in the cauldron and everyone is silent for a moment, meditating. The High Priestess then says:
"The Bel-fire is extinguished and the Oak King is dead. He has embraced the Great Mother and died of his love; so has it been year after year, since time began. Yet if the Oak King is dead, He who is the God of the Waxing Year, all is dead. The fields bear no crops, the trees bear no fruit, and the creatures of the Great Mother bear no young. What should we do now that the Oak King may live again?"
The coven replies: "Relight the Bel-Fire!"
The High Pries says: "So Mote it Be!"
She takes a candle, rises and lights the candle from the Earth candle on the altar, and kneels again at the cauldron, relighting its candle.
She says:
"Take each of you a candle and light it from the Bel-Fire."
After each person in the coven has done so, the Priestess lights a second candle for herself. She calls the original two women, and they all lift the scarf from the High Priest's head. They return to their places.
The High Priestess holds one candle out to the High Priest and says:
"Come back to us, Oak King, that the land may be fruitful."
He rises and accepts the candle. He says:
"I am a stag of seven times,
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a god who sets the head afire with smoke."
The High Priestess and High Priest lead a ring dance around the cauldron, with the rest of the coven following, carrying their candles. They chant:
"Oh, do not thell the Priest of our Art,
Or he would call it a sin;
But we shall be in the woods all night,
Conjuring Summer in!
And we bring you news by word of mouth
For women, cattle and corn-
Now is the Sun come up from the South
With Oak, Ash and Thorn!"
They repeat the final line until the High Priestess and all the others blow out her candle and lays it beside the cauldron. The entire coven then links hands and circles faster and faster. The High Priestess occassionally calls out a name or the names of a couple, and whoever is called breaks the circle and jumps the cauldron, rejoining the ring. After all have jumped the cauldron, the High Priestess shouts, "Down!" and everyone sits where they are.
In some covens, the practice of dancing around the May Pole is used instead of dancing around the altar. The above is a variation of the same ritual.
The Great Rite is now performed and the ritual is concluded.
~All information on this page is taken from my personal Book of Shadows.
©2001NyWitch
