The Druids and friends of Hollow Hills Protogrove celebrated Beltane on 26th April 2008. It was a beautiful and sunny day that lent itself to the celebration of “summer is a’cumin in”.
ADF’s Vice Arch Druid from the United States, Rev. Kirk Thomas, joined us and honoured us by performing the Waters of Life section of our ritual. When Kirk visits he always shows great enthusiasm for ADF Druidry and always spends a lot of time answering questions. His presence is always appreciated, and always a lot of fun!
Our deities of the occasion were Belenus and Sirona, both Gaulish deities.
Belenus is a fire god, worshipped in Gaul, parts of Britain and other parts of the Continent. His name means “shining one” and he can be associated with heat/fire/purification. In some instances he is in charge of the welfare of sheep and cattle. His name has been found on about 50 inscriptions, so he is fairly well documented as a popular god on the Continent.
Sirona is a goddess of healing springs. She was a popular goddess from Brittany to Hungary. She has been depicted with a diadem on her head, often with a dog on her lap (dogs are symbols of healing) and a snake (also a healing symbol) around her arm. She is also often shown holding three eggs (for fertility). Sometimes she is also shown holding a libation dish and a scepter.
The altar was festively decorated with the flowers from our garden and a “tussy mussy” made by Lucy.
Many offerings were given – honey, butter, wine, whiskey, oatcakes, silver to the well, incense, songs, poems – all joyfully given to the deities, ancestors and nature spirits.
Our omens for the ritual were very good. From the Nature Spirits we received Strength, from the Ancestors we received Spark of Life and from the Deities we received Joy. I will talk in depth about the omens in another post.
Both fire and water can be healing and transformative, so the theme of the ritual was healing with fire in water. To aid transformation and purification in our lives we lit floating candles and meditated upon those things that we would like to purify, heal and transform in our lives. We put the candles in a bowl filled with Glastonbury water procured for us by our member, Tior. Thank you, Tior for bringing us a bit of Glastonbury! We later moved the candles into our home and they continued to burn all night long. We also purified any ritual jewelry and tools that needed purifying with the fire and well.
The ritual was followed by a shared potluck meal that included BBQ burgers and chicken, quiche, and salads, not to mention the sweets that our members love! We sat outside in the spring air and fellowship, good conversation and laughter followed.
All of our rituals are open to the public and our next ritual will be a Norse Midsummer – won’t you join us?
Blessings,
Doreen Taylor
Grove Organizer
Hollow Hills Protogrove, ADF