{"id":1059,"date":"2013-05-02T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T08:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/?p=1059"},"modified":"2013-05-02T10:51:44","modified_gmt":"2013-05-02T10:51:44","slug":"mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Bealtaine heralds the Light half of the Irish year\u2013and am I ever grateful for its arrival! \u00a0In ancient times, the custom was to count from the dark half: days began with sundown, and the year with winter.\u00a0 This dance of dark and light was woven into the tapestry of culture.\u00a0 We see it personified by Donn, watery god of the dead, and Fionn, a symbol of light as guardian of the living.\u00a0 We see it in the two opposing bulls of the T\u00e1in, the Donn Cuailgne and the Finnbheannach; and in Don F\u00edrinne and Finnbharra, the kings of the \u2018fairy folk\u2019 of Munster and Connacht.\u00a0 Dark and Light: the dreamtime and waking life. \u00a0 How sweet to finally wake from the long dreamtime of winter!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There are many traditions associated with Bealtaine and I would like to share a few, in the hope they add to your own seasonal celebration. \u00a0I will keep my sharing informative rather than narrative, for Summer is a time of action: of wooing and \u2018maying\u2019, of riding and hosting, of combat and hunting. During the dreamtime of winter we sit and tell stories, but in the light of day, we wake and Live Life!<\/p>\n

\u201cMay Day serves to divide our story-telling year in two equal halves (no stories after May Day until Samhain, when darkness comes to claim us back). It is considered direly unlucky to get into storytelling around Mayday \u2014 singing is a different matter, however.\u201d
\nMarion Gunn, Folklorist \/ Linguist, University College Dublin<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the Hill of Uisneach, both historically and mythically<\/a>, Bealtaine fires were lit and a sacred assembly<\/a> held. \u00a0It was a time of purification (a theme repeated often), when the cattle and people were cleansed with the smoke from the rising fires.\u00a0 The great fires at Uisneach was echoed by answering fires on nearby summits; a response that might have spread across the island. \u00a0The resulting \u201ctopographic web of fire\u201d stretching from the omphalos of Uisneach outward to the coast of Ireland, would have created a \u201cfire-eye,\u201d a divine oculus mundi\u2013an eye of the land herself\u2013through which Ireland\u2013Eriu\u2013could once again see and be seen.<\/p>\n

Of monumental landforms, mythologist Joseph Campbell wrote, \u201cto be seen in the eyes of the Goddess and to move upon [her] as she revealed herself in hill and vale was to be part of both time and timelessness, matter and spirit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From the lofty to the daily, we turn to the tiny Primrose.\u00a0 This delicious yellow flower of early spring was collected on May Eve, before dusk, by children who made posies or small bouquets with them.\u00a0 They were hung in the house or over the door, laid on doorsteps and windowsills, strewn in profusion, to protect against the Fair Ones\u2026who traipse at this time of year!\u00a0 <\/span>As an added benefit, if you rub them on a cow\u2019s udder her milk will increase!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYes! the summer is returning,
\nWarmer, brighter beams are burning;
\nGolden mornings, purple evenings,
\nCome to glad the world once more.<\/p>\n

Nature, from her long sojourning
\nIn the winter house of mourning,
\nWith the light of hope out peeping,
\nFrom those eyes that late were weeping,
\nCometh dancing o\u2019er the waters,
\nTo our distant shore.\u201d
\n-Mac Carthy\u2019s \u201cBridal of the Year.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here in Cork, particularly the southern part, May Eve was known as \u201cNettlemas Night\u201d.\u00a0 Boys would parade the streets with large bunches of nettles, stinging their playmates and occasionally unfortunate passersby who got too close.\u00a0 Girls joined in this as well, usually stinging their lovers or boys they especially liked!\u00a0 In most parts of Ireland, it was believed that taking 3 meals of nettles in May guarded against illness for the rest of the year.\u00a0 Other parts of the country dispensed with the stinging, instead nettles were gathered on May Eve, pressed into a juice, and everyone in the house drank a mouthful, \u2026 to keep a \u201cgood fire in them\u201d for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

Of interest to us Hedge Witches is the May Eve Curse.\u00a0 Vervain, Speedwell, Eyebright, Mallow, Yarrow, Self-Heal, St. Johns Wort:\u00a0 if collected on May Eve under the enchanting words, these herbs do great harm and nothing natural or supernatural may dissuade.\u00a0 Though I tell you this, not a single one of these flowers are in bloom yet!<\/em>\u00a0 In fact, they are all June bloomers.\u00a0 So either the weather was once greatly improved, or there wasn\u2019t much cursing going on.<\/p>\n

Now then, fair and gentle, rude and rustic readers\u2014country swains and city dames\u2014boys of the Liberty, from Blackpits to Mullinahack, from the banks of the Dodder to the heights of Ballynascorney\u2014girls of Finglas and bucks of Fingal, how have you spent your May Eve?\u2014how did you welcome May Morning, and how do you purpose to celebrate the birth-day of summer? Have you danced to the elfin pipers that played under the thorns of the Phoenix last night? Did you leap through the bonfires that blazed upon Tallaght and Harold\u2019s-cross Green? Were you out yester-eve to welcome the \u201cYoung May Moon?\u201d or up before sunrise this morning to gather the maiden dew from the sparkling gossamer, to keep the freckles off your pretty faces?\u2014or have you been\u2014<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 \u201cseeking
\nA spell in the young year\u2019s flowers.
\nThe magical May-dew is weeping
\nIt\u2019s charms o\u2019er the summer bow\u2019rs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you found the name of your true love smeared by the snail you set between the plates last evening? and have you chosen a Queen of the May, whose path you\u2019ll strew with pasture flowers, as you lead her round the garlanded pole of the Tolka? Are your doors and windows decorated with primroses and cowslips, and May-flowers gathered by the meadows and green inches of your lovely Anna Liffey? Butchers of Patrick\u2019s Market and Bull Alley, and boys of the Coombe and the Poddle, are you ready, as of yore, to \u201ccut de bosh, spite of de Devil and de Polis?\u201d Up, weavers of Newmarket and Meath Street, and join with the Ormond boys; will you suffer the white-coated boddaghs of Meath to carry off the prizes at Finglas, and steal the May-dew from the rosy-lipped girls of Glasnevin?
\n-Sir William Wilde; Irish Popular Superstitions; 1850<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Happy Bealtaine! \u00a0Let the festivities begin!\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Bealtaine–the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1296,"featured_media":1064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,24,14,158],"tags":[27,1896,1894,7,8],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-experiential","category-folklore","category-ireland","category-traditions","tag-faeries","tag-folklore","tag-ireland","tag-pagan","tag-paganism"],"yoast_head":"\nM\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's Bealtaine--the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's Bealtaine--the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Sense of Place\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-02T08:00:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-05-02T10:51:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/310\/2013\/05\/Uishneach-337.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Traci\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Traci\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/\",\"name\":\"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-02T08:00:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-02T10:51:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#\/schema\/person\/f8958a0ef9ce9baa5c56c5ddb2beff68\"},\"description\":\"It's Bealtaine--the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/\",\"name\":\"A Sense of Place\",\"description\":\"Pagans encounter the land beneath their feet\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#\/schema\/person\/f8958a0ef9ce9baa5c56c5ddb2beff68\",\"name\":\"Traci\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1c1101786d4107c4e7ca4d8d8bbe806?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1c1101786d4107c4e7ca4d8d8bbe806?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Traci\"},\"description\":\"Traci is an animist living in Ireland and hails from the great state of Texas (a mythic heritage she is quite proud of!).\u00a0\u00a0Her current academic pursuits are in Sociology and Psychology, and she engages a \u201csensuous scholarship\u201d when seeking to understand Place.\u00a0 She can also be found at\u00a0Confessions of a Hedge Witch\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/hedgeconfessions.wordpress.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/author\/traci\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May","description":"It's Bealtaine--the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May","og_description":"It's Bealtaine--the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/","og_site_name":"A Sense of Place","article_published_time":"2013-05-02T08:00:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-05-02T10:51:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"640","height":"427","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/310\/2013\/05\/Uishneach-337.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Traci","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Traci","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/","name":"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-05-02T08:00:57+00:00","dateModified":"2013-05-02T10:51:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#\/schema\/person\/f8958a0ef9ce9baa5c56c5ddb2beff68"},"description":"It's Bealtaine--the beginning of summer! And Traci shares some Irish history and folklore associated with this festive time.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/2013\/05\/mi-na-bealtaine-the-merry-month-of-may\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"M\u00ed na Bealtaine! the Merry Month of May"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/","name":"A Sense of Place","description":"Pagans encounter the land beneath their feet","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#\/schema\/person\/f8958a0ef9ce9baa5c56c5ddb2beff68","name":"Traci","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1c1101786d4107c4e7ca4d8d8bbe806?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c1c1101786d4107c4e7ca4d8d8bbe806?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"Traci"},"description":"Traci is an animist living in Ireland and hails from the great state of Texas (a mythic heritage she is quite proud of!).\u00a0\u00a0Her current academic pursuits are in Sociology and Psychology, and she engages a \u201csensuous scholarship\u201d when seeking to understand Place.\u00a0 She can also be found at\u00a0Confessions of a Hedge Witch","sameAs":["http:\/\/hedgeconfessions.wordpress.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/author\/traci\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1296"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/asenseofplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}