{"id":22135,"date":"2021-04-25T03:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-25T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=22135"},"modified":"2021-04-20T14:12:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T20:12:18","slug":"under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Beltane is, I think, the most difficult of all the sabbats to celebrate alone.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean the sexual aspects of Beltane \u2013 I\u2019m not going to discuss that this year. I have more to say about it after last year\u2019s Beltane post<\/a>, but this year isn\u2019t the right time for that conversation. Maybe next year.<\/p>\n

But when I think about how I\u2019ve actually celebrated Beltane<\/a> over the years, I think about loud and boisterous Maypole Dances\u2026 and then quietly processing to the ritual area. I think about ritual plays to present the stories of our Gods. Mainly, I think about people coming together to celebrate the joy of being Pagan.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s still not safe to gather in large groups. So one again I\u2019ll be celebrating our modern Pagan holy days online \u2013 hopefully, with many of you.<\/p>\n

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

Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, May 1<\/p>\n

8:00 PM CDT<\/p>\n

YouTube Premiere<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ritual<\/h2>\n

The liturgy follows the same basic outline we\u2019ve been using for the past year (and before<\/a>). The Deity of the Occasion is Cernunnos.<\/p>\n

Cernunnos<\/a> is a very old God, and like many very old Gods there is little mythology surrounding Him. His name appears only once, on the Pillar of the Boatmen in France, which dates to the first century of the Common Era. The image of Him on the pendant I wear and on the statue in this picture comes from the Gundestrup Cauldron, from about the same time period. That image does not mention Him by name.<\/p>\n

But what we cannot know from history we can know from personal experience. From my experiences and from the experiences of others, I know Cernunnos as the Lord of the Animals, the Lord of the Hunt, and the God of the Wild. Who better to honor at Beltane?<\/p>\n

Our main working is a journey to meet Cernunnos, and to listen for what He has to say to each of us.<\/p>\n

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

What you need to participate where you are<\/h2>\n

As usual, if you\u2019d like to participate where you are, you\u2019ll need a candle and something to light it with, something for offerings and something to pour them into. I\u2019m offering whiskey \u2013 you offer what seems right to you. When we\u2019re done with the main working, we\u2019ll share a drink among ourselves.<\/p>\n

The main working is similar to what we did at last year\u2019s Beltane, except that was on Facebook Live and was strictly a guided meditation. For this year\u2019s Beltane, I solicited video clips of wild places from around the country and around the world. If we cannot travel physically to meet Cernunnos in wild places, we will journey to wild places spiritually.<\/p>\n

In preparation for this ritual, I encourage you to spend some time in meditation, outdoors if you can. I know it\u2019s still very cold in some places. But if you can, take a few minutes to sit quietly and listen for what Nature and the Gods of Nature have to say.<\/p>\n

The ritual runs just under 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

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

Want to get my personal weekly newsletter every Friday? It covers things that don\u2019t fit into the blog format, mostly in my usual range: Paganism, polytheism, and magic. Current events and politics. What I\u2019m working on that you\u2019ll see in the near to medium future \u2013 be the first to find out about things like this.<\/p>\n

Sign up on my teaching site\u00a0https:\/\/undertheancientoaks.com\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Enter your e-mail in the big green block and do the not-a-robot thing. You\u2019ll get a confirmation e-mail \u2013 respond to it and you\u2019re set. You have to respond to the confirmation e-mail \u2013 my mailing service wants to make sure you really want the newsletters and someone isn\u2019t signing you up for something you don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":22136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[75,3077,31,3602,4,5,8],"class_list":["post-22135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ritual","tag-beltane","tag-beltane-ritual","tag-cernunnos","tag-online-ritual","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-polytheism"],"yoast_head":"\nUnder the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.\" \/>\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\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-25T09:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-20T20:12:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2021\/04\/Beltane-2021-title-slide.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Beckett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html\",\"name\":\"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-25T09:00:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-20T20:12:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\"},\"description\":\"The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"description\":\"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad\",\"name\":\"John Beckett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Beckett\"},\"description\":\"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1","description":"The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.","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\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1","og_description":"The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html","og_site_name":"John Beckett","article_published_time":"2021-04-25T09:00:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-20T20:12:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2021\/04\/Beltane-2021-title-slide.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Beckett","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Beckett","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html","name":"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-04-25T09:00:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-20T20:12:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad"},"description":"The Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual will be Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 PM CDT on YouTube.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2021\/04\/under-the-ancient-oaks-online-beltane-ritual-may-1-2.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Under the Ancient Oaks Online Beltane Ritual: May 1"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/","name":"John Beckett","description":"Musings of a Druid, Pagan, and Unitarian Universalist.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/b4c8980dc36f971434424c304ca429ad","name":"John Beckett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f50bfa2a79f70103847fe75540bb29c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Beckett"},"description":"I grew up in Tennessee with the woods right outside my back door. Wandering through them gave me a sense of connection to Nature and to a certain Forest God. I\u2019m a Druid graduate of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, the Coordinating Officer of the Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans and a former Vice President of CUUPS Continental. I\u2019ve been writing, speaking, teaching, and leading public rituals for the past eleven years. I live in the Dallas \u2013 Fort Worth area and I earn my keep as an engineer.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/author\/johnbeckett"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}