This Beltaine saw 30 people descending on Nebo. We arrived at Lunch time, and started the day’s activities by making a labyrinth – each of us had brought a kilo of cooked rise. After our creation took shape, we walked the labyrinth, accompanied by some very enthusiastic drumming – with the aim of tying a ribbon onto a pole in the middle. Then being lead out by the next person coming into the labyrinth – a lovely act of balance, and a very powerful thing!

Beltaine Labyrinth

After this the group was divided into men and women, each group with a set of tasks to perform to lead into the main ritual.

The main part of the ritual consisted of us coming back from our separate preparations and starting the main part of the ritual. The quarters were opened and Caryl lead us into the spirit of the day. The pattern being that men were on the outer ring of the circle, the ladies on the inner ring. The men then went outside of this circle to perform their feats of masculine prowess and general noisiness. Upon returning the the circle, the ladies suddenly burst into angelic waves of singing and turned round and presented the menfolk with flowers – that was unexpected for us guys, and completely de-fused the outpouring of masculine action and stomping that had gone before! Then one of the other activities was that we each came forward to the May King and May Queen (who each had their parts of the ritual to read also) and be presented with a pebble from a basket – presented by the May King to the ladies and the May Queen to the menfolk. This was followed by more readings and the circle being closed.

We then went inside to dry out and enjoy a lovely feast that everyone had contributed to.

Then Caryl lead us through a mummer’s play for the time of beltaine with some very colourful characters indeed; the winter dragon, pan, jack the green, st george -a very diverse collection. All acted out with masterful drama and superb props… despite hardly being able to move as we were all crammed into Caryl’s kitchen at this point!

After this came a little more food, and a little wine also. Singing and generally having a good time. Then as dusk approached, we went outside to light the Beltaine fires that the men had built previously. Those who felt adventurous jumped over the fires of course! More singing followed and then the evening started to wind down with people chatting, discussing and generally coming together as a community after a great celebration – a magic way to end a lovely day!

Beltaine Fires

Happy Beltaine to all/Calan Mai Hapus i Bawb!!!

Videos of some of the day’s events are available here: http://druidicdawn.org/node/1971 – membership of Druidic Dawn is required as these aren’t really public.

The Grove has decided on our two charities for this year: Freshfields and Coed Cymru. We will be collecting donations for them at every ritual event. This ritual we collected £4.50! Gill also asked everyone how their spiritual gardens were getting on.

We then briefly discussed Calan Mai before heading outside to start the ritual proceedings. There were bells and windchimes hanging in the trees, so all day there were lovely tinkling sounds as the wind blew through. Gareth started us off with some wonderful Chi Qong exercises, balancing and moving our energy about and bringing us all together. Then Alison taught us a little bit of Mongolian chanting/throat-singing using vowels and the chakras, and when we all came together it sounded pretty good!!!

Finally, standing in a circle, Jenn gave everyone ribbons of pink, purple and red to wear on their wrists. These not only looked good and brought the energies together again but also felt very festive as people danced, the ribbons swayed and blew too! It was great too that everyone wore reds, purple and pinks! Then Jenn took may water and a little hawthorn branch and blessed the space between us with the water and blessed each of us as we then began the task of unwinding the May Pole! It was a bit tricky at first, but then as people got used to it, it got better! At each of the four quarters, while the May Pole was being unwound, one of the grove members would stop and greet the directions before continuing with the May Pole. It worked very well and was lovely as Ros played her harmonica. There was an air of simple joys and old times that seemed to (for me) fill the little spot.

Finally, it was time to find out who would be the May King and Queen. Drawing lots, Caryl was chosen as the May Queen and Holger found himself the May/Hawthorn King!!! Gareth drew his lot and found out that he was the Blackthorn King! So we divided up into teams of 7 people … and in traditional style, we had the Battle of Hawthorn versus Blackthorn. The Hawthorn side was armed with birch branches and fern leaves–for they represented the resilient powers of Summer. The Hawthorn King of course had a beautiful Hawthorn staff. The Blackthorn side was given lots of old grass, dead thistles and branches, etc to fight with for they were the powers of Winter. The Blackthorn King was given a blackthorn branch (with thorns still on it!) and a shield covered in cotton wool (snow) and dead grasses, rushes, etc to represent Winter. Then at Jenn’s signal, the two sides went at it for an epic battle!!! Grass, leaves and branches went flying everywhere as general scuffing and one-on-one fighting broke out. The Hawthorn and Blackthorn Kings struggled in the midst of it, taking to the ground to wrestle it out. But the poor Blackthorn King was outdone this time and the forces of Summer and the Whitethorn/Hawthorn triumped! Holger was crowned the May King and he and his May Queen led everyone down for a celebratory feasting lunch!

For lunch we had delicious tomato soup (thank you Gill) with oat cakes (thank you Lynne), oaty breads, a beautiful and absolutely amazing flower salad (thank you Ros and Eileen). Gill also provided dark chocolate covered flapjacks which went down a treat.

After sating our hunger (for as Eleri said, it’s hungry work!) … we headed outside to sit in the warm (verging on hot) sunshine to digest our foods and listen to our budding bard, Holger recount the tale of Taliesin. This was not the oft-told story of how Gwion Bach became Taliesin, but the rarer account of Taliesin being found by Elfin and in turn him rescuing him from the haughty hands of Maelgwyn Gwynedd. Holger did a WONDERFUL job with his bells and singing bringing the story to life … as well as bringing others into it by having them read little bits of it at the appropriate times. This was a good story too! Of course, it was appropriate because Taliesin was found by Elfin on May Eve.

Then after that, we got on our feet for Caryl, who led us in a hoot of a mummer’s play. Well scripted, we were all involved and given parts, from birds, a brook, Mother Earth, St George and the Dragon, Robin Hood and Maid Marion, trees, Pan, Jack-in-the-Green, and the May King and Queen. With such a cast of fun characters, you can just imagine what antics we got up to, courtesy of Caryl’s rhymed directions! haha!

After this, we settled down to have the Ritual Cake (a yummy yummy parkin thank you Elaine) and Ritual Drink (lemon balm brewed with honey, thank you Gill) to refresh ourselves before proceeding with the more thoughtful, meditative part of the afternoon.

Lynne then led us in a tree meditation where we found a tree in our minds that spoke to us and she brought us close to it, observing it and experiencing it. When we came back then, she handed out paper and provided colouring pens/pencils/crayons and she had us all draw the tree we saw! What a wonderful idea! And the trees everyone came up with, from the most basic to the most detailed were truly astounding and insightful into each other and the group.

Jenn then led a longer part, first about the power of Blessing, reading bits from John O’Donohue’s book “Benedictus” before handing out paper again. Everyone then wrote their own blessing and going round to each person, looked one another in the eyes and shared their blessings. This was also meaningful and felt like an opening of the heart to the rest of the group.

Then we settled down as she introduced the Buddhist idea of Metta or Lovingkindness before leading us in a Metta meditation where we first blessed ourselves and then gradually worked through parents, partners, loved ones, friends, teachers, coworkers, energies and spirits around us, animals and living things, world leaders and workers, enemies and those who are perpetuating hurt, all the way to the earth herself, the solar system, the universe! This was a very grounding and healing meditation.

Then Jenn briefly discussed with us John O’Donohue’s idea of the Anam Cara or Soul Friend before leading a short discussion on soul friendship. She also pointed out that if anyone in the group felt drawn to other people in the grove, to approach them and perhaps try to have a sort of anam cara relationship, sharing and discussing spiritual things together. This idea was received by some and others didn’t feel drawn towards it.

Finally, folks were starting to get a bit antsy so we headed back up to the May Pole and circle to light our Beltaine Fire. Each person had one or two pieces of wood and after offering something to the grove (either song, poem, or wise thought) placed their wood on the fire. We had some really beautiful Welsh songs thanks to Gareth and Elaine, Holger, and Eleri … and Keith sang us an old Quaker favourite! There were a few poems read too, all evocative and beautiful.

Then we began to wind up the May Pole, weaving in and out and at the same time farewelling the directions. The mood this time was more festive and celebratory and everyone did a very good job! Ros played her harmonica again with Jenn clanging on little bellydancing cymbals and running round setting all the bells and windchimes to ring out! Keith had worn his Morris dancing leg bells and they sounded wonderful as everyone danced around the May Pole!

We then each took a running leap over the Beltaine fire with another blessing of May water before Jenn went round and gave out ‘sweet blessings‘ with honey over the third eye or lips or nose, etc.

To then release the energy of the day and ground again, Gareth led us in a couple simple Chi Qong exercises before with shouts, we headed down to Alison’s house for a huge spread of food! Wow!

Everyone brought plenty of food for our Feast which was perfect and we had all sorts of things to choose from and each dish was delicious. We had fun talking, eating and getting to know one another better before it finally came time to start packing up and leaving.

The day finally came to an end but it was certainly a good ritual day and it was so because of all the good people we had with us, despite a number of our beloved grove members missing because of previous engagements/arrangements.

A big thank you to everyone who came and contributed and especially a thank you to our new people (there were 4 new faces) as well as a happy welcome. We hope that you’ll join us again some time!

So my blessing for you all: May this Summer be sweet and kind to you!

Ingredients: May blossom, sugar, lemons and oranges, wine yeast (for amounts see below!).

Collecting the blossom: Ideally, you should be picking your blossom on a dry, sunny day; this brings out the best aroma. Although is is supposed to be a flower wine it is almost impossible to avoid a proportion of stalks (and even leaves) getting into you receptacle which I wouldn’t worry too much about. As far as the amount is concerned, for any kind of blossom and leave wine I use a one pint measuring jug which I fill twice fairly tightly to make one gallon of wine. Any surplus can only enhance the flavour but do try not to use any less!

Processing: This is done in two stages.

1.)When you get home with your blossom, place them in a clean fermenting bin, boil plenty of water and pour over them. All blossom should be well covered and the bin approximately ¾ full. Press the lid firmly down in order to keep the aroma in the bin. Let your bin stand out of direct sunlight for about three days, during which the water will absorb the flavour and colour of your blossom.

2.)After three days put sugar into your biggest pan and strain your ‘must’ through a sieve over it. For one gallon of wine you will need about 2½ lbs of sugar. Stir really well until all sugar is dissolved and add the peel of one lemon and one orange per gallon to it. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully pour the hot liquid back into your fermentation bin (which you will have rinsed out by then!) and, if necessary, fill up with just boiling water to make up to the amount required. Put the lid back on but this time leave a small section slightly open for the hot air to escape. Wait until liquid is hand warm and then stir in the juice of your lemon(s) and orange(s). Finally, add a sachet of wine yeast according to the manufacturer’s instructions. That’s it!!!

Fermenting:Leave your bin in a safe place out of the sun and not too cold (at least to begin with). Make sure the lid is still slightly open for the carbon dioxide to escape once fermentation has started. This should begin after about 24 hours and is indicated by a layer of bubbly foam on top of your liquid plus a lively fizzing sound. After three to four weeks fermentation will be slowing down and the bin can now be moved into somewhat cooler conditions. Altogether your wine will take at least four months to be ready to drink but it is advisable to wait another three to four months for the wine to clear, mature and develop its full aroma. Once you get into the habit of wine making, best thing is to work in a one-year-rhythm, meaning you syphon your wine into bottles at roughly the same time that you are making next year’s lot!

Syphoning: This can be a bit tricky if you have to move your bin! The sediment in the bottom is easily disturbed and can cloud your wine which will take days if not weeks to clear again. If at all possible, for the whole length of fermentation place your bin on a raised surface about twice the height of your bottles. Syphoning is much easier done by two people, one actually filling the bottles and the other keeping the end of the pipe just below the gradually lowering surface of the wine. The odd piece of lemon peel might still get into your bottles but, by and large, the wine should be clear. If there is some cloudiness, don’t worry! The last bottle to be filled is almost guaranteed to suck up some ‘dregs’ from the bottom of the bin; mark it and use for cooking! Otherwise, most wines should clear of their own accord. The rule is that the longer you leave your wine – either in the fermenting bin or in the bottles, the clearer it will be. Some wines might never quite clear, while others might come out sparkingly clear straight away – that’s home brewing for you! There are additives available to help clear wines but I personally am inclined to tolerate a bit of cloudiness rather than risking a funny aftertaste in my wine. It’s worth it –

ENJOY!!!

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