Despite the calendar telling us that summer doesn't begin until the Solstice, here in the Pacific Northwest, it begins May 1 with Beltane. Celtic festivals follow nature and reflect it unrelated to religious demands-- pagan or otherwise.
For Beltane, there used to be the May pole to dance around but not sure many still do that. Where I live, and in the lands where the Celtic religion originated, it is the time of hills turning green, trees in leaf, wildflowers everywhere and gardens full of color. The days are growing longer; the birds are building nests. It is a time for eager anticipation of summer weather when we can swim in rivers and hike in mountains that winter denied us (unless we snowshoe). It is a time to celebrate the renewal of life. It was the day in 1910 when my father was born in South Dakota.
What I didn't know about Beltane (or had forgotten) is that it is also the time of the coming together of the god and goddess, of male and female.
"Handfastings (Pagan marriages) are traditional at this time. It is a time of fertility and harvest, the time for reaping the wealth from the seeds that we have sown. Celebrations include braiding of one's hair (to honour the union of man and woman and Goddess and God), circling the Maypole for fertility and jumping the Beltane fire for luck. Beltane is one of the Major Sabbats of the Wiccan religion. We celebrate sexuality (something we see as holy and intrinsic to us as holy beings), we celebrate life and the unity which fosters it. The myths of Beltane state that the young God has blossomed into manhood, and the Goddess takes him on as her lover. Together, they learn the secrets of the sexual and the sensual, and through their union, all life begins." From The Shaman's Well, link above
Romance is the bread of life. Love is a worthy of celebration as artists and writers seek to capture the elusiveness of human reasons for mating.
The sculptures are all fired clay. If I get back to painting again, I hope I can do more couples in various poses reflecting love's moods.
5 comments:
So the sculptures are yours? They convey lovely emotion! While I have no prejudice against homosexuality I do think the spring is about the sexuality where there is reproduction. It is about the continence of the species and not just love, just my 2 cents worth.
Yes, they are mine. For a few years I did a lot of sculpting. Some were in the kind of clay that never hardens and from which you can create a wax , mold, and then a bronze , but I never put the big bucks into actually having any made. Then I did clay that I could fire and that's what these are. They look like bronzes for the patina applied and some got pretty good sized as we got better at figuring out how to make that work. I enjoyed it but in the end I couldn't find a market for them-- hence I have a lot of small people in my attic :)
I think it's about the god/goddess energy. I don't think having a baby is required for it to be celebrated, but I do agree that spring is for new growth and life.
Lovely post, thank you. And Beltane blessings to you.
Lovely, Lovely Sculptures, my dear Rain...And here's wishing you a Very Happy Beltane time....And a Happy Birthday to your father, too....!
I love knowing about beltane. It makes so much sense. It always struck me as odd that solstice would be the beginning. Beltane is the beginning, solstice is the zenith. It seems a much more complete way to understand the revolving earth.
Your artwork is beautiful.
Post a Comment