Songs and Stories for the Season
Two images often associated with Beltane are the Goddess and The Green Man.
The origins of the word Beltane come from combining the Celtic God 'Bel', meaning 'the bright one' and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire.
It is this moment that is honoured at Beltane through the traditional stories of the 'greenwood marriage' between the fertile maiden Goddess and the wild and untameable horned god, Herne the Hunter. The story goes that Herne lusts after the Goddess and on Beltane seeks her out in the forest, shapeshifting in to a stag as the Goddess becomes a white deer. Amongst the wild green of the woods their union is consummated, ensuring the fertility of the land. The Goddess is blessed with new life and becomes the Grain-Mother, carrying the fruit of their union.
“We too can begin a new life, one that brings satisfaction and enrichment, whether this is by singing, dancing, running through the waves, walking barefoot on the grass or making love under the stars. Beltane is a wonderful time for expressing who you truly are.” ― Carole Carlton
These beautiful collection of stories (and their written synopses) are told and retold by us and those we value such as "Heilung " "DD The Story Teller" " Marjolein Robertson "
"We Be Kids" who weave such wonderful values into the world.
Storytelling & Song: Anoana
The lyrics for this piece are mainly taken from bracteates: golden, circular coins or amulets found in Northern Europe that date from the 4th to 7th centuries CE. They are often fitted with a decorated rim and loop, which indicates that they were meant to be worn and perhaps provide protection, fulfil wishes or for divination.
The bracteates feature a very significant iconography influenced by Roman coinage. They were predominantly made from Roman gold, which was given to the North Germanic peoples as peace money. In Anoana, the listener has the chance to delve into a collection of likely encoded spells from the Migration Period and get a touch of magic from the Dark Ages. The intention of the piece is to playfully reconnect to an incantational language of a period where the North was richer in gold than any other region. Our forefathers presumably enjoyed a time of great prosperity and it may make us rethink how dark these ages really were.
Storytelling:
The White Hind of hope
This story is from a book called Woodland Folk Tales from Britain and Ireland.
There are few sightings of the White Deer, some say the deer is from the realm of the Fairies and Elves and if you are to see it then great hope will fill your heart.
This is a great little story for our time with many similarities to the world we have found ourselves in during 2020 and 2021. You may not see a white deer to fill your heart with hope but with many signs of spring appearing all around us there is optimism in the air that bright times are returning.
After listening to the story consider the following question:
If you saw a white deer and followed it where do you think it would lead...? Can you make up your own story?
When you face what you FEAR, fear fears YOU. The Story of Freya - Death - Rebirth - Eldership!!
I share a Medicine story that is beautiful, profound, and firmly rooted into our times!! What battles have you fought before? What’s worth fighting for in your life? The noise out there is getting louder, it is deafening. The world is ripping itself apart and we are witnessing this dissolution in real time.
But there is a profound message amongst all that noise and contradiction, if we can get quiet enough to hear it. What Happened to the Mystic, To The Goddess ? and The Warrior? As the goddess started hiding, through so much persecution and pain, we were ripped away from her wisdom.
This was the journey of descending deeper into the great forgetting. As we continued forgetting our true selves, we disregarded the goddess. With the turning of each wheel of time, we remembered her less and less. Yet We all have a deep rich heritage of deep mystical knowledge , wisdom and direct experience that courses through our veins . We descend from the Mystery Schools , the land beneath our feet is releasing the stories , so we may remember that we were once all alchemists and magicians… Designed to thrive and live from our hearts, gently yet fiercely with love in our hearts..
This is a time of deep soul Alchemy, and global Alchemy we are being invited to touch the ground and reach deep into the earth, our hearts and souls with our bare hands, and pull those stories up into the light , like lost seeds, that are yearning to be reborn , retold and remembered .. This is how we move from harm to healing ….
Through our collective story…. The call of the wild is an ancient invitation of remembrance, to come home to ourselves , each other and the land itself ; to re-discover our deepest roots. To simply exist in partnership with the land and the woven fabric of all things a part of something greater. Unburdened. Instinctive, Uninhibited and slightly Feral…
HEILUNG - "Anoana" - Behind the Music
Giving an insight into the themes of the album, HEILUNG share some details on the first released single "Anoana". Evading all conventional genre tags and the confines of any specific labels, HEILUNG aptly self-describe their sound as “amplified history", emphasizing their ability to connect modern society with the rudiments of humanity’s beginnings through music. HEILUNG once again journeys back in time with new chapter ‘Drif, an album which explores great ancient civilizations.
A Story For Beltane
Filmed for a virtual Beltain with Butser Ancient Farm, in Hampshire, this is a retelling, by DD Storyteller, of the traditional Welsh legend, 'Shenkin's Fairy Gold.' Beltane night is a magical fire festival that has been celebrated for centuries and this story tells of fiddle player who fell foul of the fairies.
Music for Beltane (Celtic Fire Festival) - Beltane songs by Miguel Berkemeier
The Story Of The Selkie Wife - Shetland Folktales
The Selkie story appears time and time again across Norse and Celtic countries. Here's a Shetland retelling of the tale from Marjolein Robertson.