It was 10 years ago when I was truly inspired to write my song “Blessings of Beltane” I remember standing on my hill, quietly gazing and drinking the distance of the early morning golden splendour, barefoot in the grass and drenching my face with the fresh, pristine morning dew, breathing in deep that beautiful unique scented air, a divine gift from the copious may blossom surrounding me in all its radiant splendour. The day was long and silent and filled with inner joy!
It was more than enough to just listen to the many different communities of beautiful birds; it was more than enough to watch the generous work of the local bees visiting the abundant and vibrant flower population all around. It was more than enough feeling the warm and soothing sunlight on my face, keeping me firmly in the moment, yet stirring gently my growing passion to encapsulate all I was feeling into a song or a poem honouring God, Goddess, and nature. Slowly as the melody of summer begins to drench the land, a tune I found to be mellow and pleasant enough to represent my mood and feelings about this day manifested, followed by abundant lyrics.
Sunlight dancing upon a stream
“The Blessings of Beltane”, by George Nicholas, recorded by Cernunnos Rising on the album “Wild Soul”
A web with pearls of dew
Blessings of colour from flower and thorn
Above me only blue
And the first birdsong from the meadow land
An inspirational sound
Carried along by the morning breeze
Waking all around
Bringer of summer, Dancer of green
Keeper of cauldron, Diviner of dreams
Maiden of flowers, Lifter of veils
Friend of my heart, Teller of tales
Winter will teach the beauty of change
I smile now that summer is here
She’s back again, with a fragrant embrace
Brought on the wheel of the year
So light up the fires of Beltane
The promise of May-time once more
And we witness the dance of the maiden
Just as the year before
Bringer of summer, Dancer of green
Keeper of cauldron, Diviner of dreams
Maiden of flowers, Lifter of veils
Friend of my heart, Teller of tales
So light up the fires of Beltane
The promise of May-time once more
And we witness the dance of the maiden
Just as the year before
So light up the fires of Beltane
The promise of May-time once more
And we witness the dance of the maiden
Just as the year before
Since antiquity, men and women have gathered to celebrate this magical time of Beltane, it is also a time when the God and Goddess are wed, denoting a time of increased fertility and the promise of summer ahead. It is a time of burgeoning life, fecundity, and the great wild greening of our precious Earth.
In honouring the festival of Beltane “Calan Mai” we can draw upon this fresh, virile energy into our lives, we can reinvigorate our days with this divine flowing current and time into this period of duality and sacred union.
In this article I was going to write about the usual key themes that nearly everybody has already written about time and time again. Themes like… sacred union, virility, attraction of opposites, love, sexuality, physicality, sensuality, wildness, and reverence to God and Goddess. Instead I have opted to share the simplistic joy of a very special inspirational (May Day) whereby I find myself fully immersed and saturated within the beauty and spirit of this sacred time and all its gifts and manifestations.
My song was born from pure connection and deep appreciation, nothing more, nothing less, not complicated by ritual, or over thinking, just pure love, and being a humble witness to this divine extravaganza we so often take for granted.
Friends arrived in time to witness the spectacular sunset and settled around the stone circle not far from our ample Beltane bonfire that illuminated the dark star lit evening into the early hours. I decided to sing and play my new song best I could for the gathering and knew then and there I would have to record this gift of the day “Blessings of Beltane”
Header photo of girls in flower crowns by Davide Biscuso
For more information about George, including his collected articles here on Pagan Song, his bio, and links to George’s sites on the web, check out George’s page on Pagan Song.
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