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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

Common Evening Primrose  Oenothera biennis  25 seeds R image 1 

'Maiden in the Moor Lay'

 

Who is the mysterious 'maiden' of the '14th' century Middle English carol 'Maiden in the Mor Lay?'

(A carol was originally, not a song, but a round dance performed to sung, rather than instrumental, accompaniment. Witches still use the term this way.)

Is she some enticing witchly daughter?

Is she, perhaps, some woman of Faerie?

Or is she the witches' Goddess herself, Maiden Earth in her Springtime?

In the interest of readability, I have rendered the original Middle English lyrics directly into their Modern English equivalents. The reader will note a certain amount of semantic 'slippage' in the course of the six intervening centuries.

To my eye, this only adds to the carol's charm.

 

Maiden in the Moor Lay

(English, '14th' Century)

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 The witches' dance · Alkistis Dimech

Remarks from a Pagan Funeral

 

In his quite remarkable book European Paganism: The Realities of Cult, from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, Ken Dowden makes the observation that all over ancient Europe, it was customary to end funerals with a dance: specifically, with a round dance, preferably performed around the grave itself.

A funeral ends with a round dance. This is profound and articulate action. Ancient Europe was a large place, much larger than it is today: a place of many peoples, many languages, and many cultures; and yet everywhere, across ethnic, linguistic, and cultural boundaries, funerals ended with a round dance.

A funeral ends with a round dance. Now why, do you think, would the ancestors have done this? Anyone?

[Field responses from people.]

The pagan religions are preeminently religions of praxis: they're about what you do. For pagans, to dance is to pray. (Reporter: Do witches pray? Witch [thinks a moment, then smiles.] We dance.) Among the Kalasha of what is now NW Pakistan, the only Indo-European-speaking people who have practiced their ancient religion continuously since antiquity, the same word—the same word—means both to dance and to pray. Consider the implications of this.

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A Toast To Love: Hoof and Horn Rite
Ideally, celebrate outdoors, but if indoor-bound on Beltane Eve, pick a place with a fireplace and have a roaring blaze so celebrants can wear comfy clothing and dance barefoot. Ask them to bring spring flowers and musical instruments, plenty of drums! Place pillows on the floor and serve an ambrosial spread of finger foods, honeyed mead, beer, spiced cider, wine and fruity teas. As you light circle incense, set out green, red and white candles, one for each participant. When it is time to call the circle, raise your arm and point to each direction, saying “To the East, to the North,” etc., then sing:
 

Hoof and horn, hoof and horn, tonight our spirits are reborn.

(Repeat thrice)

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 Some Showers Overnight

 

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