Saturday 23 February 2013

Beltane Corn Maiden

Beltane Festival is held on the third Saturday of June. Often as not, the festival's principal event, the Coronation of the Beltane Corn Maiden as the Beltane Queen coincides with the 21st of June, the longest day of the year, and plays homage to Bel the Babylonian-Phoenician-Hittite god of the earth.The festival came to Scotland via Ireland through the royal blood princess Tara (Tephi). She became the Queen of Ireland on the 21st of June in 583 B.C.. Her descendants went on to become the Kings and Queens of Scotland bringing Jacob's (Jacobites) Stone of Destiny with them. The name of the legendary King, Belinus in Geoffrey of Monmouth's, "History of the Kings of Britain", is probably also derived from the Sun God, Bel.






God's prophet Daniel original name means The Lord is Judge, he also answered to the title,Belteshazzar which  interpretates as  "Bel is the keeper of secrets "
The ancient Corn Maiden Celtic Beltane festival has been celebrated for thousands of years, on the first day of May "MAY DAY" and marks the return of Summer. The time for farmers to cultivate their soil and plant the corn seed. The Celt's intentions would be to appease Mabon (pronounced Maybon may-born), the equinoctal Sun God and partner to the Celt's Mother Earth, Tara, with heart-warming joyful and honorific celebrations. The oncoming procession of Summer meant the process of fertilisation and pollination could ferment the growing process into motion, leading to rich, abundant and fruitful harvests. Vital resources needed to see them through to the New Year.
Blazing, fulgent Beltane Bonfires were lit in chain reaction on the summits of hills that stretched the length of the Celtic Kingdom. The fervid festival spirit was lodged into ritualistic dancing and music, extreme excitement of the passions, marked by great bodily heat and quickening of the pulse fevered round the fires, with awed respect and total veneration of thanks to the SUN GOD MABON for continuation and advancement of Mother Earth's Sacred Feminine Fertility and Golden Corn growing season.
"We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land, but it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand; He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain, the breezes and the sunshine and the soft, refreshing rain."
Directly northwards on the Roseline, on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, the Beltane Fire Festival coincides with 12.01 a.m. on the first of May when the bonfire festival reaches its climax. Now firmly established for over 20 years this re-enactment verifies and confirms the growing resurgence in Celtic themed culture. 12000 onlookers brace themselves in the midst of a very late Scottish spring night for a enthralling spectacle. The delighted pleasure seekers are entertained by 300 voluntary procreation minded performers.
All gathered together to retrace their ancestors' fertility rituals. The incendiary entertainers atune into nature's frequencies and the vibrations of the rhythmically upbeat DRUM recognising MOTHER EARTH's HEART BEAT. The pagan pageantry attracts more credibility when the worshippers apply rustic animal skin looking garments that cover their basic modesty, the rest of the body and hair are lavishly smeared and rubbed in RED clay Ochre,"TERR a-ROSS a"
This tradition would have included mixing the Red Ochre Clay and blood from the menses monthly discharge and plastering it all over the body to highlight and draw attention to its importance. Symbolising this forthcoming year's crop of maidens' first menstruation and metamorphosis from adolescence into fulsome puberty.
Red and White are the two principal colours of Beltane.They are deeply reflective of the fertility and fruit of the loins. The male's Spermatogeny seed = White and the Female's egg Ovum =Blood Red.
Now that our Celtic youths have attained sexual maturity, they fall into the Ocean of Love and their minds exercise new specific physiological and heart throbbing sensations that lead to pheromone influenced desire and lusts combining their fevered internal secretions. Their central fires are set ablaze and their Salamander spirts rapturise into rampant harmonic ecstasy. The internal alchemical fusion is consummated.
The female is left possessed with the dominant spirit that has entered and implanted itself in the womb, the fertilisation syngenesis process is completed. The Phoenix fire mystery resurrection is the miraculous meaning of the foetal synergism that starts to arise and grow within the "Bell" shaped organ. Its only communication with the outside world is the sonic drum beat - "Tane", of its mothers heartbeat, BELTANE.
THE HEART BEAT is the first and FUNDEMENTAL SECRET TO ALL reverberated MUSIC, and the DRUM is the first instrument needed to keep time and RHYTHM.
During the evening the neo-pagan faithful carry and display various variations of the Pentagram. The five pointed star sign has long been associated with the planet Venus.The worshippers of Tara, Ishtar, Isis, Inanna and Aphrodite share contorted Heart, Love, Beauty and Fertility identity traits with the Goddess Venus. When viewed from the Earth, successive conjunctions of Venus' trajectory plot a nearly perfect Pentagram shape round the Zodiac every eight years. The Wiccans use the Pentagram as a symbol of faith similar to the Christian Cross and the Neo-Pythagorean understanding was that the Pentagram represents the four elements with the addition of Spirit as the uppermost point. The Celtic theology is of the soul's immortality and their earthly body's reincarnation to proceed into the five stages of life, birth, childhood, marriage, reproduction and death, as symbolised by the pentagram. In the Celtic definition, everything in life and spirit evolves round constant and everlasting cyclic periods of time, the soul is immortal but the human body is mortal.
The Peebles Beltane Festival, was resuscitated in 1897 as a direct result of celebrating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.
The Beltane's annual local tradition elects the most eligible and gallant bachelor to the cause, the town's standard-bearer, the"Cornet", a vigorous masculine Corn Prince, who is dedicated to the community's welfare and prosperity. During his year long term, he is sometimes called on to perform ambassadorial civic duties. His Beltane tasks include marking the boundaries of the Ancient and Royal Burgh of Peebles. This is customarily done on horseback with a posse of supporters. Usually more than 250 riders. This reactivation was deemed to be a true representation of what was a common occurrence during the hostile and lawless Middle Ages. Any one "crossing the line" would be dealt with summarily.
The young ladies have a somewhat similar but slightly different selection process. The governing members opt for an 11 year old, who, during the course of her reign would normally enter into adolescence and have her first ovulation. In springtime the three local Peebles Primary Schools between them select on merit and popularity, the girl that deserves the honour of Princess Corn Maiden in waiting, at the same time a full consortium of principal court members including page boys, heralds and maids are selected and trained for the forth-coming Summer Solstice week of festivity and the Beltane Queen's Coronation.
When Beltane Saturday finally arrives the towns people gather en masse, waiting in patience for the expected One. A horse and carriage convoy carries the corn maiden and her escort to the foot of the steps of the Parish Church, her expectant court all in period dress. Fanfare style greetings welcome the young princess.
The red carpet has been rolled out as the princess steps out of the carriage and makes her way up the steps of the church. Wearing symbolic white dress and scarlet red robe, she carries her sceptre in her hands, the staff is a emblem of Queenship. The Beltane Crown is carried before the maiden, it is placed on a red velvet cushion. After ascending the steps, the Princess turns to address the crowds. She is met with vibrant sensations of red and white as far as the eye can see. Flags, houses, banners, ribbons, shop windows and fashion conscientious dressers reflect the dedicated devotion towards the Beltane. The crowd express there approbation by cheering, clapping and singing the rousing Beltane song.
After the proclamations are read out, while, hopefully, the powerful midday sun is at its peak, the glowing sunshine seems to catch the focal point like a natural searchlight. This signals the culminating point of the ceremony, which can now commence. The Crowning Lady places the Crown on the Beltane Queen and the Coronation consummation act is completed. This year's corn seed sown. Subsequently the CORN IN(the) NATION fertility festival is resumed. The Cornet, mounted on his horse, leads the Grand Parade up the High Street with silver and pipe bands closely following. Decorated lorries and people in fancy dress costumes add to the rejoicing carnival procession.

No comments:

Post a Comment