FIRST OF MAY.... Beltane

May First 2013

"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now. It's just a spring clean for the May Queen."   Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven"

According to folklore, the tradition once had a sinister twist, in that the May Queen was put to death once the festivities were over.. The veracity of this belief is difficult to establish; it may just be a folk memory of ancient pagan customs. Still, frequent associations between May Day rituals, the occult and human sacrifice are still to be found in popular culture today. The Wicker Man, a cult horror film starring Christopher Lee, is a prominent example of these associations.

Beltane, as it is known in the British Isles, marks “the midpoint in the Sun’s progress between the vernal equinox and summer solstice.”

 The etymology of the word means “bright fire”, “bale-fire” or “Baal’s fire”. The festivals on May 1st literally stem from a form of sun and fire worship. 

The Illuminati's founding date of May 1st by Adam Weishaupt  because he wanted the word Illuminati to be symbolized by a point within a circle:

☉

This same symbol has always represented the sun.  In ancient Egypt it was used thousands of years ago as the Hieroglyphic symbol for the sun and the sun-god Ra.

The May Day festivals were an enactment of both sun worship and fire worship.  For Weishaupt the date of  May 1st gave his order the overt type of symbolic connection.

This same connection is evident in the May Day practice of dancing the  Maypole. This is a dot within a circle.  A dance using colored ribbons, the dancers while holding these ribbons, weave beautiful plaits.

Maurice Pendergrast (1858-1924) paints children at May Day
& the Maypole in Central Park between 1901-1903

Read more about the FIRST of May

Image Flickr

It wouldn't be quite right to forget this memorable track by the Bee Gees First of May.

Robin Gibb passed away on May 20, 2012 after a long battle with cancer.  Farewell Robin. First of May was released in 1969 and featured in the soundtrack of Melody, a 1971 British film about Puppy Love starring Jack Wild Mark Lester and Tracy Hyde

Images @ Eminpee Fotography