Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

BELTANE ('Beltaine', 'Beltene')

One of the four Great or Grand Sabbats.

Celebrated on May Eve between 30 April and I May in the Northern Hemisphere (and between October 31 and November 1 in the Southern Hemisphere) to mark the return of spring, it stems from an ancient Celtic Druidic fire festival and is also regarded as a fertility rite to ensure the fecundity of animals and crops during the coming seasons.

It coincides with the obscure Christian festival of Walpurgisnacht and is also given the names Rood Day and Rudemas. In Europe, the occasion has long been associated with Maypole dancing, the decorated pole offering phallic imagery and tracing back to the decorated Sacred Tree of Mesopotamian religions.

In Wicca, Beltane is the rite to celebrate the sexual union or marriage of the Goddess and the god and 'The Great Rite' is performed by some Covens at this time.

According to some authors, the Horned God, Cernunnos, accepts his paternal and marital responsibilities in respect of the Goddess (who is now bearing his progeny) and begins the transition, which is completed at midsummer, from the irresponsible hunter of the greenwood to husband and provider.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc