MAYPOLE

MAYPOLE

It was once forbidden for those who were not wealthy or of the ruling class to marry in the month of May. The Maypole frivolities and pairings may have been a way to rebel against that dictate, a symbol of freedom to choose for oneself.

Before the maypole dance we’ve all heard so much about, I say the Elders, with much intent and focus, set up the Spindle Tree and fastened to it the threads of blessing, and infilling these tokens with as much goodwill and wisdom as they could, then summoned the young of marrying age to the Tree. The young danced and in the dance, the pairing was done by Higher eyes than those who sought for sake of earthly beauty. I believe this season was approached with much soul searching. When the unmarried of the village stepped to take their place at the dance, they were ready to hear the voice within who would guide them.

If the Maypole once represented the connecting pole of the three worlds, the threads were spun down the shaft in the way of harmonizing the energy of the three worlds. It was akin to asking a blessing on the young ones who danced and through them to the earth in the growing season.

It could be this old way spun lasting love into the hearts of the young much more effectively than our current system of trial and error in which bonds are formed by the whims of attraction and just as easily broken. It may be that many were rightfully woven together on the eve of May in those days, with bonds more enduring than those given by Authority then or now.

Though the pairings on May Eve didn’t always lead to forever, a good many of them did. A year and a day would pass during which the couple could decide if they would remain together; but if, during that time, the couple produced a child, the decision was made for them by virtue of the web into which this blessing was woven. I don’t believe there were many who entered into these unions lightly, knowing as they must have that they were co-creators in weaving their fates and that not many could shun what they had woven. There were many marriages come the First of June and it still remains a marriage month. For those who chose to part, there was a waiting season before they danced the Maypole dance once more, hoping this time to find the true-love knot.

Dancing the Flowers

The Maypole eventually wound its way though changes that spun it into a blessing dance of spring, a celebration of all things new. Old timers in my region of the world (Appalachians) remember the dance that graced their childhood in the early 1900’s. This is the account my Mother told me:

“We dressed in bright colors and the ribbons on the Maypole in the schoolyard matched the girls dresses and the boys shirts. The ribbons wove themselves as we danced, the boys going in one direction and we girls in the other and dancing first to the left of this one and then to the right of that one. The maypole dance brings the flowers. See, that’s why we danced. Our skirts and the boys’ shirts and the ribbons all were colored like the flowers May would bring.”

Beltane Blessing

            Fire destroys and fire creates reads some old rhyme. It is this concept of transformation by fire that is the basis for an old custom that serves us well. Jump the Beltane fire for a blessing, or walk between two fires for healing and purification. Another way is to circle the fire three times anti the sun to burn away dross, then three times with the sun to win a blessing.  Be specific about what you are willing to leave behind or to gain. (Candles in a cauldron serve as a fire for those who are city or apartment bound).