Beltane Blessing (6)

Beltane Blessing

Oh God, bless our flocks and bearing kine;
Hate nor scath let not come near us,
Drive from us the ways of the wicked.
Keep thine eye every Monday and Tuesday
On the bearing kine and the pairing queys;
Accompany us from hill to sea,
Gather thyself the sheep and their progeny.
Every Wednesday and Thursday be with them,
Be thy gracious hand always about them;
Tend the cows down to their stalls,
Tend the sheep down to their folds!
Every Friday be thou, O Saint, at their head,
Lead the sheep from the face of the bens,
With their innocent little lambs following them,
Encompass them with God's encompassing.
Every Saturday be likewise with them,
Bring the goats in with their young,
Every kid and goat to the sea side,
And from the Rock of Aegir on high,With cresses green about its summit.
The strength of the Triune be our shield in distress,
The strength of Christ, His peace and His Pasch,
The strength of the Spirit, Physician of health,
And of every other saint who succeeded them
And who earned the repose of the kingdom of God.
Bless ourselves and our children,
Bless every one who shall come from our loins,
Bless him whose name we bear,
Bless, O God, her from whose womb we came.
Every holiness, blessing and power,
Be yielded to us every time and every hour,
In name of the Holy Threefold above,
Father, Son, and Spirit everlasting.
Be the Cross of Christ to shield us downward,
Be the Cross of Christ to shield us upward,
Be the Cross of Christ to shield us roundward,
Accepting our Beltane blessing from us,
Accepting our Beltane blessing from us.

Collected in the Highlands of Scotland and
Translated by Alexander Carmichael from the Gaelic for the Carmina Gadelica

for more info on Beltane

living water reprint from  2008

Beltaine (5)

THE BELTANE BLESSING

BLESS, O Threefold true and bountiful,
Myself, my spouse, and my children,
My tender children and their beloved mother at their head.
On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling,
     On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling.

Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,
All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,
From Hallow Eve to Beltane Eve,
With goodly progress and gentle blessing,
From sea to sea, and every river mouth,
     From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.

Be the Three Persons taking possession of all to me belonging,
Be the sure Trinity protecting me in truth;
Oh! satisfy my soul in the words of Paul,
And shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory,
     Shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory.

Bless everything and every one,
Of this little household by my side;

Place the cross of Christ on us with the power of love,
Till we see the land of joy,
     Till we see the land of joy,

What time the kine shall forsake the stalls,
What time the sheep shall forsake the folds,
What time the goats shall ascend to the mount of mist,
May the tending of the Triune follow them,
     May the tending of the Triune follow them.

Thou Being who didst create me at the beginning,
Listen and attend me as I bend the knee to Thee,
Morning and evening as is becoming in me,
In Thine own presence, O God of life,
     In Thine own presence, O God of life.

Carmina Gadelica, Volume 1, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900]

Ash Wednesday

O Lord and Master of my life,
give me not the spirit of laziness,
despair, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration)
But give rather the spirit of sobriety,
humility, patience and love to Thy servant. (prostration)

Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own transgressions
and not to judge my brother,
for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen (prostration)

St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 305-373)

Winter Soltsice

Yule Blessing

The food is put away for the winter,
the crops are set aside to feed us,
the cattle are come down from their fields,
and the sheep are in from the pasture.
The land is cold, the sea is stormy, the sky is gray.
The nights are dark, but we have our family,
kin and clan around the hearth,
staying warm in the midst of darkness,
our spirit and love a flame
a beacon burning brightly
in the night. 

 The Celtic people knew the importance of the solstice. Although the Yule season marks the middle of winter, colder times were still to come. It was important to put aside staple foods for the coming months, because it would be many months before anything fresh grew again.

the Celtic Calender

-The Celtic calendar year was divided into two parts, light, summer and Spring and the dark, Fall and Winter  with four great feast days marking the year:

Samhain (November 1) (our Halloween) which was the Celtic New Year, marks the end of the harvest, and the beginning of the dark half of the year. All lights are extinguished until relit by a central bonfire. This day is a "gap" in time and consciousness when travel to the other world and through time was possible.

Imbolc (February 1) (our Ground Hog Day) St.Bridget's Day, which marks the first day of Spring and the middle of the dark half, the time for the reemergence of green things. This marks the first flowing of milk in the udders of the ewes. Associated with the goddess Bríd.

Bealtaine (May 1) The first day of the light part of the year. Cattle are driven through great bonfires to protect them and ensure fertility. Young couples jump through the fire also.

Lúghnasadh (August 1) marks the beginning of harvest and celebrates the victory of the god Lúgh against the earth spirits that would keep the harvest. Lúgh is very much a "Christ" figure in that he died for the sake of humans, pierced and hanging from a tree.

Of the summer Solstice and Saints

The traditional Midsummer Day of 24th June became St John the Baptists Birthday and feast in the early Christian world. John of course was the one sent to announce the coming of Jesus so here the 24th June parallels Christmas Eve on 24th December linking both Roman Solstice dates to the coming of Jesus, announced at Midsummer born at Midwinter.


In Britain another significant Christian festival falls in this season on 22nd June, the martyrdom of St Alban, Britain’s first recorded Christian Martyr. Alban lived in the Roman city of Verulamuim and gave shelter around 250 AD to a Christian missionary having himself become a follower of Jesus. This was a time that the 

Christian faith was suppressed by Roman authorities and so Roman Soldiers came seeking the missionary. Alban allowed him to escape by pretending to be the missionary giving himself up. We cannot know his reasons, though this was very brave to do as it lead to certain death. Perhaps he realized that just as he had found hope in that missionary’s message others would too and offering his own life would enable that to happen again and perhaps again and again.


As is so often the case Christian, Pagan and seasonal themes weave together. The Summer Solstice is a point of balance between increase and decrease. The time when the growth of the year looks forward to Harvest. A time of hope looking forward but also often in some cultures of fear leading to sacrifices to ensure the harvest as the year began from this point dwindles. So John the Baptist the Lord who comes in Summer says of Jesus the Lord who comes in winter ‘I must decrease that he may increase’. And yet Alban’s severed head, echoing a common theme in early British and Celtic saints, rolls down the hill and new life in a sacred well springs up, naming the street there to this day Holywell hill. 


adapted from " fullnes of life in mid summer" an article on the communities of the mystic Christ web site

Beltaine (5)

THE BELTANE BLESSING

BLESS, O Threefold true and bountiful,
Myself, my spouse, and my children,
My tender children and their beloved mother at their head.
On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling,
     On the fragrant plain, on the gay mountain sheiling.

Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,
All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,
From Hallow Eve to Beltane Eve,
With goodly progress and gentle blessing,
From sea to sea, and every river mouth,
     From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.

Be the Three Persons taking possession of all to me belonging,
Be the sure Trinity protecting me in truth;
Oh! satisfy my soul in the words of Paul,
And shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory,
     Shield my loved ones beneath the wing of Thy glory.

Bless everything and every one,
Of this little household by my side;

Place the cross of Christ on us with the power of love,
Till we see the land of joy,
     Till we see the land of joy,

What time the kine shall forsake the stalls,
What time the sheep shall forsake the folds,
What time the goats shall ascend to the mount of mist,
May the tending of the Triune follow them,
     May the tending of the Triune follow them.

Thou Being who didst create me at the beginning,
Listen and attend me as I bend the knee to Thee,
Morning and evening as is becoming in me,
In Thine own presence, O God of life,
     In Thine own presence, O God of life.

Carmina Gadelica, Volume 1, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900]

Imbolic, Saint Bridgid, Candle Mass and ground hogs

If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas day be shower and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.

Imbolc (also Imbolg), or St Brigid’s Day (Scots Gaelic Là Fhèill Brìghde, Irish Lá Fhéile Bríde, the feast day of St Brigid, is a Celtic festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is celebrated on 1 or 2 February

The festival was observed in Gaelic Ireland during the Middle Ages Reference to Imbolc is made in Irish mythology, in the Tochmarc emire of the Ulster Cycle. Imbolc was one of the four cross-quartwe daysreferred to in Irish mythology, the others being Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain.

Traditionally what we modern Westerners know as Groundhog Day was and is, on Feb 1st or 2nd is celebrated in the Modern Irish Calendar as Saint Brigid’s Day,or Bride’s Day. Both a Catholic and an ancient Pagan Celebration,an ancient Goddess tradition, also called Imbolc, still celebrated by Wiccans/Pagan based Earth honouring religions. Christians overlaid the Ancient Goddess worshipers’ holiday renaming it Candlemas or the fest of the Purification of the Virgin. This celebration also relates to the midpoint between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

It is a “cross-quarter” day in the 8 rounds of the Wheel of Time in the Solar based year. Since the Celtic Year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, it is most likely the holiday would be celebrated on the Full Moon nearest those 2 midpoints, when early spring flowers would begin to rise up through the snow, and snakes would come out of the ground. This is the precursor of the Groundhog, which the Romans replaced with a Hedgehog,

how to make St Brigid's cross

a short office for  Cadlemas

Imbolic liturgy 

The Celtic Wheel of the Year

 

Beltane (4) Liturgy

BELTANE LITURGY

Let's just spend a moment or two in quietness. Consider winter's chill when all was still, with seed and plant lying dormant, followed by the rising sun and warming air of Spring, green shoots emerging, leaves unfurling, blossom shouting its praise to the Creator.

(Silence)

God of winter's cold, of clear sky and frozen river.

All: We praise your Holy Name

God of spring's warmth, April showers, waking life.

All: We praise your Holy Name

God of summer sun, warming earth, sprouting seed.

All: We praise your Holy Name

God of summer pasture and mountain stream

All: We praise your Holy Name

God of root and shoot, of harvest to come

All: We praise your Holy Name

Lord, through your power all things were made, through your wisdom all things are governed. Through your grace all things are sustained. Give us power to serve you, wisdom to discern your laws, and grace to obey those at all times.

(Edmund of Abingdon, c 1180-1240)

Creator God, forgive our moments of ingratitude

the spiritual blindness that prevents us

from appreciating the wonder that is this world

the endless cycle of nature

of life and death and rebirth.

Forgive us for taking without giving

reaping without sowing.

Open our eyes to see

our lips to praise

and our hands to share

May our feet tread lightly on the path we tread

and our footsteps be worthy of following

for they lead to you.

Here a song, chant or hymn might be sung

‘Sow everywhere the good seed given to you. Sow in good ground, sow in sand, sow among the stones, sow on the oad, sow among the weeds. Perhaps some of these seeds will open up and grow and bring forth fruit, even if not at once' Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833) Russian monk 'Lord, purge our eyes to see within the seed a tree, Within the glowing egg a bird, Within the shroud a butterfly, Til, taught by such, we see beyond all creatures, thee.' Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) 'We do not know God from his essence. We know him rather from the grandeur of his creation and from his providential care for all creatures,' Maximus the Confessor (c580-662)

The warmth of the sun's embrace

the gentle breeze swept in by incoming tide

the rhythm of seasons

of new birth

death and recreation

All these speak so clearly of your love

your power

and your beauty

All are expressions of your creativity

and more importantly of yourself

As an artist might share his personality

within each brushstroke

so within the myriad colours of a butterfly's wing

you share the exuberance of your love

That we can glimpse you within creation

is a beautiful thought

but also tells us that you desire to be seen

to be found and known

Open our eyes, Lord

as we walk through this world

feel the wind and sunshine

see the majesty of creation unfolding before our eyes

Help us to see you

Psalm 19 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.

God of renewal

of life and death

rebirth

All: Renew our hearts and minds

God of promise

of all beginnings

and all endings

All: Renew our hearts and minds

God of hope

of new growth

and harvest

All: Renew our hearts and minds

We bless you,

God of Seed and Harvest

And we bless each other

That the beauty of this world

And the love that created it

Might be expressed though our lives

And be a blessing to others

Now and always

A. AMEN

New Years Eve (4)

In Scottland and the Northern parts of England New Years ( known as Hogmanay) is an important celibration steeped in tradition. Shortly after 'the bells' - the stroke of midnight when public clocks would chime to signal the start of the new year neighbours go from house to house, wishing each other well for the coming year ahead. Good wishes are celibrated with food and plenty of drink. This visiting was known as first footing. Great importance was placed on who would be the first to eneter the home and " bring in the new year" once midnight passed.

Tradition has it a tall, dark and handsome man was the prefered first footer, red heads were always considered bad luck. (that leaves me out, or would have.. lol)

First-foots brought symbolic gifts to the house: coal for the fire, to ensure that the house would be warm and safe, and shortbread or black bun (a type of fruit cake) to symbolise that the household would never go hungry that year.

First-footing has faded in recent years, particularly with the growth of the major street celebrations in Edinburgh and Glasgow

________________**********___________________

graphic /an old etching of first footing in edinburgh

classic living water post

Celtic Advent Begins

The Celtic Advent period lasts for forty days. Nov. 15-Dec. 24.  The Dates are the same for Eastern Orthodox Advent (Nativity Fast, Winter Lent, or the Christmas Lent).

During the time of ancient Celtic Christianity, the entire Church, both Western (including the Celtic Christians), and Eastern (the Orthodox Communions, Oriental Churches, and Eastern Rite Roman Catholics) all celebrated a longer Advent Season as a lesser Lenten fast.  Advent seems to have been a result of the observance of the Celtic monks in Gaul,

It began on the same date every year on November 15th (Orthodox Churches still observe it as beginning on this day Observance of Advent appears to have taken place since the 4th Century (300's A.D.)  Like Lent, it originally was a season when new Christians studied in preparation for being baptized.  In the early Middle Ages Advent was the Season of preparing oneself for the Second Coming of Christ.  It was a season of repentance and dedication to prayer.

a short Northumbrian Advent compline that can be used nightly until the 17th of December and the begining of the Advent Antiphons

 Celtic Advent liturgy that can be used Sundays leading up to christmas

 Living Water Acient Well explanation of Advent

A Sanhain Liturgy

Let's just spend a moment or two in quietness:

Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the sun. You have fixed all the bounds of the earth; you made summer and winter. (Psalm 74:16-17)

In the fading of the summer sun,

the shortening of days, cooling breeze,

swallows' flight and moonlight rays

A. WE SEE THE CREATOR'S HAND

In the browning of leaves once green,

morning mists, autumn chill,

fruit that falls frost's first kiss

A. WE SEE THE CREATOR'S HAND

Creator God, forgive our moments of ingratitude,

the spiritual blindness that prevents us

from appreciating the wonder that is this world,

the endless cycle of nature,

of life and death and rebirth.

Forgive us for taking without giving

reaping without sowing.

Open our eyes to see

our lips to praise

our hands to share

and may our feet tread lightly on the road.

Listen to the profound words of the French novelist Albert Camus, and just think about them for a moment :   'Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower'

Here a song, chant or hymn might be sung

We see signs of summer's passing in golden leaves,

shortening days, misty mornings, autumn glow.

We sense its passing in rain that dampens,

winds that chill, Harvest's bounty placed on show.

Creator God, who brings forth

both green shoot and hoar frost,

sunrise and sunset,

we bring our thanks

for seeds that have grown,

harvests gathered,

storehouses filled,

mouths fed.

And, as your good earth rests

through winter's cold embrace,

we look forward to its re-awakening

when kissed by Spring's first touch.

For summer's passing

and harvest home

A. WE THANK YOU

For autumn's splendour

and winter's chill

A. WE THANK YOU

For seed that has fallen

the promise of spring

A. WE THANK YOU

As a part of nature's wondrous cycle

Of new birth, growth, fruitfulness and death

We rejoice in the creation of new life,

For parenthood, the passing on of knowledge,

For understanding and the wisdom of years.

We are grateful for those who have gone before

Passing on to us our spiritual heritage.

May our lives blossom as the apple tree in Spring

May we become fruitful in thought and deed

And may the seed of love that falls to the ground

Linger beyond our time on this earth.

St. Francis of Assisi wrote these wise words:  'Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received…but only what you have given' The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap... (Psalm 92:12ff)

For fruitfulness

A. WE THANK YOU

For a generous spirit

A. WE THANK YOU

For wisdom and faith

A. WE THANK YOU

For old age and new birth

 A. WE THANK YOU

For those who have gone before us

Seeds planted in your rich pasture

With the hope of life eternal

May their enduring spirit live on

Enriching and empowering our lives

Their love linger

Their presence be near

Until we meet once more.

'The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power' (1 Cor 15:42-43)

For your embracing love

A Father's love

A Mother's love

The love that sees our failings

And forgives us

The love that sees our joys

And embraces us

The love that knows no end

or beginning

A love that could die for us

We bless you.

A. WE BLESS YOU

We bless you, God of Seed and Harvest

And we bless each other

That the beauty of this world

And the love that created it

Might be expressed though our lives

And be a blessing to others

Now and always

A. AMEN

thanx to  John Birch at Christian Prayers and Resources
photo: BC

Beltane (3)

Morning Has Broken
Morning has broken
Like the first morning,
Black bird has spoken
Like the first bird.
Praise the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them springing
Fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall
Sunlit from heaven,
Like the first dewfall
On the first grass.
Praise for the sweetness
Of the wet garden,
Sprung in completeness
Where His feet pass.

Mine is the sunlight!
Mine is the morning.
Born of the one light
Eden saw play!
Praise with elation,
Praise ev'ry morning,
God's recreation
Of the newday!

                 Words: Eleanor Farjeon