Skip to main content

Queen of the May

May is named after the ancient Italic goddess of spring, Maia. She was identified with Terra and Bona Dea by the late antiquarian writer Macrobius. He also associated her with Fauna, Cybele, Ops, Juno, and Carna. This treatment of the goddess was probably influenced by the 1st century BCE scholar Varro, who tended to resolve a great number of deities into one archetypal Mother Earth.

On the first day of May, observed in the lunar calendar with the first appearance of the crescent moon, ancestor spirits were honoured and a pregnant sow was sacrificed to Maia. On the full moon, Maia's son, Mercury, was honoured as patron god of merchants. 

According to Greek mythology, Maia was the eldest of seven sisters, the Pleiades. Hers is the fourth brightest star in the Pleiades cluster, also known as the Maia Nebula, which is part of the constellation Taurus. "Maia of the lively eyes: Atlas fathered her, outstanding in beauty, among his seven dear violet-haired daughters who are called the heavenly Peleiades (flock of doves)." Simonides, Fragment 555 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric III) 6th to 5th century BCE.

In 13th century Britain, the May Queen was a young lady selected to personify the summer.  This may have been a survival of Anglo-Saxon customs. The earliest written record of a Maypole in Britain comes from a Welsh poem written by Gryffydd ap Adda ap Dafydd in the mid-14th century, in which he described how people used a tall birch pole at Llanidloes, central Wales. The Maypole probably derives from the Germanic veneration of sacred trees and wooden pillars which represented the axis mundi or world tree. In medieval Britain, Roodmas was celebrated on the 3rd of May. The word "rood" is Old English for "pole" so Roodmas may be connected to the Maypole.

The first day of May's lunar month (called Beltane by the Goidelic Celts) may be observed on the date of the New Moon, which occurs on the 10th of May this year. You may wish to celebrate the Queen of the May on this night, perhaps by making a wreath of flowers to adorn an image of the goddess on your altar. 





Labels:

Comments

  1. Neopagan Priestess25 April 2013 at 06:34

    We become so accustomed to calendar months, I'd never thought about using the lunar month for a May day celebration, though of course it's done for Easter. Lots of interesting information, thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OathBoundSecrets25 April 2013 at 10:42

      Thank you :) Yes I sometimes feel like the modern calendar is too artificial, and following the moon is more natural. You're welcome :)

      Delete
  2. Anonymous25 April 2013 at 18:09

    I didn't know that about her thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your thoughts )O(

Popular posts from this blog

The Dorset Ooser

  A massive wooden head with snapping jaw mechanism, real horns and hair. Photo from 1883-1891.  The Dorset Ooser has possible connections to the horned costumes sometimes worn by participants in English Mummers plays. The etymology of Ooser is also disputed, with various possibilities available, but I think it's most likely the same as the Oss, a snapping skull paraded around during midwinter. The pronunciation is very similar, and it's simply a way of saying "horse" without pronouncing the h. These teeth-gnashing heads are also known as 'obby 'oss or hobby horse.  One use of the Dorset Ooser was to strike fear into villagers who were perceived as shameful. Usually the target was an unruly wife who had disobeyed her husband by raising her voice, scolding him, beating him, or cheating on him. A woman who was perceived as a bad wife was forced to ride backwards on a donkey or horse while the angry Ooser snapped his jaw at her and a crowd of villagers beat their...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wicca is not a Box, it's a Circle

Stewart and Janet Farrar There are a lot of people who choose not to use the word Wicca, because they see it as too restrictive and dogmatic. A dogma is an official system of belief held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. But who has the authority to decide what the official beliefs of Wicca are? I would suggest that Wicca as a whole is not dogmatic, but that some Wiccan groups may be. In Wicca it is generally agreed that every coven is autonamous, independent and self-governing, not subject to anyone else's laws. No Wiccan has the right to tell another coven what they can or cannot do. We can give each other advice, sure, that's what the Rede is after all, a piece of advice. This is what makes Wicca so difficult to define, and I think the difficulty makes some people very uncomfortable. Other religions seem more than willing to offer up official creeds, rules and regulations by which they may be recognised. Other religions have sacred texts, but Wicca ...
17 comments
Read more

A Coven of Witches

Last year I posted an advert on witchvox calling for local people who would be interested in starting a new coven. Interest has been slowly and steadily growing. I currently have a potential coven of 10 ladies. I'm excited in a nervous kind of way. I am not the most socially confident person. The thought of meeting strangers is quite terrifying. I don't know how many of the potential witches are really up for trying this. I always assume that out of all who express an interest, only half will follow through. Since last year I had a good feeling about May, that this would be the time for new projects. I've proposed a coven meeting in May and so far three individuals have said they would like to meet up. What I worry about is being able to meet everyone's needs, because I want the coven to work for everyone. I want clear communication, this is the most important thing, that we are able to share our ideas. I don't like the idea of a coven where a select leadership...
10 comments
Read more