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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. 





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  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

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