Beltane Blessings

May 1 is also Beltane in the ancient Celtic calendar. In a week in which Beltane took place, here's my poem in celebration. Alexander Carmichael, in his Carmina Gaedelica, a collection of folklore and writings from the Hebrides, captures these as they were fading - the Beltane Blessing of the lamb, and the practice of using the smoke from the fires to kill of parasites from the sheep.

Beltane Blessings

There came Beltane fires, and our dance had begun
And we praised the moon and stars and the sun
We rejoiced on green blades that arose from the earth
At the great stone circle, we found rebirth

There came Beltane fires, so bright to see
And they leapt up high, reached out to you and me
We danced through the night until the embers were all gone
And the circle was unbroken, and dawn came on

We brought the lambs, the healthy and the lame
We brought them there for blessings of the flame
We drove them through where the smoke rose high
Beltane blessings, come to purify

Beltane fires blazed in a night sky black
Hands held high, warmth behind our back
Mourning the lost, like shooting stars are gone
But Beltane blessings, they still go on and on

The flames die down as the sun climbs high
But Beltane blessing will never, never die.
From me to you, and from you to me
Beltane fires, blessed, blessed be.