BELTANE / SAMHAIN

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BELTANE / SAMHAIN

It is that wonderful time of the year where in
the Northern Hemisphere it is BELTANE and
in the Southern Hemisphere it is SAMHAIN,
below are some wonderful artworks inspired by
these two great times:

:heart: BELTANE:

Beltane (pronounced /ˈbɛltən/) is the anglicized spelling of Bealtaine or Bealltainn, the Gaelic names for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.

In Irish Gaelic the month of May is known as Mí Bealtaine or Bealtaine and the festival as Lá Bealtaine ('day of Bealtaine' or, 'May Day'). In Scottish Gaelic the month is known as either (An) Cèitean or a' Mhàigh, and the festival is known as Latha Bealltainn or simply Bealltainn. The feast was also known as Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin from which the word Céitean derives.

As an ancient Gaelic festival, Bealtaine was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. There were similar festivals held at the same time in the other Celtic countries of Wales, Brittany and Cornwall. Bealtaine and Samhain were the leading terminal dates of the civil year in Ireland though the latter festival was the most important. The festival survives in folkloric practices in the Celtic Nations and the Irish diaspora, and has experienced a degree of revival in recent decades.
(This information can be found here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltaine)


Beltane by neonrauschen The Union by stardrop
Beltaine Dance by Zingaia Beltaine by VKart
:thumb83764306: Beltane - Lighting the Fire by two-truths:thumb118978796:
Blessed Beltaine by TeDea Beltane Girl by Wirikos
Beltane Night
Beltane Night
If I were ever to have such beauty by my side...
and feel such caresses within my soul and mind
My heart that ponders impossibilities
Then come Beltane Night
Then roam with me, for roaming I shall be
and holding candles within my hand
and offering food for the faeries
laid out upon the gentle sand
The trees that wave and dance
a magic so sensitive it is hard to feel
but for those who caress the night's lovers
every enchantment becomes more real
And then it says, it has spoken to thee
What on this night shall pass
is a touch out of common place
swirled into the pools of surreality
I tend to wake and be awake
the whole night long I shall watch the skies
I shall ponder not the things that cannot be
but the possibilities brought forth by Beltane Lullabies
And there I shall wait for a friend of the night
and a lover of originality
But even if it does not come to pass
Still a sweet sweet dream
Beltane Night shall be
Beltaine 2005 X by Darrian-Ashoka
:thumb6934296: BELTAINE DRAGON MASK by Draconisferret
:thumb120312917: Bealltainn  III by Jenovan
My Beltane offeringListen!
Listen!
The trees sing praises with whispers and birdsong.
Stones jut out of the earth; graceful sentinels of the directions.
Long grass caresses their stony watchful faces, as I listen…
Listen to the call of the ancients.
Spirits dwell happily here, in each leaf and every branch.
A thousand tiny eyes watch me as I raise my face…
As I raise my face to the gentle breath of the wind.
A cricket serenades me, and a bee flies close to say hello.
Listen!
Listen!
Your ancestors reach out to you from distant
…and not so distant graves.
They bid us hear them.
Hear them in the sounds of nature.
Feel their fingertips when the wind lifts our hair.
Thrive with the coursing of their blood through our veins.
Feel the stark solidarity of your feet upon the earth.
Know the peace of the divine.
Listen!
Listen!
Every sound in nature is the "I love you" we long to hear.
Take it in with your ears and your breath and your heart.
Now send it back out in waves of joy and peace and love.
Give back all



:heart: SAMHAIN:

The Samhain celebrations have survived in several guises as a festival dedicated to the harvest and the dead. In Ireland and Scotland, the Féile na Marbh, the 'festival of the dead' took place on Samhain.

The night of Samhain, in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna, is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, and falls on the 31st of October. It represents the final harvest. In modern Ireland and Scotland, the name by which Halloween is known in the Gaelic language is still Oíche/Oidhche Shamhna. It is still the custom in some areas to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast, and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night.

Traditionally, Samhain was time to take stock of the herds and grain supplies, and decide which animals would need to be slaughtered in order for the people and livestock to survive the winter. This custom is still observed by many who farm and raise livestock because it is when meat will keep since the freeze has come and also since summer grass is gone and free foraging is no longer possible.

Bonfires played a large part in the festivities celebrated down through the last several centuries, and up through the present day in some rural areas of the Celtic nations and the diaspora. Villagers were said to have cast the bones of the slaughtered cattle upon the flames. In the pre-Christian Gaelic world, cattle were the primary unit of currency and the center of agricultural and pastoral life. Samhain was the traditional time for slaughter, for preparing stores of meat and grain to last through the coming winter. The word 'bonfire', or 'bonefire' is a direct translation of the Gaelic tine cnámh. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly lit its hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.
(This information can be found here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain)

:thumb108388835:
:thumb100985050: Ghostbusters - Samhain by T-RexJones
:thumb30295791: Happy Halloween by Eireen:thumb83762951:
Spirit of Samhain by dark777fairy Morning of Samhain by Mithgariel I.Sabbat Festival : SAMHAIN by LustAndDevotion
Hallowed Eve by rachelillustrates Samhain by Ange1ica Samhain by cgb30
Samhain by minimonster777 Lady of Samhain by ArwensGrace
Samhain Lore and HistorySamhain is pronounced sowen, soween, saw-win, saw-vane or sahven, but not sam-hayne.
Other names for Samhain include Samhuin, Samain, Saman, Oidhche Shamhna, Hallowe'en, Halloween, Hallows, Hallowtide, Shadow Fest, Allantide, Third Harvest, Harvest Home, Geimredh, Day of the Dead (Feile na Marbh), Feast of the Dead, Spirit Night, Candle Night, November Eve, Nutcrack Night, Ancestor Night and Apple Fest, Oíche Shamhna, All Hallow's Eve, Hallontide, Old Hallomas, Hallowmass, Martinmas, Martinmass, Shadowfest, Nos Calan Gaeaf, and All Soul's Day.
October 31 is when many pagans and most witches celebrate the Greater Sabbat commonly called Halloween or Samhain (a corruption of 'Sainfuin- sain meaning summer and fuin meaning ending). It is a cross quarter day, situated between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice. Astrologically, Samhain marks the rising of the Pleiades. November 1 is the actual date of Samhain but like other Celtic derived festivals it is celebrated on its eve. 
SamhainLegend has it that we are not alone
and this, us humans, have always known.
For past the shadows do monsters roam,
within a realm they call they're own.
Darkest plane, it mirrors our time,
It mirrors our lands, our starry sky.
But in that world, a difference slight;
There is no day, and is no night.
Yet hidden away from they're avail.
We are sheltered without fail.
The planes are asunder by the veil,
Or so they say in the old world tale.  
But it is certain that some believe,
on stormy nights of this one fall eve,
the veil will fumble, sink and reeve,
... and let the worlds interweave...

SamhainWe’ve gathered round the sacred fire
Our loved and lost to honor there
In silence we will all join hands
And journey ‘cross the burning lands
To find our mothers, friends and sons
We’ll honor each and every one
We’ll share with them our hopes and dreams
And tell them happy little things
You’ll witness such a wondrous sight
We’ll sing and laugh, they’ll be no fright
Our night will end with love and mirth
As we must travel back toward earth
From North to East and South to West
Our journey home now manifest.
With the dead we’ve spent this night
Not in darkness but in light
Twelve more moons will pass and then
We’ll gather to honor them again!


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F is for FAE / FAIRY

Below are some wonderful images
of the wee folk, the faery folk:

:thumb119414672:
:thumb52343433:
Fairy Tale - Panel 01 by nati Moon Fairy by Pygar
:thumb90144947: Commission - Oak fairy by MeredithDillman
Acorn by SelinaFenech Cabbage Faery by Kaelycea Oberon by MelissaFindley
:thumb91445587: Moth Fae by Saimain:thumb115144955:
Oberon, The Sylvan King by Luthie13 Book Art - Fairy Royalty by MeredithDillman
Fae of the Dark by enayla Woodland Fae -Color- by kedralynn:thumb119353402:
Fairy by k-BOSE Fae Princess by Indigo-Summers
Forest Fae by Amethystana Fae of Twilight by Amethystana
:thumb101151202::thumb82732778: Forest male faerie by mistweaversrealm
- Fae - by EmeraldAbsynth FAE by chicourano
:thumb74948385:

It is also featured here in the Tributes
Section of the News, so go give it some
:+favlove: if you feel inclined......:heart:


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