Burning the Witches
Beltain (approximately Beltain :o))) is celebrated in my country as Burning of the Witches. I guess it has something to do with the fires we light, and with the fact that until recently, no one knew what Beltain was.
So out I went to 'witches', as we say here, and I was excited to find out that as we gathered around the fire, the word Beltain was mentioned several times, and people were actually actively exploring the meaning of the festival.
This was no burning of witches. This was as close to a sabbath as a gathering of people of various, often no, religions could get. It was a long and cold night, but I was feeling strangely connected to the group of strangers gathered round the huge fire.
I went with two female friends, because the men refused to go, and we were by far not the only women-only group there. Guess we women have more of a witch inside us, even those that are not openly pagan.
Before it turned to a (wonderful) ska-party (one of the best Czech ska-groups was playing round midnight), it was the most pagan-like gathering I´ve ever been to.
And to think I was leaving home to go 'burning the witches' :o)))
So out I went to 'witches', as we say here, and I was excited to find out that as we gathered around the fire, the word Beltain was mentioned several times, and people were actually actively exploring the meaning of the festival.
This was no burning of witches. This was as close to a sabbath as a gathering of people of various, often no, religions could get. It was a long and cold night, but I was feeling strangely connected to the group of strangers gathered round the huge fire.
I went with two female friends, because the men refused to go, and we were by far not the only women-only group there. Guess we women have more of a witch inside us, even those that are not openly pagan.
Before it turned to a (wonderful) ska-party (one of the best Czech ska-groups was playing round midnight), it was the most pagan-like gathering I´ve ever been to.
And to think I was leaving home to go 'burning the witches' :o)))