Beltane 2004
by Foxglove

Cast circle

Invocations
HPS to invoke upon the King
(Priest to invoke upon Queen separately to the ritual)

HPS:	Lord of the woods and lord of the glade,
	Be with us, as our magic is made.
	Lord of the forest and lord of the glen
	Horned leader, knower of men
	We call unto thee, by oak, ash and thorn
	We call unto thee, by seed, root and corn.
	Winter is ending, the dark half recedes
	Come O great king, come find your queen.

King: 	Of all the ladies that I know,
	There’s only one that can please me so
	That all her looks and all her ways
	Make music for me all my days
	For life I love her, and adore
	I only saw her once - not more
	But once I saw her, as I say
But once she crossed my path, my way
Forever, she will be my queen
Where did I see her? In a dream

The King lays down in a kind of sad daze, he hears a voice (scratchy) and looks up to the sky

Queen:	Darkness is at the heart of all living, but can you bring the light to me?

King:	This I can do

Queen:	Sadness is on the face of all, can you make me smile?

King:	This I can do

Queen:	Old age is a part of the web of life, can you give me my youth?

King:	This I can do

Queen enters wearing the mask of winter, king kneels at her feel with wand in his hand. She holds up her hands in invocation and says:
		
Queen:	By the darkness of winter, I am she
By the budding spring, I am she
By the blooms of this tide, I am she…..
But my face and body are old and worn
My life blood, still cold as ice
My heart, a shard in a cave
Cold I am, winter I am, 

King:	I am the king of all nature, I give my light to you
I am the trickster, the joker, the game.  I bring joy to your soul
		
He holds up the wand and plunges it into the cauldron and says

	I am the virility of all nature, I give you your youth

He then stands before her and they embrace, all witches present begin the dance while chanting-

	Winter has ended, summer has come
We farewell the darkness, we welcome the sun
Winter has ended, summer is here
We welcome the lady and greet her with cheer.

As the chant builds the king removes the “old lady mask” from the queens’ face.

A wreath is then placed on her head, and the horned helm is place on his, these are there summer crowns.

HP takes a cauldron filled with Ribbons around to each person.

HPS:	May the tides of summer, ever be in your mind
May the tides of summer, ever be in your heart
May the tides of summer renew your spirit
May the tides of summer dwell in your souls.

Each witch then approaches the King and Queen in turn.  They receive a gift from the K/Q (some type of runic symbol) K/Q to give some sort of blessing; these will be worn around the neck by the ribbon.

HP:	May we all always be aware of the rhythms of life, death and rebirth.
Let us now dance the sacred dance.
Let us now weave ourselves once more into the fibres of existence

Every with takes a ribbon from the maypole, the dance begins.

Once the may dance has ended, the King and Queen return to their place next to the altar.  They perform the great rite in token saying:

	Sky to earth, man to woman, phallus to womb, God to Goddess
Blessed be.

Cakes also to be dedicated by them, this time it may be done by Queen, in silence.