Beltane is the Spring fertility festival which takes place on May 1st. At this time of year everything in the natural world is in growth and this is the time to celebrate union, fertility, love and sexuality.
It is the festival which celebrates the Heiros Gamos, the sacred union between Horned God and the fertile Goddess. In days gone by, it was re-enacted by men and women to ensure the fertility of the land. People made love in the woods and forest, slept outdoors and watched the sunrise. They walked the labyrinths and mazes and dressed in green to honour the Earth at this time.
The Horned God is usually known as Herne the Hunter, the wild man of the forests. Herne is transformed into a white stag, and legend has it that he chased the Goddess who turned into a white deer. The Horned God has also been depicted as Pan, the Goat God, Zeus the Bull and Amen the Ram.
Over time, these depictions of the Horned Lord were turned into the Christian version of the Devil, whose lustful nature gave birth to the slang word “horny”, although the old German word for “lust” actually meant “religious joy”.
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