Beltane 2012

We celebrated Beltane the same way we have for the past few years. At Edmonton's Beltane Faire!
Beltane falls on the 1st of May. This year it was celebrated by our Pagan community at the end of April and was a very special year indeed...

Willowtree is chosen to be this years May Queen

 The May Queen represents the Goddess of Earth. She presides over the Summer. Wikipedia says: The May Queen is a symbol of the stillness of nature around which everything revolves. She stands for purity, strength and the potential for growth, as the plants grow in May. She is one of many personifications of the energy of the earth.
The May Queen at this festival is chosen by a draw. All the women who are not past there child bearing years are given numbers and the corresponding number is drawn out of a basket. This year the universe gave the honor to Willowtree. It was a huge deal for us as last year I was the chosen May Queen. The Goddesses energy is definitely strong in us :)

The Knight of Winter challenges Her choosing

The handsome Knight of Summer steps forward to defend her honor

The battle begins

The Knight of Summer is victorious

My little Willowtree is crowned May Queen

She thanks her knight in shining armor with a kiss on the cheek

The May Queen on her throne

Then we danced the spiral dance for our May Queen. That's me with the green hair :)

She then helped with the Beltane ritual

Knights fighting in the Beltane tournament after the ritual

Dancing the Maypole

The May Queen, her very proud Mommy and a beautiful dachshund with the finished Maypole

The boys testing out their fighting skills with the knights weapons

Another highlight of our day was getting to meet the newest member of our family my baby Great nephew Keo. I also got to finally meet face to face with an internet friend of 13 years Rose :)

Beltane 2012 was an amazing day! Truly Blessed by the Goddess!