A look into the ancient Celtic Fire Festival of Beltane, and also the May Day of later English folk tradition celebrating the beginning of Summer.

We will look at ancient precursors to the festival in the pagan worldview of our European forebears, where this day was a crucial one in the pastoral calendar - when livestock would be driven to summer pastures amid magic protective rites and fertility rituals.

We also look at later folk traditions connected with May Day, such as the Green Man, the May Queen, Fairy folk, Morris Dancing and of course the May Pole and ask what, if any, resonance these may have with our pre-Christian past and the worldview of Germanic Paganism.

Finally I will look at some ways to engage with this time of year in a way that feels like a nod to the old ways.

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