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The Laconneau Spring Festival Come join us at Artemis House in Greenville, NC when we celebrate our annual Spring Festival. All across Celtic Europe, the season of Imbolc ended at Beltaine, which falls on approximately May 1st and marks the beginning of the summer, and the light half of the Celtic year. Beltaine is an anglicization of the Irish "Bealtaine" or the Scottish "Bealtuinn." While "tene" clearly means "fire," no one really knows whether Bel refers to Belenus, an ancient pastoral god of the Gauls, or is from "bel," simply meaning "brilliant." However, whatever the linguistic origin, Beltaine or May Day is celebrated throughout most of Western Europe. Traditionally, all fires were extinguished on the eve of Spring Festival, and were re-lit from the main fire which was kindled at dawn by the pieressas. Our ancestors were predominantly a pastoral people, and the rhythm of the seasons held a vital and profound significance for them. As with Samhain, the other great festival that balances Beltaine across the year, this is a between time; a time between dark and light, night and day, winter and summer, and as such had a profound meaning for the Celts. For them, being the eve of summer, Spring Festival was a “between time”, and therefore the veil between worlds was thin, allowing this world and Other World to intermingle. With the hard work of tilling and planting accomplished, it was a time when the people came together in celebration with the hope that the crops would grow and flourish in the months ahead. With good green grass for grazing returning to the fields and hillsides it was time for the cattle to be moved to their summer grazing pastures in the high meadows and mountains. Throughout Europe, this was a time of sacred fertility. The May Pole's shape is but a mild hint at the kind of spring revels that went on during this day and night sacred to the Divine Mother. The idea of the Sun being masculine is actually a relatively new - no more than three or four thousand years old. Originally, in Western Europe, the Sun was perceived as a symbol of the Goddess. Bridget, Brigid, Bride, Briga and Brigantia are but a few of Her names. Traditionally it was a time for the Sacred Marriage or Heiros Gamos, as it was known in Mediterranean areas. Through this sacred rite, the Goddess in the form of a royal priestess conferred upon the chosen King the power to rule. In uniting with Her and accepting this power, he dedicated his life to the service of both the land and the people, and confirmed his willingness to die for them should the circumstances require him to do so. This legend is reflected in many Mediterranean cultures also, including the cult of For the Tradition of Laconneau, Spring Festival is a rich and deeply meaningful time. It is a time for remembering our history, which extends from the dimly lit shadows of ancient times, through the early Christian era, and the difficult times of the Middle Ages to this modern era. Through this festival we remember the One we serve, and all of our sisters throughout the ages whose courage and sometimes self-sacrifice has allowed us to participate in this rich inheritance. We remember them not in sorrow but in joy for this is the time of rebirth, and just as surely as all of Nature is reborn at this wonderful time of year, so too will they be reborn to once again rejoin the sisterhood. This year, for the second time in North America, we are holding Spring Festival in the old way, in full accord with the principals of our Tradition. Come join us at Artemis House in Greenville, North Carolina for this wonderful weekend of council discussion, workshops, feminine spirituality and festivities. Lend your voice to the power and love of other sisters such as yourself who feel a burning need to see change in this world.
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Spring Festival Schedule
Workshop Cost
Artemis House More information, directions, accommodations & reservations |
Day One 