The May bush ribbons dance as the Fairy Host pass by.

My May bush this year, a fallen branch.

Yesterday was Oíche Bealtaine, May Eve, and last night the fairy forts opened and the Good People

travelled across the land. 

At Bealtaine and Samhain They are at their most powerful and in the past people would put up a May Bush near the front door to protect their homes from the travelling Daoine Sídhe.

Recent May bushes in the Slieve Bloom mountains.

The bush itself consisted of a green branch of hawthorn or other tree stuck into the ground or tied to a pole and set in front of the homeplace. 

As well as providing protection against Otherworldly attention, the bush was also believed to also ensure an abundant milk supply all summer long. 

In some rural areas it was placed in the middle of a field and when night fell, set alight, 

in other places branches from the bush were thrown amongst the crops to guarantee a good harvest. 

Here in Co. Laois slips of whitethorn were blessed with holy water and stuck into the earth in

fields to prevent the Good People from harming the new crops.

The May Bush tradition was particularly strong in Co. Wexford where it was stuck on top of the 

dung heap used to fertilise produce.

Hawthorn branch with traditional decorations.

The May Bush was decorated by adults and children with traditional trimmings consisting of ribbons, coloured egg shells, bunches of yellow flowers and strips of coloured paper.

Photo courtesy of Michael Fortune.

The practice of decorating the bush is considered by some to be a survival of an ancient Bealtaine tradition welcoming the summer whilst others believed differently:

Peggy Doyle, Co. Wexford. Taken from James Lawlor, Irish National Folklore Collection.

May bushes were also customary in towns and cities. 

In Dublin it was recorded that rival gangs from north and south of the River Liffey would vie 

to exhibit “the best dressed and handsomest May bush”.

May Bush, Co. Westmeath 1964, National Folklore Commission.

In town and country alike there was often a community May bush, placed on common land or 

at the crossroads and as darkness fell stumps of candles or small rush lights were lit around the May bush as people danced to traditional music. 

These bushes were frequently guarded overnight by locals in order to protect them from being stolen by outsiders whom, it was believed, would steal the year’s luck from its rightful owners.

In some areas the bush was left in position until the end of May, 

in others until the decorations had crumbled and the bush itself was burned.

The importance of the May bush and its’ accompanying celebrations declined over time, especially in towns when, in the 18th century, authorities enacted a number of British laws forbidding their erection on public roads or near houses.

Those who continued the tradition were heavily fined.

May bushes in the Irish Midlands.

Recent years have seen the May bush return to Irish homes and communities as the tradition

is revived and the start of summer is celebrated once more.

Poster courtesy of Michael Fortune & Aileen Lambert. 

Bealtaine ‘May Bush’ Festival at Kinnitty Castle, Co. Offaly, 2014.

http://slievebloomassociation.com

Yesterday I put up my own May bush and as the sun set it stood guarding my home.

Later as I slept I’m sure its’ ribbons danced in the darkness as the Fairy Host passed by.

This short film was made by the pupils from St. Ibars NS, Castlebridge, Co. Wexford during 

a two-day visit to the school by Heritage Council Expert, Michael Fortune. 

You can read about another May Eve tradition ‘Welcoming the Summer with flowers’ here:

http://theeverlivingones.blogspot.ie/2015/05/welcoming-summer-with-flowers.html

The May Bush

The blessings of Bealtaine to you!
Bealtaine, the month of May, was anciently regarded as the start of summer and many customs grew around this time of celebration when the land began to produce her abundance and the hours of daylight increased. 
  
In times past people honoured the start of summer by decorating a May bush which was thought to bring luck to the household and give protection against Otherworldly influences at a time of year when the 'good people', the Sídhe, left their homes in the hollow hills and traversed the countryside.  
  
In almost all areas of County Laois, where I live, a hawthorn or holly branch was brought to be set in front of the home place and decorated with egg shells, ribbons and bunches of yellow flowers. In other parts of the country small candles or rush lights surrounded the bush and were lit at dusk on May Eve. 

These practices were recorded as taking place in the 1930's and were considered to echo  a remnant of our pagan past when the sun was welcomed as it united with the land.
I was delighted to discover that the May bush tradition has been revived in Laois.
Several years ago I visited this one outside a house on the Slieve Bloom mountains.

Then this year I spotted another decorated bush indicating, hopefully, that this Bealtaine tradition will continue and thrive.

Whitethorn ~ on the threshold of the Otherworld.

The month of May sees a procession of whitethorn stretching their long white fingers across the green land. 

They stand in the liminal places, between land and water,

beside sacred wells.

They guard ancient sites,

Oweynagat, “Cave of the Cats”, Co. Roscommon, home of the Morrigan.

Grange Stone Circle, Co. Limerick.

And gathering points where the Good People meet.

Distant whitethorn on the local Fairy Path where the Daoine Sídhe are said to gather. 

They trail across forgotten pathways

The path to Sheean. Link to read more: SHEEAN

and carry healing spells.

The Rag Tree at Killeigh, Co. Offaly. Link to read more: RAG TREE 

Standing between this world and the Otherworld the whitethorn, An Sceach Gheal, ‘bright, shining thorn’, is steeped in folklore and regarded with respect for fear of supernatural retribution. 

Felling a lone thorn brings bad luck and today many farmers continue to work around them.

Injury or even death could also befall anyone who damaged or cut down a lone bush. 

The close relationship between tree and Good People was acknowledged across the island. 

Some thorns were believed to have almost human attributes. 

In Co. Cork it was understood that a stick of whitethorn would have a temper of its’ own if used in anger and elsewhere blood was believed to flow from a lone bush if felled.

The kinship between thorn and Daoine Sídhe was occasionally utilised by people.

In Co. Laois it was once customary to sprinkle sprigs of whitethorn with holy water before planting them in fields in the belief that banishing the connection to the Otherworld would discourage the Good People from taking the crops.

Within old church yards thorns are left in place although they are often pruned 

to reflect Christian symbolism.

This bond was understood to be of service to cattle too.

Farmers would hang the afterbirth of a premature calf on a whitethorn believing that the bush would help it to survive and in some areas a sprig from a fairy thorn was hung in the milk parlour to encourage cows to produce creamier milk. 

The May Bush decorated skeletal remains of whitethorn and ivy.
Link to read more: MAY BUSH 

On May Eve when the bush was decorated there were differing views on the use of whitethorn for this purpose. 

In some areas it was acceptable and in others, using a branch of thorn was considered unlucky.

Throughout the country however, it was believed that bringing blossom into the house would shortly be followed by illness and death.

Whitethorn blossom exudes a scent that many find unpleasant and it has been found that the chemical trimethylamine, which is formed when animal tissues decay, is also present in the blossom. 

Unbaptised infants who had died and were denied internment in consecrated ground, were buried in the ‘sacred space’ beneath lone thorns, especially if they stood within fairy forts.

Lone thorn on Rath Coffey used as an infants' grave.
Link to read more: Cillín

Others mark age-old stopping places from hearth to grave.

Whitethorn standing between farm yard and road. 

It was customary for bearers to rest the coffin at the foot of this bush and local lore states 

that the thorn must not be removed. 

By the end of Lughnasadh the Whitethorn has become the Hawthorn,

limbs laden with red haws. 

And as the year progresses the tree reveals her true nature.

Thorn on the Burren - image © eyeem.

Living an average of 400 years, with some reaching 700, they become twisted and gnarled, claws sharp and fingers bent with age.

Thorns on the Burren coast.

A procession of bent forms reminiscent of hags, ridden by the wind.

'Wind-blown Trees' by Paul Henry.

At Samhain, standing starkly on the threshold of the Otherworld, they guard supernatural paths awaiting transformation.

Welcoming the summer with flowers.

In the past there were many customs and observances connected to the first day of May, Bealtaine,
and people here continue to mark the seasonal transition by decorating a May Bush, lighting bonfires
or by visiting a holy well.
When the weather cleared and the sun shone on May Eve I gathered wild flowers to celebrate the start of Summer.

An abundance of flowers in the hedges.

One of the traditions I maintain is to hang the May bough over the front door.
The bough had fallen naturally, I decorated it with ribbons and flowers and according to custom,
swept the threshold clean, and placed it above the doorway on May Eve to stay in place for three days.

The May bough hangs above the door.

Yellow flowers are used mostly, such as primroses, cowslips and buttercups because they symbolise
the sun perhaps but white and blue flowers are also collected.
As well as welcoming the summer it was believed that the sweet scent of spring flowers offered protection against the Good People who were understood to enter homes at this time.

In the past posies, red ribbons or slips of mountain ash were tied to the cows' tails and horses' bridles
to offer them similar protection from the activity of the Sídhe and also to counteract the 'evil eye' of certain neighbours who had the ability to steal the goodness from animals and produce.

Placing flowers on the doorstep or on windowsills also offers protection.

Good luck and further protection was afforded to the household after sunset on Bealtaine Eve when farmers' families and workers would walk the boundaries of the land carrying seeds of corn,
Sgaith-an-Tobar , the purity of the well, (the first water drawn from a sacred well after midnight the previous year) and the herb, vervain.
The procession stopped at the directions, beginning in the east, where they would dig a sod of earth, break it up, sow the seed then sprinkle it with the water.

So powerful are the supernatural forces at Bealtaine that the landscape itself was understood to be able relocate. The Motte / Motty Stone, a huge, white granite boulder on Cronebane Hill in Co. Wicklow,

was said to leave the hill top and come down to drink at the Meeting of the Waters on May Day,
whilst rocks off the coast of Ireland become unbound to journey across the sea.

PIC Motte Stone © 2015 Samuel Connolly http://www.gardenofireland.com

Encounters with the Sídhe were expected at Bealtaine when the Good People travelled the countryside to take part in hurling matches, dances and battles.
For this reason it was considered wise to stay safely indoors at night, although several precautions
could be taken if one had to venture out.
Carrying a black-handled knife, a piece of iron, a cold cinder from the hearth or a twig of mountain ash were all effective as means of protection against Other-worldly forces.
If however that protection failed one could always resort to the extreme remedy of washing the hands and face in urine which disgusted the Good People and caused them to depart!

The practice of leaving small offerings at a fairy fort, a lone bush or near the home was believed to propriate the Sídhe and to ensure their goodwill in the coming months.
This tradition also continues in Ireland to this day.

Personal offerings of milk & butter to the Good People on the eve of Bealtaine.

Irish readers can take part in the survey of May Day customs by submitting information & photos
to the website "Our Irish Heritage" here: http://www.ouririshheritage.org/category/lets_welcome_the_summer

Information on May customs taken from The Year in Ireland by Kevin Danaher which has been republished by Mercier Press and can be found HERE

The Many Coloured Land.

Yesterday, as daylight dwindled, I was sitting by the stove re-reading AE’s book

‘The Candle of Vision’ when my mind returned to the start of this year. 

I began 2016 here with a post dedicated to George William Russell, AE. 

His writing continued to inspire me through the bleak days of winter and later led me to seek out the Many Coloured Land, places of vision and creative power within myself and the landscape of Ireland.   

To read - Æ, artist & mystic - 

“And the old enchantment lingers in the honey-heart of earth.” LINK HERE

This January was icy but as daylight slowly grew I made preparations to honour Brigid on the Eve of her festival.

The cross was woven and set above the door. 

The brát was placed on the windowsill to catch her blessing as she emerged from nearby 

Croghan Hill, to walk the land. 

To read - "Brighid returns from the Otherworld" LINK HERE

The long desired greening had began by the time I travelled to Kildare, home of her eternal flame. 

Her fire pit held evidence of ritual 

and at Brigid’s Well I felt the rising of the year.

To read - "The promised Spring arrives" LINK HERE

In hindsight I now understand that water has flowed throughout my year. 

Visits to rivers, lakes, bogs and sacred wells have inspired me and strengthened my connection to the spirits of the land. 

I see now that it really began on the shores of Lough Gur, sacred to the goddess Áine. 

To read - LOUGH GUR - “a personality loved, but also feared.”

LINK HERE

Then on morning walks to my local river I spied white blossom on dark limbs.

The blackthorn blazed like pale spirits across the country.

To read "Blackthorn, dark sister of the May" LINK HERE

Pale primroses peeped from beneath hedges and gold glinted in the fields.

Bealtaine came nearer. I welcomed summer on May Eve in the old way by decorating a May bush 

and lighting a bonfire at twilight. 

To read - "The May bush ribbons dance as the Fairy Host pass by" LINK HERE

As the land brought forth her flowers and the sun stretched the evenings

I felt a strong pull towards water, the west and Irelands’ many sacred wells. 

To read - "Sacred water and three thousand Holy Wells" LINK HERE

To read - "By Stone, Whitethorn and Well" LINK HERE

One well in particular, Rathin Well in Co. Clare, was to connect me to a deep sorrow still felt
by many communities.

To read - "In silent need they searched for Holy ground" LINK HERE

The year turned towards harvest but water still drew me to loughs 

To read - "Lughnasa, loughs and a last salute to Summer." LINK HERE

and the dark bog spirits of the Midlands.

To read - "Dark Spirits of the Bog" LINK HERE

There were places where the Otherworld felt close

To read - "The Burren: Land of the Fertile Rock" LINK HERE

and a morning when I stepped into The Silence.

To read - "Otherworld Shenanigans: The Silence" LINK HERE

Throughout this years’ adventures The Cailleach, the Old Woman, has been close by.

She has threaded her way through images.

To read - "The Cailleach - Hag of the Mill & Mother of the Herd" LINK HERE

And words. 

To read - "A Samhain Story - The Lament of the Old Woman" LINK HERE

As I prepare to celebrate the birth of a new year she whispers in my ear -

“ There is more, much more yet to come. You have merely glimpsed the Many Coloured Land.” 

Outside The Cailleach traces frost upon the leaves but I know she has already planted 

the seeds of next years’ adventures.

Many thanks to you all for reading, following and commenting on this blog. 

May your New Year be filled with good food, good health & good company!