Beltane Lore and More

Green Man: The Magnificent God of the Forest

Of all the many forms in which our Lord God takes, I must say that I love His Green Man aspect the most! He is both lover and consort to our Lady Goddess, the Earth Mother, and our Father always -The Oak King and Holly King respectively.

Historically speaking, the Green Man goes all the way back to pre-Christian Europe, Ireland, Scotland and Russia. He represents our kinship with the trees and the woods and the cycle of renewal and rebirth. He is known by many different names as He is recognized in almost every tradition. For example, he is heavily associated with Cernunnos (Celtic god of the forest), Dionysus (Greek god of Wine) and Bacchus (Roman god of wine), to name a few.

My Green Man Yule tree ornament

Our Wiccan group, Old Path Enlightener’s Circle, always honors The Green Man or “The Oak King” at our Beltane celebrations. This is the time when our Lord God and Lady Goddess unite in the “sacred rite of holy marriage.” We re-enact this sacred marriage ceremony during the symbolic Great Rite. This is one of the many reasons why I love Beltane so much and why it is amongst my favorite of our Wiccan celebrations. Lady Sabrina Rhiannon’s group, The Coven of the Silver Moon Circle, chooses a May King and Queen during their Beltane ritual. Everyone inside the circle walks in between two balefire cauldrons for a total of 9 times while making one wish each. 

Typically, the Celtic Fire god Bel or Belinus is honored at this particular sabbat, as the word Beltane literally means, “Bel-Fire,” but we much prefer to honor The Green Man.

Draco & Rhiannon lighting the Spirit candle during the symbolic Great Rite - Beltane 2008.

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

As I walked out one May morning,

‘Twas on the blooming heather

I saw a Maiden dancing there

In fair and sunny weather,

The Beltane fires were burning high

The dancers round did spin

They sang, “Blessed Be and Blessed Be

And Blessed Be again!”

~ Joe Bethancourt

(Further reading: https://www.wicca.com/pagan-holidays/beltane.html)

This story is told by the Berks County, Pennsyvlania renowned author of several historic and ghost legend books, Mr.  Charles J. Adams, III in his own words:

"Far less legendary for its witchy ways than the Bay State city, the Berks County township of Windsor has nonetheless earned the right to the necromantic namesake via not 17th century hysteria, but ancient legends and lore.

Berks County’s Witchcraft Road courses over the crest of a hill for three miles, roughly between the crossroad hamlets of Windsor Castle and Virginville. That hill is named Witches Hill, or, as the Pennsylvania Germans call it, “Hexe Baerrick” (Witches Hill) or “Hexe Dans” (Witches’ Dance Hall).

An otherwise unremarkable farm field on the highest point of the hill is the epicenter, and one of the last vestiges, of the earliest observance of an ancient observance called Walpurgisnacht–when superstitious settlers believed the veil between the living and the dead was the thinnest, and the “evil ones” were free to roam, ramble, and wreak havoc on the farms and in the villages.

It is where the earliest settlers gathered on that night, April 30, to scare away the witches and demons they believed dwelled, danced, and conjured up their hexes there.

It was said that no crops grew on this spot because the sorceresses would tramp the fields in their ranting revelries. It was also said that horses led onto the road would refuse to trot over this ridge because of the ominous spirits that suddenly reared up before them and terrify the steeds–not just on Walpurgisnacht.

Some folks have added another level of mystery by professing that when not trysting on the hill, the witches were cavorting and conjuring in a deep and dark nearby ravine known as Witches Hollow.

But to most locals, it is the hill, not the hollow, that holds what they believed was the most convincing evidence that something nefarious was afoot.

Hexe Baerrick also rises beneath the flight path of a legendary creature whose existence was handed down to early European settlers by the indigenous people of northern Berks County.
Not far from Witches Hill is Dragon Cave, which is said to be the lair of a fiery serpent that would appear on auspicious nights.
Tales were told of two young native lovers who came from feuding families who forbade their love affair.

The star-crossed couple decided that if they could not live together on this mortal coil, they would dwell together eternally in the great beyond. They chose to end each other’s lives inside the cave.
As they took their last breaths, the dragon was stirred. It roared out of the cave, soared north to the Pinnacle, and blazed over Witches Hill on its way. After touching down on the mountain, it reversed course and returned to its dark den.

To this very day, it is said that on some and certain dark and stormy nights, the flaming firedrake can still be seen fluttering from a cave named Dragon over a road named Witchcraft."