Ancient Ways ~ Beltane- a May festival by Microferk Designs @Oscraps!

The beginning of an amazing journey through the year, and the Wheel of Life!

As we step back in time, we look to the Ancient Ways of our ancestors who walked the earth and learned its seasonal rhythms.
According to the old ways, the year was marked by not only the solstices (the longest and shortest days) and the equinoxes (the 2 days each year where a perfect balance between day and night, dark and light was achieved); but by the "cross-quarter" days. Falling in between Beltane (Spring Equinox) and  Litha (Midsummer/Summer Solstice) is the cross-quarter holiday, Beltane. Beltane, also known as May Day, Roodmas, Bealtaine, Walburga, Walpurgis, Nos Galon Ma, Cyntefyn, Cetsamhain,  Thrimilce, and many other, means "bright fire" or in Celtic: "fire of Bel", the Celt God of Light or Sun God. The ancient Druids celebrated this as the Fire Festival and it honored the union of the Goddess and the God.  It is the second of the 4 fire festivals, and the bonfire, or balefire, is an integral aspect of its celebration. Beltane marks the beginning of summer, and during this time, crops are blessed, and it is a time of feasting and looking toward the warm summer months ahead. Symbols of this festival are the Maypole, flowers, especially roses, bluebells, daisies, lilacs and primrose; garlands, wreathes, baskets an strings of beads. The colors used to commemorate this holiday were red, white, green, blue, soft pink and yellow.
The Maypole is one celebration of this day with which most are familiar. Traditionally, it was a pine tree stripped of most of its branches. It was decorated with flowers, herbs, garlands and paint. It was raised upright and the men and women danced around it in opposite directions, weaving bright ribbons around the pole. It was thought that the Maypole dance ensured the fertility of the Goddess and crops alike. The Maypole was later placed in a deep hole in the earth, the imagary and symbolic intent quite clear. The Church was never successful in obliterating this custom.
In the evening, the "balefires" were lit and couples who wished to conceive jumped over the fire holding hands. Others also danced around the bonfire to the rhythm of music into the wee hours of the morning.
This holy day's themes focus on joy, fertility, abundance, creation, blessings, renewal, passion and love.

In "Ancient Ways ~ Beltane by Microferk Designs", by Microferk Designs offers a bounty of 20 papers, patterned, blended, and/or textured!
Also included are over 45 elements: a budding tree (shadowed and unshadowed), a set of 6 art and photographic postcards, a chain of beads (12"), a bookplate with 6 pieces of word art and a blank for your customizing pleasure,  a string of flowers, 2 paper frames embellished, 2 frame clusters with ribbon wraps (shadowed and unshadowed), 2 metal brads with images of the Green Man and a goddess, a set of 5 jewelled brads, a gemstone flourish, a jewelry tag (shadowed and unshadowed), 3 journal blocks, 2 large flourishes, 3 assorted leaves, a large flower, a beribboned Maypole (shadowed and unshadowed),  a metallic flower border and matching oval frame, a beribboned wooden frame (shadowed and unshadowed), a round tag (shadowed and unshadowed), 2 poems (one by Mother Goose and one original ©Michaela Ferkul) and a large Wheel of the Year decorative piece.
Also included in "Ancient Ways ~  Beltane" by Microferk Designs, are 2 extremely versatile, large (3" tall) alphas, both upper and lower case letters, numbers and 7 extra characters, made of cardstock in neutral cream and red or green and delightfully distressed. Each character is in its own file- no need to 'cut' apart. All elements and papers are created at 300ppi, with papers saved as high-resolution jpgs for stunning print clarity, and elements saved as png files to preserve transparency. Drop shadows are only applied in instances where layering of pieces within an element necessitate shadowing for realism, unless otherwise noted in the product description above.

Check out the "Ancient Ways Collection" for more coordinating products in this line by Microferk Designs.