Re: May Day

Date: November 14th, 2008 09:39 pm (UTC)
What you cite here seems to be a variant of these stanzas:

'When, however, Beira, the winter goddess, was overthrown, and Bride, the goddess of growth, began her reign, the serpent came forth from its winter abode. The people then chanted a hymn, of which the following is a verse:--

To-day is the Day of Bride,
The serpent shall come from his hole,
I will not molest the serpent,
And the serpent will not molest me.

The serpent was sometimes called "Daughter of Ivor", and Mac Ivors were supposed to be safe from attack by her and all other serpents. She

p. 18

was also referred to as "noble queen". It is possible she was a form of the Earth spirit in spring-time. Another verse of a Bride's Day hymn is:--

The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown day of Bride,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground.'

from Donald A Mackenzie, Scottish Wonder Tales from Myth and Legend (http://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm03.htm).

You could be right about the Queen.
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