#2 – Meaning and Discussion of High Days
Required Reading:
Our Own Druidry, p. 62 - 74 (Hearth Cultures & High Days)
ADF Constitution, Article 4
The ADF Core Order of Ritual for High Days
Optional Reading:
Our Own Druidry, p. 51 - 75 (The Very Basics of Ritual);
A Crane Breviary and Guide Book by Rev. Michael J Dangler: <>
Appendix 1: Resources and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year in this book;
The "Liturgy and Rituals" section of the ADF page, <>
The Three Cranes Grove, ADF, outline of ritual (with example prayers), <>
The May Cross-quarter is perhaps the closest fit between the popular conception of the holiday and the Norse hearth culture. The sudden resurgence of Walpurgis Night aside, May Day and Beltane celebrations can often be transferred with very little effort to be Norse focused. The Norse Goddess of fertility and beauty, Freyja, is also the goddess of magic and death. It is fitting that Maitag, devoted to the plenty of spring and summer as well as fertility rites of all kind, is preceded by Walpurgis Night, when the ancestors and spirits draw near.
Walpurgis night is celebrated with bonfires, feasting and dancing. The bonfires are used to keep away any spirits that mean harm or mischief. There is considerable debate regarding the origin of Walpurgis night. The name is known to dervive from St. Walburga of England who worked towards the Christianization of Germany in the Eighth Century. Little textural evidence exists that implies the celebrations pre-date St. Walburga. Simply the date of her canonization was conflated with the existing May Day celebrations and the holiday expanded.
May day is celebrated much the same way throughout the British Isles, Germany, and northern France: joy and dance that the spring has come and summer is coming. It is about this point in the agricultural year that it finally becomes warm enough to start planting the fields. The fruits and berries start to appear and milk and eggs become abundant. More than anything else, that is the message of May Day, that the days of plenty are here.
The May Cross-quarter is perhaps the closest fit between the popular conception of the holiday and the Norse hearth culture. The sudden resurgence of Walpurgis Night aside, May Day and Beltane celebrations can often be transferred with very little effort to be Norse focused. The Norse Goddess of fertility and beauty, Freyja, is also the goddess of magic and death. It is fitting that Maitag, devoted to the plenty of spring and summer as well as fertility rites of all kind, is preceded by Walpurgis Night, when the ancestors and spirits draw near.
Walpurgis night is celebrated with bonfires, feasting and dancing. The bonfires are used to keep away any spirits that mean harm or mischief. There is considerable debate regarding the origin of Walpurgis night. The name is known to dervive from St. Walburga of England who worked towards the Christianization of Germany in the Eighth Century. Little textural evidence exists that implies the celebrations pre-date St. Walburga. Simply the date of her canonization was conflated with the existing May Day celebrations and the holiday expanded.
May day is celebrated much the same way throughout the British Isles, Germany, and northern France: joy and dance that the spring has come and summer is coming. It is about this point in the agricultural year that it finally becomes warm enough to start planting the fields. The fruits and berries start to appear and milk and eggs become abundant. More than anything else, that is the message of May Day, that the days of plenty are here.
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