The Wyld Fire Beltane Hunt
May 2nd to May 3rd, 2020
As of right now, we are limiting our event to 10 people, and all spots have been reserved. Please send us a message if you'd like to be added to the wait list.
Our Story
The Wyld Fire Beltane Hunt is normally a four day/three night festival celebration of the Pagan holiday of Beltane (aka May Day); this year, we are hosting a small scale camping experience due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The entire event is hosted by New Orleans Lamplight Circle, a Pagan-based social, educational, and activism forum that has operated in the area for 13 years. This is our EIGHTH annual Beltane event.
Beltane
Beltane honors life! It is the transitional time between the zenith of Spring and the beginning of Summer. The energies of the Earth are strong at this time, and waiting to burst forth from potential to conception. On Beltane, sexuality and abundant fertility are the central themes. The maiden goddess, or May Queen, is the manifestation of growth and renewal. The young Oak King, or Jack-In-The-Green, is the manifestation of active energies and virility. Their blessed union is consummated, and the May Queen becomes pregnant and spreads fertility thorugh the land. They are the symbols of sacred marriage, or Hieros Gamos. This union of masculine and feminine, Earth and Sky, has been reenacted by humanity for centuries. This is the night of the Greenwood Marriage, and the entire evening is steeped in sensuality, passion, joy, and vitality. This is when all plans, hopes, and dreams are transmuted into actions!
The Hunt
Due to the Coronavirus, there will not be an active hunt this year. Instead, the May Queen and Oak King will be chosen for ritual purposes.
Think of it like a giant game of "hide-and-seek." The evening begins at twilight, when those attendees who have signed up to be the "HUNTERS" will dash out into the fields and woods of Gryphon's Nest, ready to pounce on the sacred priests/preistesses, or "HOLIES". Those who have signed up to be "holy" will already be hiding, or running. The goal of the hunter is to chase down the holy, one by one, until they discover the holy that has been secretly designated as the May Queen. The goal of the holy is to slow down the chase, stumping the hunters with riddles, and hiding the identity of the real May Queen. Only the hunter who outsmarts their holy and proves their vitality beyond their fellow hunters will capture the May Queen, and be crowned Oak King. Choose to be holy, hunter, or neither... our hunt is not based on preconceived gender, sexual orientation, or sexual identity lines.
 Elemental Goddesses of the Hunt 2017 |  2017 Attendee |
|---|---|
 Predator 2015 |  Oak King 2017 |
 Volunteer Fire Steward 2017 |  Predator 2017 |
 Predators 2015 |  High Priest Alec 2017 |
 Predator & Satyr 2017 |  Elemental Goddess 2017 |
 Elemental Goddesses of the Hunt 2017 |  Prey 2017 |
 Predator 2017 |  Predator 2017 |
 High Priestess Ty & Cliff 2017 |  Predator 2013 |
 Predator Pack 2016 |  Prey 2016 |
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The Ritual
The "Hieros Gamos," or sacred marriage, is an ancient Pagan tradition that emulates the divine union of all things masculine and feminine in nature. At sunset, we will crown the May Queen and Oak King and channel divine energy through them to bless all who have gathered for ritual, and the land we stand on. Please note that, while we spiritually work with the divine in polarity, that doesn't mean that the forces at play will yield a binary May Queen and Oak King.
Directions
Gryphon's Nest Campground is located at 19306 Bull Run Rd., Springfield, LA 70462. Don't rely on MapQuest or your GPS systems-they never get it right! Also when you get closer to the campground you may lose phone signal!
Click Gryphon's Nest Campground to learn more.