Visiting the Ruins and Reading blog!

Happy Tuesday Greetings to you! 

I'm delighted to be hosted today by my lovely friend, Cathie Dunn, over on the Ruins and Reading blog. 

She invited me to  write a guest post, something related to The Beltane Choice which is the Ocelot Press featured Book of the Month for May. My topic is dear to me and it's about the use of descriptive language in my historical novels. 

Pop on over and find out   HERE 

Slàinte! 

Those May 1st festivals!

Hello again!

It may be the 3rd May now, but I still have a little bit of research that I'm sharing here. As well as looking into Celtic origin Festivals on the 1st May, I've also found some Ancient Roman celebrations for May 1st. 

May Kalends

Juno 

Kalends was the first day of each month and it was sacred to Juno.

The public were called to the Curia Calabra by the Pontifex minor. The Curia Calabra was a dedicated religious location, a temple used for the new moon ritual observation. The Pontifex minor (one of the College of Priests and not the High Priest who was the Pontifex Maximus) and the Rex Sacrorum ( a nominated priest of the patrician class) offered a res divina, a religious sacrifice to Juno. Janus was also invoked on the first day of May.

Maia’s Sacrifice - 1^st May.

A priest of Vulcan sacrificed a pregnant sow to Maia, the usual offering to an earth goddess. This event seems to have been linked to the Bona Dea dedications.

 

Maia

Bona Dea temple dedications - 1st of May

Damia (Bona Dea) the  “good goddess”, was the Roman goddess of prophecy, chastity, fertility, healing, the protection of individuals, the Roman state and fauna. Honour was given in Bona Dea ritual sacrifices and they were women-only services. The priestesses of Bona Dea (Damniatrix) sacrificed a sow (a cow that had produced offspring and was named the Damium). The Bona Dea temple on the Aventine was decorated with snakes and herbs used for healing. Women carried honey pots into the temple, filled with ‘milk’- offerings of wine and they decorated statue of the goddess with vine leaves.

 

Lares

Lares Praesites - May 1st

The festival of the Laribius/ Lares Praestites  gave honour to the public lares as protectors of the city of Rome, and was held near the temple of Vesta. The Lares were also protectors of a personal home. The household occupants worshipped their own lares choice at the lararium, a dedicated area or niche which held the sacred image. Lares worship was expected on the kalends (1^st day of the month); the nones (5th or 7^th depending on how many days in the month); and the ides (15^th or 13^th depending on how many days in the month). Though it was recorded that many people gave offerings to their lares every day. 

Meanwhile the Floralia festival, which began on the 28^th April, continued…

Slàinte!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iuno_Petit_Palais_ADUT00168.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pheneos_-_360-340_BC_-_silver_stater_-_head_of_Maia_-_Hermes_with_Arkas_-_Berlin_MK_AM.jpg

New 5* review for After Whorl Donning Double Cloaks

 Good Morning!

It's already a great Monday for me since I can add a little post about a new 5* review for After Whorl Donning Double Cloaks. Book 3 of my Celtic Fervour Series is a little lacking in reviews, compared to Book 1, so it's always wonderful to get any new reviews for the later books in the series. 

My thanks to Dorothy.

5* - Here’s my review on this wonderfully gripping story of the fight for Celtic Britain.

This continuing story of the Brigante people from Garrigill is full of action. Bran still trying to find a leader for the Celts; is still living with the Roman forces as a slave; and both passing on information in the fight to battle the Roman legions. And yet still the battles go on with Agricola a seeming scourge, and yet still more people displaced. Refugees in their own land.

This continues to be a well rounded story of the Romano forces intent on subjugating the people of Britain and the fight to remain independent.

Happy reading to everyone! 

Slàinte!