Sabbats/Holidays and Esbats > Beltane

Any plans this year for Beltane?

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Tirya:
It was nearly 90 today, so I opted to plant my new purchases tomorrow in between rainstorms, so I'm spending Beltane with some creeping jenny, turk's cap, ox-eye daisy, and blue star creeper. Hopefully the energy of the day will help my ground cover flourish and multiply so it will cover the bare spots quickly. ;)

Eternal Seeker:

My group had its ritual today; I thought I'd share with you. This is only the outline; like Jazz, there's always a lot of spirit-of-the-moment improv:
Order of Ritual

Spiral meditation and cleansing.
This is a time when the world blooms, the Goddess and the God marry and rejoice, and the thin veil is a good time for cleansing negative experiences, negative thoughts, and negative emotions. It is also a good time for giving thanks for the good experiences as well. This is a ceremony to do just that.

Think back on your experiences since last Samhain. Starting with last winter, think of the events or feelings that made an impression, good or bad. Try to recapture those feelings, and make notes on the paper about them. Try to do this in order, from winter to spring and so on. When you have noted those things you wish to consign to the cleansing flames- or to thank the Divines for- it is time for the next part of the ceremony. Fold the paper into a shape you can concentrate on; or if you wish, I will fold the paper into a poppet for you. For many, it is easier to concentrate emotions by personalizing them; that is why the Gods are made in our image- to make them an easier object of our love or hate. Turning these notes into a poppet you can talk to may make visualization easier for you.

Part II (outdoors):

We speak of the wheel of the year, of the circle of life, but many cultures have recognized life as a spiral. Yes, the seasons turn as a wheel, from winter to spring to summer to fall, around and around- but it is never the same winter, the same spring; each season, though familiar, is a new one... a spiral, making the same turns, but ending in a new place. This labyrinth is a double spiral, representing the time past and the time ahead.

As you enter the spiral, the beginning represents the winter last; as you walk the circle each quarter represents a season of the year. Remember each season in turn, and the events you noted down. Pour all the pent up emotions into your paper or poppet as you do; charge it with the energies these emotions generate. Try to empty these emotions so completely into the paper that you are left as clean as that paper was before you began.

As you enter the center, there will be a table with a cauldron and a fire. Set fire to your paper and drop it into the cauldron, calling to your Goddess: "(name of Goddess), take these thoughts and feelings from me, and do with them what you will; let me enter the new year a clean slate." Then cross the center space and reenter the spiral labyrinth from the other side.

As you leave the inner circle, you are in the Spring. Reflect as the path takes you around on the seasons that will come, and how you would like them to go this time. You may well pass those going the other way, on the way in- reflect on how different the same season looks from the perspective of the different year. May you leave the labyrinth with a new understanding of the passing of the year- and of yourself!

The call to ritual
Let all who would celebrate the season gather nigh!

Invocations
I do not call quarters, but all five elements, in five directions: North, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest. As the two greatest lakes on Earth, Superior and Michigan, lie Northwest of us, I place Water in the NW. As the Mojave Desert, one of the hottest on Earth, lies Southwest of us, I placed Fire there. As we are 36 degrees North, the majority of the Earth lies south of us, so I placed Earth in the remaining southern leg, Southeast. As the prevailing winds blow East and West, I placed Air in the Northeast. That places Aether, or Spirit in the North. I do not call them in a circular manner, but alternatively, as one would when drawing a Pentagram, beginning with the North:

NORTH, AETHER
Aether, Anima, spirit of life that is within all things, we call to you to help us remember that all things are connected, that all is Stardust. Blessed be.

SOUTHEAST, EARTH
Earth, cradle of life, source of strength and stability, grant us these grounds for our purposes tonight and make them sacred. Blessed be.

NORTHWEST, WATER
Water, source of life and soothing spirit, we call to you to cleanse this place, as your rains cleanse the Earth. Blessed be.

NORTHEAST, AIR
Air, sustainer of life and spirit of intellect, we ask that you loan us wisdom tonight. Blessed be.

SOUTHWEST, FIRE
Fire, spark of life and spirit of passion, we call to you to lend passion to these proceedings tonight. Blessed be.

GODDESS
Goddess, Great Mother, this is your honeymoon season, we ask that you come and share your joy with us. Blessed be.

GOD
Horned God, flush with new power, we ask that you share your waxing strength with us. Blessed be.

Casting of the circle
All spirits that be, witness that we summon our will and encircle this place, defining a sacred space for our proceedings tonight. Let the circle be a barrier to those of ill will, and a beacon to those filled with hope and joy. Thus three times we say, Blessed be. Blessed be. Blessed be.

Cakes and Ale
 
Summoning a vision
Everyone be seated. Get comfortable. Relax and close your eyes. If you know a mantra, repeat it in your mind as you start to control your breathing: in... out... a regular rhythm. Let the tension run down your body like rain, from your head, across your shoulders, down your legs, and out, leaving you completely relaxed as you continue the steady rhythm of your breathing...

As you get more comfortable, reach out with your feelings, down through your feet... feel the power of the Earth beneath you, and reach for it, touch it, draw strength from it... feel your body warm with the Earth's energy. Keep reaching, and you will find there's more there... images... sounds... are they recorded in the Earth, or in our memories? It doesn't matter, they are there, reach for them.

Follow me to a place, a place that's green with Spring. I don't know whether it's Istanbul or Belfast- no matter, it's there, green and beautiful... the year is- the past. There is a clearing, bright with new grass... you can smell things flowering, feel the Sun, the cool breezes. And you can see people, too, hear voices. You can't quite make out what they're saying, but you can hear the tone is happy, excited; there is spontaneous laughter.

You can see that they have built two bonfires, side by side, and somehow you know that these are for the God and the Goddess, side by side to celebrate their marriage. You can see people walk between the fires, sometimes carrying possessions or animals, and you know somehow that they are doing this to cleanse themselves and their things in the holy fires. You smile as you see that some adventurous youths have made a small mound of Earth before the fire, and are using it to run and leap through the flames with infectious enthusiasm.

Once cleansed, you see these folk gather together, speak words, sing, share refreshments. You can feel the community, the sharing. You see the people move to another party of their grove, and you can see a tall pole erected, streaming ribbons- a Maypole.  Most take a ribbon; a few have primitive drums, stretched skins on wooden frames; bodhrans, other shapes, and they start to drum a complex rhythm. The others start to sing and dance.

As the dancers laugh and slide past one another, weaving the ribbons, you take particular notice of one of the drummers... or it might be more accurate to say that she takes notice of you, because the veils are thin, and she is sensitive. She is older, hands scarred and roughened with years of work, face lined with age and exposure to the elements- but her eyes are merry, and her lips are smiling.

As you exchange glances through the veil, you suddenly realize that she is your ancestor. It might be the eyes that told you, or perhaps her profile as she turned her head reminded you of your mother... but whatever it was, you know that it's true. Somehow, through the miles and the centuries, she sees you and she, too, knows it's true. Without breaking the rhythm of the drum, she looks into your eyes, and opens her mouth to speak- listen to her words...

(a minute of silence)

The veils grow deeper; it is time to return to our world.

Thanking of the Goddess, God, and Elements
MOTHER GODDESS, we thank you for your gifts; stay if you will, go if you must. Blessed be!

HORNED GOD, we thank you for your gifts; stay if you will, go if you must. Blessed be!

And the same for each element in turn:
SOUTHWEST, FIRE
NORTHEAST, AIR
NORTHWEST, WATER
SOUTHEAST, EARTH
NORTH, SPIRIT

Closing words

A poem by JHuger

The day we learned that
The Sun doesn't go around the Earth,
The sunset was still beautiful.

The day we learned that
Evil spirits don't make us ill,
The sick still suffered.

The day we learned that
Our hearts are not where we feel,
We were still in love.

Our world is not a conjurer's trick.
Knowing how it's done
Doesn't make the magic go away.

Releasing the circle
We have returned to the mundane world, but the circle remains unbroken. Blessed be.

The dance of the Maypole, divinations, and consumption of mass quantities.

peace,
ES

dragonspring:
Very nice!  I really like the vision seeking meditation. 

bluefire:
Nice!

earthmuffin:
Thanks for the ritual, ES. I actually spent some time out of doors today tending some plants and my livestock. We had fabulous weather.

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