Greetings, Dear Friends!
How fun to be with you as the Wheel turns and the Spiral of Life takes us ever upward to the next level! The year is sailing along and honestly, I wouldn’t mind if time slowed down a bit because this year has been just absolutely delicious and I want to savor every minute.
It seems as though we just planted and now it’s already time for Beltane on Sunday! Those little seeds of intent are in the ground quivering away, about to burst forth with life in an explosion of creation.
Beltane represents the joining of opposites toward a common goal; the union of male and female (and what is more opposite than that, truly?), the perfect fitting together of that yin and yang, dark and light, earth and sky, toward the fulfillment of a new life.
New life is what is promised to us every year with CUSP and honestly, with every spell, every time we enact our intent. Through the introspection of Winter’s darkness, we contemplate how we want our life to change. We plant our intentions after putting the idea in place to Deity for confirmation and redirect, then we watch as those seeds of change take hold. We work in accord, doing the busy work that goes along with the divine manifestation (as above, so below!) and ultimately, hand-in-hand, our own efforts are met at least halfway by The Universe to create the changes we sought to bring into play at Harvest time.
Just as Beltane celebrates the fertility of man and woman, it also honors the union of Heaven and Earth, of humans and Deity. It is about the combustion of magic that happens when a person works in accord with God and Goddess to create their own greatest good. Working in harmony with the natural flow of one’s life and following the guidance of Divinity is one of the most delightful and productive experiences a human can have. It isn’t always pretty, but when you can collapse yourself into Divine intent and build your life around the flow of magic, fantastic things happen.
The Sacred Marriage of our actions and complete faith with the blessings of Deity is cause for celebration and when the weather is warming and we can feel the promise of warmer days, there is no better time.
The brightly colored Maypole rises to the sky to represent the male energy of Beltane and …
… that’s where it got weird for my Crafty gals and me. We would dance around the Maypole, whipping ourselves into a frenzy over Spiral Dance’s Witches’ Rune or Dead Can Dance’s As the Bell Rings, the Maypole Spins. But hey, we needed something to represent us as well! We weren’t about to simply honor a great big ribbony penis without getting the female compliment going!
Thusly, was born The Mayhole. The Mayhole was represented by our big cauldron, which we would “lubricate” with fragrant herbs that were sympathetic to our goals for the year. We’d toss the herbs onto the coals and let the smell carry around the circle while chanting and dancing. Once the Mayhole was nice and ready, then and only then, would we dance around the sacred Maypole. (Take THAT, Mr. Gardner)
Ahhhh, my girls. How I miss them!
Before the Mayhole was honored, we would jump the fire to build the heat for the union and get all clean for the consummation. Then came the Mayhole, then the Maypole, then the Great Rite where the joining is enacted using a chalice and an athame or, in our case, with a polished antler that looks way more phallic than it should but hey, that’s how we roll.
Seriously, did I tell you or what?
Afterward, there is much feasting and celebration as we bask in the afterglow of the fertilization of our goals.
This year had been tremendously exciting for us magically. Not only are we re-entering the public world of magic again after a very long retreat, but we are already seeing absolutely incredible results from our planting. It’s as though the soil is full of Miracle Grow. Without much of an announcement that I was out of solitary practice, I have been contacted spontaneously by so many of my favorite Pagan people, as well as some new ones, which has been a real joy.
The Dragons remain very solid and strong working partners and I was able to replace (thank you Ebay!) a dragon pendant I lost almost 20 years ago and have often mourned. I could almost swear it is the same, exact pendant because there is a yellow tone to the glue holding the crystal into the setting and when mine popped out, I only had crappy glue to replace it at the time and it was always yellow after that. Even though the yellowed glue is technically a flaw, it is dear to me and I wear it proudly.
Even if you do not engage in group practice, be sure and dance this Beltane… dance like no one is watching because honestly, they probably aren’t and if they are, they wish they were as ballsy as you are. Feel the spirit of the God or Goddess descend into you and express that ecstasy through your body. Feel the percussion of the Earth’s song and the whistling of the wind around you. Feel the fire of desire burn inside you and the flow of emotion through your body. Allow your emotions to come out without restriction or filtering. Give birth to them and honor them.
Blessed Be,
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