So drum beat and flute sound
As soon as extra we’ll circle ’spherical
For the world turns and the wheel spins
And all ends that after begins.This inexperienced hour, the guts is aware of,
Is temporary because the budding rose.
Although wheel flip and bloom fade
The guts sings the beginning of Could.
Beltane Night time by Jaiya
First, a private observe, if I’ll:
The Wheel turns, it doesn’t matter what.
As you go a-Maying, as you bow to the unfurling oak leaves, dance the traditional steps with the Shining Ones this night time, revel within the candy, swelling blossoms that can bear the fruit of Autumn lengthy months from now…
As you wash your face within the early dew tomorrow, and hearken to the decision of the wooden thrush, the robin, the fussy jays and wrens squawking to chase you from their infants’ nests, bear in mind this:
Beltane returns each yr. It could be have been borrowed, for some time, by human agendas, to honor labor, or as a vacation to rattle sabers, and showcase army may.
However tyrants rise and fall. Governments, wars, entire civilizations, and even existential challenges to Life itself have come and gone many instances earlier than this. In actual fact, for millennia.
Regardless of huge heartache unimaginable, regardless of terror and ache throughout each continent, right here within the Northern Hemisphere, the magic of Could Eve and Beltane arrive simply the identical.
They arrive as an historical, sacred blessing to all who obtain them with grace, pleasure, and the ecstasy of the Earth Herself.
We’re at an unprecedented second within the historical past of humankind, with a most ominous future for civilization as now we have recognized it, in addition to for the dwelling land and all who share this planet collectively.
Sure, that’s all true.
However now, at this sacred threshold, even with a lot uncertainty, the life drive that now calls to us from the dwelling land is irresistible. If in any respect potential, I urge you to pause throughout this holy time.
Put apart for a little whereas no matter sorrows and frustrations burden you, and obtain the restoration that may solely be given by the hand of the Holy One(s).
Pay attention intently and know that our Faery cousins really dance close by this night time. The dew beads up on the grass and flowers tomorrow morning, promising its magical elixir (maintain studying for extra about all this).
So bear in mind this: The Wheel of Time endures. The divine conspiracy of Love abides.
They all the time have, and we, the kids of the Smart, know they all the time will.
Blessed be.
~ Beth
A Most Merry Could Eve to All!
Today is Could Eve, Walpurgisnacht, or Beltane Eve!
The title Beltane means vibrant fireplace, bale fireplace, or Hearth of Bel, referring to the Solar God, Bel or Belinos.
Some of the magical nights of the yr, in Germany, Walpurgisnacht begins at dawn on this date and ends at dawn tomorrow, the primary day of Could.
On the Nice Sabbat of Beltane, the younger God is within the fullness of His manhood, and in love, provides Himself to the Goddess.
At the moment, we honor the Horned God of the Celtic and Teutonic peoples. He embodies the vitality of animal life, within the ways in which the Inexperienced Man embodies the vitality of all flora.
Conventional bonfires and torches of rosemary and juniper are lit, bringing candy purification and safety to all. Birch boughs are additionally positioned on all doorways and home windows to guard the house from evil spirits and sorcery.
Merry Conferences
In days of previous, when sexuality was joyful and with out disgrace, the younger folks went out “a-Maying” into the woods and fields on Could Eve, celebrating their pleasures with one another all through the night time. They’d return dwelling within the morning, laden with flowers and inexperienced branches.
Not solely have been these trysts tolerated, they have been blessed, for they have been rites of sympathetic magic that ensured fertility within the rising season.
Youngsters born from the Maying have been typically referred to as Jack, Jackson, Hodson, or Robinson since they have been the kids of the Jack within the Inexperienced, Hod (a woodland sprite) or Robin Goodfellow (or Robin Hood, one other type of the Inexperienced Man).
When you may or may not be capable of make like to somebody out within the woods, fields, or yard tonight, you possibly can nonetheless convey the Could into your life by bringing dwelling inexperienced branches, flowers, and branches of flowering timber. (You’ll want to ask their permission first).
Higher but, keep away from chopping dwelling vegetation, and plant your backyard in order that over time, you’ll rework your home right into a backyard bower. Make a wreath to hold on the door or to crown your Goddess pictures.
The Veil is Skinny
Just like the extra somber Samhain, which our pals within the Southern Hemisphere at the moment are making ready to rejoice, this can be a time when the veils between the worlds are most skinny and we could really expertise the quantum wave of different realities.
Concentrate, and you might discover that different realms bleed by way of into ours, making divination strikingly clear, and encounters with non-ordinary beings extra possible.
Historically, Samhain-tide is the season we will anticipate visitations with the Ancestors. However they may additionally come calling on this night time as properly, particularly those with whom you’ve gotten probably the most light-hearted relationships.
It’s extra possible, nonetheless, that presently of the yr, the Otherworlds that open are these of the Good Folks, who at the moment are very energetic and near us.
It’s stated that on this night time, the Queen of the Sidhe rides out on her snow-white horse, on the head of the Seelie Courtroom, presumably searching for mortals to lure away to Faeryland for seven years.
Folklore says that should you sit beneath a tree on this night time, you will note Her or hear the tinkling of Her horse’s bells as She rides by. For those who disguise your face, She’s going to cross you by however should you have a look at Her, She could select you.
Please take into account that as enticing as this may occasionally sound, the lands of the Shining Folks are not the wee, quaint locations depicted by Disney or the Victorians.
Sure, the Faery lands are intensely lovely, however they don’t seem to be human locations and might be fairly perilous for individuals who usually are not respectful or discovered within the methods of the Lordly Ones.
Magical Dewdrops
Even should you don’t keep up all night time a-Maying, not less than bear in mind to stand up early tomorrow, and wash within the magical dew of Beltane morn:
The honest maid who, the primary of Could
Goes to the fields at daybreak
And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree
Will ever after good-looking be.
Different sources counsel utilizing the dew discovered beneath oaks or on ivy leaves.
My beloved trainer, the famed writer and Celtic custom knowledgeable RJ Stewart, means that this centuries-old custom is the idea of modern-day Flower Treatment therapeutic.
Equally, you may make a particular want as you wash your face within the gathered dewdrops, or as you drink from a properly earlier than dawn.
All Acts of Love and Pleasure Are My Rituals
For many of us in North America, the precise cross-quarter day (that’s exactly midway between Equinox and Solstice) can be Could 4 this yr.
In fact our ancestors didn’t restrict their Beltane festivities to solely at some point, nor have been they reckoned by some quantity on a calendar. They celebrated based mostly on remark of the heavenly our bodies, the cycles of their crops and animals, and a really feel within the air. So you needn’t curtail your celebrations solely to Could Eve, or Could Day, by the fashionable calendar.
Beltane’s vitality, to those that are open to it, is heat, magical, horny, and provoking.
The doorways between our mundane, human realm and the actual, primal worlds are flung open at this lovely time. Reply the decision to discover the hidden paths of enchantment that our ancestors knew.
Exit and permit the fantastic thing about this lusty time to make your blood dance. Embody an intimate beloved one in your rites, if you’re blessed with such an individual and it’s secure to take action. If not, no worries – hear with all of your senses, and also you’ll acknowledge you aren’t alone!
Give up to the deep pleasures of this lovely time of yr, and let or not it’s a therapeutic balm to a world of harm. Enable its energy to maintain you all through no matter could lie forward within the months to come back.
Most of all, benefit from the pretty finery that our beloved Gaia has cloaked Herself in, and permit your self to be seduced by Her.
