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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Beltane

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_Dolphin-skull.jpg

Scottish Hebridean Dolphin Skull

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The Serpent's Kiss: Beltane Fires

We stand at another season and another turn of the Great Solar Wheel. We gather in the fertile space of circle greenery anchored well with phallic maypole standing tall. We dance around the potent fires of Beltane celebrating the sacred union of God and Goddess, youth and maiden and the polarity of seed and womb offered by male and female. The air is fragrant with the promise of summer's musky scent and shoots of fresh grass elongate delicately upwards, stretching towards Father Sun and longer days to bask in His brilliance. We can see the lengthening of the days light and feel the gentle caress of warm sun-kissed air on skin that has just recently shed its winter clothing. In the continuous cycle, darkness gives way to light and so also the sparse flora of the fields gives way to the thick verdant splendor of late-Spring growth. 

This is the magickal season of the thinning of the veils between ancestor and human, spirit and Deva and the gifts of connection to seen and unseen. We bow to the enlivening of all of the fruits of mother earth's bounty that will herald summer's gifts of ripening. We joyfully and with purity of intent and heart give offering to the Fae to aid us in our endeavors and make promise that the progeny of our union with nature and all of its life will make good in keeping her healthy and whole. All is ready and ripe for a consummate union that will feed the cycles of creation. This interweaving takes form in all aspects of being-sexual, spiritual and more. 

The potency of sexual union and the energy that is the by-product of the sexual act is one of the most potent and its heady scent seductively calls to all to join in the dance. If guided and directed towards enlivening and magickal working its raw force has the power to manifest form. In alchemical and Tantric practice, using this energy as a means of self-enlivening and energetic renewal and healing is the goal. It is this energy that is celebrated and called into action as we wait in anticipation of the Beltane’s lovers sacred union. The heat of passionate longing and the desire to join as one ensures the continuance of life's pleasure and humanity’s legacy. It pulses with a lusty rhythm that mesmerizes and magnetically draws to itself the object of its seeking. And, life continues in the throes of human passion and Divine synthesis. 

This is the time of spiritual union. When the potency of the energies and the fires of devotion are most fertile and ready to be held in loving embrace in hopes of creating connection and bond that will move us forward on our spiritual paths. We stimulate the fires of our own will and exhale into the heat of our yearning. At this turn of the Wheel, I would like to propose a deeper union. 

The Fires that arise are much like the breath of transformation that becomes the potency of catalytic change and enlivening. The fires that issue froth from the Dragon; a winged serpent who has conquered the mysteries of Air and has risen above the constraints of earth and land to soar across the heavens. It holds within its body the waters of life and quickens them in the Fires of creation, remaining solid and strong in its intent. The Snake is the terrestrial form of the Dragon and holds the wisdom of the Earth. This turn of the year, in particular offers up especial opportunity to drink deeply from the Dragon’s fires and the wisdom of Snake’s grounding as we seek the rapture of their Divine kiss. As we think on the outward expression of our passions and the desire for union we can also turn that desire inwards, fueling our passion for union with our Higher nature. 

The metaphor of Beltane is that of coming to a point of coalescent energy. The merging, blending and eventual uniting of our polarized selves in all their facets. Male and female, light and dark, earthly desire and the bliss of orgasmic release are the potent streams that become the maypole ribbons that we cling to as we dance around the core of seed-filled center. We also become the womb and vessel of this outpouring of force and act as the container of form so that something new may be birthed from this quickened state of being. We weave the ribbons tightly around this container, affirming the strength that is held in co-creative effort and then marvel at the beauty of that creation the celebration of the outcome. 

If we use another metaphor, that of the Kundalini awakening or Serpent of Fire, we find that this is one and the same type of energy. Desire awakens the serpent of wisdom who lays coiled at the base of the earthly and primal state. We breathe deeply and call forth our will to merge with this energy. Breath and action fuel and catalyze this energy and stir it into heightened awareness as the dance of weaving and life begins. As the serpent moves along its path of return the One becomes two; separating in individualized awareness of the need for polarity and the deeper gnosis of the duality of our singular state of being. Each moves along its intended course, seducing and drawing the other into its embrace at points of quickening and awakening. The pace quickens and the two return as One in the release of catalytic seed and waters of quickening. The fires of will reach up towards the Higher Self and the Serpent’s Kiss bites deeply into primed matter releasing the transformative elixirs of deep knowing and spiritual union with the Divine in all of its forms. The fires of Beltane move serpent-like in and through you and the joyous celebration of God and Goddess’ Sacred Union is that of You and your Higher Self. 

This year as you celebrate Beltane, open yourself to the deeper enlivening. Become a conscious participant in awakening all parts of your being. Celebrate your Gods and Goddesses. Celebrate your physical nature and connection to that which makes you most human. Celebrate the life that flows within you and the potential of being creator and co-creator of all that you will to be so. And, think deeply on these questions:

Will you seek the serpent's kiss*? Will you allow the energy of desire, will and action to guide you to the ecstasy of union? Will you draw into yourself the seed of potential and quicken it within the womb of your own making? And, at the next turn of the Great Wheel will you stand as one with the heat of the blazing sun issuing forth the breath of the fiery Dragon you have called to Light within?

Happy Beltane. May the Fires of Life Flow Through Every Part of Your Being!

 

Image: Stock Photo 123rf
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I woke with the smellb2ap3_thumbnail_58639012_2319362924942583_1704575264542949376_o.jpg
of Belfire still in my hair
and knelt in a circle
of hawthorn and roses
to bless my brow, cheeks,
and neck with dew.
I heard the sound of
hooves on leaf and stone
and saw three deer leaping
away through the woods.
I lifted my arms to sun
exhilarated with wild enchantment.
What a blessing it is to live
right here, right now.

Good May Morning!

This week you might wish to pick or buy flowers for your home, to add touches that give you a sense of warmth and hominess, or light candles or diffuse oils near you while you go about your household tasks.

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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
May Celebrations That Aren't About Sex

 Hooray, hooray, the first of May
Outdoor sex begins today!
             —old saw

So, Atheopaganism is a pleasure-positive path. That’s Atheopagan Principle #10: so long as others and the Sacred Earth are respected, we believe that joy and fun and feeling good are our birthrights as humans.

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
A Glastonbury Beltane

Belated Beltane greetings! Or Bealtaine as we call it in Ireland. But this year I greeted the May at dawn in Glastonbury. And not being a morning lark by nature, I indulged in the Irish custom of bathing my face in the May morning dew for the first, and most probably the last time, in this lifetime! It dawned an icy 1.5degree C at our rented cottage in Wells. But the rituals must have worked because the sun came out and I roasted and toasted the winter chill out of bones at the Beltane fire in Chalice Well Gardens later that morning.

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Fire and Fertility: Let’s Hear It for Beltane!

Merry meet! Today is Beltane (also spelled Beltaine or Bealtaine), the ancient Celtic festival marking the start of summer and a celebration of fertility. Beltane is also closely associated with both the Germanic festival Walpurgisnacht and English festival May Day (and, by association, International Workers’ Day), which also mark today. For your general enjoyment and spiritual purposes, we’ve gathered all our posts related to this very special day. We hope your summer is a pleasant one, full of joy.

--Aryós Héngwis

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I didn’t just stop
to smell the lilacs
I sang to them too
praising their beauty b2ap3_thumbnail_30813819_2076083795937165_6064872471947175256_o.jpg
as I pressed my nose
into their blooms.

The air was full
of enchantment
as I delighted in the sunlight
filtered through new maple leaves
and scattered across stone.

I rolled redbud flowers
across my tongue
and ate dandelions straight
from the stem
feeling yellow petals
in my teeth.

I savored the flavor of a violet
and rubbed mint leaves
between my fingers
I crawled on my knees
through the clover
watched bees dance
on the dandelions
and found ginger
and elderberry beneath
my heels as I stretched
my arms into a tree branch
reaching for tender buds.

I gathered the blossoms
of springtime
kissed them with gratitude
and offered them into
the bubbles of water
from which rivers are born.

I let my fingers trail
through the wildness
within me and around me.
Then I lifted my lips
to my lover
under the
Beltane moon.

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