Beltane 2007
Hello! Thanks for readin’ my mindstreamings. Beltane this year was a particularly wonderful experience. For those unfamiliar with Beltane (I post my infrequent blogs in like 3 different places), here is some info copied-n-pasted from my running manuscript for book #2, where it briefly reviews the Wiccan/Neopagan holy days (the Sabbats):
Beltane
Also called: Bealtaine, Beltaine, May Day, Roodmas, Walburga, Walpurgis, Hexennacht, Carodejnice.
Observed: May 1st
Type: Major Sabbat, Cross-Quarter Day
Astrological degree: 15˚ Taurus
Origin: Celtic Europe
God aspect: The Oak King as the confident and horny young man, fully resurrected; the Holly King beginning to gain strength in the Underworld.
Goddess aspect: The powerful and fertile young woman.
Notes: Beltane is opposite Samhain, marking half the year. This Sabbat appears in mediaeval Irish literature. Beltane marks the midway point of the year, is the largest of the fire festivals, and has traditionally overt themes of sexuality, fertility, and uninhibited celebration. As Samhain marks the beginning of winter, Beltane marks the beginning of summer in Celtic Paganism and Wicca. Beltane celebrates holy union (the Great Rite) and the healthful growth of the land, and it is traditionally believed that the human realm is closest to nature, the Upperworld, and the faerie realm at this time.
On May eve, my Coven and I (The OAO coven, that is, not our Ajna circle [hi Calantirniel & Namovaryar! {here’s a link shout-out, lol!}]) went up to our friend Kelly’s house to set up for the following day’s public ritual. Kelly lives in a yurt here in the gorgeous mountains of Montana; perfect for our Sabbat celebrations! Once we all set up the altars, we got some rest to prepare for Beltane. All night, and though I had felt like a restless zombie all day, the spirits kept filling my conscious mind with inspiration for the rituals to come, and I ended up getting 2 hours of sleep before waking up to greet the sun. Costumed, and solitary in our temple room, I invoked the ancient archetypal Horned God under the guise of the Celtic deity Herne (Cernnunos).
The sleep deprivation was most definitely a benefit for the invocation, as it allowed my conscious/ego self to slip into the background, and allow the energy of God to flow through me perfectly. I would say that it was about a 60-70% invocation, meaning that I remember about 30-40% of what was said. He spoke through me and addressed many things to one person at a time for about 4-5 hours; everyone I’ve spoken to afterwards so far said that everything was spot-on. VERY confirming for me. What’s more confirming about the Path I’m walking is that Madeline (Datura) took her initiatory Mark in the OAO system right after, following a year and a day of neophytic study. AWESOME. It was an intense and beautiful rite of passage; she has now shaved off half her hair (in the front; ear to ear) and is dedicated to shave and draw her sacred symbol on each morning for a year and a day. A very intense process, but one that teaches lessons profound (speaking from experience!). Estha and I are so very proud that she has gone through the neophytic trials and is confident in taking this journey :)
Soon thereafter, friends old and new started gathering at our place, and about 20 of us went to Kelly’s to celebrate the holiday! It was an awesome celebration, and we used our new and performed some gorgeous ritual chants and songs! We danced, sang, drummed and played instruments, and Estha and I invoked. A number of participants went off to have sex or masturbate in the woods to aid in the healing of the land, as well as for the personal magick of connecting the Self to Nature. Most everyone ended up getting nekkid or damn near nekkid, dancing around the fire, playing instruments, and hootin’ and hollerin’ like regular ol’ Pagan hooligans, surrendering oneself to the Dance of the Universe! The whole evening was empowering and beautiful and I’m happy to report about it! What an awesome time, and, though it was exhausting for many of us, the fulfillment and reward of the evening greatly prevailed, and I look forward to future Sabbats as the wheel keeps turning.
Blessed Be and all that great stuff. Existo solvo, Existo torva! BE MERRY!
Photo by Estha McNevin
~Raven~ x
PS, in other personal news, I get the proofing and galley copies of Goth Craft next week. Llewellyn has done an INCREDIBLE job on the manuscript (art, layout, editing, publicizing, etc) and I can’t wait to see it. A dream come true; and I really hope it touches peoples’ lives!
PPS, if we neglected to invite you to the Beltane ceremony (or other ceremonies for that matter) please forgive us! We know about 812361381231 people and kind of expect people to get in touch with us around the time of the Sabbats to check time and location :)
