Desta vez o Caer Ynis não realizou cerimônia pública. Juliana e Bach realizaram uma cerimônia nos moldes da OD, nas terras de Koré, sob o olhar da Araucária sagrada em uma bela clareira.

O ritual iniciou com a purificação através da respiração do Awen para harmonizar a mente, o corpo e o espírito. Logo em seguida foram realizadas as preces e convocações tradicionais aos deuses de Celtia, aos antepassados e aos espíritos locais.

Dentro da clareira ainda, montamos uma pequena oferenda de flores para presentear a sagrada Araucária. Foi uma forma de honrar  e homenagear aos Três Povos, agradecendo por todas as graças que alcançamos. Ofertamos também água, numa espécie de sacríficio, pois precisaríamos desta mesma água para o trajeto de volta.

O ritual foi finalizado com uma meditação ao redor da sagrada Araucária, onde pudemos receber a força telúrica que ela e suas irmãs emanavam no ambiente, alquimizar e devolver na forma de energia de cura para o mundo.

Além desse ritual, na noite anterior acendemos o fogo sagrado e realizamos debates ao redor deste a respeito da força e poder do fogo e das transformações que Beltane nos traz.

JP Bach

May your Samhain be bright and your days without strife.

Enjoy the candy!

~~~

(PS: Merry Beltaine to the Southerners)

Em comemoração ao Festival dos Fogos de Beltane, posto dois vídeos que mostram um pouco da maneira como essa data é comemorada na Escócia.

JP Bach

I love Halloween.  In the southern hemisphere, it’s actually springtime, and the days are getting longer and warmer.  In our neighbourhood, kids go trick or treating, even though it’s a USA tradition, and they’re all excited.  We always make sure we have lots of treats.  SO and I actually were out weeding the front lawn this afternoon, so we got to see all the kids go past, which was great fun.  Plus, it made the time pass a bit quicker.  Weeding the lawn is up there with ironing; it’s a boring task that has to be done.  We’re about halfway there, which is good, as SO’s dad is going to spray the lawn on Monday.

I always make a special dinner for Halloween.  For us it’s Beltane, so we always have a celebration of the season.  Tonight I did roast beef striploin, which had been marinaded, for one and a half hours at 180 degrees C, with roast vegies.  It was absolutely spot on, the meat was pink and tender and delicious.  SO cleared his plate without saying a word, always a good sign.  It’s nice when everything all seems to work when you’re cooking.  Roasts of any description are a bit hit and miss with me, I did a lamb roast the other week and SO was not happy with how pink the lamb was.  It was fine, but he didn’t like it, and I hate having to convince people to eat my food. 

Anyhow, today was a good day.  As well as weeding, I returned a heap of stuff to Ikea, Target, Kmart, Spotlight – all stuff I’d bought at different points which had been the wrong colour, size, shape, you name it.  And I managed to get to Medicare to get some money back from my appt with Dr W, which I then promptly spent on some new tee shirts for me, and a new casual shirt for SO.  I also fit in an afternoon nap, always a priority on the weekend.

I picked up the buspirone tablets on Thursday night and gave them a try on Friday.  While the 5mg helped, I can see I’ll need the 10mg dose.  That’s fine, at least I know now what I’ll need.  And the good thing is it really doesn’t impact on anything else.  No side effects to speak of.  I was still alert and didn’t feel nauseous or anything.  So far, I’m liking them.  I even took one yesterday afternoon before leaving work, as I was feeling sick with stress and wanted to help wind down for the weekend.  It definitely helped.  Today, I feel absolutely fine.  Not stressed at all.  It’s pretty clear that work is the issue, but at least I am able to leave it behind on weekends.

As far as I know, no plans for tomorrow, other than more gardening.  I love getting out there, it’s so satisfying.

Samhain: celebrating life, remembering the dead | Civil Religion …
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Siglos antes del Imperio Romano los reinos celtas ocupaban gran parte de Europa al norte de los Alpes. Los celtas se cuentan entre los grandes pueblos fundadores de Europa, su mundo se extendía desde Irlanda y parte de la Península Ibérica en el oeste hasta el centro de Turquía en el este. Hacia el año 400 a. C., los celtas empezaron a extenderse al sur de los Alpes para instalarse al norte de Italia, otros se dirigieron al este, desde donde un siglo más tarde invadieron Grecia y Asia menor. Durante los dos siglos siguientes los romanos conquistaron plazas fortificadas celtas, de modo que en el siglo I d. C., sólo Irlanda y algunas partes de Gran Bretaña seguían siendo verdaderamente celtas. Los celtas adoptaron el cristianismo en tiempos de los romanos, pero tras la caída de Roma en el siglo V d. C.,  los antiguos territorios quedaron bajo el poder germánico; y entre los siglos VI y VIII, en  Irlanda y algunas partes de Gran Bretaña se produjo un resurgir de la cultura celta. Los celtas paganos no dejaron documentos escritos, sus leyes, tradiciones y creencias religiosas eran de transmisión oral, así el conocimiento de su cultura se basa en los testimonios de observadores de la Grecia y la Roma clásicas, en restos arqueológicos y en textos irlandeses y galeses posteriores. Las principales festividades religiosas célticas tenían lugar cuatro días al año. La víspera del 1 de febrero recibía el nombre de Imboloc, fiesta consagrada a Brigit, diosa de la fertilidad. La víspera del 1 de mayo, la festividad de Beltaine, el pueblo encendía hogueras y honraba al dios Bel, divinidad de la vida y la muerte y se consideraba una purificación o reinicio. La tercera festividad era Lughnasa, estaba dedicada al dios sol, Lugh, conmemoraba a su madre adoptiva Taíltu y se celebraba en agosto. La cuarta, Samain,  se celebraba el 31 de octubre por la tarde y marcaba el final del año pastoral y el inicio del siguiente. Era el único período en que los espíritus del otro mundo se hacían visibles a los hombres. Con la llegada del cristianismo esta celebración se convirtió en la fiesta de la cosecha, que ha llegado hasta nosotros con el nombre de Halloween. Aunque ajenos a las costumbres anglosajonas, actualmente muchos países han adoptado esta festividad disfrazándose de espíritus malignos. Los niños disfrazados piden dulces y golosinas y si no son atendidos en sus demandas cometen alguna travesura “inocente” a los que les niegan estos pequeños obsequios.

Last week, the Pagan Initiative group in Sydney have announced the cancellation of their Beltaine event.  Sadly, not enough people booked in. This is the first time Pagan Initiative have had to cancel one of their planned events.

I’ll be off celebrating Beltaine somewhere else in that case. 

What is the rest of the Sydney pagan community doing to celebrate?

J’ai regardé hier au soir “Robin des Bois, prince des voleurs”, avec le fabuleux Alan Rickman dans le rôle du shérif de Nottingham.

On dit que les aventures de Robin des Bois sont une allégorie pour illustrer le combat entre paganisme et christianisme. En fait, plus précisément, on constate un parallèle entre Robin Hood, alias Robin des Bois et l’”Homme Vert” (Green Man) des fêtes païennes de Mai. Il semble bien en effet que la “légende de Robin” résulte d’un amalgame entre des faits historiques et des éléments mythiques incluant le personnage de Jack-in-the-Green.

Jack in the Green intervient dans le cycle des saisons : il représente la transition du printemps à l’été. Il s’agit d’un personnage disposant de pouvoirs de fertilité et de régénération. Dans les campagnes anglaises sa popularité est grande. C’est lui le “roi du mai” (May King) et à ce titre, il “épouse” chaque année la plus jolie fille du village, la “reine du Mai” (May Queen). Jack in the Green est invariablement revêtu de feuilles et de branchages et la tradition veut qu’il disparaisse complètement sous la verdure à l’exception de ses yeux. Au cours de la fête, Jack doit d’abord faire semblant d’être mort (à l’exemple de la terre qui parait morte pendant l’hiver). Puis il ressuscite brusquement et s’élance pour danser avec la reine du mai. On célèbre alors leur union en même temps que le retour annuel de la vie.

Le territoire de Robin des Bois est la célèbre forêt de Sherwood, dans le Nottinghamshire. C’est là, dans cette partie de l’Angleterre qui fut, au IXe siècle l’un des centres de la colonisation scandinave, même si de nombreux lieux-dits dans d’autres régions sont bâtis sur son nom, que Robin aurait défendu la veuve et l’orphelin contre le méchant shérif de Nottingham, sous le règne d’un souverain alternativement identifié à Richard Ier, Jean sans Terre, Edouard II ou Henri III.

La première mention de Robin remonte à 1377 dans “the vision, of Piers the Plowman”. Mais à cette époque le héros est déjà connu par la tradition orale : le mythe de Robin semble être pleinement élaboré dès la première moitié du XIVe. Sa popularité ne fait que croître et Robin est le héros d’une quantité considérable d’aventures à l’époque élisabéthaine. Vers la fin du Moyen-Age, Robin Hood semble même avoir été le héros par excellence des paysans tout comme le roi Arthur était le héros des couches supérieures. Il est le “fermier idéal” tout comme Arthur est le chevalier idéal.

Il est très probable que le “mythe” de Robin des Bois ait eu une base historique et de nombreuses hypothèses ont été émises même si la version la plus courante en fait un grand seigneur dépossédé de ses terres par l’arbitraire royal.

Il semble que ce soit lors de la révolte paysanne de 1381 contre l’administration royale anglaise que la légende prit corps sous la forme qu’on lui connait. Robin est alors le héros ,populaire, qui joue “de bons tours” aux représentants du roi considérés comme des envahisseurs (à l’instar de Till l’Espiègle aux Pays Bas).

Mais parallèlement à ces “traits historiques”, Robin Hood possède bien une dimension mythique qui l’apparente directement à Jack in the Green.

Il est d’abord évident qu’il est lié à la végétation : son costume est traditionnellement vert, il est l’homme vert. Son terrain d’action, la forêt, joue plus qu’un simple rôle géographique et il en apparait, par son nom même, comme la véritable incarnation : le génie de la forêt de Sherwood. Il est un archer, un chasseur, un ami des animaux, le protecteur de la végétation (= fertilité), le protecteur des faibles et notamment des femmes (= fécondité), le protecteur du peuple (= productivité). C’est grâce à ses interventions que les biens matériels sont redistribués et plus justement répartis. Tous ces traits situent bien Robin dans le prolongement d’une ancienne divinité de “troisième fonction” (qui président à presque toutes les fêtes rurales saisonnières).

A cela s’ajoute les liens significatifs que le personnage entretient avec les éléments directement liés aux festivités du 1er mai : la “Morris Dance” et la “Maid Marian”.

La Morris Dance est une vieille danse populaire qui, sous Henry VIII constitue l’un des éléments essentiels de la célébration rurale du Mai. Sous une forme quasi rituelle elle est dansée sous forme de spectacle par cinq hommes auxquels s’ajoute un garçon habillé en fille qu’on appelle Maid Marian.

Or cette “Maid Marian” (damoiselle Marion) est une des héroïnes principales de la légende de Robin Hood et le nom de ce dernier se trouva associé, concurremment à celui de Jack-in-the-Green en tant que partenaire de Maid Marian à la fête du Mai : Robin des Bois devient ainsi le Roi du Mai en face de la Maid Marian, le reine. Au XVI e et XVIIe siècles Maid Marian était devenue, en association tantôt avec Robin, tantôt avec frère Tuck, un personnage clé de la fête du mai.

Une légende plus tardive raconte comment Maid Marian, ayant cherché Robin déguisé en page dans la forêt, se bat avec lui pendant une heure avant de le reconnaitre à sa voix. Il y a là aussi déguisement et donc, comme le garçon déguisé en fille de la Morris Dance, quête d’un personnage par l’autre, travestissement, (re) découverte, qui sont courants dans les contes populaires.

Enfin, dernier détail : Robin Hood apparait comme foncièrement antireligieux dans les récits dont il est le héros.Il est en particulier l’ennemi juré des moines et des abbés (Frère Tuck étant un “transfuge”, ou, même, certaines théories le donnent comme représentant le paganisme ). Ce trait convient assez bien à une figure d’origine (au moins partiellement) païenne. En revanche, il est dit à plusieurs reprises que Robin honore grandement la Vierge Marie : on peut se demander si cette Vierge Marie n’est pas tout simplement la Maid Marian (Marion)…

(sources : “Les Traditions d’Europe“, sous la direction d’Alain de Benoist. Le Labyrinthe,

“Fêtes païennes des quatre saisons“, sous la direction de Pierre Vial. Editions de la Forêt)

——————————————————————————————————

Back in April when I first started to come out as a Pagan, I mentioned that one of my goals was to figure out some good ways to celebrate the Wheel of the Year.  Although my emphasis is typically on the Hellenic gods, and my personal practice draws more from reconstructionism than anywhere else, I do not necessarily self-identify as a hard reconstructionist.  I’m suspicious about extensive New Age influence in Neopaganism, and I am cranky about eclecticism generally, at the same time I feel drawn to multiple strands of pagan worship and theology.  To make a long story short, I feel drawn to celebrate the eightfold Wheel of the Year (solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days) despite the fact that as a whole it is a recent phenomenon.  As John Michael Greer is fond of pointing out, the validity of a spiritual practice comes from whether or not it works, not whether or not it is ancient.

One of my earliest specific pagan epiphanies was with the Wheel of the Year.  As a teen, I was immensely interested in mythology and pagan religion (ancient and neo-), but was often nervous about telling other people about it, so I did a lot of reading and research in secret.  One day I was sixteen or seventeen or so, I was looking at a calendar with the eight pagan holidays on it, and I was calmly and peacefully but intensely struck by the rightness of it.  It was particularly significant to me because that kind of spiritual reaction was the kind of thing I had always been raised to believe would be the Holy Ghost’s witness of the truth of Mormonism.  And there I was having it over a pagan calendar.  I called up my best friend John (maybe he’s reading this?), and told him about it.  It was really the beginning of my secret adolescent religious rebellion.

Anyway, since I have felt comfortable ebracing my Pagan identity, I have let three of the eight major holidays pass by without doing anything about them, because I don’t know what to do.  I don’t really have a group of fellow-believers to practice my religion with, so most of my spiritual expression winds up being in a personal or family context.  Luckily, my beautiful and sexy Christian wife is more than willing to be supportive and take part, but since it is my thing, I really have to take the lead.

I like holidays and festivities a lot, and that’s what I am looking for here.  Not rituals, but traditions, the things that make the day and the season feel festive and special: decorations, meals, traditions, things to think about.  The eightfold year is a cycle, so it lends itself well to that kind of thing, but it can be hard to find resources about it.  Most of what is available on the internet is either too generally stated to be useful, or it is presented in ritual form, which is definitely not what I am loking for.  While ultimately I do plan on engaging in seasonal religious ritual as part of my Wheel of the Year celebration, I really want to also lay a festive foundation for said ritual.  Maybe I’m going about it backwards, but this is the way it makes sense to me, and it is the best way to share with friends and family.  Over time, I expect my religious and ritual explorations would influence and affect the festive traditions.  But I want something to start with.

The other consideration I have is the similarities between some of the holidays on the pagan calendar and Christian and civic holidays.  Christmas is similar to Yule, Samhain matches Halloween, the Spring Equinox parallels Easter, etc.  For most pagans, this is not a problem: they give rpesents on Yule instead of christmas, and they decorate eggs and such on the Equinox instead of Easter (shoot, the Easter Bunny actually makes a lot more sense as a part of a pagan holiday than a Christian one).  But my family is interfaith, which means we’re celebrating both sets.  So I don’t want two Easters.  I want to figure out how to celebrate Easter and the Spring Equinox, etc., in a way that makes them both not only enjoyable but also sufficiently distinct.

I finally sat down about a week ago to start hammering all of this out.  I showed it to my wife, and she thought it all seemed interesting and fun, but she also pointed out that the problem for her was that it was not always clear what all of these traditions actually mean.  It’s a fair question, and one that I can’t easily answer.  This list is really something I have cobbled together from a lot of different sources, whatever sounded good to me, and from things I intuited on my own.  Unfortunately, my own personal theology is still in development, so it is not easy to weave my own meanings into these traditions.  That gets us back to the long view: as my spirituality develops, I imagine I (we) will tinker with these holidays and alter or replace traditions that do not make sense in my own pagan context, and emphasizing those that do.

So without further ado, here is my Official Wheel of the Year Resource.  Feel free to add your comments, suggestions, insights, questions, whatever.

Beltaine
Date: May 1.
Description: A time to light bonfires and revel, to celebrate fertility and sexuality.
Traditions: Most importantly… hot sex. Possibly sex outside if practical. Hot sex and huge bonfires, lit on a hilltop (toss juniper sprigs in the fire, and leap through it for good luck)..
Holiday Food: Rabbit, Strawberries (strawberry pie or strawberry shortcake), Mead
Decorations: Flame, wildflowers, rowan crosses, may boughs hung over doors and windows.

Midsummer
Date: June 21
Description: A second bonfire—bonfires on the water (the ashes bring good luck), and active holiday where the sun is at maximum power and energy is strongest.
Traditions: The veil between the otherworld (or the un/subconscious) and the waking world is thin, it is a good time for resolutions, and for putting plans into effect. Keep vigil through the shortest night, waiting for the rising sun. It is also a good time to gether fresh herbs.
Holiday Food: Lamb, fresh produce, lemon merangue pie.
Decorations: Wheels, sun symbols, St. John’s Wort.

Lughnasa
Date: August 1.
Description: The first harvest festival, Lughnasa is a time for being outside, for celebrating the physical world with games and physical activity. It’s a time for dancing and bonfires, for blessing the fields. And it’s a good time for marriages.
Traditions: Bread is baked in the shape of a man and eaten to represent the Dying God (Cernunnos, Dionysus, Odin, Osiris, Jesus, Arthur, the Green Man).
Holiday Food: Bread, beer, watermelon, barbecue.
Decorations: The Green Man, a flaming wheel.

Autumn Equinox
Date: September 21
Description: The second harvest festival—the harvest of fruit—a time of thanksgiving and recollection, the in-gathering of experience.
Traditions: Make and burn a straw or wicker man, to represent the burning of the Harvest Lord.
Holiday Food: Corncakes, Nuts, Berries, Fruit Pies (not apple), Wine.
Decorations: Pinecones, acorns, gourds, gold, red, orange, and brown.

Samhain
Date: November 1
Description: A night when the borders between the living and the dead are the thinnest, the last harvest. Time is abolished and the spirits of the dead walk free. A time for remembering those who have gone before. The time of year when livestock were slaughtered.
Traditions: Leave an extra place at the dinner table for dead ancestors. A perfect time for divination. The day after Samhain is a day forcleaning and getting rid of old things.
Holiday Food: Pork Roast, Apples, Apple Pie, Cider, Hazelnuts, Pumpkin Bread
Decorations: Leave a candle burning in a western window to guide the spirits of the dead.

Yule
Date: December 21
Description: The shortest day of the year, this is a time to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. It is a time of rebirth and stillness, a time to celebrate intuition. There is a lot of symbolism between intuition, the Pole Star, the Great Bear, and King Arthur.
Traditions: A Yule log is burned for ten days (Yuletide lasts from December 20 to December 31), and then the ashes are strewn on the plantings in the spring. The wood from the log is yept to light the yule log the next year. Give libations to the fruit trees.
Holiday Food: Baked goods in sun shapes, and mulled wine.
Decorations: Sun wheels, decorated trees, candles, wreaths of mistletoe, holly, and ivy.

Imbolc
Date: February 1
Description: The holiday of the lambing, or childbirth (it is no accident that Imbolc is exactly nine months after Beltaine…). It is a time for initiations, and purification. It is a good time for meditation.
Traditions: Write and read poetry. Share it, have a poetry competition.  Leave a white cloth out a window for the goddess to bless, and when the first light of the sun touches it, it gains healing properties throughout the year. Candlemaking.
Holiday Food: Milk, honey, dairy foods (a massive cheese smorgasbord).
Decorations: Hundreds of candles, and pools of water.

Spring Equinox
Date: March 21
Description: A time to celebrate planting and prepare for the gifts of the summer, and to recognize the power and presence of spring. A time of emergence, fertility, and balance. A time that is sacred to Persephone, to celebrate her return from the Underworld and her reunion with her mother Demeter.
Traditions: Decorate eggs.
Holiday Food: Twisted bread, honey cakes, eggs, carrots.
Decorations: Flowers (honeysuckle, iris, peony, violet, lily, daffodil), in baskets or garlands.

FOLLOW-UP: I have put up a new post about trying to piece together the ritual and religious aspects of the Wheel of the Year, specifically from a Hellenic polytheist perspective.

Parece ser que me han leido y se han percatado del fallo garrafal en la web del festival romanocéltico. Me gustaría darle ánimos desde aqui al encargado de la web del pseudofestival celta. Sólo te quedan por corregir 100 errores.

Seguiremos informando…

I referred to myself as a pagan in conversation with my beautiful and sexy wife a few days ago (we were talking about piddly, meaningless stuff like the meaning of life), and she recognized the significance: it was a casual but meaningful declaration of spiritual identity of the kind that I have not been able to make in years.

It wasn’t just a slip, either. I have been thinking about this and I came to an important realization. One of the issues I have been grappling with in the background of my mind is if at the end of the day I basically think that religion and spirituality are highly subjective and have more to do with assigning meaning to human existence than they do with making objective truth-claims about the universe, why shouldn’t I have just stayed Mormon? Wouldn’t it have been easier, after all, for me to just figure out how to reconcile the religion I was raised with than to try to blaze a completely new spiritual trail? My gut rebels against the idea of staying Mormon, but why? I think Mormonism’s truth-claims are bogus, but that’s not really the issue for me (except it kind of is, because Mormonism spends a lot of time and spiritual effort insisting that its truth claims are literal truth). I have problems with the Church as an institution, but a lot of liberal and New Order Mormons figure out ways to deal with that, and the insistence of the orthodox believer notwithstanding, my relationship with the organizational church should not really affect how I feel about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration, right?

So why do I feel like remaining Mormon, or going back to Mormonism, would just be unacceptable? I think it is because I never really internalized Mormonism in the first place. Sure, I internalized some ways of thinking about religion because I didn’t know any better–some cultural transmission from my parent subculture is inevitable–but in a spiritual sense, I was always torn and doubtful about Mormonism and I was always drawn to mythology, the gods, and the spiritual power of the wild places of the earth. As a little kid I was obsessed with mythology. As a young adolescent I stayed awake all night with my best friend on Boy Scout camp-outs talking about Beltaine. As a teenager I flat-out just wanted to be a druid. As a young adult I was absolutely enthralled by Joseph Campbell, the Arthurian romances, Celtic myth, and the cosmic and spiritual significance of poetry and literature.

Yes, when I was nineteen, I “got a testimony” and went on a mission, and began to live a fairly orthodox Mormon life. But let’s not give my conversion too much credit. The coercive pressure from my family was immense-it was made clear to me that being an adult meant setting aside childish things like entertaining the possibility of paganism, and taking Mormonism seriously as the One True Religion. People I trusted and relied on made it absolutely clear that there was no viable moral alternative, that anything less than fully getting with the program meant personal weakness, laziness, and a lack of integrity. So I did what I was supposed to.

But the pagan inside me did not sleep too soundly. As a young adult I was captured by the power of Norse myth, by the dynamic majesty of romantic-era classical music (I discovered Sibelius, and it was love), and ultimately by the brutal, mythic energy of heavy metal.

On top of this, I have noticed a clear pattern in my life: when I have lived out of touch with nature, I have been depressed, unbalanced, and extremely mentally unhealthy. Proximity and involvement with the natural world are simply things I need for spiritual wholeness. And I have consistently had feelings about love, the feminine, and sex that have been reverent, passionate, and worshipful.

The point is, I have been a pagan all along. It doesn’t matter that I went to sacrament meeting every week. It doesn’t matter that I spent two years as a missionary trying to convert people to Mormonism. Mormonism never really fit. My mother and I had countless discussions and arguments about religion and point of view: in her mind the right thing to do was to completely internalize Mormonism, and subvert your entire mind to it, to relinquish all non-Mormon thought as something unwelcome and alien. I always wanted to take the point of view of an outsider, because I always was an outsider.

I was a pagan, and I always have been.

It has taken several weeks to absorb my last experience at FPG Beltaine 2009, but I am finally ready to share some of my experiences.

We left Wednesday night figuring that we would make several stops shopping, etc. on the way in and maybe catch a nap at the front gate of FPG. But as often happens, Dave and I were enjoying our conversations in the car and ended up not stopping at all. Thus, we ended up at the front gates in the wee, wee hours of the morning. The really humorous part was that the next day, people kept asking if we had heard of the people that came in the middle of the night. Giggles.

At this point, I have to apologize for my weakness in name recall, but I can assure I remember the people I have met and they have all made a tremendous impact. And while I reflect fondly on the faces, names are still elusive. So please kindly forgive my lapse of recall in the name only area.

After setting up camp, we met some truly wonderful neighbors, Dan and his lovely wife. Could not have asked for more charming or welcoming camping companions. Dan took Bear around to meet some of the wonderful guardians and staffers and Bear commented how much he enjoyed meeting everyone.

Here is the shower story part – Several of us were in the shower. Bless Bear because he decided to wander around nearby before taking his shower. Just as we got all soaped up, the water shuts off. Shock! Dismay! One lady had a full head of shampoo and I had…well…soap in parts that aren’t supposed to remain soaped for long periods of time. Thus, begins the hollering for husband Bear out the door (yeah, that was me). Bear finds Dan, our charming neighbor, who determines that the water issue is the result of (1) someone parking a golf cart on the hose; and (2) the pressure making the faucet spurt and someone else helping out by turning off the spigot. Anyway, thanks to Dan and Bear the flow of mystic waters returned and all soapy things were rinsed clean. Thanks, guys, for saving a damsel in soapy distress!

The first class we attend was the Rune class, which was extremely well presented and informative. Amber presented in a fashion that appealed to both novices and adepts, which is not as easy a task as one might think it is. Kudos to Amber and I hope to get to know her better in the future.

And then we were off to the Celtic Games. Lord Tomas has such a special manner of dealing with the participants, both young and old, so that everyone not only feels as if, but definitely is a part of the games. I would be remiss to not mention that the sassy directness of the Lady of the Games kept everything moving and humorous as well as safe for the participants.

Then, of course, later that day, the Mead Muse emerged in full fashion and Bear and I went around FPG toasting Beltaine with EVERYONE. I lost count at 14 campsites. Okay, I just stopped counting because, well, the Mead Muse is a hoot when imbibing in the meadness of things. We only made it through half of FPG this time, so we will have to finish the toasting trek at Samhain. Oh, darn! (Snickers)

The members of the Wytching Well were fabulous and oh so intuitive! It was a pleasure seeing Spelcastor and others from the South Florida CUUPS again. The Vikings, as always, were gracious and inviting.

Ah, yes and the Phoenix Tribe. Kisses to Gaelyn whom I am considering adopting as my special FPG pet. Each and every person at Phoenix were funny and welcoming and I will always remember their generosity of spirit. We had such a good time, they even sent us over to another tribe, who were a delight to meet. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of that tribe, but they were delightful to meet.

The only regret was missing the nighttime boccia ball. Which I sincerely hope we will be able to play next time with our new friends that were across the way from us.

We then headed to the Spiral Concert, which was amazing and actually inspired Bear and I to get up and dance a few jigs. Very talented group.

Early next morning, we served at the First Aid tent with a charming lady and I think the three of us are also now known as the First Aid hecklers. Half of FPG with a hangover and we are hawking the First Aid goods loudly and often. Somehow I was in charge of dispersing the prophylactics. Imagine that? Anyhow, I suddenly realized that I had become one of those cool old ladies who hands out condoms to the youngsters.

Then we were off to enjoy Margot Adler’s class. I do believe that she is the No. 1 cheerleader of the Goddess with her amazing ability to inspire others.

Then back off to the Celtic Games again. Boy, it was hot that day and the participants fought hard. I think I will be Lady of Mysts next time and bring a battery fan and a spray bottle of ice water to cool everyone off. Once again, we had an absolutely amazing and wonderful time at the games.

Later we travelled down to the fire circle, which was hot in oh so many ways. (More giggles. Wink, Wink, nudge, nudge, say no more). I think I need to put more padding in the seer mask/helm though.

We reunited with several more old friends and a very handsome rogue actually managed to get me to dance a round of the fire. By the end of the night, Bear was out there hotfooting like a young buck and although some more friends showed up a little later, but the Mead Muse had finally started petering out and we headed back to camp around 2:00 a.m.

It was so difficult leaving the next morning. The packing wasn’t bad, but the desire for it to not be over yet was very strong.

I want to thank everyone again – staff, guardians, entertainers, vendors, participants, and campers – for making this such a wonderful and inspiring visit.

Ellen a/k/a Mead Muse, Beltaine 2009

After I finished with final exams, I was able to take a day for myself and go tromping around the woods. It was a few days after any reasonable dating for the holiday (the full moon was on the 9th, but I wasn’t able to get out and about until the 15th), but it was close enough and my most practical option.

So I spent a day exploring undeveloped parkland in Montgomery County, which was a lot of fun. Most of these areas are parcels of land bought by the county and technically part of the park system, but with no access or anything–they’re just pieces of woods that you can go play in if you can find a way to get there. The day was tough on my allergies, and I wound up really exerting myself with a day full of exploration, but it was a lot of fun. I even found a cool snake under an old corroded piece of metal. Getting a chance to be outside in nature does me a lot of good and generally makes me feel a lot saner.

My other project for the day was to try out the Beltaine liturgy from Greer’s Druidry Handbook, as a way of kicking off my AODA candidate year. So one of my goals while exploring was finding a suitable place for a ritual. It took me a bit of time and expense to gather all of the needed materials (and I wound up not having a sprig of hawthorn, or any idea of how to find one). I used a katana instead of a medieval European-style sword because it’s what I have on hand, and I wound up just putting my white altar cloth on the ground for lack of anything more altar-like. I also made an on-the-spot substitution of gods, invoking Aphrodite in the ritual instead of Niwalen (I already have a close relationship with Aphrodite, and she seems like an entirely appropriate goddess for Beltaine).

Honestly, I could have come into it with better preparation, so it was a definite learning experience. Without a sprig of hawthorn, I just used a sprig from a sapling nearby, which was a little unsatisfying. And I had to carry the book around with me because I hadn’t learned the liturgy very well. No spiritual fireworks went off during the ritual, but when I was finished, I had a sudden and very interesting sense of spiritual wholeness and satisfaction, like I had accomplished something that was actually significant.

My location was kind of fantastic, with a few exceptions. It was pretty difficult to get access to (I had to park on the side of the highway and tromp in past some backyards), and there were an insane number of ticks, but that’s partly an issue of season and not going to get much better in any wooded area. But I was flicking the little buggers off of my arms and legs all day long. Those issues aside, it was a wooded hilltop with a bunch of clearings covered in this vibrant green ground cover, and the hill was almost entirely surrounded by two branches of a little creek. It was the kind of place where you could almost feel a spiritual presence. If I get the chance, I would like to go back.

I wasn’t wild about Greer’s seasonal liturgy before I gave it a spin, and now I’m rather excited about it. This is not to say that I am prepared to accept it as scripture or anything, but I would like to try it again. The holiday-specific stuff didn’t drive me wild–really it is just an offering, an invocation of deity, and a meditation session (it was hard fro me to concentrate when I was imagining ticks crawling all over me)–but the general opening and closing of the Druid’s circle was pretty awesome, and I will definitely keep using that, even if I wind up cherry-picking the rest.

Correspondances pour les 4 fêtes celtiques :

Imbolc :
correspondance au niveau de la saison : début du printemps. Cœur de la période sombre,
du calendrier agraire : naissance des agneaux, les jours s’allongent,
du vent : aquilo,
de l’arbre/plante associé : bouleau, houx,
de l’animal tutélaire : sanglier,
du règne : végétal,
de la justification : fête de la purification et du retour de la Lumière (fête des Chandelles)
de l’étymologie/symbolisme : « lustration ». Fête initiatique d’un passage primodial (éveil initiatique et préparation),
de l’âge de l’humanité : âge d’Or
de l’âge humain : enfance (0-7 ans), période lunaire,
de la situation ou degré familial : les enfants
de la caractéristique éventuelle :
de l’anniversaire éventuel :

.
Beltaine :
correspondance au niveau de la saison : début de l’été, début de la période claire (Gam),
du calendrier agraire : on sort le bétail, saison des amours, croissance de la plante,
du vent : Eurus (ou Volturnus)
de l’arbre/plante associé : chêne, bruyère,
de l’animal tutélaire : taureau,
du règne : animal,
de la justification : retour et plénitude de la fertilité, célébration de la vie, de la croissance, de l’amour et de la sexualité,
de l’étymologie/symbolisme : “feu de Bel”, Fête de la passion charnelle et de la semence (renaissance)
de l’âge de l’humanité : âge d’argent,
de l’âge humain : jeunesse (14-21 ans), période vénusienne,
de la situation ou degré familial : les amoureux,
de la caractéristique éventuelle : ouverture de la saison militaire,
de l’anniversaire éventuel : arrivée des Tuatha en Irlande.
.
Lugnasad :
correspondance au niveau de la saison : début de l’automne. Cœur de la période claire,
du calendrier agraire : moissons et stocks. Fruits mûrs,
du vent : Africus,
de l’arbre/plante associé : blé, peuplier blanc,
de l’animal tutélaire : l’ours
du règne : humain,
de la justification : récolte et action de grâce,
de l’étymologie/symbolisme : « réunion de Lug ». Le Roi rassure le peuple quant à la paix, la prospérité et l’éternité des cycles de la vie (récolte et distribution des richesses)
de l’âge de l’humanité : âge du Bronze,
de l’âge humain : adulte (30-50 ans), période solaire,
de la situation ou degré familial : la famille
de la caractéristique éventuelle :
de l’anniversaire éventuel : Mort de Tailtiu, mère ou nourrice de Lug, après avoir rendu la terre fertile.

.
Samain :
correspondance au niveau de la saison : fin de l’été. Début de la période sombre (Sam) et début de la nouvelle année,
du calendrier agraire : bétail abattu et stocks,
du vent : cautus (ou Corus)
de l’arbre/plante associé : if, gui,
de l’animal tutélaire : le cheval,
du règne : minéral,
de la justification : fin de l’été. Hommage aux Ancêtres. Saison du gel et du feu de bois,
de l’étymologie/symbolisme : « réunion, assemblée ». Hors du Temps, permet contact avec l’Autre Monde (Mort),
de l’âge de l’humanité : âge du Fer,
de l’âge humain : vieillesse, période saturnienne,
de la situation ou degré familial : les Ancêtres
de la caractéristique éventuelle : clôture de la saison militaire,
de l’anniversaire éventuel : bataille de Mag Tured.
_____________________________________________________________________

Les feux sacrés de Belenos ont été allumés.

Le jeune Soleil s’est épris de la Terre.

En son sein à nouveau fécond, Rigani offre une renaissance à la nature. Une renaissance aux vivants.

La chaleur du jeune soleil vient à présent réchauffer notre peau, nos fronts.

Le jeune cerf a affronté l’ancien.

Le Roi de Mai a choisi sa belle.

La fin de l’hiver marque le renouveau et la roue du temps a tournée.

Par l’eau et par le feu, nous voilà bénis pour l’été.

Beltaine est passée.

Beltaine est passée et avec elle, la réunion de l’assemblée. Ce fut un moment riche et fort. Riche de retrouvailles et fort d’émotion.

Je vous souhaite à tous un joyeux Beltaine.

Les feux sacrés de Belenos ont été allumés.

Le jeune Soleil s’est épris de la  Terre.

 En son sein à nouveau fécond, la Terre offre une renaissance à la nature. Une renaissance aux vivants.

La chaleur du jeune soleil  vient à présent réchauffer notre peau, nos fronts.

Par l’eau et par le feu, nous voilà bénis pour l’été.

Beltaine est passée.

Beltaine est passée et avec elle, la réunion de l’assemblée.

Ce fut un moment riche et fort. Riche de retrouvailles et fort d’émotion.

Le jeune cerf a affronté l’ancien et la belle de mai fut courtisée.

Je vous souhaite à tous un joyeux Beltaine. Même si c’est passé.

Sable Rose Freebies: Beltaine Necklace (May)

Crossposted from Sable Rose Jewelry Blog

Now available at all Sable Rose locations including our freestanding shop at Gallinas (SLURL) and our store at Subtle Submission (SLURL):

May’s freebie is a Spring-themed ladies’ necklace featuring rosy pink sculpted calla lilies framing a delicately-rainbow-colored larger calla in the center. Sculpted calla lily leaves surround the flowers, and the chain is formed with multi-toned green metal beads.

Copy/Mod/No Transfer, and only available until May 31.

Don’t forget to stop by the temporary Sable Rose shop at Shengri-La (SLURL) to pick up the Celestial Discovery Choker. We are #42 in the Discovery Hunt and the magnifying glass is VERY easy to find as the Shengri La shop is quite small.

In other news, I have been combining some of the Handcuff pieces into sets, so watch for more information about that this week along with some new handcuff releases — ear cuffs/ear piercings and bracelets — in addition to the combination sets.

I am also in the process of putting together Men’s and Women’s gifts for avatars under 60 days old, which will be available at the Gallinas store which is a short walk from The Shelter and the Isabel Infohub. The gifts will include some brand new pieces that are currently for sale in the store as well as a reappearance of some past monthly freebies that have been boxed up and put away. More info about that this week also!

May’s Freebie (Beltaine Necklace) as well as other Sable Rose freebies are available at:

Gallinas: (SLURL)
Subtle Submission (Mainstore):(SLURL)

Life has no meaning on its own:
it all depends on how you look at it.
The way we look at life has a direct affect on what develops inside us.
Look at the bright side of live and look for light everywhere
because through this, joyfulness and light will be born within you.

Li tzu

 And here is the day! The very merry month of May.  I am a child of May, as stubborn as the day is long, willful and full of mischief.  I would rather be romping through a fern laden forest in search of my fair friend the Fae and Puck……

But alas, it is Southern California……so instead I sent out a dozen “Merry May Day” text messages, called my family, lunched with a friend and purchased craft material from the craft store.  On the drive home I cranked up the radio and sang my heart out to the lusty lyrics from The Doors, I chased my cats up a tree and stood back on my heels and cackled as they glared down at me….threw the ball into the air for Roxanne my Rott, until she lay down in the grass exhausted.

It is true – the meaning of life – is in how you look at it …. In how you live it. My grandmother always said that there is a bright side to everything, sometimes you just have to look a little harder. 

It has been a happy day.  Truly.

Don’t misunderstand…there is more going on in my life at the moment than I want to deal with, or that I even know HOW to deal with.  But at the heart of it all I have learned to be happy. My soul is on its path, my spirit is no longer in chaos.  I do not need the approval of any one person or persons; not do I need to have a mate [not that I would not appreciate a mate – because the month of May is a heady one for me …if you get my drift]

In researching for this blog, I found articles from 5 to 25 steps on how to be happy; funny items with humorous photos; how not to be depressed and what herbs to keep you calm and serene…..

No one can BRING you happiness. No one can MAKE you happy. No one thing IS the true way to being happy….this has to come from deep inside of you…..it is a change in your perspective.  And this perspective can only be achieved through personal growth.

It took a few ‘Aha!” moments for me to reach this place.  Understanding that ‘letting go’ doesn’t mean letting everything fall into disarray, it doesn’t mean that you allow people to walk on you or disregard your feelings….

Those sayings “today is the first day of the rest of your life” or “make the rest of your life the best of your life” quite honestly make me gag…..realistically…NO one can be happy all the time…it is a physical impossibility….expect the unexpected, because it can and will happen.

But it’s what I do about it that determines whether the rest of my life gets better or worse. I could complain or do something about it. If I choose to complain about it, my life grows worse. But if I choose to be proactive, if I choose to pick myself up by my bootstraps – One More Time – and start again, I grow stronger.

It is said, we can remain happy if we spend at least 25% of our time doing what we enjoy. Eliminate unproductive time. Whether spent with a newspaper or good piece of music, do what you take pleasure in.

We all have responsibilities, obligations, and duties that need to be done, like them or not. George Bernard Shaw wrote, “Forget about likes and dislikes. They are of no consequence. Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.” I use to tell my children, “do what you need to do first, then you can do what you want to do”  and to that I’ll add, if we reach greatness, or simply do what needs to be done, we cannot help but be happy.

That is the paradox. We can get great pleasure in doing what we dislike. For each time we do what we should, despite not wanting to, we prove to ourselves we are in control of our lives. There is great satisfaction in that. The pain of regret is far greater than the pain of self-discipline.

Finally, remember that happiness is a choice and a state of mind, so if you’re not happy, change your mind.

“Happiness is not the absence of problems;

But the ability to deal with them.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Heute ist die öffentliche Feier der Göttin Bona Dea, was “die gute Göttin” bedeutet.

Sie kommt aus Rom und wurde dort auch Fauna genannt. Am 4. Dezember fand eine geheime Feier ihr zu Ehren statt. Eine Besonderheit ist, dass sie keine Männer, männliche Tiere oder Abbildungen in ihrer Nähe duldete.

Sie ist die Göttin der Fruchtbarkeit, Heilung, Jungfräulichkeit und Frauen.

Eine Idee für den heutigen Abend zur Feier ist, sich als Frau zu Feiern und für die Männer (auch wenn Bona Dea sie nicht in ihrer Nähe möchte, weil sie von ihrem eigenen Vater mit einem Myrthenstock geschlagen wurde, als sie einmal betrunken war), können ihre weibliche Seite feiern.

Einen schönen 1. Mai und Beltaine wünsche ich euch