Blessed Beltane
Love and Sex? Is that all Beltane is good for? Yes and No? No and Yes?The Love and Sex part is great of course but Beltane is also across from Samhain on the Wheel. It is the other time of the year when the Veil is thinnest.Great fires are ignited as the door to the Otherworld opens once again. It’s the time of year when faeries visit our gardens and the spirits of future babies, both human and animal, come over from Summerland where they have been resting and waiting.
Hailed as the beginning of summer, Beltane is usually celebrated on April 30 or May 1. Love IS in the air! Bees carry pollen to beautiful buds and honey drips from the honeycomb. The sacred union of God and Goddess is observed and sexuality is celebrated. It is widely believed that the Puritans did not particularly care for Beltane as many a young lady who went “a-maying” did not return a virgin!
Traditional May Day activities center around this life renewal.
Ancient Romans used swags of flowers and pretty garlands to decorate their homes and temples and even each other on Floria, their festival to honor Flora, Goddess of The Flowers and Fruit, capable of bestowing vitality and youth. Floria occurred on or around May 1 and was adopted into the Christian calendar as May Day. Many flowers are at their peak as the bees visit them. Bees themselves have long been held sacred. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Maya, Europeans, Scandinavians, Jews, Christians and many others have all honored bees in various ways; the honey bee in particular because of their delicious honey and their production of wax. “Whether delivering the souls of the departed to heaven or ferrying back the nectar of immortality, the bee has also been seen as the messenger of the heavens, and some tales also center around the fact that bees die after stinging.”
An aspect of Wicca that sets it apart from most other religions is beautifully illustrated in a single line of the oracle commonly known as “The Charge of The Goddess”, wherein The Goddess states,”All acts of love and pleasure are mine.” When many other commonly accepted spiritual paths place so much emphasis on asceticism(self deprivation as a way of life) and sacrifice, it can be a challenge to fully embrace the sentiment of pleasure as a form of religious expression. The Goddess does not demand sacrifice of her devotees; rather she invites us to love. Spiritual revelation CAN be accompanied by sensuality. Try to think of Love and Pleasure as divine gifts from The Goddess, who claims them as her own.
Since Love is such a powerful emotion it is often in the pursuit of love that we call upon The Goddess, Aphrodite and Venus in particular, for help. A simple Goddess spell for Beltane is as follows:
A Beltane Spell For Love
Set your altar, draw your circle and invoke the four elements. You will need 2 red candles. Carve the name and birth date of your intended on one and your name and birth date on another. Rub each engraving with Copal or Dragon’s Blood Resin. Place the ‘female’ candle on the left and the ‘male’ candle on the right. Place your magic wand between them as a symbol of the power of free will. Light your candles.Meditate on your desire. When you have visualized the highest possible outcome, speak the following:
May The Goddess hear my plea
If this love is meant to be
Turn my lover’s heart to me
By all the power of three times three
As I will, so mote it be.
Meditate a few moments longer, then pinch out the flame with your thumb and fore finger.On the night of the full moon let the 2 candles burn down together. Gather the cool wax and release it into a body of running water.
The following is an article written by Amara Rose and is published in The Practical Spiritual Examiner:
Beltane: Celebrate Your Planet, Yourself
In the West, we often water down our sacred days to become mere children’s celebrations: Samhain, ushering in the dark half of the year, becomes a specter of itself as Halloween; Imbolc, heralding the return of the light on February 2nd, morphs to Groundhog Day; Beltane becomes a chance to dance around the Maypole. Yet the deeper meanings reflect our lost connection with natural rhythms, with seasonal shifts we actually embody.
As Samhain honors the power of death, so Beltane (May 1st) honors the cycles of life and rebirth. Beltane takes place in Taurus, the zodiac’s most earthy, sensual sign, and focuses on exuberant sexuality: the pollinating of flowers, the lush cornucopia of fruit-bearing plants and trees, the reproductive cycle of the entire natural world, from birds and bees to humans. It’s a celebration of fertility in all its forms — and thus we dance in homage to Aphrodite, the Goddess Herself.
Renowned ritualist Fiona Morgan says of an anticipatory Beltane celebration, “As I walk through the blooming earth to join friends, I realize that passionate love takes many forms, and that the earth is my greatest lover. I bless my blue planet, vowing unchanging devotion and care for Her. Seeing Earth as a living, breathing female has changed me, and become the cornerstone of my commitment to Her.” (from WeMoon Datebook © Mother Tongue Ink)
Celebrate the Day in Love and Light and remember the gifts of the Goddess in your life.
Blessed Beltane.
Blessed Be.
Source material:The Provenance Press Guide to The Wiccan Wheel of The Year byJudy Ann Nock; Sabbat Entertaining, Celebrating The Wiccan Holidays with Style by Willow Polson
