LOA BOOSTED BELTANE MAGIC
Full spell and ritual below!
Beltane celebrates the mating ritual of Earth and Sky, Goddess and God, Spirit and Nature, Force and Form, and the magic that results. Traditionally, these two forces of magic are depicted as the Divine Lovers. All of that IS captured beautifully in this wild and sexy interpretive dance video.
FORCE & FORM
Beltane is when the hearth fire was extinguished, and then relit from the community Beltane fire. The symbolism is more less like "Kick the tires and light the fires." As in, LET'S GO! Let the magic begin.
Today is a day to marry force, that powerful fiery energy of life itself, with form, the physical matter from which all things are created. We creates the form and then direct life-force into it. It's no wonder the act of mating is so strongly associated with Beltane. Force and form combined is shown in the fertilization of the ovum and the beginning of a new life. We can create any form we desire by using the simple principles of Beltane magic.
MAYPOLE SYMBOLISM
Everyone knows by now that the maypole is a phallic symbol, and it being thrust into the earth reflects the fertilization of the mother and resulting abundance of summer and fall.
Another, perhaps deeper and yet related interpretation is that of the maypole as the world axis. In many cultures the world was believe to revolve on an axis like a modern globe does. The axis is important and powerful, being at the center of our earth, and it mixes and mingles with ancient ideas of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and the Tree of Life called Qabala. The Celtic Tree of Life was Bile ("Beel-ya".) Its branches reach into the upper worlds, its roots into the lower, and the trunk passes through Middle Earth, where we are.
The ribbons used to decorate the maypole are woven and twined around it. The colors are green, white, and red, and are said to represent "the three elements" of earth, air, and fire. But why only three? Where are water and ether?
I like to think of them as representing three fates that weave destiny; Is, Was, and Shall Be. Or better yet, the forces of magick; Green is that which exists in the physical realm. Red is the fertilizing fiery force of non-physical. White is the burst of creation. It's the arrival, the bursting into being of the new thing created by the union of the first two. This describes both life itself, and magic. In Law of Attraction terms, this is what we call manifestation.
WHAT WILL YOU CREATE?
I'm coloring outside the lines this year. I'm letting myself think way beyond the things I've always believed myself to be. What would I become this year if I woke up with amnesia and had no preconceived notions about what I was capable of doing or being or having? What if I had no sense of self-limitation whatsoever? What if every piece of practical advice given to me by friends and teachers and parents and my own onboard computer brain, were gone, and I just had to look around at life and pick a direction? What if I had no idea of my age or how long humans generally live, or what my talents and skills are or were? Or better said, what I have always believed they were. What if I woke up knowing nothing? A kid in a candy store, just looking around and knowing I could pick anything I wanted. Anything.
What sorts of things would appeal to me? What would I first attempt to do? Who would I decide to be?
I advise asking these questions before beginning the ritual I offer below.
YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME
Leave the little Maypole up as long as you like, but when you take it down, oveowrap it in thin white cloth and put it in a sunny place. e. . ace. ce. e. . nto the physical realm. This is the fetus of your new reality.. to as masculine or God energy. ighly recommend, along with companion book, THE WINTER SOLSTICE. I don't have them in the shop so I'll put some Amazon links here. Just click the covein re
"The month of May, perceived as a boundary time that divides winter and summer, become an arena in which an age-old struggle for control of the season was enacted."
–The Summer Solstice, John Matthews
This doesn't make Spring and Fall lesser seasons by any means. Remember, it's the in-between times that are the most powerful.
But apparently, the pagans of old considered the entire month of May a time of celebration and ritual. Bawdy celebration and ritual.
So you can ride this energy all month long. Take your time, do some journaling. Look around, and think about what you might decide to do or be, and make a plan. You don't have to carry it out, but it would be an excellent way to rule something in or out. As you create ways you might begin to move toward the new goal, you might realize it's not what you want at all. Or you might find a fork in the path that leads you to something else.
GO GENERAL WITH SOME GOALS
If you can't or don't want to choose a specific goal, you might be in even better shape than most. We get rather attached to our goals. One might have a goal of "I want a beach house," or "I want to get this specific job," or "I want a million dollars."
This really limits us. If we back up a little and think about it, we'll realize we want all those things because of the way we believe having them will feel. So focus a bit on the feeling. If I want a beach house, I want to live in a place that feels like paradise to me. I want the view out my windows to thrill me. I want my feet in the sand and in the surf. I want sunshine. I want that unique, serene power that I experience when I'm near the ocean.
If I want a million dollars, it's really more that I want the feeling of security and well-being that kind of money would bring. I want to buy things I desire without worrying about the cost. I want to never have to work again unless I feel like it. All those things boil down to confidence and freedom. Absolute confidence in my own abundance, and absolute freedom to live life as I desire. That's what I would mean if I were to say I'd like a million dollars.
So do all that ahead of time, so that you have some very clear goals. Meditate with the goals in mind, and you might begin to see images of yourself as that new person–the person who is living the goals you are now setting. She's living the manifestation of them. Look at her. What is her hair like? What is she wearing? What is she doing?
You might even try talking to her. This will make it easier to step into becoming her.
THE LOA BOOSTED BELTANE SPELL
YOU WILL NEED
A wooden skewer
A foam semi-sphere or any shape that will stand, as used by florists
3 lengths of ribbon, 18" long; 1 red, 1 green, 1 white
A hot glue gun and glue, plugged in and loaded
1 flower blossom if you can find one outside. If not, you can use artificial.*
*Do a little research. Choose a flower whose energy matches your goal.
ALTAR SETUP
Dish of salt in the North
Incense in the east
A red candle in the south
A dish of water in the west
Fresh flowers should decorate the space
The skewer is on the altar
ALTAR BLESSING AND GREAT RITE IN TOKEN
Sprinkle some of the salt over you and feel its EARTH energy. It is pure, and you are pure.
Light the incense, and waft its smoke over you, and feel the energy of AIR. It is pure and you are pure.
Light the red candle, and move your hand over it to feel its heat and FIRE energy. It is pure and you are pure.
Sprinkle some of the water over your face and feel the power of WATER. It is pure and you are pure.
Raise the water up high, and imagine it as the womb of the Goddess. Feel her power flow into the water and into you. Set the water down.
Take 3 pinches of the blessed salt and drop them into the water.
Take up the skewer, and move it around the altar, pausing over the salt, over the censer, over the fire flame, over the water to bless it by the elements.
Holding the skewer in one hand, take up the water in the other. Raise the skewer high, point-up, as if stabbing the sky, and feel the FORCE of expansive, fertilizing energy sometimes referred to as masculine or God energy.
Say, "As the rod is to the god."
Lift the chalice in the other hand, and feel the FORM of the womb, of earth, of creation, sometimes referred to feminine or Goddess energy.
Say, "So the chalice is to the goddess." Lower the chalice, but do not put it down.
Turn the skewer point-down, and bring it downward slowly, into the water, until it touches the bottom while saying, "And together they are one."
Imagine an explosion happens when the skewer reaches the bottom of the cup. Image that is the moment you are bringing life force into the physical realm. This is the fetus of your new reality.
Remove the skewer, dry it off on your shirt sleeve
WEAVING THE SPELL
Insert the skewer, point-down,into the foam block so that it stands firmly upright.
Use the hot glue gun to attach each ribbon to the top of the skewer; first the green, for the earth and realm of the physical. Then the red, for the sun and the realm of spirit. And then the white, for the pure potential of the new creation that the two of them have just engendered.
It's important to spend some time on the white ribbon, really filling it with the vibration of your goal. You have to imagine it and feel the feelings it will inspire in you and see it in your mind's eye as you work with each of the ribbons, but most especially the white one.
After the ribbons are glued, trailing down in opposing directions from the top, glue the single flower blossom to the skewer on top of them.
Let the glue dry for a few minutes while you meditate on your spell. If your incense burns out, light another.
When the glue is thoroughly dry, begin to braid the ribbons around the pole. Wind them back and forth or round and round, over and under each other in whatever way makes sense to you. But do it slowly and deliberately and with intent as you relax your mind and fall into the cadence of the chant and imagine the FEELINGS of achieving your goal.
Cool green-brown creation's clay
Form what I desire this May
Fiery source of heat and light
Lightning strike and life ignite
Repeat the charm over and over as you braid your fate round the mini-maypole.
AFTERWARD
Leave the little Maypole up as long as you like, but when you take it down, wrap it in thin white cloth and put it in a sunny place.
Save it to burn on the Winter Solstice as a mini Yule log.
Oh, and here is my favorite Beltane Song by Lisa Thiel.
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