Beltane

Beltane is the last of the three spring fertility festivals (the others being Imbolc and Ostara) celebrated approximately halfway between the Vernal (spring) Equinox and Midsummer (Summer Solstice) usually on May 1st. Festivities typically begin the evening before, on the last night of April. However, depending on your tradition, it is also celebrated on May 4th or 5th, when the sun is in 15 degrees of Taurus.

I've made up my Beltane altar in my sacred space on a smaller table than I normally set my altars out on. I wanted this altar to be more intimate and to be able to incorporate it into my Beltane ritual.

Beltane and its counterpart Samhain divide the year into its two primary seasons, winter (dark part) and summer (light part). As Samhain is about honoring death, Beltane is about honoring life. It is the time when the sun is fully released from His bondage of winter and able to rule over summer and life once again.

Beltane, like Samhain, is a time of "no time" when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest. No time is when the two worlds intermingle and unite and magick abounds! It is the time when Faeries return from their winter respite, carefree and full of faery mischief and faery delight.

Traditionally, on the night before Beltane, it was customary for folks to place Rowan branches at their windows and doors for protection as many other-worldly occurrences could transpire during this time of "no time". On the Isle of Man, the youngest member of the family would gather Primroses on the eve before Beltane and throw the flowers at the door of the home for protection. In Ireland it is believed that food left over from May Eve must not be eaten, but rather buried or left as an offering to the Faery instead - much like the tradition of leaving whatever is not harvested from the fields on Samhain, food at the time of "no time" is treated with great care.

Beltane is a time of fertility and fire and this is often reflected in the magick of the season. In some, but not all, traditions of Wicca and Paganism sacred sex is part of spiritual practice which takes place in the 'Great Rite' which is a ritualized connection between the God and Goddess and is often performed symbolically with an athame and chalice.

Beltane is a time to celebrate the union of the God and Goddess and to welcome the abundance of the fertile earth. Depending on your tradition, there are a number of ways you can celebrate this Sabbat. There are also many crafts that can be incorporated into your celebrations including making a May Pole for you altar.

I'll be celebrating Beltane beginning the evening of April 30th by doing a ritual to honor the 'Sacred Feminine' (you'll find the ritual here). Then on May 1st I'll plan on some little celebration - maybe I'll plant some herbs that will go into my herb garden this year, and if the weather cooperates, I may even work out in the yard preparing it for the great abundance of flowers, shrubs and trees that surround my yard with beauty.

Whatever way you celebrate Beltane, be sure to include the God and Goddess in your celebrations, for without their union and blessings on the Earth, the abundance that we enjoy would not 'spring' forth. Happy Beltane!

Creating Altars

Recently I came across a book that opened my eyes to the power of creating an altar. So with the suggestions in the book I decided to give it a go and create two altars - one for career and one for abundance, which I'll talk about shortly. These altars are separate and different than the altars I have for my practice, and are geared towards a specific intention.

The altars in this book are based on the ancient science of Vastu Shastra which has been in use in India for more than seven thousand years. Robin Mastro took the complexities of Vastu Shastra and simplified them, extracting the most potent aspects of Vastu Shastra, enabling people like you and me to use it effectively in our homes.

So taking the principles I found in the book I created my first altar for abundance, which you saw in an earlier post in my kitchen garden window. Upon reading further into the book I found that the abundance altar should be in the north west section of our home, so I moved it into our living room which faces north. I found objects from around the house and purchased a few and set up my altar. I printed pictures of Lakshmi (the Goddess of Abundance) and Ganesha (the God that removes blockages) and set them up on the altar.

Once I was satisfied with the placement of the items on my altar, I checked my calendar to make sure there wasn't a void moon and proceeded with activating my altar which according to the book should be done on a Wednesday. It was a powerful moment and I know, like I know, like I know that that the universe will manifest abundance.

The second altar I created was for career and recognition. I created this altar to help me with my goal of writing a book. This altar is in my kitchen garden window which faces south. Once I was satisfied with the placement of my items, I again checked my calendar to make sure I wasn't in a void moon and activated my altar. This was done on a Tuesday. Now it's just a matter of letting the universe work it's magic.

Once you have created your altar it's important to spend at least a few minutes each day acknowledging it. This keeps the altar activated and working for you.

If you're interested in creating an altar or are just interested in Vastu Shastra, I highly recommend this book. Besides the wealth of information in it, it has pictures which are beautiful to look at. And one other note - have fun and enjoy the experience of creating your altar. It should be one that resonates with you . . .

Abundance

I've been slowly and carefully putting together an abundance altar for our home. Not only is it something magical, but it's also filled with power and grace. It sits in my kitchen garden window and as I was looking at it and appreciating its beauty, my attention was taken by all the activity going on outside the window.

I was awestruck at all the birds that were sitting on my bird feeders. There were Chickadees, Gold Finches, House Finches and Sparrows. Each little perch was filled with a bird happily eating the seeds that I offered there. And as I was watching this amazing dance of color and flight, a Hummingbird flew past the feeder and made his way around the Hummingbird feeder I have hanging close to the bird feeders. I love Hummingbirds, they're the magical and evasive fairies of the garden. I was in awe of the glorious activity going on before my eyes. And if all this wasn't enough, a female Cardinal flew in and joined in the reverie along with a couple of morning doves and a chubby cheeked chipmunk gathering seeds on the ground.

I am in a glorious state of GRATITUDE this morning for all of the ABUNDANCE that surrounds me. My heart is overflowing with it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.