Beltane activities 2013

I’m loving this beautiful spring weather. Taking my dog on regular walks along the river offers ample opportunity to be around nature and enjoy the scent, sights, and sounds of Life.

The meetup group gathers at my house tomorrow (or rather tonight being its so late with typing this up), and we’re celebrating Beltane. Technically, the date is May 1st, but some members couldn’t join at that time. I’m pretty flexible, and I think its more important to accommodate a group than to recognize a specific date.

Beltane, which means Brilliant Fire, celebrates when the herds are moved to their summer pastures. It also marks the season of fertility where sex is prominent, when the god and goddess form a union to bring Life into the world.

Some prominent activities include dancing a May Pole (which represents the phallus), and jumping over or between fires to make wishes and be purified/protected.

I like this idea from cyberwitch.com;

Cakes played a major role in many Beltane customs. A popular one was called the ‘knobby cake’. A cake was baked with nine lumps or ‘knobs’ on it, each one dedicated to a Deity, or Supernatural Being, or to an animal which threatened livestock. Each participant broke off a knob and threw it over the left shoulder, into the fire, saying, for example: "This is for you, gnomes, don’t steal my milk," or "This is for you, fox, spare thou my lambs."

This is fun to do even now. Since we (most of us) don’t live in an agrarian society, we might say something like: "This is for you, (name of employer), spare me my job!" Just remember, when you re-create an old custom, it should have valid meaning today.

Other activities to consider;

Feasting- I love potlucks with friends. Its fun to be surprised with meal choices, and eating food with others provokes its own kind of magick. Mead, sparkling cider or juices, fruit, dairy foods and Irish dishes (being Beltane is an Irish holiday), and anything that makes the day special.

Crafts- Popular crafts for Beltane include May baskets, floral head wreaths, masks, build fairy houses, ribbon wands, dance ribbons, make an altar sized maypole (video), and other May activities (video.

Frolicking- This is a whimsical, magical holiday. Dance in the woods, be playful, join in games, a hike, a picnic, but most important- have fun.

What fun traditions do you enjoy at Beltane? Post in comments

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Preparing for Ostara

I am so ready for spring, so sick of the damp chill and constant threat of cold rain and potential for snow. Bring on the sun and warm breezes.

I can smell spring in the air, and you can see the stirrings of flowers and animals. With the spring equinox on the 20th of this  month, its time for

Source: tasteofhome.com via Sharon on Pinterest

Source: stonegableblog.com via Sharon on Pinterest

 

Make Offering Stones

Make Egg Shakers

Mead Recipes

Ostara Recipes

Here is a video CharmingPixieFlora sharing some fun ideas to celebrate Ostara.

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Cakes and Ale Choices

I’m not much of a traditionalist when it comes to ritual. Sure, I learned the ‘proper’ way, but more importantly, I learned the reasons why we cast circle the way we do. once you learn rules, you can bend them to your liking. Its not so different with what to serve for cakes and ale ceremony.

Why do we have cakes and ale? the main reason is to ‘ground’ the energy you raise during ritual. There are other ways to ground, from ground-and-center techniques, to snapping fingers, to feasting.

There is also the element of building bonds with a group with the act of sharing food.

Traditional cakes and ale? If you want to get picky, you serve what they did in the good ‘ol days’. Origins of the ritual arise from various places (depending on your tradition) but I’ve known of recipes that go back a few generations. This was often cookie like confections or biscuit like, with wine, ale, or mead. Making from scratch also lends to adding a bit of magick while creating the cakes, and adding what you need for the intended ritual.

Simple Sabbat Cakes

bannock- a recipe for a simple, heavy, but tasty bread

Ritual recipes- a couple of recipes for ritual use.

Non-traditional cakes and ale? With the growing population of individuals choosing vegan, gluten free, or refusing alcohol. fear now, there’s plenty of choices for you too;

Pre-made cake can include anything from the cake with frosting, to breakfast muffin types, pound cakes, or even something like cornbread. You can use cookies, brownies, biscuits, or just about any single serving or sliced confection.

You can also select gluten-free or vegan varieties, switching flour for the gluten free flour.

Gluten free recipes

Vegan chocolate cake

Sparkling juice. I like serving this because its refreshing, more healthy, and adds enough ‘special’ to the occasion. You can select flavors such as grape, apple, or even pomegranate. You can also make your own.

Regular juice or punch. I often find sparkling juice in the grocery store, but you can make your own sparkling juice by mixing juice with seltzer water. You can often select fruit juices to help symbolize the ritual, such as pomegranate for harvest, or strawberry for one of the ‘strawberry moon’.

I would also suggest offering more than one choice. On the plate we serve for cakes, I will sometimes offer fruit along with sliced homemade cake (such as banana bread, cupcakes, etc). It still serves the same purpose of grounding and centering, but also providing unity in the act of sharing food.

What are your favorite traditions with cakes and ale? Do you have a favorite recipes, or preference to the types of food/drink served? Post in comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Wednesday Witch: Greenhaven: A Pagan Tradition

While looking up Imbolc recipes, I happened upon this nice site, Greenhaven: The Pagan Tradition.

They have some nice pages under Activities that shares such topics as feasting, ritual, and crafts. They also provide a number of articles on various topics from composing magic, to poetry, to classes.

I really like the page that offers a list of links. You can find pagan leadership and other resources there.

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Ritual Etiquette: The cell phone

I love my Iphone 4S. For me, its not just a phone,  but a valuable tool for business, my favorite music player (it connects with my car’s stereo), my camera (photos as well as videos), games, writing, and connecting with friends through Facebook, email, and texting.

I do not use my phone during ritual, however. Here are some tips in regards to proper ritual etiquette;

Turn off the ringer when you arrive. Even if the ritual hasn’t started, the bells, beeps, and whistles of a phone can be construed as rude. Turn it off, even if the vibration. People can hear the buzzing.

Use sparingly. You can use the phone if looking up information for someone, playing music,  or checking to see why someone is late. Do not, however, spend too much doing this; its rude.

Don’t take photos or video unless you ask first. Sometimes its nice to have photos to share the memories of a ritual. I like to post photos of our workshops or rituals on our meetup site. If you take photos of anyone else, you must have their permission. Not everyone is comfortable with a camera in ritual, so check first before flashing photos.

Do not turn on or look at the phone during the ritual itself. Your focus is supposed to be in the inner workings of your soul, and being aware of the energies around you.

Although I’m not so hardcore I ask people to put their phone in a bowl/box and not allow them back until they leave, I appreciate members who take the time to shut their phones off before ritual.

What’s your thoughts on phone use in circles? Post in comments.

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Yule Follow Up

Our Yule ritual went rather well. I wish the wind didn’t so much or the temperatures drop so low, otherwise we’d have a fire in the fire pit. I meant to have everyone make banishing bags from black cloth and they’d be burned, but we opted, instead, to use this idea by CharmingPixieFlora (video) where the bag would not only mark what we wished to banish, but also what we needed to replace it.

Potluck- Because of gathering so late in the day, we opted to feast first. Some argue that you eat after ritual, but I feel that has more to do with magick working, meditations, or spell work. In celebrations, the focus should be on the celebrating itself.

The food was great. My husband made a Chicken and Dumpling casserole, while others brought salad, a veggie tray, and desserts. There’s something so delightfully magical about potlucks, where folks bring in various dishes to share as a group.

Ritual- Our group is not at all formal, and we discuss beforehand what we hope to accomplish with the ritual. Members share a document online where we add what we’re bringing to potluck, but also marking what they wish to do in the ritual itself. Some suggestions included some healing, a thumb’s up for the banishing bag craft, and also a ‘joy and sorrow’ sharing ritual.

Joys and Sorrows- I first encountered this practice in the local Unitarian Universalist Church, where members shared a joy and/or sorrow in their lives. This helped build community, strengthen bonds, and enables members to alert others if help was needed. We use the practice for the same reasons.

All you do is light tea lights. One for each joy or sorrow. You can light as many as you need. All of the candles can sit on a plate at the center of circle or the main part of the altar. They are blown out at the end of ritual.

Since I forgot to get the sparkling juice or mead, we ended up using V8 Splash for the ‘ale’ in the cakes and ale. The cake was Rum cake, which was awesome. We then went outside to ‘pop’ the banishment bags, sprinkling seeds on the ground, and making offering of the cakes and ale to the gods amid the wind and cold.

I wish for everyone to have a safe and happy holiday season.

Source: bing.com via Sharon on Pinterest

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Ritual debate- alcohol or not?

I’ve attended a number of rituals that offered mead or wine in the ‘cakes and ale’ ritual, but also joined in groups that stuck with a ‘no alcohol’ rule. So how do you choose?

For my own group, I consider the members. We have one member who doesn’t drink. Although he insists we don’t have to accommodate him, I feel its important that we do because a group is comprised of each individual, and they should be valued. When he doesn’t join the group, we tend to have Mead or wine. Otherwise, I buy sparkling grape or apple juice.

Consider the reasons why we have cakes and ale. The cakes and ale ceremony is often used to 1) ground-and-center everyone after performing magick or doing vision quests. The consuming of food and drink is also communal, offering a moment to share and be grateful for one another, and what the god/dess bestowed upon us. Another reason, stems from offering back something to the gods. A cup of drink and some morsel of food or left outside for the gods in thanks for their presence.   Ask yourself the reasons you practice this, and consider the symbolism of consuming alcohol (or not).

Whatever your choice, make it special, and enjoy the ritual.

A guide to mead

Homemade mead recipe and tutorial

Make your own sparkling juice.

Cakes and Ale ritual- explains the history, meaning, and how to conduct the ritual

Cakes and ale- includes recipes for sabbat cakes

Post in comments your own traditions, recipes, and ideas for the cakes and ale ceremony.

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Wednesday Witch: Acbal’s Moon

I happened upon the site Acbal’s Moon, and wished to share this week with my fellow pagans.

Being a site rich with graphics, it also bears a number of incredibly useful, and informative posts on spell craft, ritual, and the basics to witchcraft in general.

I really enjoyed the sheer amount of information presented, with recipes I intend to add to my Book of Shadows.

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Imbolc – “In the belly”

Imbolc, pronounced “im-olk”, means “in the belly” in Old Irish. This refers to the ewes preparing to give birth to lambs, and the first signs of spring taking root. The sabbat is one of four principal festivals through the solar year, and falls between Yule (Winter Solstice) and Ostara (Spring Equinox).

Held on November 2nd, this sabbat carries influences into the whole Groundhog celebration.  The belief that the Cailleach, a Gaellic goddess, gathers wood tells her intention of lengthening the winter season. If the weather is good on November 2nd, she is out gathering her wood. If the weather is poor, she remains underground and spring will arrive early.

This is also known as Brigid’s Day, the goddess of smithcraft and that of the healing and poetry. Some traditions include the making the Brigit’s Bed, with a doll made from corn husks, or setting hearthfires and performing divination for planting.

I’ve celebrated this day as one of creativity and growth, or rather the early stirrings (the spark) of creativity. Its the very beginning of spring, where the earth prepares for the warmer months. This becomes a time for contemplation on what should be planted for my crops (goals for the coming year), and how my crop should be cared for.

We’ll be actually planting something. My son wants flowers or vegetables, so we’ll prepare the seeds at this time and start them indoors before transplanting later outside.

Foods of this day include milk products such as cheese, butter, and cream. Some recipes you can enjoy are scones, soda bread, cream soups, and of course meals with lamb. (See links for recipes) I personally can’t bring myself to eat lamb, but enjoy the soup and stews of the holiday. Traditional Irish foods also go well with this holiday such as bannock or cooked cabbage.
Crafts:

Imbolc Crafts- Includes fire starters, corn doll, wands, and Brigid’s Cross.

Imbolc crafts at Cauldronliving- includes lots of craft ideas and traditions.

Some links:

Imbolc (Wiccan) link

Feasting at Imbolc- Lots of recipes here.