Beltane (May Day) May 1, 2007

Once more, the Wheel turns and now brings Beltane. This is one of the most important holiday observances in many pagan beliefs and may be seen as an unashamed celebration of the pleasures of life with a focus designed to highlight the physical joys of womanhood and manhood. The goddess and god, now the May Queen and her beloved Sun Prince (the sun child now grown to manhood) are wed. The seed of new life that they planted together at the Vernal Equinox is celebrated all through the night and the world revels in the joy of being alive.

In keeping with this time, Beltane is a terrific opportunity to enrich any aspect of your life requiring fertilization or to celebrate those activities which encourage abundance. Of course, certain fertility celebrations are more satisfying when accompanied by a partner, but this need not limit your creativity or your enjoyment if it so happens that you are celebrating Beltane in a more solitary manner. However you choose to acknowledge this turn of the wheel, it's clear that this is a time to welcome the return of life's pleasures shared by all living things, and to share those pleasures most generously with one another.

Beltane
(Mayday, Festival of Tana, Whitsun)

A sabbat of love, unity, and the creation of new life. The return of vitality, passion, and hope. The veil between this world and the fairy world is thin.

Wheel Legend: The Sun Prince and the Moon Maiden are wed.

Purpose: To celebrate the union of the Sun and Moon by celebrating the blessed unions in our lives.

Needful Things: Flower petals to cast the circle. Ribbons to weave around the maypole (Silver, Gold, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red). Champaign or Wine and Cakes for the simple feast. Candles to make a bonfire in the cauldron (White, Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green). A crown of flowers for the May-Queen

Decorations: Early Summer blooms in rich scent and colors.

Cleanse: With the rich scent of summers full bloom.

Quarters and Aspects: Call Eastern Sprites, Southern Fairies, Western Nymphs, and Northern Brownies. Call the magical aspects of the Summer King and the Moon Mother.

Hearthkeeping matters: Keep the Maypole ribbons on the Broom until Mabon. If you have made offerings to the quarters, pour them out onto bare earth.

Here is an example of a ritual you may use in your own Beltane observance

Shield Envision the same bubble that protects "Glenda the Good" witch in The Wizard of Oz. Allow it to encircle and protect you.

"Protect this child and guard her aim
from any evil, harm, or bane."

Center When ready, step into your ritual space.

Cast Circle Envision a circle of blooming flowers and fairy lights. Use flower petals, if you have them, to outline your circle. Use the tip of your hand, wand, or athame as you cast from your projective hand beginning at the eastern quarter and moving deosil (clockwise).

"Simple hands weave simple threads
and so make stronger twine.
Now celebrate this union
and the blessings of those joined"

Call Quarters Facing east

"Windborn sprites of mystic air
be with me now, be with me now.
And bring your clarity to bear
be with me now, be with me now
Spirit of the air, Welcome."

light the yellow candle.

Call Quarters Facing south

"Firelit fairies magic spark
be with me now, be with me now
your purity to me impart
be with me now, be with me now
Spirit of the fire, Welcome."

light the red candle.

Call Quarters facing west

"Water nymphs of fountains blessed
be with me now, be with me now
your empathy bring to my quest
be with me now, be with me now
Spirit of the water, Welcome."

light the blue candle.

Call Quarters Facing north

"Brownies, elves and earthly wards
be with me now, be with me now
stabilities enchanted guards
be with me now, be with me now
Spirit of the earth, Welcome."

light the green candle.

Invoke the Sun raising projective hand in the symbol of the sun (first finger and Little finger extended, like horns, other fingers folded beneath thumb)

"Sun Prince grown now to Sun King
fullness, warmth, and pleasure bring.
Attend my rite and leave your mark
upon my spirit and my heart.
Between the worlds I welcome you"

light the gold candle

Invoke the Moon raising receptive hand in the symbol of the moon (hold your whole hand in a "c" shape like the crescent moon)

"Maiden, Mother, Shining Queen,
fertility and bounty bring.
Attend my rite and leave your mark
upon my spirit and my heart.
Between the worlds I welcome you"

light the silver candle

Invoke your Guardian tracing a pentagram in the center of the sand censor or in the air before you

"Spirit within me, Guide me as I celebrate this turn of the wheel and awaken me to the joys of this unity and its promise of fullness."

light the incense

Complete the circle with your purpose sit or stand as you please

"The circle is cast and we stand between the worlds
beyond the bounds of time where
life and death, future and past
laughter and tears, the first and the last
meet here as one. Blessed be.

I come now between the worlds to celebrate creation through unity and the return of vitality, passion, and hope with this turn of the wheel"

Take the silver and gold ribbons and weave them around your broom stick which will serve as your maypole.

"Silver and Gold
Moon and Sun
He and She
Combined as one."

Now weave Blue and Red around the broomstick/Maypole.

"Blue and Red. Water and Fire.
Strength and Courage and Will to survive
Peace and Patience, and Wisdom abide
combine to bring my hearts desire"

Now weave yellow and Green around the Broomstick/Maypole.

"Green and Yellow, Earth and Air.
Prosperity, Growth, Abundance to share
with Travel, and Movement, and Confidence there
unite and bring my hopes to bear"

Place all five candles in the cauldron and light them in the following order saying...

(Yellow)

"Spark to ignite travel and movement"

(Red)

"Spark to Ignite Strength and Courage."

(Blue)

"Spark to ignite Patience and Wisdom."

(Green)

"Spark to ignite Growth and Prosperity."

(White)

"Spark to ignite that which is within."

Take your crown of flowers and place it in your hair, or on the altar.

"All that be,
unite in me."

While the cauldron burns, pass the "Maypole" over the cauldron to symbolize leaping the bonfire. Drum, sing, or dance to keep the energy raised until the cauldron begins to burn out and then release that energy with the last wisp of smoke from your bonfire.

"All that be
united in me
And no reverse
to bring a curse.
Harming none
this be done."

Ground (touch something from the earth with your projective hand, or just feel the excess energy drain from your body back through your feet to replenish the earth below you)

Simple Feast sweet treats and champaign or dessert coffee. Make liquid offerings to the elements.

Thank the Guardian Make the sign of the pentagram with smoke from the incense stick (if it is still burning) or trace it in the air before you with your wand, hand, or athame.

"Spirit within my spirit I thank you for your help and guidance.
Stay or go as you shall please.
Hail and farewell."

Thank the Moon raising receptive hand in the symbol of the moon (hold your whole hand in a "c" shape like the crescent moon)

"Maiden, Mother, and Beltane Bride,
my thanks for your presence at my side>
Stay or go as you shall please.
Hail and farewell."

quench the silver candle

Thank the Sun raising projective hand in the symbol of the sun (first finger and Little finger extended, like horns, other fingers folded beneath thumb)

"Sun Prince, Husband, and Father to be,
my thanks for your presence here with me.
Stay or go as you shall please.
Hail and farewell."

quench the gold candle

Thank the Quarters facing the appropriate directions as you thank and release them and quench each candle as you bid them farewell.

"Brownies of the earthen stone,
Nymphs of waterfalls and seas,
Fairies of the candleglow,
Sprites of air and summer breeze,
my thanks for your attending me.
stay or go as you shall please.
hail and farewell, and blessed be."

Release the Circle beginning at the Eastern quarter and moving widdershins (counterclockwise) draw the energy into your receptive hand, wand or athame. When you have finished re-calling the energy, compress it into a little ball in your receptive hand and absorb it into your body.

"The circle is open
yet still unbroken
merry met, and merry part, and merry meet again."

Ground (touch something from the earth with your projective hand, or just feel the excess energy drain from your body back through your feet to replenish the earth below you)

Use of Wiccan Symbol on Veterans’ Headstones Is Approved

To settle a lawsuit, the Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to add the Wiccan pentacle to a list of approved religious symbols that it will engrave on veterans’ headstones.

The settlement, which was reached on Friday, was announced on Monday by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which represented the plaintiffs in the case.

Though it has many forms, Wicca is a type of pre-Christian belief that reveres nature and its cycles. Its symbol is the pentacle, a five-pointed star, inside a circle.

Until now, the Veterans Affairs department had approved 38 symbols to indicate the faith of deceased service members on memorials. It normally takes a few months for a petition by a faith group to win the department’s approval, but the effort on behalf of the Wiccan symbol took about 10 years and a lawsuit, said Richard B. Katskee, assistant legal director for Americans United.

The group attributed the delay to religious discrimination. Many Americans do not consider Wicca a religion, or hold the mistaken belief that Wiccans are devil worshipers.

“The Wiccan families we represented were in no way asking for special treatment,” the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, said at a news conference Monday. “They wanted precisely the same treatment that dozens of other religions already had received from the department, an acknowledgment that their spiritual beliefs were on par with those of everyone else.”

A Veterans Affairs spokesman, Matt Burns, confirmed that the “V.A. will be adding the pentacle to its list of approved emblems of belief that will be engraved on government-provided markers.”

“The government acted to settle in the interest of the families concerned,” Mr. Burns added, “and to spare taxpayers the expense of further litigation.”

There are 1,800 Wiccans in the armed forces, according to a Pentagon survey cited in the suit, and Wiccans have their faith mentioned in official handbooks for military chaplains and noted on their dog tags.

At least 11 families will be immediately affected by the V.A.’s decision, said the Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church in Wisconsin.

In reviewing 30,000 pages of documents from Veterans Affairs, Americans United said, it found e-mail and memorandums referring to negative comments President Bush made about Wicca in an interview with “Good Morning America” in 1999, when he was governor of Texas. The interview had to do with a controversy at the time about Wiccan soldiers’ being allowed to worship at Fort Hood, Tex.

“I don’t think witchcraft is a religion,” Mr. Bush said at the time, according to a transcript. “I would hope the military officials would take a second look at the decision they made.”

Americans United did not assert that the White House influenced the Veterans Affairs Department. Under the settlement, Americans United had to return the documents and could not copy them, though it could make limited comments about their contents, Mr. Katskee said.

Americans United filed the lawsuit last November on behalf of several Wiccan military families. Among the plaintiffs was Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in September 2005 in Afghanistan.

Ms. Stewart said she had tried various avenues to get the pentacle approved. Late last year, Gov. Kenny Guinn of Nevada, her home state, approved the placing of a marker with a pentacle in a Veterans Affairs cemetery in Fernley, east of Reno. But Ms. Stewart said she had continued to pursue the lawsuit because she wanted the federal government to approve the markers.

Other religious groups that have often opposed Americans United supported the effort to have the government approve the pentacle.

“I was just aghast that someone who would fight for their country and die for their country would not get the symbol he wanted on his gravestone,” said John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, which litigates many First Amendment cases. “It’s just overt religious discrimination.”

Pagan origin of Easter

March 21 -- Ostara -- Spring or The Vernal Equinox
Also known as: Lady Day or Alban Eiler (Druidic)

As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals.

The next full moon (a time of increased births) is called the Ostara and is sacred to Eostre the Saxon Lunar Goddess of fertility (from whence we get the word estrogen, whose two symbols were the egg and the rabbit.

The Christian religion adopted these emblems for Easter which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The theme of the conception of the Goddess was adapted as the Feast of the Annunciation, occurring on the alternative fixed calendar date of March 25 Old Lady Day, the earlier date of the equinox. Lady Day may also refer to other goddesses (such as Venus and Aphrodite), many of whom have festivals celebrated at this time.

Traditional Foods:
Leafy green vegetables, Dairy foods, Nuts such as Pumpkin, Sunflower and Pine. Flower Dishes and Sprouts.

Herbs and Flowers:
Daffodil, Jonquils, Woodruff, Violet, Gorse, Olive, Peony, Iris, Narcissus and all spring flowers.

Incense:
Jasmine, Rose, Strawberry, Floral of any type.

Sacred Gemstone:
Jasper

Special Activities:
Planting seeds or starting a Magickal Herb Garden. Taking a long walk in nature with no intent other than reflecting on the Magick of nature and our Great Mother and her bounty.

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