Beltane Blessings- Herne the hunter and the sacred goddess

Beltane is upon us once again....... I love this time of year, everything in the natural world is in growth and this is the time to celebrate union, fertility, love and sexuality. Time to celebrate the sacred union between Horned God and the fertile Goddess.

In days gone by, it was re-enacted by men and women to ensure the fertility of the land.

People made love in the woods and forest, slept outdoors and watched the sunrise.

They walked the labyrinths and mazes and dressed in green to honour the Earth at this time.

The Horned God is usually known as Herne the Hunter, the wild man of the forests.

Herne is transformed into a white stag, and legend has it that he chased the Goddess who turned into a white deer. The Horned God has also been depicted as Pan, the Goat God, Zeus the Bull and Amen the Ram.
Over time, these depictions of the Horned Lord were turned into the Christian version of the Devil, whose lustful nature gave birth to the slang word “horny”, although the old German word for “lust” actually meant “religious joy”.
The God and Goddess become spiritually transformed through their union and the combination of their energies brings fertility to the land.

Celebrations included dancing the Maypole, a symbolic dance showing the entwining of male and female energies. Garlands of May blossom were used to decorate houses.

A Beltane fire was lit at this time, all other fires in village having been extinguished.

The participants jumped the Beltane fire to symbolise cleansing and purification.

A couple jumping the fire together were pledging themselves to each other.

Cattle would be driven through the smoke for protection and fertility.

At the end of the evening, villages each took a burning stick from the fire to re-ignite their fires at home.

Another common celebration at this time of year was (and still is!) Handfasting.

Handfasting is a form of sacred marriage which originally lasted for a year and a day, and would be renewed at the end of this time if the couple both wished it. These days, a Handfasting can be for the traditional year and a day, or for as long as the couple wish, and it is popular to leave the time open, so that the union can continue for as long as it works.

At Beltane the trees are in flower. Apple blossoms, cherry blossoms and hawthorn blossoms lift the heart with the delicate beauty of their soft petals, symbolically promising life’s light, renewal and joy.

And so with the blossom laden trees so heavy, may with the goddess's blessing there be a plentiful bounty of fruit to come.New projects - new goals - new endeavors, new ideas!...New Home??!!

Missed the jack in the green festival at Hastings this year , but hope to see you all next year:)

TREE DRESSING DAY-Honour your local trees!

TREE DRESSING DAY-The first weekend in December .

Tree Dressing Day aims to encourage the celebration of trees in city and country, in the street, village green - anywhere in the public domain.
It highlights our responsibility for looking after trees and reminds us of their enormous cultural and environmental importance.
Tree dressing is based on many old customs from all over the world and at different times of the year.
Tree Dressing Day was initiated by Common Ground in 1990. We decorated a group of London Plane trees on the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and High Holborn in Covent Garden with 150 large number, showing that EVERY TREE COUNTS! Since then, groups and individuals have dressed their trees all over the country.
Always the first full weekend in December
Help to create your own social celebration of the trees in your place. This cross-cultural community expression for everyday nature could include storytelling, dance, music, hanging ribbons, shapes, shining lights, anything which draws attention to the trees we take for granted, an enjoyable first step towards taking more care of them.
Our beautiful and idea provoking full-colour A1 Tree Dressing Day poster is available from Common Ground their PUBLICATIONS PAGES. Also available are the Tree Dressing Times and Manual - two publications containing a code of practice, examples, history and the Manifesto for Trees.
Read more about TREE DRESSING DAY and see some examples on the TREES PATHWAY of www.england-in-particular.info.

Honour your Local Trees!

Spring Equinox -ALBAN EILER

Spring Equinox Blessings to you!

Vernal equinox - Alban Eiler "Light of the Earth")

A Spring Kiss by Moonrabbit

www.moonrabbituk.deviantart.com

Aftr the Winter Solstice the days have lengthened and the nights shortened and here in the northern hemisphere the Spring equinox marks the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. Light and dark are in balance now, but light is gaining.


The earth awakens... new life emerges, sap rises, buds shoot and spring flowers are celebrated as gifts from nature. Spring returns and rejuvenates our own life force.

Spring is a time of the Earth's renewal, a rousing of nature after the cold sleep of winter, a time to celebrate the renewal and rebirth of Nature herself, and the coming lushness of Summer.

To the Druidic faith, this is a sacred day occurring in the month of Fearn, part of our practices are to clean and rededicate outdoor shrines, believing that in doing we honor the spring maiden.

At this time we think of renewing ourselves.
We renew our thoughts, our dreams, and our aspirations.
We think of renewing our relationships. This is an excellent time of year to begin anything new or to completely revitalize something. This is also an excellent month for prosperity rituals or rituals that have anything to do with growth.
It is an ideal time to clean your home to welcome the new season. Spring cleaning is more than physical work. Some cultures see it as a concentrated effort on their part to rid themselves of problems and negativity of the past months and prepare themselves for new things.

This equinox is also known as Ostara or Eostre - and is celebrated as a festival of new growth, renewal, a re-balancing of energies and the return of longer days. It is also known as the day of equilibrium. Now is a good time to consider the balance of our lives - work, play and relationships.
It is now time to lay the seeds of new projects and new directions that you have meditated on throughout the cold months. Now is the time to start taking action.
Decorate your home with spring flowers and sprouting greens.
Wear green clothing as an affirmation of new growth within yourself and Nature.
Bless any seeds you plan to plant in your garden. Begin a new project.
Key actions to keep in mind during this time in the Wheel of the Year include openings and new beginnings. is a good time to start putting those plans and preparations you made at Imbolc into action.
Start working towards physically manifesting your plans now.

IMBOLC BLESSINGS!

It is time to celebrate the first stirrings of spring from the depths of winter!

Horrah!

when the first buds can be seen appearing on trees, when the days are quite visibly longer than they were around Yule, and when there are the first days of semi-bearable temperatures.


The word Imbolc literally means "In Milk." This is because it is the time when the cows and goats generally begin lactating in Western Europe.
The festival is sacred to the Goddess Brigid (pronounced "Breed, " often spelled "Brid"-the Celtic triple Goddess of Inspiration, Healing, poetry and smithcraft.

This is a time of new beginnings and growth. At this time, think of your goals and dreams for this year that you will plant.


As the days begin to get longer, it is tradition for every candle or lamp in the house to be lit for a little while welcoming the return of the Sun.


Esotrically it is the willing sacrifice of the outer self for the inner self.

The period between Imbolc and the Spring Equinox is when self-discipline is practiced.

"I hereby do create sacred space,

In time that is not time; a place not a place,

Today is a day that is not a day,

All malice and worry, now away,

So all within here is right and just,

This is a place of magic, love and trust."

One of the things I find tangeable in the celebration of Imbolc is purification itself.

The concept of Spring Cleaning came from this Sabbat.

Traditionally the greens of Yule that are left in place for our protection during the deepest Winter months are now removed and burned in a sacred fire.

The home is physically cleaned from top to bottom.

I use this period between Yule and Imbolc to do the Soul searching and meditation called for in this season during The Winter Rites held on Yule.

Its a time put my financial life in order, my physical home in order and my relationships in order.

Free now of these burdens, we gather in our homes with brooms in hand and begin to turn whiddershins from room to room carrying with us incense, fire, water & salt, purifying each room of all negative energy. Chanting:

Thus we banish Winter... Thus we welcome Spring!

WINTER SOLSTICE-Alban Arthuan

Solstice Blessings to You!
We stand here at the turning point of the year as winter closes around us and the earth beneath our feet rests, for the harvest is in and the new seeds not yet sown.
The winter solstice, the shortest sunlit day of the year, the day when the sun is farthest away from us and his light is most remote, has been celebrated in ceremony the world over for as long as human memory exists. The celebration was most enthusiastic in areas of the earth where the winter is very dark and very long, and the yearning for sun and light was so passionate. Although we now have electricity, and can "see" with the a light flick of a switch, we still honor the power and mystery of darkness, both literally and symbolically. The nights are long and we may all feel the darkness entering into areas of our life. Let this darlness of the longest night be felt, for only out of darkness does light arise and we become aware that the inner sun rises again in our hearts as at one with the outer sun, bringing warmth to both our hearts and the earth.

The seed stirs in the earth
Once again, the Winter Solstice of the year is upon us.
The season when we learn, from nature, how to honor the darkness of Life's Mysteries without losing faith...how to recognize the seeds of growth and nurture them in our own inner warmth until the Light returns...how to dignify the elder who lives always within us, and to face our own old age with serenity and faith and power.
Once again we learn, that even in the darkest moments, health, serenity, and healing energy are available when we focus on them with positive intent.
As the golden Oak King triumphs in battle over ,darksome twin the Holly King
....now we can see the first flicker of light,
the first ray of hope, the first seeds of solution, to any darkness that has invaded our life light.

AUTUMN EQUINOX -Alban Elfed

Once again we have reached the point of balance, night and day are equal in length.( 23rd sept)The leaves are beginning to fall and the Equinox tides and winds may bring storms and floods.
The last harvests of fruit and vegetables are now in and it is time to accept what we do and don't have and what we have achieved.
Equinoxes can bring many unexpected things and many may find their lives reaching an unexpected turning points in spring, so it is necessary for a good autumn clean out.
We spring clean in order to make way for new growth but in autumn it is to make way for reflection and study.

Why in Autumn do we want to match the animals in
nature and hibernate?
The energy on the planet changes.
This energy is called life-force energy, Christ-force energy, Universal energy, Supreme Being's energy.
In the Autumn this energy is drawn down into the Earth. Outwardly, the leaves are drawn off the trees. Inwardly, we experience feeling drained.
But the good news is that the energy that is draining is most likely not our own anyway. We took on someone's energy (thoughts, emotions) and obligingly, or in most cases, ignorantly carried it around, until the fall season draws our attention back to ourselves where we experience a change in energy within and around us. That is one of the purposes of the seasons, to be different from all the others so that we notice changes we might not have if everything stayed the same.
Each season prompts us to reflect (go inward).
It makes us pause to review our lives.
With Autumn equating to the harvest time of year, what have we harvested in our lives? Well, it depends what type of seeds we have planted.
We are farmers with our thoughts, ideas and emotions as much as a farmer who uses soil as his medium. That is why it is so important to put our attention on what we truly want to experience, and then create the correct atmosphere (attitude or medium) for that to manifest. Autumn is the season between Summer (the season with lots of activity) and Winter (hibernating, slowing down time),a balancing time, equal time.
In Winter we plant our seeds (do our mock-ups or New Years resolutions). In Spring they sprout, in Summer they mature, and in Autumn, they are harvested. So like seeds in the ground, our ideas are also nurtured and grow, through the combination of cosmic and earth energies.

Not only is it harvest time, but it is also time to prepare for the next season of crops (mock-ups).
The Autumn Equinox symbolizes harvest time outwardly and inwardly.
Because the Autumn Equinox happens during the time of year when people generally slow down, it is a great time to get rid of all the excess baggage before New Years so we can start anew with a clean slate.

We may notice that many of the creatures around us are making preparation for winter, birds are migrating and squirrels and hedgehogs are gathering food and preparing nests for hibernation.
The darkness is increasing and energy levels begin to drop so we may have to accept that we may not feel like making any great achievements and instead prefer to curl up in our warm and cosy home for some inward reflection.
So celebrate making wine, gathering dried herbs, plants, seeds and seed pods, walking in the woods, scattering offerings in harvested fields, offering libations to trees, adorning burial sites with leaves, acorns, and pine cones to honor those who have passed over!

ALBAN ELFED

Autumn Equinox, Fall, Second Harvest, Mabon, pronounced MAY-bon , after the welsh god Mabon ap Modron, which literally means 'son of mother', Michaelmas, the feast of the Archangel Michael all names for a wonderful season!
All the leaves are turning colors and the air is getting a bit crisper.
After today we start heading into the dark half of the year.
This time of the year, we, as Pagans, give thanks for what we have sown.
Not just what we sow in the garden, but what we have sown in everyday life.
Our work, children, relationships. All these things that we have put time and energy into, we give thanks for and reap the benefits.
Mabon appears in 'The Mabinogion' tale. The Druids call this celebration, Mea'n Fo'mhair, and honour the Green Man, the God of the Forest, by offering libations to the trees.

Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time.

The Welsh know this time as 'Alban Elfed', meaning 'light of autumn' or 'light of the water'
The Wheel turns and the time of balance returns,Alban Elfed marks the balance of day and night before the darkness overtakes the light.

Symbols of Alban Elfed are wine, gourds, pine cones, acorns, grains, corn, apples, pomegranates , vines such as ivy, dried seeds, and horns of plenty.
Foods that can be used are: Breads, nuts, apples, pomegranates, and vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Colors are very rich and colorful. Red, orange, russet, maroon, brown and gold are the colors of Mabon.

The time of the second harvest, usually of the fruit which has stayed on the trees and plants to ripen under the Summer Sun. It is this final harvest which can take the central theme of the Alban Elfed ceremony.

Thanking the Earth, in her full abundance as Mother and Giver, for the great harvest, the beginning of Autumn.

We now enter the all-important time of inner growth.

During summer, there was little time for the juices of contemplative creativity to bubble up from deep within us.

Now is the time to prepare for this to occur most fruitfully.

Only when we surrender to our inner nature can we begin to hear the still small voice within, and we must set our outer affairs in order now to be ready when it calls.

Our inner fire burns brilliant and strong to guide our way through shadows long.

Hold sacred and close passion’s fierce flame for when all falls away,

it is our dreams that remain.

- Mara Friedman

The change in the world is becoming obvious now.
A scattering of fallen leaves gathers at the roadside.
The grain harvest has been brought in, and only stubble is left on the fields.
Here and there, leaves are beginning to turn to golden or russet, and the virginia creeper in
next door's garden is beginning to blush scarlet.
The last fruits are being picked, and the Goddess is letting go of this world.
She is turning inward, to look at the mysteries within.
And so must we. It is time to look back over the past year and examine what we have gained and lost.
We are asked to see how we have changed, so that we can take what we have learned
on to another revolution of the Wheel.

LUGHNASADH

Lughnasadh - the Harvest festival in honour of Lugh/Llew, the Sun God.

The Christian church recycled Lughnasadh as the feast of Lamas, a word meaning "loaf mass" from the Anglo-Saxon "hl af-masse". Traditionally on this day a new loaf of bread was offered at mass as the first-fruit of the harvest. In the old days bread was truly your harvest fruit - you tilled the land, planted the grain and watered to soil to make it grow - the making of the Lamas/Lughnasadh loaf was packed with mystical symbolism.
The bread-maker and those who ate it were acutely aware of their relationship with Mother Earth - a relationship not of words but of conscious interaction. Just like the Sun God whose heat has nourished its growth, the grain that goes into bread must be cut down in its prime to be useful. Death is necessary for life to flourish, otherwise life dies. In the past humankind the world over acknowledged this relationship between death and life - harvesting grain for bread and seeds for next year's crop - through ceremonies and rituals. One of the famous ones in Britain is told in the song John Barleycorn.

There were three men came out of the West Their fortunes for to try And these three men made a solemn vow John Barleycorn must die.

The crops are ripening and will soon be cut,the fruit is swelling upon the trees and the land is about to slip into the richness of fall. The growing crop, must die each year in order for the seed to ripen and so yield the harvest.

At this time the sun God is nearing the end of his reign.
The name of the festival (pronounced loo-nus-uh) comes from the druidic festival of Lugh, the Celtic sun God. In some ancient traditions, this is the festival in which the sun God dies, usually in a ritual of sacrifice of some sort. To commemorate him, the ancient peoples of Britain and Ireland held processions, feasts, and athletic games in his honour. It makes more sense if we see this as the beginning of the hunt for Lugh - the chase that will end in the fatal cut that marks his death at Mabon (Fall Equinox), the end of the harvest. With the first cutting of the grain, this was traditionally a feast of bread.

It is tempting to see echoes of ancient human sacrifice, but that is not really what this time is all about. The god does not really die, he continues in the form of next year's growth, he continues in the form of the food and drink he provides for people's sustenance against the coming winter. So who (or what) is it, that is being killed?
What is being killed is the child, to make room for the man.

The period of growth is ended and it is time for the completion of a purpose.

This must happen in all our lives. At one level, we must always remain children, for we never stop learning, we never stop growing. But at another level, we reach a plateau in our development, we step over into a new phase of existence.

In our late teens or early twenties we reach a stage of development of our physical bodies that we call adult. With our new status we acquire certain responsibilities: there are certain aspects, freedoms and liberties, of our childhood that we must lay aside forever so that we may properly fulfil our new role.

So in later life, we reach a state of mental and spiritual growth where we may stop growing for a while and start to make more use of our more developed faculties, for the benefit of others. This is not merely a right, but it is a duty, aresponsibility.

What is all your knowledge and spiritual insight for, if it is not to be used?

Thus, for example, one of us teach. Another may heal. Someone else may be a writer, or an artist, and so on. Some of you may still be looking for your path, not yet quite certain of the way to go on your spiritual journey. This particular time of year, Lammastide, is a good time to be looking for those answers. If you already have the answers, then it is time to put them fully into action.

It is the time of maturity,

of completion of growth,

of the final step towards attainment of purpose

It is an ideal time for completion of projects. Also, like the other major festivals of the old pagan calendar, it is considered to be a time when the veil between our world and the other worlds, the worlds of the spirit, is particularly thin, it especially benefits those projects that are spiritual in nature.

visualisation exercise with the object of bringing about a certain state of events, perhaps to help someone in difficulties or maybe to sort something out in your own lives. This kind of visualisation is usually concerned with the early stages of a project, with getting something off the ground, to a point where you can consciously take over and continue the good work by your own efforts, without the help of outside forces. Then, eventually, your project reaches a state of maturity and you can, indeed must, take on full responsibility for it, just as you take on responsibility for your life when you reach adulthood. But sometimes bringing a project to its intended conclusion can be as difficult as initiating it in the first place. It is not unreasonable for us to request help from higher forces. If the project is worthy, help will be granted. But, you have to ASK.
So, do you have a project that is about to come to fruition, which maybe needs a little final push to get it there? Or, if you are still seeking a direction, is it time that the direction became clear to you? These things are what we will seek to put in hand today, by means of our visualisation.
Lughnasadh: Prepare yourself for meditation in the usual way. Sit comfortably and relaxed. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to cleanse your body and mind of everyday cares and concerns.

Visualise yourself in the countryside, on a warm summer afternoon, surveying a field of ripe, golden wheat. Think about how it will shortly be harvested and baked into delicious fresh bread. Enjoy the beauty of the moment.
Now turn your thoughts to your project, or your question. Form it clearly in your mind, with every detail of where you stand at the moment, and of how you came to be where you are.
Make sure you have every detail of your situation clear in your mind.
Now visualise a successful outcome. What is necessary to complete your project, or to give a satisfactory answer to your question? Let this, too, form clearly in your mind.
Now, quickly dismiss the pictures you have formed in your mind into the ether, and return to normal consciousness. Your petition will be dealt with. Do not think any further about your project or your question for a little while, perhaps a few days, and then the answer or the resolution will come to you.

Now is an appropriate time to take a little refreshment, something to eat and drink. Take a biscuit, or a cookie, or a piece of bread, and break it. As you do so, think of those people in the past, who would celebrate with the eating of new bread, the coming of the first harvest. Feel close to them, and feel close to the time of year, the time of coming to fruition. Then eat in silence, and sip the drink.
Take a few hours, or a few days, to absorb the significance of this meditation. If you wish, you may repeat the meditation several times during the period around the Festival .

EIGHT FOLD YEAR

The purpose of celebrating the eight seasonal festivals is to create a pattern or rhythm in our year that allows for a few hours’ pause every six weeks or so in our busy and often stressful routine, so that we can open to the magic of being alive on this earth at this special time. It gives us a chance to fully enter the moment, to connect with the life of the earth and the land around us, and to feel the influence of the season in our bodies, hearts and minds. If we celebrate on our own, it is a time when we can enter into meditation, perhaps reviewing our life since the last festival, thinking forward to the next one, then returning to open ourselves fully to the Here and Now – soaking in the energies of earth and sky, and the trees and plants around us, and radiating our love and blessings to the Earth and all beings.

Adapted from What Do Druids Believe? by Philip Carr-Gomm, Granta, 2006