I hope everyone had a very blessed Beltane. I thought I would attempt to express how I celebrate the Sabbat & shine some light on the Dianic meaning & views of the day.
*//* NOTE: My word is my own unique opinion. I do not speak for every Dianic or witch or pagan or anyone else. I encourage you to do some research and trust your own intuition. While I will attempt to give a balanced view, it still comes from my own experiences, study, and wisdom. Thanks!
Beltane takes place on May 1st in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a cross-quarter celebration which falls between the Spring Equinox & Summer Solstice. Beltane is the other side to Samhain. While the theme of Samhain is that of darkness & death, Beltane is that of light & life's energy. Both are believed to be the times of the year when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. Meaning that during Samhain the dead are free to pass into our world & during Beltane it is the fae. Both celebrations are very important and hold great magickal energy.
Traditional Beltane themes include:
- That of FIRE, usually with a large fire lit. The name Beltane even means Bright-Fire.
- A celebration of the warmer weather.
- Flowers which are in bloom
- Fertility & the union of the Goddess & God.
- Faeries, magic & a thin veil
"The Goddess has the power to bring forth life, nurture life, protect life, sustain life, and destroy life. This concept contains nature's entire continuum."1
Beltane for Dianics celebrates the Goddess Diana. Within the Wheel of the Year it's spoke represents the time in women's mysteries for a Maiden to be initiated into womanhood through her menarche or first blood. It is a time where innocence is lost & we begin to awaken to our bodies, our sensuality and sexual feelings.
The Dianic path is very open to creativity & manifest ritual, so there is not a specific ritual beyond that theme. It can easily be adjusted to suit what we need at that moment.
Personally I feel it is a good time for healing ourselves as women. So often our menstruation/moon blood is looked at with shame & embarrassment. Something to be hidden away or worse as a curse. But it is a natural and sacred part of our life's as women. It's presence contains that which enables us to give life.
We can also reinforce the ideal of true beauty and not the airbrushed/photoshopped crap. As the weather warms up it can be a cut to our self esteem as we want to start dressing to recognize the warmth and deal with our hang ups and imperfections.
Another way to honor the day would be with healing of our sexual sides. Through rape, trauma, molestation, guilt, shame, bad body images, etc.... We can choose to be free and take control of our sexuality and our bodies. Heal them, recharge them.
Some ideas to celebrate the day:
- Feasts because food is energy and life and always good to have during a celebration.
- Leaving offerings of food, ribbons, shiny things etc... for the fae.
- Decorate with fresh flowers & the colors- white for innocence, red for blood, and pink for the inbetween.
- Create a Maypole which may be a turn off in its phallic symbolism for Dianics but can be seen also as just a symbol of the festive day (think Christmas tree for non christians) and decorated with white & red ribbons for the joining of balance.
- Save some moonblood or other blood for ritual
- Create & burn red and white candles
- Take a ritual bath, adorn your hair in flowers and do your ritual in the nude to honor your body
- Raise some sexual energy
Now I am going to share some personal stuff here that may be triggering to those who have experienced sexual trauma.
Beltane is a very important celebration of me because of its meaning and healing energy of ourselves as women. Firstly because I suffer from PCOS. Because of this my menstruation is all out of whack. I will have them and then not for a long time. When I do it is usually very painful- like go to the ER painful. It also means that it is very hard for me to conceive. Which is something I want very very badly. It has been a difficult issue in my life and has touched my spirituality deeply. This time of year I am thankful for my health that I do have. I pray and direct healing energy for the rest of the year so that I may heal and find medicine that works and helps.
Secondly I have talked before alittle bit about my panic disorder well a part of it does stem from the fact that I was raped. Trust & intimacy do not flow easily after something like that. I use the time to reflect on my own safe desires & plant the seeds & work on reinforcing safe intimacy, healing and love. I also work on some self love of my body, mind and spirit. Though none of us are perfect or live up to the airbrushed/photoshop ideal of beauty- I AM BEAUTIFUL!
Linkage-
I highly recommend Ariadne's Thread by Shekhinah Mountainwater for her Goddess spirituality Wheel of the Year
I also recommend Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries by Ruth Barrett which has great info as well.
Some cute Beltane crafts
1- quote from Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries by Ruth Barrett
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