 Greetings & Beltane Blessings to Alll This is our Beltane Issue it will consist of lore for the season, craft ideas, spells, notions and potions, and much more. We hope you enjoy it and recommend it to others.
Beltane/Beltaine/May Day History
This is just a short rehashing of the pertinent information about the history of the Sabbat. Most of you already saw this info last year.
Beltane has been translated many ways. One translation is "Bel-fire" or "Bel's fire." Bel, Beli, Belanos, Balar or Belinus is the ancient Celtic god of light and fire. This god's actual name may not have been Bel, as Bel could well have been a title, a term of respect, as some scholars trace the name back to the Middle Eastern Baal and translate it as meaning "Lord." As the Bright or Shining One, Bel can also be connected to Lugh. The name might also derive from bel-dine, "dine" meaning cattle, because newborn cattle were sacrificed on this day to Bel or Bial.
The word Beltane corresponds to the modern Irish Gaelic word Bealtaine, the name of the month of May, and to the Scottish Gaelic word Bealtuinn meaning May Day.
Other names For the Day and the celebrations are:
May 1: Rudemas/Roodmas, Rood Day (the Christian term for Rood Day), St. Walburga's Day; Beltane, May Day, Cetsamhain (opposite Samhain), Cershamain, Fairy Day, Sacred Thorn Day, Old Beltane, Beltaine, Beltain, Baltane, Walpurgis Night, Floriala (Roman feast of flowers from April 29 to May 1), Walpurgisnacht (Germanic-feast of St. Walpurga), Thrimilce (Anglo-saxon), Bloumaand (Old Dutch) This holiday like many of the sabbats start on the eve and is celebrated thru the following Day.
There are no consensus on how the name was derived at but it is agreed that this Sabbat honors the fertility and creation.
This was also a time when many cultures light Bale fires. In some places that is still an honored tradition.
Beltane Poster |
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Beltane Customs and Practices  Fire festivals
Fire was believed to have purifying qualities - it cleansed and rejuvenated both the land and the people.
The ritual welcoming of the sun and the lighting of the fires was also believed to ensure fertility of the land and the people.
Animals were transferred from winter pens to summer pastures, and were driven between the Beltane fires to cleanse them of evil spirits and to bring fertility and a good milk yield. The Celts leapt over Beltane fires - for fertility and purification.
Young men would circle the Beltaine fires holding Rowan branches to bring protection against evil - its bright berries suggested fire - malign powers were considered particularly active at the year's turning-point.
It was considered unlucky to allow anyone to take fire from one's house on May Eve or May Day, as they would gain power over the inhabitants.
A Beltane fire festival is held annually in Edinburgh, at Calton Hill on 30th April - a May Queen and Green Man, representing Beltane fertility and renewal lead the celebrations on the hillside.
Bringing in the May
In old England, the young people went out into the woods on May Day Eve and stayed all night, returning in the morning, laden with flowers and green branches. The Puritan writer, Philip Stubbes, has an interesting way of explaining the nature of the sacred rites which took place in the woods: I have heard it credibly reported by men of great gravity, credit and reputation; that of forty, threescore or a hundred maids going to the woods over night, there have scarcely the third part of them returned home again undefiled.
Ben Jonson writes “Out of my doors, you sons of noise and tumult, begot on an ill May-day.” The children of May marriages were often called Jackson, Hodson or Robinson since they were the children of the Jack in the Green, Hod (a woodland sprite) or Robin Goodfellow (or Robin Hood, another form of the Green Man).
Many May Day customs involve flowers and green branches. Flowers are woven into wreaths to exchange as gifts between lovers or to hang on doors as decoration. Or flowers are placed in baskets and left on doorsteps for the recipients to find when they arise in the morning. Hawthorn is particularly auspicious since it begins blooming when the weather is warm enough for planting. Anyone who went out into the woods and found a branch of flowering hawthorn (also called may) would bring it triumphantly into the village (thereby bringing in the May) and announcing the start of planting season. However there were warnings about bringing hawthorn into the house, since it would invite the fairies in. Sometimes flowers were given as messages: plum for the glum, elder for the surly, thorns for the prickly, pear for the popular.
May Poles and Dances
The Maypole is a symbol with many meanings. Often celebrated as and considered a phallic symbol, it also resembles the garlanded trees associated with moon goddesses. In the Phyrgian rites of Attis, celebrated around the spring equinox, a fir tree was chopped down, wrapped in a shroud and placed in a tomb. Resurrected three days later, it was decorated and danced around. In some places, May Day ceremonies took place beneath a sacred tree, which was not uprooted. These trees represented the world-tree, the axis between heaven and earth.
In Italy, May Day was celebrated by tying lemons and ribbons around flowering branches and brining male and female trees to be married in the piazza, according to Carol Field in Celebrating Italy. Field reports that men in Tuscany and young women in Piedmont sing in May with rhyming songs called maggiolate. In Assisi, two sections of the city compete by singing love songs, a custom which she traces back to the Celtic Campi de Maggio, battlefields of May, the time when the weather was nice enough for war again (or perhaps an early version of a tournament). Some scholars believe that the love poetry of the troubadours originated in the love poems associated with May Day. The Welsh medieval poets loved to write long poems rhapsodizing about spending May in a green bower with a lovely lass.
The Maypole dance is a round dance of alternating male and female dancers, weaving in and out in a maze movement, plaiting ribbons as they go. Maypole dances fulfilled social and sacred functions. They helped people flirt and mingle socially. They also raised energy in a patterned and focused way.
In England, May Day was also an occasion for Morris dancing and mummer's plays. Scholars have speculated that the exaggerated leaps of the Morris dancers serve as charms to show the crops how high to grow (similar dances are reported from early Roman times) and the clashing of their sticks may represent a ritual battle between summer and winter. The mummer's plays feature odd character including Green (or St) George, a hobbyhorse (or dragon), a male/female, a teaser, a jester and chimney sweeps with their brushes. Sometimes the hobbyhorse has coal under his skirts and he tries to trap young women under them. Only those who are marked with coal can dance around the maypole. Sometimes the play portrays a battle between summer and winter. Summer squirts winter with water and seizes the garland from winter and presents it to the May Queen.
Beltane Greetings from Ravenhawks' |
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Beltane Correspondences  Herbs and Plants of Beltane
Lily of the valley, foxglove, rose, broom, Hawthorne, Dittany of Crete, elder, mint, mugwort, thyme, yarrow, almond tree/shrub, clover, ivy, marigold, meadowsweet, rowan, sorrel, woodruff
Colors
Red, White, Brown, Pink, Green
Incense and Oils
frankincense, lilac, passion flower, rose, or vanilla
stones
Emerald, malachite, amber, orange carnelian, sapphire, rose quartz
Animals and Mythical Beings
Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx, leopard, goats, rabbits, and honey bees
Mythical beasts associated with Beltane include faeries, pegesus, satyrs, and giants.
Goddess
Bast, Faunus, Flora, Maia,Aphrodite, Arianrhod, Artemis, Astarte, Venus, Diana, Ariel, Var, Skadi, Shiela-na-gig, Cybele, Xochiquetzal, Freya, and Rhiannon
God
Apollo, Bacchus, Bel/Belanos, Cernunnos, Pan, Herne, Faunus, Cupid/Eros, Odin, Orion, Frey, Robin Goodfellow, Puck, and The Great Horned God.
Symbols
Eggs; Flowers; Chalice; May Pole; Butterchurn; Chaplet; Baskets; Crossroads; Strings of beads; Ribbons
Foods
Dairy, Oatmeal cakes, Cherries, Strawberries, Wine punches, Green Salads
Activities
Handfastings or Weddings, games, activities of pleasure, leaping bonfires, making garlands, May Pole dance, planting seeds, walking one’s property line, feasting
Spellwork
fertility, love, spiritual communion/closeness with deity, safety, prosperity, conservation. divinations of all types and completion of that started at Ostara.
Seasonal Candles |
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Notions, Potions and Spells  Herb/Plant~~Hawthorn
Botanical: Crataegus oxyacantha (LINN.)
Family: N.O. Rosaceae
The Hawthorn is the badge of the Ogilvies and gets one of its commonest popular names from blooming in May. The Hawthorn is called Crataegus Oxyacantha from the Greek kratos, meaning hardness (of the wood), oxcus (sharp), and akantha (a thorn). The German name of Hagedorn, meaning Hedgethorn, shows that from a very early period the Germans divided their land into plots by hedges; the word haw is also an old word for hedge. The name Whitethorn arises from the whiteness of its bark and Quickset from its growing as a quick or living hedge, in contrast to a paling of dead wood.
This familiar tree will attain a height of 30 feet and lives to a great age. It possesses a single seed-vessel to each blossom producing a separate fruit, which when ripe is a brilliant red and this is in miniature a stony apple. In some districts these mealy red fruits are called Pixie Pears, Cuckoo's Beads and Chucky Cheese.
Parts Used
Dried haws or fruits
Medicinal Uses
Cardiac, diuretic, astringent, tonic. Mainly used as a cardiac tonic in organic and functional heart troubles. It is used in particular for angina.and the treating of coronary artery disease. It improves heart function and is useful for mild congestive heart failure and irregular heartbeat. Hawthorn is a valuable remedy for high blood pressure it is additional effective in raising low blood pressure. Both flowers and berries are astringent and useful in decoction to cure sore throats. A useful diuretic in dropsy and kidney troubles. Combined with Ginkgo it is used to enhance poor memory.
Magickal Properties
Planet: Mars and Venus
Symbolism: Purification, sacred marriage and male-female unity
Element: Fire
Gender: Masculine
Powers:Romance, Fertility, Faery Magick, Fishing Magic, Happiness, Divination, Chastity,
Hawthorn flowers have been used to increase fertility and are incorporated into hand fasting and Weddings this time of year.
The leaves are belived to insure chastity and are often used for this purpose.
Carried in a sachet during a fishing trip it is said to ensure a good catch. Worn or carried it promotes happiness in the depressed, troubled or sad. Use for protection, love and marriage spells
Stone~~Malachite
Energy: Receptive
Element: Earth
Planet(s): Venus
Power(s): Power, Protection, Love, Peace, "Business Success
Steady pulsing electromagnetic energy. (High copper content) Malachite and azurite are the same chemical, practically, Copper Carbonate. The only difference is the ordering of the elements in the molecule.
Malachite is a stone of transformation and helps with change and spiritual evolution. It can clear and activate all chakras, as well as balance them. Malachite is a stone that bridges the energy of the heart and root chakras. It is particularly useful for balancing and clearing the heart chakra. As such, it helps balance pure love, romance, and one's own well-being. Malachite is a stone of good fortune and prosperity/abundance, too. Malachite is also a very protective stone, being especially helpful for general protection, protection from evil, protection during pregnancy and childbirth, and protection for children. It is also an excellent protection stone during flying and other travel. Using this stone, one can counteract self-destructive romantic tendencies and help encourage true, pure love.
Medicinal Benefits
Malachite is good for enhancing emotional stability and balance in general. It can decrease one's tendency to radiation illness, asthma, arthritis, and tumors.Stimulates physical and psychic vision, concentration. For heart and solar plexus centers: Stomach, liver, kidney stones, lungs, immune system, radiation, MS, circulation. Powerful healer with azurite or chrysocolla for healing: Releases and draws out pain, inflammation, depression, anger; heals blocks. Protects well by powerfully cleaning the auric field, rapidly absorbing undesirable energies, including: computer, TV, and other radiation, etc.
Color~~White
ELEMENT= Air
DIRECTION = East
White is all color in perfect balance and harmony. It is the color of the
awakened Spirit; the light of perfection; It is also the Divine Light.
Used widely for divination, achieving high spirituality, protection, increasing psychic powers, healing, seeking for the truth in a situation, peace, and purification Consecration rituals, meditation, exorcism, healing, clairvoyance, spiritual strength, lunar energies . Because of its mutability, can be used in any ritual or spell or as an enhancement to the objective. In Candle magick the white candle may be substituted for any color candle needed.
White is precise, critical, and sincere. In Egypt, it symbolized purity, femininity, and the Moon, contrasting with the masculine red. Red and white are the traditional May Pole ribbon colors.
Business Prosperity
To increase your business cash flow, hold a piece of aventurine in your dominant hand during the waxing Moon. Concentrate on money flowing into your business, and cast an enchantment through the stone by saying:
“Money come, money grow; increase my money flow. Fill my cash box to the top; then may it never stop.”
Place the stone in your cash register or bank bag.
[Note: renew your spells as needed]
RITUAL FOR FERTILITY
Moon Phase: Waxing to Full
Time of day: The time you are usually most creative, for me it is the morning
Props: Sandalwood incense for mental fertility, Peach incense for physical fertility.
Tools: Incense burner.
Gods/Goddesses to Call (choose 1 or 2): Diana, Freyer, Ishtar, Liber, Liberia, Brigit, Cerridwen, Cernunnos.
Food and Drink: Salad of shredded carrots, cucumber, and rice with an olive oil and garlic
dressing (served cold, use brown rice) a banana for dessert.
Tea: Peach
Do what you need to do to prepare for ritual. cast a circle and invoke your deities.
State your purpose and goal. Make it VERY specific.
Light your incense. Imagine the incense filling that part of you that you wish fertility to touch.
It must fill you, grow around you and touch every part of you.
Starting in the east you face each of the four directions imploring them:
East: "Watchtowers of Air send your winds to wash the stagnant part of me away"
South: "Watchtowers of Fire send your heat to fire my (brain, womb, loins)"
West: "Watchtowers of Water fill me with fertility
North: "Great Goddess, Mother, I make me as fertile as your rainforests, your oceans
you are fill me with life and hope"
Lie on the floor head toward the north arms and legs outstretched. If you are not alone
have your significant other or coven mates place their hand above your loins (not touching)
or head and send you healing energy.
"Oh great _____ I implore you to fill me with ripened fruit that I may bear __________.
Fill my (womb/loins/mind) with power and light."
Feel your body fill with power. Feel the power emanate from the place you wish to be fertile.
Kneel before your alter: The HPs blesses the food and tea.
You eat the food with your fingers imagining the food feeding that which about you is infertile,
you then drink the tea in one draught. (This is not meant to be a meal, merely fill you with the
energy of the food).
Close your circle in a normal manner. Ground and center.
If you are doing the spell to be physically fertile be sure and have unprotected sex within 24 hours.
*for female physical fertility this spell should be done 14 days after a woman's cycle begins.
For a man it does not matter.
Circle of Flame Bath Salts For Love
1 cup salt
4 drops musk oil 8 drops violet oil
4 drops of rose oil
close container and shake vigorously until blended.
Fertility Incense
Basil 1/2
Dragons Blood Resin 1/2
Holly 1/4,
Pine 1
Juniper 1/4
Beltane Incense
3/4 part Benzoin
1/2 part Rose
1/2 part Rosemary
3/4 part Sandalwood
few drops Lemon Verbena oil
[part =cup/Tablespoon/teaspoon]
Seasonal Incense Blend |
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Foods to Celebrate Beltane/May Day May Day Maple Hearth Bread
Ingredients:
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup warm water (105ºF-115ºF)
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
Instructions:
Dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening. Add the syrup to the yeast mix and let the syrup dissolve too. Now add yeast mix to the flour mix; stir. Add flour until dough is easy to handle. Turn onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes. Form into round, place on cookie sheet. Let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Slice pleasing image into bread top. Bake for 30 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped. Loaf can be brushed with syrup or butter during last 5 minutes of baking.
Note: This bread is quite dry without something to moisten it, so definitely serve it with butter. Also, your bread will have trouble rising if the syrup is too cold! Warm up the syrup if it has been in the refrigerator, it should be room temperature or warmer
Faery Sweet Breads
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
1 cup candied fruits
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon rose water
Combine the flour, egg, baking powder, rose water, and buttermilk in a good sized bowl, stirring until they are well blended. Next, fold in the candiedfruits so they are distributed evenly in the dough. If the dough seems sticky, add more flour until you can work it easily with your fingers.
Shape heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough into four leaf clovers. Place on a greased cookie sheet at 350*F for about 10 minutes, until fully raised and slightly browned. Drizzle a little honey on top while cooling.
Beltane Marigold Custard
Ingredients
cups milk
1 cup unsprayed marigold petals
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 to 2-inch piece vanilla bean
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. rose water
whipped cream
Using a clean mortar and pestle reserved for cooking purposes, pound marigold petals. Or, crush with a spoon. Mix the salt, sugar and spices together. Scald milk with the marigolds and the vanilla bean. Remove the vanilla bean and add the slightly beaten yolks and dry ingredients. Cook on low heat. When the mixture coats the spoon, add rose water and cool. Top with whipped cream, garnish with fresh marigold petals.
Vanilla Aphrodisiac Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
15 whole cloves
15 cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla pod, split
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
honey to taste
Place milk, cloves, cardamom, and cinamon in a suacepan. Scrape in vanilla seeds from pod. Heat milk but do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then refrigerate until chilled. Strain milk into a blender goblet and discard spices. Add frozen yogurt and and honey to taste. Blend until smooth and frothy.
Short-Cut Meade (Pan-Celtic)
1/2 gallon water
1-1/2 cups raw honey
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice, rounded
1/2 cup Everclear (R)
Slowly heat all ingredients together --- except the alcohol --- in a large stock pot. As the honey melts, an oily crust will form on the top of the meade. You can leave it there, for some feel this adds to the full-bodied texture of the meade, while others will tell you to skim it off. Do not allow the meade to come to a roiling boil. When it is well blended, remove from the heat, stirring occasionally until it settles. When it has cooled, add the Everclear (R) and serve.
Chicken with Figs
One 3 to 3 1/2 pound chicken, cut into pieces
12 ounces Greek-style dried figs, soaked and drained
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375° F. Arrange chicken pieces in large deep roasting pan. In medium bowl, combine figs and remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve honey. Pour mixture over chicken. Bake chicken about 1 hour, or until tender and browned, turning once and basting occasionally with pan juices.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
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Beltane Crafts Easy Wreath for Your Head
Need:Gold, silver or other benedable garland found in stores at Yuletide/Xmas-this usually comes in stars, holly and other such designs Curling ribbon
Measure around the head. Measure a piece of garland the same length plus 6 inches. Over lap 3 inches of each end and wrap one end around the other as tightly as possible. Cut lengths of curling ribbon about 4 feet long and tie onto the back side of the wreath. Tie so the ends of the ribbon are even and spaced about 1 inch apart. about one third of the way around. Curl the ribbons. Wear.
May Cone Basket
You will need: construction paper, glue or tape. Out of bright colored construction paper, cut a circle that is about 12 inches in diameter, then cut a triangle or wedge out of the circle, allowing for a 1/2 inch overlap. Roll the paper into a cone and glue or tape the two sides together. Cut a strip of construction paper that is appox. 12 inches by 2 inches. Glue or tape it onto the top of your cone to make a handle. Fill your cone basket with real or homemade flowers and hang it on a neighbor's or friend's doorknob in the early morning while everyone is asleep.
House Happy Charm
This is a small sachet pillow stuffed with good things, an excellent gift when people newly in love move in together. All the while you’re assembling it, focus on their hopes, dreams and your bright wishes for their hearth. Make a small pillow (5×5 square) from an interesting material. Leave one end open for stuffing.
Gather, mix and empower the following herbs:
Sage and Sandlewood for blessing and protection
Lavender for domestic tranquility
Rose petals to honor their love
Vervain for bright witchery
A couple drops of cinnamon oil.
Stuff the pillow and sew the open end shut
Decorate as desired
In sacred space, dedicate it under the auspices of the Lord and the Lady.
If you're blessing your friends home for them, include the pillow in the ritual. If they're doing their own home blessing, offer it as a house warming gift.
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Children's Corner  Reading level: Ages 4-8
An Ordinary Girl - A Magical Child (Library Binding)
by W. Lyon Martin
Library Binding: 48 pages
Publisher: Magical Child Books (January 5, 2008)
Language: English
Review:If you re looking for some type of small gift for a certain little Pagan boy or girl, this book will do nicely. It presents a story of an ordinary little seven-year-old daughter, Rabbit, whose parents (a mom and a dad) are Pagan. Thus various Pagan concepts and experiences are seen and observed through Rabbit s eyes. The author, Ms. W. Lyon Martin, also made the illustrations for her book. My nine-year-old daughter loved these drawings.
Ms. Martin writes The purpose of this book is to remove some of the mystery surrounding an often misunderstood minority religious choice ... It is meant as a basic text, to explain to the elementary-age child who Pagans are, what they do, and how and why they do it.
In fact, this is a great read a Pagan parent can share with his/her child; whereas children a bit older can read it themselves. Right from the start, page two, the Pagan religion is presented as a group of people who honor nature and celebrate the four seasons. No Hollywood version of Pagan or witchcraft weirdness is found in this book.
Each of the topics in Rabbit s story covers another page. Again, the information is short and to the point to hold a child s attention span. It begins with a child version of a Paganing Ceremony, although I ve heard this also called a Wiccaning. The idea of a God and Goddess is also established. As in the thought, each of us may give ours a different name, depending upon one s particular pantheon or which season Rabbit is in at the moment.
What is Magic? Special prayers that use thoughts and their energy. Energy changes when Pagans make magic. Then new things happen.
What are Circles? How to prepare, participate in and close a circle are easily explained.
The Wheel of the Year. Lots of fun for our little Rabbit here as each Sabbat is introduced and explained in a few paragraphs. As the seasons seamlessly flow into each other, so do the Sabbats come and go, too, beginning with winter s Imbolc to continue with spring equinox's Ostara. Beltaine s next with its maypole. Then summer solstice or Litha, Lughnasadh, then a fall equinox or Mabon. A fun Samhain continues the wheel, ending with a winter solstice or Yule.
Even the four moon phases are touched on. Sprinkled in this section is also Rabbit s encounter with fellow students taunting and how to handle such in a positive manner.
A few basic rituals are talked about, such as a home blessing, a Full Moon, and banishing bad dreams. As with many children s books I have read with my two daughters, where the story ends with the character going to bed to have peaceful dreams, this book ends on the same happy note. In conclusion, this is a great book to read at a child's bedtime.
Craft Ideas Pretend Leis
Here is a fun activity for younger children or for those who live in areas where flowers are not readily accessible. These "pretend" ones look very much like the real thing, especially if you use white or yellow straws
Flower Leis
Materials Construction Paper cut in 2" squares (Pastel colors & white) Drinking straws cut in 1" pieces String or yarn (1 yard for each child) White glue or masking tape Hole Punch
Prepare string in advance by dipping about 1" of each end in white glue and allowing it to dry OR wrap each end with masking tape. This will give the children a firm end to hold and will make stringing the leis easier.
Fold each 2" square of construction paper in fourths and cut to form petals.
Punch a hole in the center of each flower
Alternating flowers and straw pieces, string your lei. It is easiest to start at the center and work toward each end.
When the string is covered to within 3" of each end, tie the ends together in a knot.
Reading level: Ages 9-12
A Wrinkle in Time (Paperback)
by Madeleine L'Engle (Author)
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Square Fish (May 1, 2007)
Language: English
review:One stormy night a strange visitor comes to the Murry house and beckons Meg, her brother, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin OKeefe on a most dangerous and fantastic journeya journey that will threaten their lives and our universe.
Craft Idea
5-Minute Birdbath
Create a splash with this easy-to-make birdbath
Overturn two different sizes of terra-cotta pots, stacking them in the garden. (A 12-inch pot atop a 16-inch pot works well.) Set saucer atop containers. Fill the basin with water to attract birds.
[may be painted using acrylic paints and designs of your choice to make a nice summery design.)
Books |
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Books  The Voice of Fate vs. The Voice of Destiny
By Robert Ohotto
It’s human instinct to reach for the familiar, but the soul is here for experience, not security. A life without risk, loss, death, and pain is hardly vitalized. The more we resist the call to adventure, the more we fate ourselves to suffering of the worst kind. In such cases, the Universe will often deliver increasingly drastic events until we finally give up the ego’s hold on our soul’s schedule and allow the next chapter of our purpose - our Destiny - to unfold.
It’s at this juncture of resisting our Divine timeline that many of us reach a threshold, often catalyzed by an outer fated event. We’ve come to know it as the dark night of the soul. Yet I always felt that this phrase was a bit of a misnomer because it’s the ego, our self-concept, which is actually being set adrift into the unknown. It’s here that a part of it must die so that something new from the soul can enter in. And it’s the ego that experiences the inherent fear of this change, not the soul. Thus I call this process of entering a transitional space where some new creative aspect of the soul is beginning to birth into your ego structure - which demands that your old self-concept reshape - the dark night of the ego!
Buy Book Here |
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Poetry Corner 
The country ever has a lagging Spring,
Waiting for May to call its violets forth,
And June its roses--showers and sunshine bring,
Slowly, the deepening verdure o'er the earth;
To put their foliage out, the woods are slack,
And one by one the singing-birds come back.
Within the city's bounds the time of flowers
Comes earlier. Let a mild and sunny day,
Such as full often, for a few bright hours,
Breathes through the sky of March the airs of May,
Shine on our roofs and chase the wintry gloom--
And lo! our borders glow with sudden bloom.
- William Cullen Bryant, Spring in Town, 1850
Prithee, smite the poet in the eye when he would sing to you praises of the month
of May. It is a month presided over by the spirits of mischief and madness. Pixies
and flibbertigibbets haunt the budding woods: Puck and his train of midgets are
busy in town and country.
In May, nature holds up at us a chiding finger, bidding us remember that we are
not gods, but overconceited members of her own great family. She reminds us
that we are brothers to the chowder-doomed clam and the donkey; lineal scions
of the pansy and the chimpanzee, and but cousins-german to the cooing doves,
the quacking ducks and the housemaids and policemen in the parks.
- O' Henry, The Month of May
It's May! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
Those dreary vows that ev'ryone makes,
Ev'ryone breaks.
Ev'ryone makes divine mistakes!
The lusty month of May!
- Lerner and Lowe
Invocation
by Patricia Telesco
Feathered winds come dance with me
Lift me from the ground.
Join my waltz, my spirit, freed
As we're upward bound.
Tongues of flame come jump with me
Ye purifying fires,
Join my joy, my playful glee
As we move yet higher.
Tears from seas, come sing with me
Roll from out the caves,
Join my verse, my body cleansed
In your healing waves.
Mother Earth come laugh with me
Set aside your toils,
Join my chant of forests green
Secure me in rich soil.
Earth and Air, Fire and Sea
I call you all, come dance with me!
Grant me now a sacred space
While working magic in this place
Deep Within A Faerie Forest |
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Sincerely,
--The Team at (Ravenhawks')
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