Beltane Rite

Blessed Beltane.

As promised here is a breakdown of how I celebrated the holiday.
I had work all of May Day, so all of my ritual was performed on Beltane Eve.

Firstly I collected my supplies;

And I began to set my ritual space.
Due to not owning our own house yet, I could not have a full Beltane Bonfire! (One day...One day...)
So, I gathered a collection of candles in a circle, to represent the fires of Beltane.
Fire is a huge part of this rite, as is the Sun God.
The fires of Beltane are said to hold healing, magical properties. For thousands of years, people have jumped the bonfire flames, to rid themselves of illness, to receive mental clarity, or simply to make a wish.

Light all but one candles, and set your incense going.
Cast your circle.

Meditate a little, and ground yourself here.
A common tradition for those not living in towns with pagan traditions is to make their own mini maypole.
The maypole represents the union of the Lord and Lady of the Greenwood, and dancers take ribbons and dance around the pole intertwining them around the pole.

To make my own, I set out this morning with the sun beaming down on me, to the nearby woodland, and collected an appropriate size stick.
Then coming home I collected my ribbons.
Now in this sacred space I've made, I set about wrapping these ribbons around my chosen stick. My mind truly focused on the task, the braiding of the ribbons a therapeutic rhythm.

With this completed, I can set my maypole aside.
Now rise.
And dance in my circle. If you decide to do this ritual; Don't feel silly, or embarrassed, just dance freely. Put on music if you have to, or if you're outside, sense the rhythm of the earth.
Dance for as long as you feel comfortable, and smile while you do so.

Sitting back at my candles, I began to chant.

" I dance delight
On Beltanes Night.
All senses freeing,
I dance for being.
Sun, embrace the earth, Bright
I ask you with this Rite."

I light my one remaining candle in the name of the Sun God, and drink from a chalice of Wine in the name of the Goddess.

And to close my rite, I jumped my candle DIY bonfire, and made a wish!

 *************

Something like this could easily be tailored to your own Beltane celebration.

Enjoy.
Much Love,
Jade

xx

Witch?

I recently listened to a podcast featuring 'Old - Hag', in which she spoke about how so many people claim to be a witch or follow a religion, but don't put anything into it. They are not for lack of a better term 'practicing'.

And this made me think; is this me?

Do I label myself but not follow through?

Do I perform enough magic, to classify as a witch?

The answer is that every time I light a candle, every time I draw down the moon, every time I put my intentions out into the world, every time I wear a crystal for guidance. every time I read tarot, every time I meditate, every time I let the bath water run down the plug hole before leaving the tub, every time I bake with love, every time I use herbs for healing - all of these things are magic.

In my heart I feel so strongly connected to divination and candle magic. I am drawn to mirror magic, and adore reading tea leaves.

It's not a lie, it's not a fad, this is my life - and in every thing I do, you can find my inner witch.

It's inside all of us.

How can it not be, women especially with our connection to the moon and the tide.

We are made of power.

We are the goddess.

I agree with Old-Hag, there are many people of little faith out there from all religions who claim to be something, they simply are not.

But what does your heart say?

You can't expect good things to come from your religion, if you are not practicing.

How does mother earth know you're calling, if you don't take the time to get outside?

Tarot Thursday.

Todays Tarot Thursday comes to you from a rainy hill top, known as Gray Hill.
I roped in a friend for a trek to the top, hoping to re-find the sacred stone circle at its point.
However despite reaching the top, due to the heavens opening down upon us, visibility got difficult, and things got very wet.

So we gave up the search for today, to be resumed in better weather.

I did make time to stop and do a quick reading for you in this magical place.
I'll not lie to you it was very rushed, with rain droplets falling onto my cards, I was very worried about water damage.

For you lovely lot, I pulled

 

 

Seven of Swords

I feel like we've been getting a lot of swords lately. Times of struggle, and challenges are upon us.
Traditionally the seven of swords holds meanings of deception and betrayal. Now is a time to watch your back.
Also there is the possibility of ungrounded fears and confusion leading you to insecurities. Guilt or delusions might be causing you to judge yourself to harshly.
So watch your back, but also have your back. Take responsibility but don't torture yourself over silly fears and imaginary guilt.

When the weather improves, well...if the weather improves, I will go and do a reading for you inside the stone circle. A reading that will be filled with ancient wisdom and magic.

I've also been naughty and ordered 'Brian Frouds' Faerie Oracle Deck - so maybe next Thursday you will have a reading using that instead, for a bit of change.

New Video!

So I've got a new video up on Youtube...finally.

This one is all about witchy reading! Watch it here, or on youtube now.

Let me know what you think?

Do you have any suggestions for reading in this area?