May first is the Greater Sabbat of Beltane. It marks the Handfasting of the Great Goddess and Her Horned Lover. It has been celebrated for thousands of years in many civilizations and under many names. This night we see Her as the Glorious Lady wrapped in rainbows. Where she dances the flowers grow and the life force runs strong in every living thing. This is the time of rejoicing, the turning of the year has brought us to the time of growth.
In one of the oldest of the traditions, spring planting begins this night with the women and men of the village making love in the fields to bring fertility. In our time we raise the cone of power to bring fruitfulness of mind as well as the body. We wind the Maypole with ribbons and dance to celebrate the joining of the Goddess and God within ourselves.
See the ribbons as binding your dreams to you. As you move through the ritual you will pass through the obstacles to your dreams and find the ways to achieve them.
We
light the candles, burn the incense, chant the Names...
Let us dream the dreams... Let us see the visions... We call the Names
of the Lady, She who dances in the sunlight, and calls the Earth to
blossom beneath Her feet.
Arida, of the Moon, Astarte, Star Goddess, Aditi, of the Cretan Peoples, Bast, Cat Goddess of the Egyptians, Blanche, White Spirit of the Loire, Branwyn, Warrior Maid, Brigid, of Healing, Smithcraft and Poetry, Cerridwen, Keeper of the Cauldron of Plenty and Rebirth, Diana, Protector of Women, Freya, Beauty of the Norse, Gaia, Earth Mother to the Greeks, Lakshmi, Lady of Abundance, Lirriel, of the Fantasy worlds of Darkover, Isis-Athena, Great Mother to the ancient world, Minerva, Weaver and Protector, Tiamat, Great Dragon of the Sumarians, Vesta, Guardian of the Hearth, Zu-en, who watches over the children of China.
We cast the Circle... We Greet the Lady on this day of wonders!
Lady
of the Winds... Music Maker
Light Bringer... Sister-Maiden...
Be With Us Now!
Lady
of Fire... Hearth Warmer...
Destroyer... Lightning's Bolt...
Be With Us Now!
Lady
of the Waters... Easer of Thirst...
Flood Tide of the Emotions... Rain...
Be With Us Now!
Lady
of the Earth... Corn Mother... Quake-Maker...
Green Robed Spring... Gary Robed Winter...
Be With Us Now!
The
Circle is cast... We are between the Worlds!
In
The Starshine and The Moonlight, there are Dancers
In the Woods, Beside the Waters, there are Dancers
Listen, can you hear the Piping?
Listen, can you hear them call?
Come
and Join us Mortal Children...
In the Oldest Dance of All...
On
the Mountains, in the valleys
Where the Ancient Song was sung
See... A Shadow!
There... A Whisper
Listen... you can hear Them call!
Come
and Join us, Mortal Children...
In the Oldest Dance of All...
Dare
we answer? Dare we follow?
Memories of hate are strong
Dare we join them in the dancing?
Do we still know the Piper's Song?
Come
and Join us, Mortal Children...
In the Oldest Dance of all...
We
can hear You, Wondrous Lady
In our hearts, the Song returns...
And the courage to go dancing...
Wakens to Our Lady's Call.
Come
and Join us, Mortal Children...
In the Oldest Dance of all...
In
The Starshine...
In the Moonlight...
Where only shadows played and sang...
In the Woods...
Near the Waters...
We hear again the Pipers Song
Come
and Join us, Mortal Children...
In the Oldest Dance of all...
Reawaken
in us, Mother...
Memories as old as time...
Let the song and let the dancing
Echo still the ancient rhyme...
Come
and Join us, Mortal Children...
In the Oldest Dance of all...
Breathe in deeply. Hold that breath. Into it put all the disappointments you have felt this year, the obstacles you have hit, the sadness you have felt.
Exhale. As you do, see all the obstacles, sadness, anger-all the negatives you have felt, flow out of you. The cloud of incense and the light of the candles draws all of those negatives into light and fragrance. They're transformed into the energy to grow. Breathe in. Feel the transformed energy flow through you.Let yourself float in the clouds. the Goddess and God take our hands as we join in the circle. Feel the energy you have taken in grow from deep within your belly. This is your creativity, your power to heal, all the positives that you need to make your life better. Let the energy grow and send it on its way through your left hand.
It flows around the circle, where it touches there is a glow, of life, energy... Now let yourself flow outward with your brothers and sisters. We travel to that place between the worlds that is bright with the presence of the Ancient ones. The Goddess spins around us, recreating us, offering Her help as she and the Horned One carry us along... We wander the hillsides of our dreams, pausing to pick flowers, pet the small creatures, rest beneath the great trees. The breezes sing of the love of the Lady. Sun and rain reflect Her.
There is a Maypole standing in a grove nearby. We walk toward it. The nearer we get the more we can see. There are flowers all around the pole forming a great circle. A stone altar stands at the North of the Circle, the sword and chalice upon it. The sweet smell of incense blows to us. We see friends from the past and those we will come to know, all of us gathering to dance the Circle dance on this, the joyous day of the joining of the Goddess and Her Consort. We greet the Circle and see, to our delight that the Lady and the Horned one have joined us. We see the multicolored ribbons fluttering from the top of the Maypole. There are orange ones for health, green and silver for wealth, pink and red for love and joyous sex, blue and white ones for protection and brown ones for success before the law. We chose the ones we want, as many as we want. Handfuls of ribbons fly free from the pole and the ones we hold echo them. Our physical bodies rest as our spirits follow the Lady and the Horned One in the Circle Dance. We weave the ribbons around the Maypole, binding the things they represent to us. The dance grows faster, the energy of our joy and delight rising in us, warm and alive. The energy becomes visible as electric blue light. It pours from hand to hand, around the circle. Even the Circle cannot contain it. It bursts forth lighting the altar and filling the chalice and sword. It flows through them and back into the circle, growing stronger and more beautiful with each moment. The circle grows, spreading its light and energy across the hillside, building bridges between people, between the many lands of the earth. The energy of the sun, moon and stars joins with it. The dance spreads from the confines of the Circle, we join with the life force, all that laughs and loves, here with the magic and energy of the Goddess and ourselves. The ribbons of the Maypole are ribbons of light and shadow, wrapping the worlds, the mundane and spirit, with the warmth and joy of this day.
Let the dance carry you along. Now we gather the ribbons to us, taking the energy into ourselves. There is so much that it spills over, healing, warming our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits. We wrap it around each other, delighting in the feel of caring, the textures of healing. The Circle is alive with light and shadows. We see it glowing and healing. The chalice and sword shine. We take hold of the strength of the Circle and infuse the sword with it. We turn the warmth of our spirits into the apple juice for the chalice and fill it to overflowing. We raise our voices in the Song of the Lady.
Her
Names can not be counted
For all Our Names are Goddess...
Her Face is Change, Unchanging
Our Faces in the Mirror...
Life is... Change is... Change is... Life is...
We
dance the Circle Dance
The Seasons change around us...
Sowing into Growing
Growing into Harvest...
Life is... Change is... Change is... Life is...
In
the Dance of Seasons
See yourself reflected
Maiden into Mother
Mother Grown to Wisdom...
Life is... Change is... Change is... Life is...
The
time of growth is with us
The Lady gives Her blessing
Her Lover dances with us
Their joy is ours, unending
Life
is... Change is... Change is... Life is...
Unicorn Within us
Bring Our Will to Action
In Our Hands Our Future
In Our Hearts be Joy
Life is... Change is... Change is... Life is...
*She
Charges everything She touches, and
Everything She touches, Changes...
Change is, touch is... Touch is, Change is...
Change us, touch us; Touch us, Change us...
Everything
lost is found again,
In a New Form, in a New Way
Everything hurt is healed again,
In a New Life, in a New Day...
*From
"The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk
From Traditions hidden in the mists of time, from tales passed down in precious fragments, from today, and our dreams of tomorrow come our rituals.
We bring the energy and protection, the love and caring created in our circle to fill the cup, the Chalice of the Goddess.
We bring the strength we've discovered in ourselves and each other to fill the Sword of Her Horned Consort.
This
joining is the Energy of Creation itself... We share it as we share
the
Cup!
See the Lady, hear Her Voice.
"Mine the Cup, the Wine of Life... drink deeply, and with Joy!"
We pass the Cup with a kiss.
This sharing sets the seal of the Goddess on our gathering.
Guardians
of the East... Touch us with Intelligence
Guardians of the South... Touch us with Passion...
Guardians of the West... Touch our Hearts...
Guardians of the North... Touch us with Strength...
Lady,
Queen of Air and Darkness...
Lord Consort, Lover of the Shining One...
We thank you for your presence and Protection... As you depart to your Ancient Realms, remember us, and let us remember always the ribbons that wrapped us and the love we feel here in the circle.
Let there be, Peace and Joy, Love and Trust between us always... As Our Will, So Shall It Be!
From
Times Beginnings to Eternity's Endings...
Hail and Farewell, Blessed Be!
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