Magickal Circle

Wow, I can’t believe Beltane is around the corner.  For some reason, I really like Beltane. I guess it is the wheel opposite from Samhain so it’s just about that time. Perhaps it is the symbols of fucundity that abound this holiday. For some reason, I just want to be able to go out in a field somewhere where there is no one around, build a fire and then make love all night.  I guess I will have to settle for a candle in my bedroom, but I suppose I could imagine………

What are your plans for Beltane?

Wow, I can’t believe that another year is almost over.  Yule is almost here but I sort of end up celebrating Christmas with my family. My parents have no idea that I am pagan now and it just sort of makes it easier to go with the flow. My siblings aren’t aware either except for my one sister and she doesn’t really understand either. So it is my husband and myself that will have to celebrate Yule.

I feel like I am a terrible Pagan. About as bad as I was a Christian.  I say that because I hardly ever went to church and if I did it was only on a major holiday. Being Pagan, I try to recognize the full moon by at least lighting a candle. But I never do ritual ’cause I guess I feel like I will do it wrong or something. I realize that the Goddess will understand and it is the thought that counts but I don’t want to be disrespectful either. But I do have to say that I think my life is so much better since I have allowed the goddess into my life.  So I say that it is a good thing and I find a certain amount of peace. I believe that my husband feels the same way.

But I guess that I feel so much of a hippocrit celebrating Christmas.  I can’t say to my family that I don’t celebrate Christmas anymore. They’d look at me like I have two heads.  The best thing I think is to just go with that flow. It’s a time of family and love, as I look at it and it shouldn’t matter what your beliefs are.  How have others dealt with this. I’d like to hear what you have experienced

We are fast approaching Samhaim. One of my favorite holidays. I love getting dressed up. I plan to go to work in costume again this year. I went last year as the queen. I make my own costumes and had a crown and everything. It was cool but I was the only one who dressed up. This year I plan to go as a belly dancer which works out as halloween is on a Wednesday, the same day as belly dancing class. The instructor is having Goddess night, which almost makes me question what her beliefs are. I think she might be Pagan but not necessarily Wiccan. We can wear costume, makeup, bindi’s ( that’s the thing on your forehead between your eyes.) basically anything different than the usual. It out to be fun. Then she is going to have a Halloween ball the Saturday the 3rd. There will be a band and dancing and the teacher is going to perform. I have never seen her do a performance but she moves so well when she demonstrates in class. I think it will be alot of fun.

Does anyone else have plans that day? I’d be interested to hear about it.

Sunday is Mabon or Fall Equinox. You think I might be prepared- for a change. Of course not. But alas- it is not too late. I already have the ritual from Beltane that I wrote but we never used. Most of it was pretty generic except for the Beltane part, of course. I’ve never been a big one for doing ritual but feel that I want to, need to. It’s not that I feel bad or anything but that I want to be more in touch with the goddess. I don’t know but it is hard to explain. So it’s something to work on tomorrow. I plan to be recording old vinyl records to CD. It will be a time consuming process but I will finally get to listen to some of the old collection. While they play I can work on some of this stuff. A win win in my book. Have a great holiday.

Oh, what a poor Pagan I turned out to be. The holiday totally escaped me.  I was so busy with Bellydancing and  making plans to do some sewing and working. Working on getting my new position at work and sort of caught up on it rather than the holiday.  I really need to pay more attention!

I’ve been so caught up in getting this new position at work, I’ve just been lost in thought of that.  Plus, I haven’t cracked the witches almanac in a bit either.  Plus bellydancing. Whoo hoo, what fun that is. I am still trying to convince my body that it is posible to do that which I am asking of it.  I had fun at a seminar too even if I could only hope I could learn how to do some of these moves, but I digress….

About the only thing we are harvesting at out house are cherry tomatoes as the other tomatoes have set but I am sure we won’t see any of those until September. We will keep getting tomatoes until  November and  first frost.  Kind of nice when the store ones are already yucky we can have some nice fresh ones. And horseradish- must harvest the horseradish. It’s getting out of control it has become so large.  I guess just before halloween is the time to grate it. Hmm, tears will be rolling down my face from the pungent fumes from the root.  But it is so good fresh….

I have a postage stamp yard but it looks nice. Not much room for a garden. Just the tomato plants, the horseradish and a rhubarb plant. The rest of the yard has flowers.  I planted cucumber on a trellis growing up once, and made pickles. That was quite a while ago. Don’t seem to have much time these days.  Busy with the store, the house, the chores.  But always have some time for the yard.

Sorry I’ve rambled a bit, my mind is sort of jumbled today. Too much going on in there, or is it the echo that is so distracting……

I sort of elected myself to write ritual for my group of friends for Beltane, which we will celebrate tonight. I find it confusing how some texts say it is April 30 and some May 1st. I figured it was a good exercise which it did turn out to be as I came up with a generic ritual and you just plug in the one working section for whatever holiday or spell work you wish to do. I learned a lot doing it.

As part of this I read about the Five Dragons of Fire, Air, Earth, Water and Spirit. I found this amusing because I myself own five bearded dragon lizards. Not four, not six, but exactly five. It just seems sort of strange that I have this amount and strangely enough, some of their personalities match. At least I think so.

My one lizard, Spike, she lives in her hammock (suspended in air) and so I feel she represents air. She also tends to fly off of her hammock with incentive of a worm.

Rudy represents fire for no other reason than he is red in color

Rocky represents earth. He is the color of a white rock and black rock and he is calm and grounded. Plus I named him Rocky

Casanova represents water. He loves to soak in the water. He was my first living dragon and went through a long illness. He is doing great and has a new lease on life.

Finally there is Spirit and that means Rosie. She has lots of spirit too. She is my spunkiest dragon hands down and quite a character.

I have to learn a bit more about this but I also think that these lizards are my animal totem. I’m crazy about them and the first one I ever saw I fell in love with. They each have their own house and there is a four story high rise plus Rudy has a tall tank where he can climb.

Anyway, I though I’d share my story about my dragons as I though it was kind of neat. Have a great Beltane.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring. I love spring and how I have waited for this time. We are still in the dark days ruled by the God until Beltane on May first.

From Buckland, I have learned that wild flowers should be on or near the altar with a green candle and altar cloth. Hmm. I didn’t realize that you changed the altar clot color too, I though it was just the candles. I guess you can do which ever you want.

As an aside, I am amazed at the variety in the books and writings. I guess this demonstrates the importance of reading from many sources because of the different types of followings within the path.

The is a ritual described in his book for Equinox but I don’t know that I am organized enough yet. I need to read his versions on getting started and initiations.

I keep questioning my decision to follow this path. In my heart of hearts I know this is right. I just have to find my place I suppose.

Has anyone else struggled with this? I would be interested to hear your story.

Imbolic will soon be upon us with the date being February 2nd. I plan to write a ritual to do with my sister-in law and husband. This will be the second ritual I have written. I take what I like from several different books and combine them. I make sure I include all the elements required but it makes it mine. When I did it before, it was for a group of friends and they really liked what I did.  Maybe it’s a sign or something. I like writing so it was kind of fun.  I’ll see how it goes since I only have two days to write it!

I am thinking about the upcoming holiday of Imbolic and want to get it together enough to perform ritual. My friend and sister-in-law came over and I got out by Book of Shadows during our discussion. The person who showed me the Wiccan path was right for me, gave me a Book of Shadows that she had started for me that I could add on to. We were looking through the book and I came across the section on Imbolic and I though I would share some of it.

Celtic Imbolic or Brigid is a time for purification or new beginnings. The word Imbolic refers to the pregnant condition of ewes at Midwinter. Their fertility was a good sign to the Celts who depended on the sheep for food and clothing.

The Sabbat is also called Brigid in honor of the Celtic Triple Goddess, a strong woman symbolized as leading and providing for her people. She is a war goddess, a patron of martial arts, the goddess of fire, poetry, fine arts, smith craft, and the healing arts including midwifery.

Purification rites were performed by the ancient Romans who celebrate Lupercalia in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus. Orgiastic rites were performed to honor her to insure fertility in the coming year. After these rites, naked youth were said to have traveled to local towns to purify them.

The Christian clergy tried to suppress Lupercalia and so they substituted the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin or Candlemas.

For Wiccans today, this can be a time where negative personal relationships and bad habits can be discarded at Imbolic. Those relationships worth saving can be renewed and it is a good time to start new ones. This is a time to clean the house and get rid of the clutter.

Do you have your own ‘rituals’ that you do at this time of year such as cleaning house, visiting friends, making plans for new additions in your life? Please let me hear about what you do to celebrat this holiday.

I apologize-a comment was left and I deleted it by mistake. If you care to post again- it should post right away.

This celebration purpose is banishing the winter season. This is a time to welcome spring, do some spring cleaning and take stock of magickal items on hand.