A Mystical Beltane

"I unite the powers of the Sun and Moon within me. With my wand I father the Child, with my chalice I mother it. Within me lives the alchemy of this union of opposites. Let the magical child of my creative nature blossom and thrive in the inner and the outer worlds" -- Rite of Beltane, The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids

My nemeton wears the festive colors of the occasion.

Normally I would have my solo ceremony within a week after celebrating the Sabbat with friends. But this time typhoons happened and Hong Kong happened and then laziness and procrastination creeped in until I realized it's only a week away from summer solstice. I can't believe it took me five weeks and and a ritual-making seminar to pull my lazy ass into doing Beltane. Thankfully, OBOD rites are so focused on inner transformations that you can never really be late for them.

The season's themes are fertility, creativity and union. I used my Hindu deity images to represent the male and female energies within and without me. The altar ended up having a distinctive Asian look to it with all the trinkets coming from India, Thailand and Bali. I think it's one of the best-looking (and best-smelling) impromptu altars I have ever created so far, and my camera just couldn't do justice to it.

Since I decided to go Asian-style I did my grounding-and-centering listening to a techno version of the Kali mantra at the start of the ritual and had the Gayatri chant playing in the background during the entire ceremony. All these visual, auditory and olfactory inputs had a tremendously powerful effect to me and I went on a ritual-high in no time. I finished the rite having written pages of inspiration in my journal and still had enough energy to photoshop the ritual photos and write this blog entry. Creativity and fertility indeed. Or it must be the Milo I had as after-ritual food.

Asian-flavored Beltane altar.

"Yemaya Regina", my attempt on pointillist painting, portrays the rape of Yemaya by her own son, Oggun (symbolized as a green phallic fish). The parable reminds me of the Wiccan narrative about the Goddess making love with her child and consort, the Horned God, on Beltane. The painting shows the mystical union of the male and female from which is born Light and Wisdom (hidden here are the Greek words "Phos" and "Sophia").

The left side of the altar is dedicated to the female while the right side to the male. The shiva-lingam, the stones and the wand all represent the masculine creative force and the animus.

The central candle represents me passing through the fires of Beltane each representing the masculine and feminine energies. By the end of the ritual, the central candle will have reached the area by the flowers which symbolize the fruit of the union of the god and goddess within me.

The most important tool many magicians tend to forget about: the journal

Basbasan Nawa!

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Beltane by the Sea

In keeping with our tradition, my friends and I went out for another nature trip to celebrate the Sabbat. We headed this time for the lush island of Potipot in the province of Zambales. It was the farthest journey we've taken so far: we left the bus terminal in Manila in the morning and arrived on the island just before the dark. The trip was extremely exhausting but thankfully we were all well rewarded.

Our Li'l maypole. 

Ate Bet and the Beltane sun.

The beauty of the place was apparent even in the darkness of the twilight. The sea was very calm, and the sound of the gentle waves was like soothing balm to our tired souls. Stars were all a-flicker over the night sky and by our feet glimmer tiny, bioluminescent creatures as we walk by the shore. We were in a setting stolen from a romantic shojo anime.

The Beltane ritual in the morning was short and sweet and was almost just for formality’s sake. The real celebration I believe was the communing with nature itself. I always feel that the gods express themselves better through the elements of nature than with words.

Even though it’s fast becoming a popular tourist spot now, Potipot is still incredibly teeming with living creatures both flora and fauna. The observant Pagan can immediately perceive the essence of Beltane in the land and sea and air:

"...In every aspect, the colorful Sabbat of Beltane stands in contrast with its dark, polar opposite: Samhain. Beltane celebrates union, while Samhain acknowledges separation. In Beltane we reach out, while in Samhain we introspect. Beltane teaches about life and creation, and anticipates those who will be born, while the lesson of Samhain is death and entropy, and commemorates those who have come before." – Murmur’s Pink Cattleya Filler of Shadows

Cam-cam and Rei posing on the Potipot tree.

Incidentally, as Aldrin noted on his blog, the usual Wiccan narratives about the fullness of life on the land doesn’t very well apply to our little tropical country during this time of the year where many farmlands are dried up by the extreme summer heat. But as I realized in our trip, life is still abundant and the harvest is rich but we just have to know where to look:

“...In our case: underwater. I know, many local Wiccans are too caught up with all the earth stuff that we forget we're an archipelago - half of our country is submerged in the sea. Our warm waters seem to be attractive to marine life so fishing activities begin to peak around this time of the year (the absence of rain and anticipation for the Habagat season may also be a factor)." -- Christian Fernandez, Facebook comment

To end this exceptionally long and photo-rich blog entry, here are some useful tips I found to live the spirit of Beltane throughout the years to come. (Note: Some of the tips I don't necessarily agree with): www.wikihow.com/Live-Life-to-the-Fullest

Basbasan Nawa!

The customary summer beach jump shot.

Starting a bonfire is apparently quite tough.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Jumping over the bonfire - with style.

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