The Hawthorn

On May 4th, the Celtic Tree Month of Hawthorn began.  The Hawthorn tree is the guardian between the realms and is considered a protective and purifiying tree.  The month of May is also considered a month of lust and passion, probably because of the energies of Beltane which begin the month.

For those of you who are looking for love, this spell I found may open your heart or remove obstacles in finding it this month.

You Will Need:
- Some Hawthorn Blossoms or a picture of a Hawthorn tree
- A pink or lavender candle

Light the candle and say:

Hawthorn tree of power this night,
Open my heart to love's delight,
Free my thoughts and cleanse my mind,
And help me find a true love mine.

Then, scatter the Hawthorn blossoms in the wind or burn the picture and spread the ashes.

- Original spell by Mickie Mueller

Post-Beltane Reflections

This past Saturday I attended my first (large) Pagan group gathering.  A friend of mine was selling her wares at the craft/show portion of the gathering.  I unfortunately did not get to dance around the maypole because I had to proctor the SATs that morning.  Perhaps next year.  I was excited to feel such positive energy from the majority of the people there and I did not really know any of them beyond my small group of friends.

The ritual was wonderful.  Janet and Stewart Farrar, author's of the Witches' Bible, acted as High Priest and Priestess.  I could not of asked for a better Beltane gift.  Now, I did not get as emotional during the ritual as many of the other women there, as I have no interest in conceiving ever anytime in the near future.  I felt the magically energy around me during the ritual, but I could barely hear Janet or Stewart speaking.  Maybe it was because I was directly behind the drums or maybe it was for another reason (I wasn't meant to hear it).  I'm not sure if it was just the drums because my friends were also right behind them and could hear perfectly.  I'm more of the mind that I'm not ready to hear the words of a fertility ritual yet.  Let's just say, I wasn't rubbing the maypole for any reason.  I danced around it, but I dare not touch it.


I hope everyone had an amazing Beltane.  I'm still reeling from all the energy sprang from such a large group.  I never knew magic could feel that powerful.

Beltane

May Eve and May Day or Beltane is one of the four fire festivals in the wheel of the year.  It is a celebration of the sexual union between the Lord and the Lady and is the point where the Lady becomes pregnant with the Lord and he will be reborn at Yule.  The May Pole is the most prevalent symbol of Beltane, but there are other ways to celebrate the coming together of the Goddess and the God.  Even though I'm not a technically a solitary, building a Maypole at my parent's house is not exactly feasible, so I needed a few alternatives.  So, I opened up my copy of Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and found a much more do-able ceremony for Beltane.

If you do not own Cunningham's Guide for Solitary Practitioner, I strongly recommend getting a copy.  It was one of the first three books I purchased when I started my "official" path last summer.  Of all the rituals I've read for Beltane, his is my favorite.  He recommends celebrating in a forest or near a living tree and then cast your circle.  The rest of the ritual is posted below:
Create a small token or charm in honor of the wedding of the Goddess and the God to hang upon the tree.  You can make several if you desire.  These tokens can be bags filled with fragrant flowers, strongs of beads, carvings, flower garlands - whatever your talens and imagination can conjure.  Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer and cast your circle. 
Then, say the following blessing:

May the powers of The One,
the source of all creation;
all-pervasive, omnipoten, eternal;
may the Goddess,
the Lady of the Moon;
and the God,
Horned Hunter of the Sun;
may the power of the Spirits of the Stones,
rulers of the elemental realms;
may the powers of the stars above and the Earth below,
bless this place, and this time, and I who am with You.

Invoke the Goddess and the God:

Gracious Goddess,
You who are the Queen of the Gods,
the lamp of night,
the creator of all that is wild and free;
Mother of woman and man;
lover of the Horned God and protectress of all.
Descend, I pray,
with Your Lunar ray of power
upon my circle here!


Blazing God,
You Who are the King of the Gods
Lord of the Sun,
master of all that is wild and free;
Father of woman and man,
Lover of the Moon Goddess and protector of all.
Descend, I pray,
with Your Solar ray of power
upon my circle here!

Stand before the altar and say, with wand (or hands) raised:

O Mother Goddess, Queen of the night and of the Earth;
O Father God, King of the day and of the forests,
I celebrate Your union as nature rejoices in a ritous
blaze of color and life.  Accept my gift, Mother Goddess
and Father God, in honor of Your union.

Place the token(s) on the tree.

From Your mating shall spring forth life anew;
a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands,
and the winds will blow pure and sweet.
O Ancient Ones, I celebrate with You!

Enjoy Cakes and Wine and close the Circle.

Blessed Beltane Everyone!