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May Day is half way between spring equinox and summer solstice . Here are 3 practices you can use to celebrate the divine connection of this day.
I recently learned that some past cultures celebrated every 6 weeks to enhance the sense of community and uplift the spirits. What a great idea!
Although I suggest celebrating each day as if it were a festival, If you wish to ensure even more fun in your life, you may wish to establish your own tradition of celebrating according to the cycles of nature.
May Day is traditionally celebrated as a holiday with parades, maypole dances, feasts and rituals. It is associated with fertility, growth and abundance. In the Celtic and pagan communities it is known as Beltane which means bright fire. People danced around bonfires, decorated flowering may bushes with ribbons. Holy wells were often visited at Beltane, Visitors to holy wells would pray for health while walking sunwise (moving from east to west) around the well. The first water drawn from a well on Beltane was seen as being especially potent, as was Beltane morning dew. At dawn on Beltane, maidens would roll in the dew or wash their faces with it. It would also be collected in a jar, left in the sunlight, and then filtered. The dew was thought to increase sexual attractiveness, maintain youthfulness, and help with skin ailments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane)
Here are some examples of contemplative experiences that people have used to celebrate this May day or Beltane festival.
Honor the divine feminine aspects of the universe including your female ancestors.
1. Light a candle as a representation of the light of the universe and connection with the All That IS.
2. Connect with the earth energies and tell our holy mother earth you love and respect her, express your gratitude for all she has brought you.
3. Consider women who have embodied the divine sacred feminine energies in history and myth. They may be saints, goddesses or wise women. Connect with their energies and feel imbuing into every cell of your essence.
4.Honor the sacred divine feminine energy that has touched your life. Name the women who have made a difference in your life, and significant quality they touched you with eg.
I honour Jean who birthed me and shared her deep love and magic with flowers, trees and gardens.
I honour Olive my aunt, who showed me to maintain strength and humor during times of adversity .
I honour Marie, my aunt, who lived in loyalty.
Include grandmothers and great grandmothers if you resonate with their energies and gifts.
Be sure to include yourself. Here is an example you may wish to use
“I am (your name), and I honor myself,
for my strength, my creativity, my knowledge, my inspiration,
and for all the other remarkable things that make me a woman.
Take a few minutes and reflect on the sacred feminine. What is it about being a woman that gives you joy? If you're a man performing this ritual, what is it about the women in your life that makes you love them? Meditate on the feminine energy of the universe for a while, and when you are ready, end the ritual.” http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltanemayday/ht/SacredFemRitual.htm
Plant the seeds of intention and abundance in the soil of your soul
Spring Equinox or May Day is a good time for planting seeds of your own on the path of your life. New ventures may be aided by the spirit of life and growth that abound.
I have included a guided visualization you can use below, or you can actually start seeds for your garden in a ritual where you designate desires for your life with each seed you plant. Here is a wonderful script to use as you plant the seeds.
Abundance ritual
"Tonight I plant seeds in the earth,
but Beltane is a time in which many things can grow.
Tonight I plant seeds in my heart and soul ,
for other things I wish to see blossom.
I plant the seeds of love, of wisdom, of happiness.
I dig deep, and begin a crop of harmony, balance, and joy.
I add water to bring life and abundance of all kinds into my home. http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltanemayday/ht/FamilyAbundance.htm
Place your abundance and intention order with the universe
1. Write down and verbalize whatever you abundance you wish to actualize in your life. It could relate to relationships, career, health, financial security, or even material goods.
2. I recommend also stating theses desires out loud.
3. Burn your paper so the energy rises into the ethers . Its like placing an amazon order only its going to the universe for manifesting. If you cannot burn it, let the candle or smoke from some incense carry the intention. Visualize your life as having these qualities or desires here and now, using all your senses and feelings.
4. I usually say “I release this intention and these words to the universal laws, knowing there is power in what I speak and write. I know this is manifesting now and I am grateful.” If you did the first contemplation, Call on the feminine energy and energy of your ancestors to enhance the actualization of these desires.
If you would like to participate in a guided meditation where you energize the seeds you are planting and align your vibrational frequency to match your desired harvest listen here to one I used at the spring equinox:
I recently learned that some past cultures celebrated every 6 weeks to enhance the sense of community and uplift the spirits. What a great idea!
Although I suggest celebrating each day as if it were a festival, If you wish to ensure even more fun in your life, you may wish to establish your own tradition of celebrating according to the cycles of nature.
May Day is traditionally celebrated as a holiday with parades, maypole dances, feasts and rituals. It is associated with fertility, growth and abundance. In the Celtic and pagan communities it is known as Beltane which means bright fire. People danced around bonfires, decorated flowering may bushes with ribbons. Holy wells were often visited at Beltane, Visitors to holy wells would pray for health while walking sunwise (moving from east to west) around the well. The first water drawn from a well on Beltane was seen as being especially potent, as was Beltane morning dew. At dawn on Beltane, maidens would roll in the dew or wash their faces with it. It would also be collected in a jar, left in the sunlight, and then filtered. The dew was thought to increase sexual attractiveness, maintain youthfulness, and help with skin ailments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane)
Here are some examples of contemplative experiences that people have used to celebrate this May day or Beltane festival.
Honor the divine feminine aspects of the universe including your female ancestors.
1. Light a candle as a representation of the light of the universe and connection with the All That IS.
2. Connect with the earth energies and tell our holy mother earth you love and respect her, express your gratitude for all she has brought you.
3. Consider women who have embodied the divine sacred feminine energies in history and myth. They may be saints, goddesses or wise women. Connect with their energies and feel imbuing into every cell of your essence.
4.Honor the sacred divine feminine energy that has touched your life. Name the women who have made a difference in your life, and significant quality they touched you with eg.
I honour Jean who birthed me and shared her deep love and magic with flowers, trees and gardens.
I honour Olive my aunt, who showed me to maintain strength and humor during times of adversity .
I honour Marie, my aunt, who lived in loyalty.
Include grandmothers and great grandmothers if you resonate with their energies and gifts.
Be sure to include yourself. Here is an example you may wish to use
“I am (your name), and I honor myself,
for my strength, my creativity, my knowledge, my inspiration,
and for all the other remarkable things that make me a woman.
Take a few minutes and reflect on the sacred feminine. What is it about being a woman that gives you joy? If you're a man performing this ritual, what is it about the women in your life that makes you love them? Meditate on the feminine energy of the universe for a while, and when you are ready, end the ritual.” http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltanemayday/ht/SacredFemRitual.htm
Plant the seeds of intention and abundance in the soil of your soul
Spring Equinox or May Day is a good time for planting seeds of your own on the path of your life. New ventures may be aided by the spirit of life and growth that abound.
I have included a guided visualization you can use below, or you can actually start seeds for your garden in a ritual where you designate desires for your life with each seed you plant. Here is a wonderful script to use as you plant the seeds.
Abundance ritual
"Tonight I plant seeds in the earth,
but Beltane is a time in which many things can grow.
Tonight I plant seeds in my heart and soul ,
for other things I wish to see blossom.
I plant the seeds of love, of wisdom, of happiness.
I dig deep, and begin a crop of harmony, balance, and joy.
I add water to bring life and abundance of all kinds into my home. http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltanemayday/ht/FamilyAbundance.htm
Place your abundance and intention order with the universe
1. Write down and verbalize whatever you abundance you wish to actualize in your life. It could relate to relationships, career, health, financial security, or even material goods.
2. I recommend also stating theses desires out loud.
3. Burn your paper so the energy rises into the ethers . Its like placing an amazon order only its going to the universe for manifesting. If you cannot burn it, let the candle or smoke from some incense carry the intention. Visualize your life as having these qualities or desires here and now, using all your senses and feelings.
4. I usually say “I release this intention and these words to the universal laws, knowing there is power in what I speak and write. I know this is manifesting now and I am grateful.” If you did the first contemplation, Call on the feminine energy and energy of your ancestors to enhance the actualization of these desires.
If you would like to participate in a guided meditation where you energize the seeds you are planting and align your vibrational frequency to match your desired harvest listen here to one I used at the spring equinox:
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