To our ancestors, Beltane celebrates the beginning of summer. Bale or “bon” fires are an important part of the Beltane Sabbat. All fires at home or in shops were extinguished and then re-lit from the sacred bonfires that blazed on the tops of the surrounding hills. This was also the time when the herds were blessed. The people marched their cattle around and between the bonfires to bring good luck and fertility and to protect them during the year.
The Sabbat Beltane, coincides with when the God actually impregnates the Goddess. This sacred act ensures the continued fertility for crops and animals throughout the light half of the year (between the Spring and Fall Equinoxes.) A popular symbol for this sacred act, the May Pole represents the impregnation of the goddess. A May Pole is a pole set erect in the ground with ribbons attached on the top. People then each take a ribbon and dance in a weaving pattern around the pole. The pole represents God’s phallus and the colorful ribbons that the dancers wind around the May Pole represent the goddess with her flowers a-blooming. And so the impregnation of the Goddess is fulfilled.
“What makes a real difference?” I asked in a conversation with a spiritual elder.
One word arose: “Listening.”
I realized that listening actually moves us, witches, to a higher level of practice.
Here are three insights.
Listen to what people near you are truly saying.
Someone tried to give me advice that I didn’t ask for. I disagreed with their assessment. But I listened to their words, ideas, and emotion.
My point is that listening, in this situation, does not mean agreement. You do not need to follow another person’s advice.
It’s more like a friend saying, “You might want to take a look at this.”
If you disagree with someone, it doesn’t mean that they are completely wrong.
Listening is a skill. And just like magick, you need to practice it to get better.
Here is an example of listening. A family member has a process. When someone says something that he does not relate to immediately, he says, “I’ll stir that in my soup.” He means that he will give the idea some thought and time. He is free to change his perception or approach later.
The effective witch listens to conversations because clues for uplifting your life can show up in such conversations.
Listen to the God and Goddess
“And ye shall be free from slavery….Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth, for behold: all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honour and humility, mirth and reverence within you.” – The Goddess speaking in The Charge of the Goddess, written by Doreen Valiente
When listening to the God and Goddess, practice quieting your mind. A practice of meditation and prayer can help you.
We can look on being caught in negative thinking as a form of slavery. It helps to practice your own methods to shift out of negative thought patterns. Someone I know places her hand on her heart and tells herself: “I’m okay. I’m safe. I’m loved. God and Goddess love me.” She tells me that this helps her shift out of fearful thoughts. In a quieter state of mind, she talks with the God and Goddess.
Pay attention for the “Signs”
We can become good at spotting the signs from the Gods. Signs can come in many forms from unexpected appearances of certain animals to something that will make you stop and think. For example, many witches consider seeing an image of a white heron or the actual bird as a sign of the Goddess. It is a positive sign.
“I am the Gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart.” – The Goddess speaking in The Charge of the Goddess, written by Doreen Valiente
When you receive a positive sign, devote some time to think about it and meditate on it. Watch for any further signs.
“Are you okay, Moonwater?” my friend, Sandra, asked me.
“There are great things. And other things, I’m coping with,” I said, truthfully.
My mother’s health collapsed. I’ve been at her side around the clock—in the emergency room, then in the hospital room and now at the apartment. We’re getting some help with a nurse sometimes visiting the home.
The pressure is so intense.
I realized that I need to lean on two ideas.
Acknowledge the good you are doing.
“Focus on ‘Better than zero.’” – Tom Marcoux
I’m being buried in thoughts that I’m not doing enough for my mother. I feel that I’m not the ideal daughter. Then I take a breath and think about the idea, “Better than zero.” For me, I’m doing my best. I’m helping with her meds and helping her walk with a walker. When I feel like I should be doing more than what I can handle, I remember “Better than Zero.”
How can you fit the idea of Better than zero in your life?
Realize the Goddess’s Presence.
“I have been with thee from the beginning.” – the Goddess, as noted in the writings of Doreen Valiente
The Goddess is always with us. Even with me at this time of distress. So, I can draw strength from Her. And I do.
Just asking the Goddess to guide me and support me makes me feel better. She gives me more energy when I feel I have given it all.
I just concentrate on the Goddess and say a silent prayer to Her. Usually, I feel a gentle energy around me. I can draw energy, compassion, and love from Her. Then I can continue my work to help my Mom.
Do you believe that you live in a friendly universe that will give you what you want?
The Gods want to give us what we want with a related detail. Sometimes, what you want is not good for you. For example, a small child may want candy all the time, but they need nutrition. Here is a process to help you dig deeper than your surface desires.
Ask the “5-Deep Questions.”
Here is an example. When talking with my friend, Steven, I first asked him, “What do you want?”
“I want new job,” he replied.
“What will that get you?”
“Money,” Steven said.
“And what does money get you?”
“Freedom from worries.”
I remained silent for a moment. “So, what you really want is freedom from worries?
“Yes.”
(This example shows how to discover a deeper level. With only three questions, we got to freedom from worries. Now, we can go further.)
“What does freedom from worries get you?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
I remained silent for a little while.
“Peace, he said.
“You want peace?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“What do you get with peace?”
“I can stop being so afraid.”
“So, you want to be free of fear?”
Steven’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I really want to be free of fear.”
Steven has taken a short journey of discovery.
Look for a way to go directly to what you deeply want.
When you ask these questions, you drill down to the essential part of what you really want.
After I work with these questions, I like to do a meditation session. As I meditate, I talk with the Gods and ask Them about details I uncovered with my questions.
One time, Their guidance was that I could go directly to peace and freedom from fear in a meditation session. It was as if all the external things like job, money, and buying stuff were not essential because the meditation session could take me directly to peace and interacting with the Gods.
Notice the Gods’ point of view of the difference between your wants and needs.
The Gods know what you really need. You may want a high-paying job, but maybe you’re not ready for the tough hours that the job requires. The Gods know that you will miss out on closeness with family members because the job’s required long-hours would keep you away from them. Those long hours may wreak havoc on your health.
The Gods see the overview of what’s truly good for us. We may ask for something, and the Gods may protect us from the damage that certain things may cause.
The Gods care for us, and They want us to be happy. At the same time, They realize that we need to learn life lessons. The Gods can see more than we can. They know what we need in our lives.
I invite you to seek the Gods’ guidance in meditation sessions. Get access to the Gods’ understanding.
Some of us face so many worries that we feel like we’re drowning.
Martial arts masters, yoga instructors and philosophers say, “Empty your mind.”
For many of us, that feels that like a steep mountain to climb.
I’ve learned in discussions with spiritual mentors about possibilities of emptying one’s thoughts and making space for positive power.
Here are three insights about how to “empty then fill with power”
Empty your mind of self-defeating thoughts
The Gods gave me an intuitive thought that has changed my life: “I am not broken.”
During my life, my experiences with dyslexia and depression symptoms have often felt like shackles.
For decades, I truly felt broken. Dyslexia and depression symptoms felt like injury plus insult.
Fortunately, my relationship with the Gods opened new doors for me. In my online course Spiritual Solution to Depression Relief, I mention that after 16 years, I finally stopped equating myself with depression.
I replaced saying, “I am depressed” with “I am dealing with depression symptoms.” I finally found myself to be a “whole” who deals with depression symptoms.
You see, it is not my spirit that is dyslexic or depressed. It is my body. My learning disability relates to my brain. My depression symptoms also arise from an imbalance of chemicals in my brain.
My brain is not me.
My brain is like an interface between my soul and the world.
I came to a new understanding of myself and my soul while in a meditation session, in which I met the God and Goddess. They flushed out my misery and replaced it with peace and love towards myself.
If you have self-defeating thoughts, try talking with the Gods. Perhaps, seek to experience a number of meditation sessions. Taking with the Gods can potentially help you release certain limiting beliefs that fill you with negativity.
Meditation and the Gods can help you empty yourself of such negativity.
As you experience empty space, find out what positive thoughts you want to take in
Once you have talked to the Gods and flushed out the negative junk in your head, pause. Take a look at how They see you. The Gods don’t make junk.
How would you see yourself in Their eyes?
Heroes and sheroes come in all shapes and sizes. For those of us who deal with depression symptoms, getting out of bed in the morning can be a heroic act.
Have you thought about what makes a person heroic or courageous? I realize that a hero is someone who does not give up.
I trust that you’ve found yourself holding on—even in real tough times.
My understanding of how the Gods see me is: Here is a woman who does not give up. She gets help. She avails herself of therapy, medication and her spiritual practice.
If you feel up to it, you can try this exercise: Write down two things that bother you about yourself. Now, take in a breath.
Say this chant:
God and Goddess, Lift the veil and open my eyes. Let me see the sacred prize. Show me how You see me. Show me my gift of divinity.
Now, writing in the loving voice of the God and Goddess, write down six positive things about yourself. Pause. Breathe these loving thoughts into yourself.
Ask the Gods for Their help.
Asking for the Gods for help can be as simple as going to someplace where you won’t be disturbed for five to ten minutes. Place a piece of paper and pen in easy reach.
Close your eyes and simply talk, internally, to the Gods. Breathe deeply and slowly. Allow yourself to calm down.
Once you are in the presence of the Lord and Lady, you can ask Them questions and seek Their guidance and help.
After you open your eyes, write down any positive thoughts or guidance that has arrived.
The Gods are there for you. They will help you and guide you to the answers you seek.
Does the mundane world feel overwhelming at times?
Here is a prayer to help you reconnect with the spiritual reality that the Gods support you every day and every minute.
I am loved in this moment Prayer
Lord and Lady,
Give me the experience to know
That I am loved in this moment.
To know that I am cherished and
Held dear to You.
Let me know I am cradled in Your hearts,
And release me from fear.
Although the mundane world tears at my sense of worthiness,
Keep me close in Your love.
Guide me to always remember Your
Embracing love for me.
So Mote It Be
“What’s most important to you as a witch?” I asked my friend, Jessica.
“To connect with the Gods,” she replied.
“You look concerned,” I said.
“I’m just not doing it. I’m not showing up for ritual,” she said, frowning.
This began an important conversation.
I’ll share three insights here:
The distractions and obligations of everyday life can strangle your spiritual practice.
Fear can exacerbate the situation. That is, many of us are buried in fear-inducing problems with the job, the kids and more. We live in a chaotic world. Not knowing what to do can stifle or even completely stall your spiritual practice. So many of us say, “I just can’t find the time.”
When you pause, you can realize that even just five minutes of meditation can calm you down and clear your thinking. That’s how a spiritual practice can be a lifesaver in the mundane and chaotic world.
Gathering with your Coven will give you a safe space for ritual.
When I am with my coven, I feel deeply supported. We support each other and raise each other up. We are a strong group. Being in a coven is having a chosen family.
This family can encourage your spiritual growth. This can be especially good if you don’t have a supportive family at home. If you gather with your coven, someplace outside your own home, you can find it to be an oasis from your mundane surroundings.
Pick your morning or evening as your sacred time.
I had a conversation with a friend who is a time management expert who authored three books on the topic. He noticed that time management is not really about lists, it’s about making great choices.
Have you noticed that your only “free time” is in the morning or at night before you go to sleep? You may want to choose one of those times as a designated sacred time. Mornings may work for some better than others because one can be fresh from the night’s rest.
However, if you are a night owl, you may prefer evenings.
I find that evenings seem to be the time I can spare. It may be better for me in the morning, but, at this time, I find that doing a brief meditation session (with my husband) before bedtime helps us both.
Don’t wait to have only an “ideal time.” Three minutes in your parked and locked car (someplace safe), may be helpful. You could recharge before going into your home for “family time.”
Remember, time management is about making great choices.
Choose to connect with the God and Goddess. Even a daily 5-minute meditation practice may truly brighten your life.
My husband looked so anxious. He was helping me finish my new online course. I felt unsettled, too. Why? At any moment, PG&E (in California) could shut down the power in my city.
Sure, they were not going to interrupt service to San Francisco, but the small town I live in was at risk.
The first day, they said that they would shut down power to many locations at 12 midnight. Then 12 noon on the next day, then 8 pm.
I had some thoughts about hope–and about how hope is connected with feeling that you don’t have any control.
Then I realized that the control we have is not over future events.
I had no control related to what the PG&E company might do. They might shut down the power right in the middle of my uploading my material to the online course website. That could wreck my hard drive.
My control was where I direct my focus … in this present moment.
Here is a prayer:
Gracious Goddess Hear my prayer Give me hope And not despair. Guide me on my true path’s course Being gentle with no force. Gracious Goddess Hear my prayer. Give me your guidance With all Your care.
GoddessHasYourBack.com 