bkdelong

I'd like to wish you all a Happy Beltane or May Day to you Muggles and Mundanes out there. Beltane is an ancient Celtic holiday translated from Gaelic as "fire of Bel" with Bel being a Celtic Sun God.

Beltane is a fertility holiday celebrating spring. It is still celebrated throughout the Ireland, Scotland, and England. This Fire holiday has been continued in some Pagan traditions and adopted by others as part of the Wheel of the Year - Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, and Ostara. It is the anti-Halloween or the opposite of Samhain, representing new life as opposed to observing death.

My views on spirituality have been changing throughout the years - definitely so since I last posted my thoughts a few days from 3 years ago. Unfortunately, I've not made time for my own spiritual needs since I began working at MIT. I have become disillusioned with the Pagan community in Salem as it seems it is plagued by Witch Wars. There are a handful of powerful women and a few men in the Pagan community of Salem and they all spend time exerting their authority and power. Not conducive to community at all. I've also moved away from refering myself to Wiccan, practicing Wicca or being a Witch practicing Witchcraft. I am a Pagan. Simply put, I am a non-Christian spritual practitioner choosing to worship nature or polytheistic incarnations of the Earth. I like to point to Neil Gaiman's Sandman series or Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality books to illustrate what I mean.

In the past year I have been reading more about Shamanism through books authored by Lynn Andrews. One of my good friends, Charel Morris, is a Shaman herself and produces several of Lynn's shows as well as helps with her Shaman School. Two years ago, I participated in a Spirit Animal ceremony and found Athena, a female Brown Bear. She's a very important part of who I am.

Similar to my discussions with Michael Gleason about Witchcraft and Santeria, Charel is an amazing person to talk with about Spirituality. There's no secrets, no "you have to be a 3rd level initiate to learn about that", its all an open book- with both of them. They are truly my spiritual mentors. I regret I have had no time to spend with Mike for almost 2 years and will be missing my first yearly conference where I work with Charel. This will become more difficult once the baby is born, but I want to recognize their important contributions to who I am as a spiritual person.

Last night, I was musing about how gorgrous the weather was and how beautiful it was that it is spring. Of course, I only think this in morning & evening when the humidity is still low. But I still have the need to commune with my spiritual representatives of the Earth and nature around me - that will always be an important part of who I am.

Happy Beltane - or May Day. Be you always be spiritually fulfilled.

[BrainStream]
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