{"id":12432,"date":"2016-04-01T01:10:58","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T06:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=13055"},"modified":"2016-04-01T20:40:48","modified_gmt":"2016-04-02T01:40:48","slug":"celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2016\/04\/01\/celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beltaine<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

Bright Blessings!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

We just celebrated out Ostara last night, and I admit, I am dog tired today. We had TOO much fun, and I am reminded of how the film Excalibur portrayed Merlin as going into a deep sleep after becoming tired after doing magic! I actually slept in until about 2 P.M. today!<\/span><\/p>\n

But more than that, I am worried. I am having difficulty reserving the group campsite we have been reserving for years for our Beltaine. You may remember my article from 2014 that lamented we were too ill to camp- wellk this year WE WANT TO CAMP!<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there is confusion about booking at the site EVERY year. Don\u2019t ask me why, but this year, we were told they no longer even allow reservations. I called the main office to find out what the heck was going on and ask if they can pretty please allow us to reserve the site- and I was told they do , indeed, still take reservations, but I was transferred to somebody who had a really bad attitude. Not only was his tone of voice rude, but he said he would take my name and number, but did not care what I was calling about and did not want to know. I told him I will just call back tomorrow. I don\u2019t trust that guy to relay my message. <\/span><\/p>\n

I really should not feel sorry for myself. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, I have heard much worse. One year, a Pagan Pride was booked at a site and the reservation was paid for months in advance. The event coordinator was later told that nobody at the office saved any information from the booking, the employee who had booked the thing was long gone, the event would not be allowed there, and there would be no refund. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I am not the one who had to deal with this, but it makes me cringe just to think about it!<\/span><\/p>\n

My struggle with this campsite is very minute compared to what some other facilitators have endured, but I am still pulling my hair out, and I will tell you why. It is because of three things that begin with the letter C. Cost, convenience, and most importantly, consecration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Costwise, most of the campsites nearby my home cost hundreds of dollars. I wanted to offer a free camping event once a year in my hometown people could attend. This site costs only $48 to rent for 24 hours. Nothing would cost less unless somebody hosted it at their home, but that is not the best idea either. Sometimes, we like to invite new people along who would be more comfortable meeting in public than at a stranger\u2019s house! So this is the least expensive way to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

This site is the most convenient one we found for lots of reasons. First, it is only ten miles away. Everyplace else is much much farther. Think ninety miles away! Next, it is private, and we can have all the fires we want. We do two fires that are blessed, and the people walk between the blessed fires. While we could get a metropark space that was nearby and allowed fires, they are much more expensive, and everybody has to clear out of there by 10 P.M., so no camping. WAAAAHHHH!!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, we have had multiple Beltaines at this site. Beltaine is the event my Priest and I do best together. People really look forward to it, and I admit, I don\u2019t think anybody looks forward to it more than I do. <\/span><\/p>\n

As mentioned in previous articles, we have done raffles, workshops, and other groups have joined with us some years as well. The main attraction is the Maypole ritual and blessing we do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our tradition has a May King and May Queen to represent the forces of fertility that create new life.<\/span><\/p>\n

We begin by the Priestess taking all the females to a spot, and the Priest taking all the males to a spot. The ladies select who they think best embodies the goddess in the form of the Maiden in all of her splendor. She is beautiful like the blooming flowers. She is strong, and fertile, a perfect vessel for life to bloom in. And once the ladies decide who will be May Queen, she is crowned with a crown made of real flowers and vines the people have created. I always have the children in attendance help create those crowns! <\/span><\/p>\n

My Priest is a stickler for tradition. The flowers have to be fresh and real. He\u2019s also thrifty, so he has us go find the flowers and vines in our yards and neighborhoods so as not to spend cash. <\/span><\/p>\n

While the ladies are crowning the May Queen, the gentlemen are crowning the May King. He is to be the embodiment of the the father god in his prime. Sexy, lusty, powerful, and charismatic. He is full of energy and focused on\u2026.well\u2026rutting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before I go any further, let me mention that our tradition does not do the Great Rite by having people actually engage in sexual intercourse- although some traditions do. I will never forget one year when I got a concerned e-mail from somebody who was planning to attend. He wanted to know if we were having an orgy. Of course not! But I have heard that some people absolutely do. <\/span><\/p>\n

We instead, present the May Queen to the May King, and they do a little dance around the Maypole, and then everybody else joins in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some traditions may have set dances they do. Ours has my Priest choosing funny rock music with sexual undertones. Since my Priest is what we call an aging hippie and I was a child in the 1980\u2019s, the glam rockers, and hair bands provide lots of material for us. Music like Queen\u2019s Fat Bottomed Girls, Meatloaf\u2019s Paradise by the Dashboard Light, probably anything from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Unskinny Bop by Motley Crue, Whitesnake\u2019s Slide It In, and even some pop songs like George Michael\u2019s I Want Your Sex.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is a link to a really hilarious article that lists some great 1980\u2019s songs about sex.<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/ultimateclassicrock.com\/sex-songs<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Obviously, if you want kids to attend your Maypole ritual, you can just keep it cleaner and do a nice, polite chant like the popular goddess chant, or even nice love songs. Of course, it won\u2019t be as funny if you are playing nice, clean love songs, but I understand that not every group is the same!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Priest and Priestess do not get to vote for who is May King and May Queen. They just lead the people in the coronation and show the \u201croyal couple\u201d how to become the goddess and god for the ritual. One year, the ladies all voted for a sixteen year old girl to be May Queen, and I about died. I asked the young lady\u2019s mother if this was okay, and mom said okay! I was hysterically terrified the kid would wind up pregnant in the next few months- magic is funny like that. But the kid did not- and she was one damn good May Queen, too!<\/span><\/p>\n

One year, our May Queen was actually the sister of a best friend of mine. Everybody sure liked her, and she was perhaps the oldest lady eligible to be May Queen. The gentleman who was voted May King that year pantomimed chasing after the May Queen, and the gal who was May Queen pantomimed \u201cCome here, now get away!\u201d She lead him on a merry chase. All the while, the hair band hard rock sex anthems were blaring on the boom box, and inbetween fits of giggling, we all danced along. I think that was the year I fell flat on my butt, was laughing so hard, I could not get up, and so two of the guys hauled me back up on my feet. <\/span><\/p>\n

After the dancing and merriment is all done, the Maypole is danced. I use the same consecrated Maypole every year. I do not know if that is traditional, or if you are \u201csupposed\u201d to do it this way, but it just feels right to me. I suppose the Maypole might have a traditional amount of ribbons that belong on there, but I have never taken the time to find out. Our Maypole was a branch my Priest had seen years ago that he thought was calling him, and he went through nests of spiders to bet to it. Afterwards, it sat in his basement, forgotten for quite some time. Then, the year we decided to do our own Maypole, he gave it to me. I took it to a friend\u2019s house, and with ribbons she had and that I bought, we used nails, tacks, and gorilla glue to create the most gorgeous Maypole on earth. It is short. A lot of groups have ten foot tall poles. Ours is about six foot tall. Every year, we have my husband bury it in the ground so it stays still, and it has never come loose of fallen during ritual. We have about 22 ribbons on it. One year we had less people who wanted to dance- many were tired after the hard rock music dancing, and some people took two ribbons in the dance.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it was fun. Maypole dancing emulates the divine joining of the goddess- the earth- with the father sky god, represented by the pole being plunged into her. The people dancing the dance, weaving the ribbon represents us blending our magic with the magic of the goddess and the god, and it is also a form of adoration as well!<\/span><\/p>\n

I share this one video from Glastonbury a lot. I love it. It shows the weaving technique used for the dance. OVER, UNDER, OVER, UNDER. And by the time the ribbon is all used up, it has created an absolutely gorgeous plaiting around the pole. Here, you can see what this group did!<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FxcIqMmlVOs<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n