Re: Celebrating Beltane
Beltane for One, no props:
A Beltane Meditation
Beltane for One, with props:
So...here's the deal with candles and matches and stuff... I was Pagan while I was in college, and no candles/incense/etc was a huge dorm rule. Glow sicks, glitter, flashlights, heck...I've even used a light saber...work fine, and are actually sort of fun. My first ritual, (other than one with a friend when we tried to DIY Mayan ritual and we sacrificed a tomato and recreating The Egypt Game as a kid), was a self-dedication ritual done at 13, done with what I had on hand--which was acrylic paints, glow in the dark stars, birthday streamers and a balloon. You are only limited by your imagination.
What I would do, if I were in your situation, and this was one of my first sabbats to really celebrate, is forget all the fertility stuff. Beltane is a celebration of spring. Of Beginning. Its a celebration of starting a journey, of being refreshed and ready for the work ahead. Take a ritual bath (if you have any neighborhood roses in bloom, see if you can get a few, and add some milk (and honey if you have it) and the roses to your bath. Since I'm assuming you are younger and not in your own space, an option is to do your entire ritual time in the bathroom--no one will bother you too much there. If you have a laptop or ipod with speakers and can make a playlist to take in with you, or have a good mood setting CD (which you can usually pick up at the dollar store for a dollar, along with those little battery operated candles and glow sticks), it helps with background noise and filtering out distractions. Try the meditation up there, or whatever parts of the rituals (or google solitary Beltane rituals, Beltane meditations, Beltane prayers, etc) appeal to you. Think about what/how you want this day to signify as the start of your journey, and then thank whatever deities, forces, energies, entities, etc you feel like thanking, and get out and have a cupcake (or whatever, cupcakes just make me think of spring) as a mini-celebration. Leave a few pieces of whatever you enjoy on a small dish outside somewhere, where it won't be disturbed (or just sprinkle it under a tree or something) to share with whatever little nature spirits or begins might be in your neck of the woods (or suburbs, or city).
It depends on your path...I'm not sure what aspect of Paganism appeals to you, but if its Druidry (and certain types of witchcraft), IMO, you need to start with where you live and what you have and know them inside and out. What plants are native to you, what animals, what are your wild places, where does your water come from, what is the history of your town, who lived their first, what did they worship, what was their world view, what is the natural history of you ecosystem, what elements are at work, what is your growing season, what is the first flower to bloom, the first tree to leaf, the first bird to hatch, where does your weather come from? And then...what does that mean for you place amongst them. Find a place that is easy for you to get to, a place accessible with enough nature to call to you, and watch it over the course of a year--clean it up if there is trash on the ground, see what birds and plants and other animals make it home. Write about what you see and what you do and how you feel. Talk to the trees and lay in the flowers, watch the clouds roll by...whatever...but the point is to make an intimate connection with the land. Start there, and see what follows.
Beltane for One, no props:
A Beltane Meditation
Beltane for One, with props:
So...here's the deal with candles and matches and stuff... I was Pagan while I was in college, and no candles/incense/etc was a huge dorm rule. Glow sicks, glitter, flashlights, heck...I've even used a light saber...work fine, and are actually sort of fun. My first ritual, (other than one with a friend when we tried to DIY Mayan ritual and we sacrificed a tomato and recreating The Egypt Game as a kid), was a self-dedication ritual done at 13, done with what I had on hand--which was acrylic paints, glow in the dark stars, birthday streamers and a balloon. You are only limited by your imagination.
What I would do, if I were in your situation, and this was one of my first sabbats to really celebrate, is forget all the fertility stuff. Beltane is a celebration of spring. Of Beginning. Its a celebration of starting a journey, of being refreshed and ready for the work ahead. Take a ritual bath (if you have any neighborhood roses in bloom, see if you can get a few, and add some milk (and honey if you have it) and the roses to your bath. Since I'm assuming you are younger and not in your own space, an option is to do your entire ritual time in the bathroom--no one will bother you too much there. If you have a laptop or ipod with speakers and can make a playlist to take in with you, or have a good mood setting CD (which you can usually pick up at the dollar store for a dollar, along with those little battery operated candles and glow sticks), it helps with background noise and filtering out distractions. Try the meditation up there, or whatever parts of the rituals (or google solitary Beltane rituals, Beltane meditations, Beltane prayers, etc) appeal to you. Think about what/how you want this day to signify as the start of your journey, and then thank whatever deities, forces, energies, entities, etc you feel like thanking, and get out and have a cupcake (or whatever, cupcakes just make me think of spring) as a mini-celebration. Leave a few pieces of whatever you enjoy on a small dish outside somewhere, where it won't be disturbed (or just sprinkle it under a tree or something) to share with whatever little nature spirits or begins might be in your neck of the woods (or suburbs, or city).
It depends on your path...I'm not sure what aspect of Paganism appeals to you, but if its Druidry (and certain types of witchcraft), IMO, you need to start with where you live and what you have and know them inside and out. What plants are native to you, what animals, what are your wild places, where does your water come from, what is the history of your town, who lived their first, what did they worship, what was their world view, what is the natural history of you ecosystem, what elements are at work, what is your growing season, what is the first flower to bloom, the first tree to leaf, the first bird to hatch, where does your weather come from? And then...what does that mean for you place amongst them. Find a place that is easy for you to get to, a place accessible with enough nature to call to you, and watch it over the course of a year--clean it up if there is trash on the ground, see what birds and plants and other animals make it home. Write about what you see and what you do and how you feel. Talk to the trees and lay in the flowers, watch the clouds roll by...whatever...but the point is to make an intimate connection with the land. Start there, and see what follows.
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