Month: May 2017
If Something Inside Of You Is Real
“If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work. Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act—truth is always subversive.”
―Anne Lamott
Blessed Beltane
Beltane blessings to all.
Beltane is a major Pagan festival called a Sabbat. It is the union of the God and Goddess. The word Beltane means ‘Bright Fire’. It is named after the God Bel, an ancient Celtic God. It is a fire festival and it is traditional to build a fire on Beltane night to honor the Sun Gods.
Beltane is a fertility festival, This is the time when the God and Goddess come together. It is the height of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earths energy is very strong and potent with new life everywhere, Beltane is also the start of the farming calendar.
Fire is believed to have purifying qualities. It cleansed and rejuvenated both the land and the people. The ritual welcoming of the sun and the lighting of the fires was also believed to ensure fertility of the land and the people. Animals were transferred from winter pens to summer pastures, and were driven between the Beltane fires to cleanse them of evil spirits and to bring fertility and a good milk yield.
In Celtic times, it would be traditional to build a big bonfire in the center of the village and have a big feast. Young men and women would dance around the maypole while many people would marry in a hand-fasting (a Pagan wedding). People wishing to find love or conceive would jump over a Belfire for luck in love and fertility.
Light a small belfire on Beltane and make wishes into the flames. Let the fire burn itself out. Burn anything that has negative connotations in the fire. You can also write down any messages you want to tell departed loved ones and burn them in the Belfire. The message is said to reach them in the Summerlands.
On our alters we would put things that are of polarity to represent the God and Goddess, Sun and Moon, Male and Female, Masculine and Feminine, light and dark. Black and gold candles to represent the God, and white and silver candles to represent the Goddess. Fill your alters with birds feathers that fall around at this time and any wild plants that may have sprouted.
On Beltane, we celebrate the abundance of the earth. It is a happy time when we give thanks for all we have in our lives and look forward to the bright sunny days ahead. We celebrate the coming together of the God and the Goddess and the gifts they will bestow upon the earth when the Goddess will become pregnant and give birth to the harvest to come.
May your Beltane be memorable and your hearts and spirits be filled to overflowing.
Written credit: Wicca Teachings
Photo Credit: Wicca Teachings
Edited by: Lisa Marino
The Month Of Triggers
Fourteen years ago today, a female relative of mine (an Aunt by marriage) was murdered by her live-in boyfriend. I just read her autopsy and toxicology report for the first time; her death having been ruled an “accident”. I read it in utter disbelief. The damage incurred was no accident. I look at it as being blamed in death for being harmed. If I ever come within ten feet of her ex, and I’ve always said this from day one, I will beat the living crap out of him. That he’s alive and breathing disturbs me on levels I cannot begin to describe.
I remember being told that she was gone . She died on Thursday morning. I wasn’t told until Monday. I fell to my knees in the living room, devastated, in tears. Eight years later, her ex-husband, who is my direct relative, would also pass away suddenly. I nearly fell down the stairs when my brother told me, because I just couldn’t handle the news. Both of them far too young to die at all, leave alone the way they did. It guts me.
For the past week or so, leading into this day, I’ve been nothing short of a basket case. I kept asking myself “What’s wrong?” I’ve been dealing with a lot of memory loss and blackouts, and I kept telling myself that my neurology appointment would “fix everything”. Not so fast.
Yesterday, I became keenly aware that the month of May is really “the month of triggers”. It’s a month full of loss and painful memories for me. Last year, it was when I started blacking out. If I began blacking out in years past, I am 100% unaware it was happening, but now I’m wondering if it began earlier due to trauma.
I don’t often talk about their deaths. It pains me, because it was like losing a second set of parents. It is a hard adjustment to go from being loved and adored to having no one to turn to for shelter from the storms of life.
Despite being divorced, they both loved me and had my back. My Uncle, especially. There is nothing he wouldn’t have done for me. He put me through school when my own father would not. He didn’t co-sign a loan; he flat-out paid for six years of advanced education, four at a top ten university. If I had ever been hurt or in trouble, he would have been there without a single judgmental word. In fact, he’s one of the reasons I am the way I am. My Mom used to say that not only did we look alike, enough that I still pass for one of his children, but that I took after him in so many ways, it was creepy. Since his passing, I’ve forgotten that fact. There is a ring in my jewelry box that he gave me after I graduated. Whenever I wear it, I’m reminded that I am fire, flame, and unique. I can storm through anything. It’s been a long time since I’ve had it on my finger, I think I probably need to remedy that.
This month will be lonely, sad, emotional, and painful. Tomorrow has its own triggers. I’ll do my best to power on. Sometimes, there’s strength in tears.
copyright © 2017 by Lisa Marino & Blackbird Serenity, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Written by LISA MARINO-Molchanova 