This is the full script from the Three Sisters Temple Beltane ceremony on May 5, 2019
Jump to our programs and handouts at the bottom for more ideas!
Gathering Music
Beltane, by Lisa Thiel
Welcome and Opening Prayer
(Beltane Chant from Doreen Valiente’s Spring Rite 1971)
Friends that in the circle stand,
Heart to heart and hand to hand,
Bringing Beltane to the land,
Let the sleeper awake!
Let the flames of Beltane burn,
May the Old Ones now return,
May we of their magick learn,
Let the sleeper awake!
Let the streams and fields be pure,
Earth and sky be clean once more,
Love and laughter long endure,
Let the sleeper awake!
Forests spreading, peace returning,
here the Pagan fires are burning,
Now the inner light discerning,
Let the sleeper awake!
May the Lady’s touch again,
Rest upon the barren plain,
With the sunshine and the rain,
Let the sleeper awake!
Beltane magick here we sing,
Chant the rune and dance the ring,
Joy and blessing shall it bring,
Let the sleeper awake!
Intention of the Sabbat ~ Daria
Beloved Ones...beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.
So speaks The Prophet, the poet Kahlil Gibran
{Namaste}
Welcome to the magical time of Beltane!
At Imbolc, we trusted that the seed was going to awaken.
At Ostara, we marveled at the first visible green shoots.
At Beltane, we awaken to find our faith is justified. We are now experiencing the true riot of spring here in the Northern hemisphere.
Trees and plants are bursting out in gorgeous flowers, birds are singing, warm breezes are blowing, life has returned. We feel like we’re in heaven when we stand beneath a blooming apple tree or in a field of tulips. Earth is offering herself to us, inviting us to drink in Her beauty and know that it’s a part of ourselves.
Beauty awakens in the self at Beltane.
From the dawn of hope at Ostara, we come now to the lighting of the Beltane fires, the consummation of passion and will that ignites in love to rebuild the world anew.
As the world reawakens, with green explosions signifying new life all around, so we will awaken the new life within, through consummation of the energies of light and love, God and Goddess, coming together in joyful union.
The Goddesses we honor at Beltane are many. Every culture in every time has had at least one Goddess of fertility, beauty and creativity. In your handout we’ve listed some of them, and today the Goddesses here with us are Flora, Aphrodite and Hathor.
Flower queen Flora is the Roman Goddess of flowering plants, especially those that bear fruit. Spring is Her season, and She has elements of a Love Goddess, with its attendant attributes of fertility, sex, and blossoming. Her name is related to Latin floris, meaning naturally enough “a flower”, with the additional meaning of “[something] in its prime”; other related words have meanings like “prospering,” “flourishing,” “abounding,” and “fresh or blooming.”
Sensual Aphrodite is the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty. Graceful and gorgeously seductive, Aphrodite was born from the sea and represents its power and creativity. Her symbols are flowers, fruit, water and gold.
She is the goddess of gracefulness, of that which draws us to be closer, of whatever pulls us nearer to itself. She is the force of attraction.
Hathor is the Egyptian Goddess of women, love and joy, music, dance, celebration and beauty. She protects women and is present whenever they beautify themselves. She blesses women with fertility, and many of the ritual objects associated with Her (such as the sistrum and menat necklace) also have an erotic significance, and in fact the Greeks identified
Her with their Aphrodite. Hathor has two animal identities: the cow and the cat, both of which connect her with maternal protectiveness.
It’s just as important to honor the God. At Beltane, He is the young God of vegetation, variously known as Dionysus, the God of wine and ecstasy;
Pan, Lord of the Dance; Hercules the Hero; the Green Man, Lord of the Waxing Year, and by a thousand other names. He is the sword, the flute of Pan that calls us to the dance of life, the seed-cone, the arrow, the light of the Sun.
At Beltane, we honor all Maiden Goddesses and women, who are at the threshold of transformation into the Mother as the Wheel turns. The shy Ostara Maiden grows into the eager Maiden, ripe and open to receive the seed of life that will grow in Her womb. She offers herself, and in that offering She calls the God energy to Her; He who holds the seeds of life, the light, the spirit, which swim in the water of Her womb and create new life. He is the strengthening Sun to Her Moon, shining on the Earth to warm Her and stoke the fires of love and life.
This is the Heiros Gamos, the Great Marriage. Earth meets plow, and She allows herself to be furrowed and planted with seeds of love that will take hold and continue the cycle of life.
At Beltane, we worship at the altar of love and beauty, and give ourselves to the wild, orgasmic, cosmic energy that creates life. We dance, we sing, we honor the body beautiful. We remember to love ourselves, and allow others to love us.
Now, we turn to Barbara, who will set the sacred space for us.
Creating Sacred Space ~ Barbara
{Barbara} Hail Guardian Spirits of this place.
We who are gathered here, come in peace
We call for peace in our land, peace in our hearts and minds,
And peace to all beings.
We ask, with respect that you accept our presence.
Hail Guardian Spirits of this place!
If you have two candles on your altar, one representing the Goddess and
one representing the God, please turn your attention to them now, or you
can simply be with me.
Today we celebrate the sacred marriage of the Goddess and God
The union of Green and Gold
Please light the Gold (yellow) Candle, representing the young God,
the Stag, and the Green Man. Pan, Hercules, and Dionysus - The energy of activation, seeding all that will become…..Blessed be.
Please light the Green Candle, representing the Goddess, the ripening maiden.
Aphrodite, Hathor, Shakti, Hera, and Flora…The womb that will grow and nurture that which will be manifested.….Blessed be.
By lighting these candles, we have pulled us together into the present,
into this moment of the high Holy day of Beltane, where the portals are open,
where we use the power of our collective intention, To focus on where we are in the Wheel of the Year and Wherever we are in the Wheel of our Lives,
The sacred marriage of the Goddess and God within each of us, and the life and intentions that will be manifested through us.
Sacred Ones, spirit of the oak that stands before us, spirits of the heath that surround us,
dryads and devas, all who have heard our intention, we ask with respect that you encircle us now.
Branch reaching branch, leaf touching leaf, roots beneath our feet entangling, that our Circle may be strong, a nemeton of inspiration, reverence and learning,
In the name of the Goddesses and Gods whose power we breathe, we ask that this be so.
We give our energy to this circle, mingling and communing with those of the spirits of nature
to create a sanctuary of peace.
Let all here draw our minds into the presence of our bodies, that thoughts may be melded with flesh, blood and bones, that our spirits gathered here may be blended in one purpose, one voice and one sacred space.
Soul to soul, we weave our circle, spirit to spirit, we ask that this may be so.
As we call in the directions and elements, I invite you to feel and envision them in your body.
Please stand if you are able and turn toward the East.
Take a deep breath and envision the warm, fragrant breezes of spring upon your skin.
We call upon Spirits of the East, elements of sacred Air, Of freedom, creativity, and possibilities
from the place of the rising sun and energy of new beginnings, everything that is being called into being through us we welcome and embrace.
We honor you and ask that you to be with us in our sacred rite.
Please bring us your inspiration and wonder, And clear our minds of troubles and distractions
Hail and welcome Spirits of the East
Please turn toward the South. Take a deep breath and envision the heat of the sacred bonfires from which this holy day takes its name.
We call upon the Spirits of the South, elements of sacred fire, Of passion, and catalyzation.
The sun now rising higher in the sky, warming the Earth to grow and blossom
And that same heat rising within us, beckoning us to sing and dance.
We honor you and ask that you be with us today in our sacred rite.
Please bring us your energies of passion, determination, and courage.
And fill us with this vital energy of purpose.
Hail and welcome Spirits of the South
Please turn to the West. Take a deep breath and envision the dew of a
spring morning on your face.
We call upon the Spirits of the West, elements of sacred water,
Of the nurturing and nourishing rains,
From the place of the setting sun and our ancestors who have gone before us
of all that is being released over the waters of the world
We honor you and ask that you be with us today in our sacred rite.
Please bring us your energies of love and encouragement.
And emotional wellbeing.
Hail and welcome Spirits of the West
Please turn toward the North. Take a deep breath and feel the stability and
nourishing richness of the Earth upon which you stand.
We call upon the Spirits of the North, elements of the sacred Earth,
of sanctuary and peace, and the ancestors of this land we sit upon,
this fertile land that is greening and blossoming into life.
We honor you and ask that you be with us in our sacred rite.
Please bring us your wisdom, bless our bodies with wellness
And guide us to seed our land, our Earth, with love.
Hail and welcome Spirits of the North.
We now call upon the center…above and below…within and without
Spirit that joins and unifies all of the elements
And connects us with all other beings into
the interconnected web of life
We honor you and ask that you be with us today in our sacred rite.
May you be with us and in us, bringing us balance and wellness
Blessed be
Blessed be to us all….
Ann will now share a reading with us….
Reading ~ Ann
Wake up your whole body and hear this ode to your precious, magnificent,
exuberant self:
Inside you, in places where whispers carry memories,
where you hold your breath and turn away and believe yourself
something less,
there is a truth as gentle as a melody, as limitless as the sky,
as honest as a mountain lake.
There’s no need to try.
A truth that shimmers with the light of you,
the bright of you,
the irrepressible delight of you,
the take my breath away flight of you,
the oh my Goddess just feel the might of you,
the break me wide open at the sight of you.
When at last you have embraced the all of you,
accepted the day and night of you,
the luminous spontaneous grace of you.
I want you to know I am in awe of you.
Every cosmic, orgasmic inch of you.
Every wild unfettered gesture of life of you.
Thank you. Thank you for you. “
- Clare Dubois
Sacred Story ~ Ann
This is Beltane! A time of vibrant life, creativity, sacred union and potential
when the land is blossoming, fertility is in the air, growth is abundant
with a whispered promise of harvest. Brightly colored flowers symbolize
fresh beginnings and the power of nature. We celebrate the greening of the
leaves, the mating calls of birds, the birthing of wild animals.
The evidence of new life is everywhere. We know it in the abundant
blossoms, in the hatching of birds, in bees pollinating flowers. The seeds
planted in spring have germinated and are sprouting. The land is warm,
buzzing and green. The fires of passion burn strong in the spring sunshine,
and all nature is rich with the desire to create.
It is the time of the union of the Goddess and God.
This time of year is not limited to physical procreation. Every cell in your
body has a direct relationship with the creative life force that we know as
the Goddess, and each cell is independently responding. Our very cells
know what to do as they are summoning the Energy, which is here to fuel
our dreams our ambitions, our creativity. As we awake to this at Beltane,
this is a time to think on what we want to plant and grow in our lives both
in terms of the actual seeds of the gardens that will bring us joy but also the
seeds of ideas and wants and dreams.
Beltane is known as a season of joyous fertility being driven by passion
and perhaps a bit of madness. But Beltane isn’t just about hookups between
the Goddess and God, it’s about hookups and also unions between the
Goddess & Goddess, and God & God, and everything in between. It’s
about celebrating the union of different forces and how those unions create
new things. This is when the god and the goddess are balanced in power
and age. We all carry all of these forces in ourselves for wholeness, selflove, love for others, manifestation and growth. These forces are lovers and equals.
For all the abandon and yes, lust, of Beltane, underlying it all, there is still
the fundamental reality of relationships. Relationships between nature and
all creation, relationships between organisms and cells, relationships with
others, relationships with ourselves. There is an imperative driving toward
wholeness achieved through creation and pro-creation.
On a surface level, this may be the equivalent of the honeymoon phase of a
relationship, but I think there is a message that goes beyond that.
So many questions. So many reflections. What are factors important to
relationships? How does our desire for wholeness affect our relationship
with ourselves? How do we practice self-love and self-care in seeking
wholeness? What does wholeness mean for us in our desires to manifest
our dreams and grow just as all of Nature grows at this time. How does
this affect the way we relate to others? How does our example make a
difference in the world around us?
I will speak of Feminine and Masculine but want to stress that these are
only labels for certain kinds of potential characteristics that exist by Divine
design. They are not about gender per se. These terms simply come from
our limited vocabulary to describe the wholeness of the Divine.
At this time of joining and the throbbing imperative to create that
permeates Nature, I think about human cultures and the views on
relationships from which creation can come and how these views affect our
individual sense of wholeness.
(Need a relationship)
I not only espoused, I lived and suffered due to the popular concept that
to be whole, we need a partner in our lives; another to share with and
devote ourselves too. Some of you may hear this and know exactly what I’m
talking about. Some of you may hear this and wonder how such a concept
gets perpetuated and who in their right mind would buy into it. Some may
completely reject the entire topic. I know now this is not what it’s all about.
I know now that we are all right, because we are all alright.
(Love yourself first)
That being said, “Love yourself first” before you can love another is
also a commonly accepted piece of advice. It may be overstated and
misunderstood. This is not becoming immune to criticism and believing
you’re the best. It’s having realistic knowledge of who you are and seeing
yourself as a whole. When you love yourself, you allow yourself to let go
of the expectation of others to do so. These others do not have to take
the form of a significant other or a soulmate. Any relationship that leads
to creation and pro-creations is significant and touches the soul and is a
blessing. The real essence of this popular advice is to love yourself, not so
others will love you, but love yourself so that you will be happy. You are
your own life partner and soul-mate, with the capacity to be whole unto
yourself. I am grateful for experiences that have taught me that I have to
make and feel my own wholeness with a balanced perspective that I am my
own first love and lover.
(Acceptance and Self-care)
Acceptance can be a place to start to the realization that we are whole and
may be the best form of self-care we can practice.
I accepted that abandonment was not a statement about my lovability. It
took the amount of time that it took to learn to be whole unto myself. I
eventually found that I was happy with myself, and by myself. I know I am
whole and worthy. This time another piece of popular wisdom – that from
some of our greatest sorrows come our greatest gifts turned out to be very
true for me.
Take this moment and every moment to accept yourself, life, and others,
just as all is. This is a great opening to the full manifestation of self-love
and practice of self-care. You can see and accept that your needs as worthy
to be met.
(Union of Masculine and Feminine / True Wholeness)
I propose that epitome of what we are all seeking is the union of the
inner feminine and the union with her inner masculine partner and
energy. At this time of Beltane, as well as at this time in the Spiral of the
evolution of human consciousness, we are in the portal of the emergence
of Divine Feminine and her union with the Divine Masculine. Each
of us carries both forces within us. This wholeness of this union comes
from self-love. As we fully love our divine selves, we bridge the feminine
and the masculine within. The love between them is the very essence of
Wholeness.
I paraphrase Meghan Don, the author if The New Divine Feminine.
We may have struggled {for this union} on the outside in our relationships
and in the process we often neglect the inner realms and the depth of
encounter that awaits us.
Do we need our feminine nature to soften our masculine force? Is there a
call for the masculine nature to aid our feminine force in becoming more
solid? If we are too fiery, can we bring in the cooling aspect of a more
transcendental nature? And if we are too cool and detached, can the fiery
aspect draw us back to presence?
There is great spiritual and emotional wealth to be found in finding union
within ourselves.
More thoughts from Meghan Don -
[ We have stopped our development by narrowly saying this is the feminine
way or this is the masculine way, calling each other names, and all the
while berating our own selves in the process. Where there is strife, there
can be no unification. And where there is no unification, there can be
no greater intelligence. We are being asked to bring forward all of our
feminine and all of our masculine faces , forces and focus, bringing into
union all of our intuitive and mental abilities. When we are able to do this,
we give birth to a whole new creation, a whole new intelligence that we
can no longer call feminine or masculine. In truth, the feminine does open
to all, and the masculine does desire the feminine in her fullness. We love
each other immensely.]
The God and the Goddess are awake now, lovers standing as equals in
the world, and also in us and yes, we do love each other immensely. In
embodying that love, we teach by example a lesson our world desperately
needs to embrace. Love yourself immensely. The entire Universe desires
and needs it.
Spell of Dance
Now, let’s take inspiration from Ann’s story, and work it into our spell for
loving our bodies and ourselves immensely.
This is our sacred dance of life and love and joy.
Remember, a spell is prayer in motion. Sacred dance is a high form of
prayer, and it honors the life force within yourself.
Chanting and movement both take the focus off the chatter of the mind,
and they open the direct line of connection between the physical body
and the heart. As we chant and dance, we’re going to find and address
stuck energy within our bodies, which may be preventing us from loving
ourselves immensely.
Feel free to unmute yourself, so we can all hear each other while we’re
chanting.
Now, in preparation for our chanting and dancing, I invite you to relax and
start listening to your body.
First, we breathe. Take a few moments to get comfortable. Relax.
Focus on the breath. Nothing else matters in this moment.
Take a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.
Breathe in, breathe out. In, and out.
Now, as we keep breathing, we begin to listen.
Start to notice if there’s a particular spot in your body that you’re not
loving, or that doesn’t love you right now. This is where energy is stuck, and
by clearing this stuck energy through vibrations and movement, we can
tap into the transformative and life-giving flow of creative energy that is
available to all of us.
Keep breathing, and feel your way to your own spot in your body where energy seems to be stuck.
Gently begin to caress this spot if that feels ok, or if not, just listen to it.
You can also simply sit and let the words and the music wash over you. The
message of the song lyrics is also important.
Now chant with me, the words found in your program. I’ll do it first so you
can catch the rhythm, then we’ll do it together.
Throughout this spell, try not to think…just listen... and go with the flow.
Start to move your body as it feels right to you. Catch the waves of energy
and become one with them in our sacred dance.
Let’s chant...
I
I Am
I Am Body
I Am Body Beautiful
(repeat times 5 together)
***(start music: I Am The Body Beautiful)***
(As song ends…)
Allow yourself to catch the wave of creative energy...
What will you create? What is blossoming forth, bursting with life, that
cannot possibly be contained any longer?
As you let go of the bonds that have held you back, feel the energy rising,
rushing in to fill the space you’ve created.
Hold on to this feeling for a few moments
Rest in the flow
Feel yourself filled with His light and Her love, flowing together in perfect
union, healing and strengthening your beautiful body.
Union is possible, you have felt it. Send this light and love directly to the
place you identified, and let it radiate out to fill your whole body.
{pause}
Remember, you can return to this power, this feeling, this ecstasy, anytime.
Let’s complete the spell by chanting again, with a slight change. Again, I’ll
start us off so you can catch the rhythm, and then we’ll all go together. For
the last line, you’re going to say your own name.
I
I Am
I Am Beautiful
Beautiful [Daria]
(repeat 5 times at least)
And fade, and Namaste
The light in me salutes the light in you
Cup and Athame Ritual ~ Barbara
We are now going to perform a ritual, symbolizing the sacred marriage of
the Goddess and God that occurs on Beltane.
If you have an athame (or knife) to represent the God and a chalice (or
cup) to represent the Goddess, you can do this with me or if not, simply be
with me.
I take this athame in my right hand, representing the God, the sky king, and young stag.
And this chalice in my left hand, representing the Goddess, mother Earth,
the vessel that brings life into form.
Today, we honor the marriage of the Goddess and God
The union of the divine feminine and the divine masculine both within and without
May their union be fertile and productive
As we lower the athame into the chalice, we symbolize the union of the deities.
As They are one,
They become one.
As They become one,
They are one.
And we are also one with Them.
Mother goddess, Queen of the night and of the Earth;
O Father God, King of the day and of the forest,
We celebrate Your union as nature rejoices in a riotous
blaze of color and life.
Accept our gift, Mother Goddess
and Father god, in honor of Your union.
From Your mating shall spring fourth life anew;
a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands,
and the winds will blow pure and sweet.
Ancient Ones, we celebrate with You!
And so it is
Daria will now lead us in a chant
Union Chant - All
{Daria}
Chanting opens the self to become a vessel.
Vibrations pour through us, healing us, returning to the cauldron to then flow out into the world.
Chanting invites alchemical transformation.
Let’s all chant one more time together, the words found in your program
Unmute yourselves, and
We’re going to start it off, join in when you feel ready
{Each of us says the couplet one time, Ann, Barbara, me, then Ann leads us}
She changes everything She touches, and
Everything She touches changes
{All chant together}
She changes everything She touches, and
Everything She touches changes
(repeat 5 times at least; let it naturally fade out)
Releasing The Circle ~ Barbara
{Barbara}
When you’re ready, take a deep breath, let it go, and come back into this realm. Ground yourself by lightly tapping your body and stamping your feet.
Ah, take another breath
Goddess and God, Source of the nurturing elements of air, fire, water, and earth. We thank you for showing these of your faces and essences as we release this circle.
We thank you Spirits of the East, Elements of Air, of inspiration and creativity.
Stay if you will, but go if you must. Hail and farewell.
We thank you Spirits of the South, Elements of Fire, of passion and manifestation.
Stay if you will, but go if you must. Hail and farewell.
We thank you Spirits of the West, Elements of Water, of nurturance and encouragement.
Stay if you will, but go if you must. Hail and farewell.
We thank you Spirits of the North, Elements of Earth, of wisdom and integration.
Stay if you will, but go if you must. Hail and farewell.
Closing Prayer and Blessing
God, Goddess, Beloved Guardian Spirit, and Source of All there is,
We thank you,… our ancestors, …and all the beings of this land for this magnificent time of Beltane and the knowledge that we too, have the power, the energy, and the choice to create.
This celebration ends in peace as it began.
May the blessings we have received go with us all as we depart, to nourish, strengthen, and sustain us until we meet again.
So may it be, Merry meet, Blessed be and Beltane blessings to us all!
Departure
{Closing song plays: Rebel Heart, by The Corrs - or in this case, Lilith
wanted Rod Stewart’s version :) <3}
Beltane Handouts and Ceremony Program PDFs