Beltaine
Beltaine sits opposite the Wheel from Samhain. It is the opposite side of the coin. It is a time of great energy, life bursting into bloom, everything exploding. Everything about this festival is associated with energy increasing. Action instead of rest, outer work instead of inner work, fertility instead of fallowness, mating and creation instead of death. The two strongest Beltaine images are the Balefire and the Maypole. The Balefire is the new fire, the new fire of life. Fire transforms and is a symbol for passion and the creativity of life. People jump the Balefire for luck, for love, for change, for creativity. In the old days, cows were driven between two Balefires (bonfires) for fertility and productivity. People would dance around the fire and then partner off and disappear for a night of unabashed coupling. Children born from these matings were considered children of the gods. The Maypole is a strong symbol of life and love. A deep hole is dug into the earth and the pole is set into it (a rather obvious symbol, this). The pole is draped with ribbons. People grasp the ends of the ribbons, women facing one way and men facing the other, and they dance around the pole, bobbing up and down, weaving the ribbons together and around the pole until the pole is covered. It is fun, exhilarating, and energizing. The Lady is represented by the Queen of the May, the Maiden, and her consort is the Green Man, Jack of the Green, the Hooded Man, Robin Hood. The Horned God retreats into the forest until the twilight of the year, for this is the time of new, fresh, green and growing things.
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Crossroads Tabernacle Church is pleased to announce that Principal Clergy and Founding High Priest Robert Keefer has been appointed to serve on the Michigan Department of Corrections Chaplain’s Advisory Council. This is the first time that Wiccan clergy has been appointed to this position in the state. For his two-year term, Robert will meet with clergy from other faiths and lend his expertise in Wiccan spirituality to advise the Department of Corrections on requests made by inmates and staff, work to ensure equal access to materials and worship space as appropriate for all Pagan and other Earth-Based religions, as well as make it possible for other Pagans to volunteer as faith group leaders in Michigan’s correctional facilities. As a part of the global Aquarian Tabernacle Church, Crossroads is dedicated to providing the religous infrastructure that is taken for granted by other mainstream faiths, but too often lacking in our own. Crossroads Tabernacle Church would like to thank all of those in the Pagan community who support their efforts to serve Wiccans and other Pagans from all walks of life, both in and out of ritual space. |
