Najah Lightfoot. Llewellyn Contributing Author, Freelance Writer, Sister-Priestess of the Divine Feminine.
Full Moon Glory!
Luna Bright, Full Moon Light!
Showing posts with label Rituals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rituals. Show all posts
Monday, July 11, 2016
Prepping for Lammas
It's July and it's hot. It's hard to get our minds around harvest time celebrations, although if the heat is wearing you down, you probably are already entertaining thoughts of cooler days and nights. And since we know Summer will eventually leave us, now is a good time to start thinking about the ritual of our first harvest celebration.
Granted sometimes there isn't much time for ritual prep. I know it's been for hard for me, for many years, to get ahead of the Wheel. Seems we just get over one holiday and the next one is on the horizon. And if you follow the Wheel of the Year, we have eight holidays to prep for and celebrate, which can seem like a lot. Sometimes all one can do is acknowledge the day, perhaps light a candle and blow a kiss. Believe me I've been there. So I am grateful for the times when I can do a little pre-ritual preparing, even if it's only in my thoughts.
Following the everyday calendar, there won't be another holiday until Labor Day in September. It's nice to have the lesser Sabbat of Lammas to break up the long hot Summer. And since Witches are keenly tuned to Nature, we can feel the change coming. As I live in Colorado, the mornings already have a slight chill to them, even as the boiling hot day comes into play.
Llewellyn publishes wonderful resources, books, and hints on how to prepare for the Sabbats. I'm thinking of setting out delicious veggies, plants and flowers. All things which symbolize the abundance of a first harvest, the good stuff the hot Summer days have brought us. We've got a few weeks to go, so of course none of these ideas are set in stone, but it's good to start thinking about it!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The rites of Spring and a Magickal Land called Beltania
On Thursday of this week, my beloved husband and I rolled into the Land called Beltania. My community of Living Earth and the Beltania staff had worked long and hard, tirelessly, well maybe not tirelessly!, to put on this year's Beltania festival, located in Florence, CO.
We left Denver in the pouring rain. As is always the case, especially in Colorado, one cannot count on sunny, dry, weather simply because its the month of May. Be that as it is may, we arrived at the land of Beltania, in the pouring rain.
The road was muddy and slick. There was simply no good way to make it up the road, to camp. So we pulled over, and settled in to our spot for the night. This year, we took our adventure to a new level and rented an RV. That itself was an adventure and much fodder for another story!
Even in the rain and mud, it was fantastic to be out of the city. The smell of forest and clean air, is a ritual within itself. We made it up to the festival grounds, checked in and hugged and greeted our friends. Since the weather, was insistent upon rain, all festivities and rituals had to be delayed to the next day. But not to worry, as Pagans we embrace the power of Mother Nature, and go with her flow.
We returned to roadside campsite, set up our fire pit, built a fire, and had a wonderful night, with all the travelers who were making their way up and down the road!
The next morning, we awoke to clear skies and deer silently padding through the forest! Oh Blessed Be! Sunshine and ritual! Yay, Yay, Yay!
On this morning, which was Friday, I was tasked to be the element of Air in the Opening Ritual. How blessedly beautiful it was to gather with everyone and welcome in Beltania! The Circle was enormous and everyone radiated the Spirit of the Mother and Father of the Earth, Time and Spirit! The heavens opened to us and we circled and sang, danced and welcomed in the rites of May.
Once the Opening Ritual was done, I moved to my next task, which was to be Mother Nature and welcome in the new May Queen! Myself and Father Time thanked the 2013 May Queen and Green Man for the service and crowned the new May Queen and Green Man for 2013-2014. It was truly a joyful experience.
Now that my tasks were done, we were free to simply be and wander around and participate in the festival activities. We had a glorious time listening to the musical performers, taking workshops and dancing around the hottest fire into the wee hours of the night.
The next day, which was Saturday we danced and weaved one of the most beautiful May Poles I've ever seen. What a thrill it was to watch the May Queen be hoisted upon the May Pole and the men carry her through the grounds. Then with everyone chanting and yelling the men successfully inserted the pole into the fertile ground of Mother Earth. We then danced and weaved the most beautiful bright ribbons around and around the May Pole. Spectacular. Simply joyful and wonderful.
We met so many wonderful new people for whom this was their first Pagan festival or as a solitary they had made the decision to come out and be with other Pagans on the mountain.
I can't thank enough all the People who work so hard to put on a safe, fun, Spiritually rich, diverse, open, welcoming, event for people of all paths, faiths, genders and ages. We are truly blessed to be a part of the Living Earth Community.
Blessed Be,
Priestess Najah
We left Denver in the pouring rain. As is always the case, especially in Colorado, one cannot count on sunny, dry, weather simply because its the month of May. Be that as it is may, we arrived at the land of Beltania, in the pouring rain.
The road was muddy and slick. There was simply no good way to make it up the road, to camp. So we pulled over, and settled in to our spot for the night. This year, we took our adventure to a new level and rented an RV. That itself was an adventure and much fodder for another story!
Even in the rain and mud, it was fantastic to be out of the city. The smell of forest and clean air, is a ritual within itself. We made it up to the festival grounds, checked in and hugged and greeted our friends. Since the weather, was insistent upon rain, all festivities and rituals had to be delayed to the next day. But not to worry, as Pagans we embrace the power of Mother Nature, and go with her flow.
We returned to roadside campsite, set up our fire pit, built a fire, and had a wonderful night, with all the travelers who were making their way up and down the road!
The next morning, we awoke to clear skies and deer silently padding through the forest! Oh Blessed Be! Sunshine and ritual! Yay, Yay, Yay!
On this morning, which was Friday, I was tasked to be the element of Air in the Opening Ritual. How blessedly beautiful it was to gather with everyone and welcome in Beltania! The Circle was enormous and everyone radiated the Spirit of the Mother and Father of the Earth, Time and Spirit! The heavens opened to us and we circled and sang, danced and welcomed in the rites of May.
Once the Opening Ritual was done, I moved to my next task, which was to be Mother Nature and welcome in the new May Queen! Myself and Father Time thanked the 2013 May Queen and Green Man for the service and crowned the new May Queen and Green Man for 2013-2014. It was truly a joyful experience.
Now that my tasks were done, we were free to simply be and wander around and participate in the festival activities. We had a glorious time listening to the musical performers, taking workshops and dancing around the hottest fire into the wee hours of the night.
The next day, which was Saturday we danced and weaved one of the most beautiful May Poles I've ever seen. What a thrill it was to watch the May Queen be hoisted upon the May Pole and the men carry her through the grounds. Then with everyone chanting and yelling the men successfully inserted the pole into the fertile ground of Mother Earth. We then danced and weaved the most beautiful bright ribbons around and around the May Pole. Spectacular. Simply joyful and wonderful.
We met so many wonderful new people for whom this was their first Pagan festival or as a solitary they had made the decision to come out and be with other Pagans on the mountain.
I can't thank enough all the People who work so hard to put on a safe, fun, Spiritually rich, diverse, open, welcoming, event for people of all paths, faiths, genders and ages. We are truly blessed to be a part of the Living Earth Community.
Blessed Be,
Priestess Najah
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
A Bucket, A Mop and A Broom
In the early hours of the dark of the morning, I move silently through my home. I wash the floors, smoke the space and carry a candle. I'm performing my house cleansing, an act I repeat on a regular basis.
I was taught this procedure by the one of the best, cat yronwode. Several years ago I studied with her and completed her Hoodoo and Rootwork correspondence course. It changed my life and was one of the best studies I have ever undertaken.
Cleansing my home on a regular basis takes me into all the nooks, crannies and spaces that one may not ever touch. In our busy lives its hard to slow down and wash down your floors, windows and rooms. Who has that type of time any more? Yet each cycle I find myself drawn to the ritual even though physically I may not feel up to it. But Spiritually it has become such an ingrained act, that I awaken and go through process, called to it from a Higher Place.
Its good to routinely cleanse your home, space, office or business on a regular basis. Things build up. Arguments happen, funk gathers, people may be in your space that you don't particularly want to return. Over time this can have a cumlative negative effect on the Spiritual sanctity of your space. And to add further to it, if you practice Magick, you definitely want to be cleansing your space on a regular basis.
When I arise in the dark, lit only by candle, moving by stealth through my home, I connect to the Old Ways. A spirit arises in my soul that lifts me to another world and I love the feeling. Not to mention how wonderful my home smells and feels when the cleansing is done. When its complete I can rest assured for another cycle, my home is cleansed, blessed and protected.
With all the muck that we go through in our world, a practice of routine cleansing is essential.
Here's to all your works and may they be successful ones.
Priestess Najah
I was taught this procedure by the one of the best, cat yronwode. Several years ago I studied with her and completed her Hoodoo and Rootwork correspondence course. It changed my life and was one of the best studies I have ever undertaken.
Cleansing my home on a regular basis takes me into all the nooks, crannies and spaces that one may not ever touch. In our busy lives its hard to slow down and wash down your floors, windows and rooms. Who has that type of time any more? Yet each cycle I find myself drawn to the ritual even though physically I may not feel up to it. But Spiritually it has become such an ingrained act, that I awaken and go through process, called to it from a Higher Place.
Its good to routinely cleanse your home, space, office or business on a regular basis. Things build up. Arguments happen, funk gathers, people may be in your space that you don't particularly want to return. Over time this can have a cumlative negative effect on the Spiritual sanctity of your space. And to add further to it, if you practice Magick, you definitely want to be cleansing your space on a regular basis.
When I arise in the dark, lit only by candle, moving by stealth through my home, I connect to the Old Ways. A spirit arises in my soul that lifts me to another world and I love the feeling. Not to mention how wonderful my home smells and feels when the cleansing is done. When its complete I can rest assured for another cycle, my home is cleansed, blessed and protected.
With all the muck that we go through in our world, a practice of routine cleansing is essential.
Here's to all your works and may they be successful ones.
Priestess Najah
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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