Beltane Meditation by Yasmine Galenorn

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Beltane Meditation

 

Relax and get comfortable.

Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.

 

You are standing in a grotto near a beautiful pool of clear water. Trees surround you on three sides, cedars and oaks, fir and birch. Interspersed among the silent giants are lilacs, thick blossoms hanging full and purple off old gnarled trunks. The trees are filled with birds, their incessant chatter keeps you company in the quiet forest.

 

The day is bright, sunlight glimmers off your hair and reflects from tree to tree. The forest radiates with a golden glow as the rays of light pass through thick undergrowth and turn peridot green.

 

It is Beltane, and you have come here to bathe. Lift your garments over your head and let them drop to the ground. The air tickles your bare skin, playing over your body like soft, whispery kisses.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

When you are naked, slide gently into the silent water.

The bottom of the pond reflects with gems---peridot and citrine, amethyst and sapphire all gleam from the sand beneath your feet. This is the Crystal Grotto, full of majick and passion.

Move your feet along the bottom of the sand. As you stir up the silt, reach down and scoop up a handful of gems. They shimmer in the sunlight and then, as you watch, they melt and pour back into the pool where they once again form into shining jewels.

 

The spring season has been hectic; you have worked hard to realize your goals and sometimes the effort has been so intense that it feels like you have strained yourself. There has been little time for play during the growing season, little time to relax and the tension aches in your shoulders and back.

 

It is said that if you bathe in the Crystal Grotto on Beltane, it will ease your body and wipe away worry and tension from your mind.

 

Take a moment to think about the stresses that have built up in your life. Bring them to your conscious thoughts.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

Now immerse yourself fully in the water. It is cool against your skin and as you open your eyes, the water soothes any itching and soreness they might experience, even as it moisturizes the rest of your body.

 

Feel your worries loosen, they are like old scabs ready to flake away.

As you rise up out of the pond, the water streams off of you, carrying with it the dust and strain of the season past.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

When your body is clean and your thoughts are clear, step out of the pond and let the sunlight dry your skin.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

Your clothes are waiting on the ground for you. Put them on and pick up the backpack that is sitting under a nearby huckleberry bush. The woods are waiting, Beltane is here, and you feel a pull towards a copse of cedars.

 

As you walk along, the sun gets warmer and warmer. You are sweating, but your body is clean and the sweat feels good. If you like, you may take off your shirt, or stop and change into cooler clothes that are in your backpack.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

You notice, as you wind along the spacious path that leads through the forest, that you are getting very thirsty. There is a canteen in your backpack that is filled with clear water. Drink deep.

 

As you are drinking, a low rustle from the foliage startles you. A stag steps out of the undergrowth and stares at you with glowing eyes.

He is huge, with a rack of antlers that stretches over five feet from point to point. The stag throws back his head and you hear a low cry emerge from his throat. Then the deer jumps and races off into the forest. As he runs, you hear the piercing whistle of pipes from the direction in which he is headed and the music calls you forward.

You find yourself racing behing the stag, following the call that leads him on. Running through the foliage, briar and bramble snag your feet and clothing but you pull free and race on. Your feet have never felt lighter, your heart has never jumped so quickly to any tune before.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

Trees and bushes fly by in a blur. The only thing you can keep your sight on is the back of the buck. With a fleeting thought, you realize you are keeping pace with the animal. Just when you wonder if you'll ever be able to stop, the pipes fall silent and you skid to a halt. As you sink to the ground, panting, look around and see where you are.

 

You have landed in a patch of grass dotted with wildflowers. Daisies and bachelor's buttons dapple the verdant grass. In the center of the meadow, you see the stag. He has stopped before a willow tree. Its leaves drape like vines, shrouding the trunk in a cloud of green.

You see one long leg extend out from behind the tree. At first you think it is a giant goat, but then an arm reaches out and curls around one of the branches. Then, before you are ready, out leaps a tall figure.

His lower torso is long and ends in two furred, hooved legs. Your eyes travel upwards, past the massive phallus, along the muscular chest and well-muscled arms to the hands that clutch a set of argent pipes. And then you know. It is Pan, the Goat God.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

He is grinning beneath His bearded chin, and His eyes glitter with mirth and chaos. They twinkle, blue one moment and then brown the next. His hair, dark as the earth itself, spills over tanned shoulders.

"Well met, mortal," He says.

The stag nuzzles at the God, lowering his head so that Pan can scratch at the base of the antlers. Pan eyes you speculatively, then says, "It is Beltane, the day of the Rut. You have unwittingly entered Arcadia. You might as well enjoy yourself." Then He claps His hands and out from the shadow of the willow tree step three young women.

"Attend to our guest," Pan says.

The women surround you. They are luminous, with almond shaped eyes and skin that glows even in the daylight. You realize they are nymphs.

One nymph begins to remove your clothing while another oils your skin with ylang-yland and jasmine. Her hands are gentle, with the lightest caress. The oil's scent rises to your nose. Intoxicating, the exotic perfumes ride the night sky from half a world away and you catch a brief glimpse in your mind of luminous blossoms entwining in the night, creeping through lush, verdant foliage. The perfume swirls around you, seducing and teasing, soaking into your skin.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

Now the third nymph helps you dress in a filmy, silken robe. It feels like you are wearing nothing at all, and the robe is so sheer that your body is visible through the material.

Pan watches from the tree, still grinning. When you are dressed He says, "Today I mate with the Lady. You will be priveleged. Not every mortal gets to watch the Divine Marriage."

As He speaks, there is a soft whisper from the entrance to the meadow. You look over and see a tall woman enter the lea. She is golden-haired, clothed only in a golden girdle and She carries a basket of golden apples. The leaf shadows play against Her bare breasts and when She arches Her back, Pan sucks in a deep breath. The scent of musk fills the air as His phallus rises, thickly erect. His desire coils around you.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

He kneels at the Goddess' feet. "Lady Aphrodite," Pan says, "I am priveleged to conjoin with you this day. It is the day of the Rut, the day of mating."

When Aphrodite speaks, Her voice shatters the air like thin glass splintering, She says, "Lord of the Forest, mate with me. Fill me with your sacred seed. Let me worship and revere your phallus, that which fathers the forest."

She falls to Her knees and takes Pan's phallus in Her hands, then slowly licks it to it's full length, Her tongue tripping along the veins that throb with passion.

A low roar starts in the back of Pan's throat and He pushes Aphrodite back on the grass, then spreads Her legs with one knee. His hand slips into that sacred veldt between Her knees and She cries out, writhing as He works Her.

Pan murmurs, "The body of the Goddess is to the body of the World. From Her all things begin and to Her all things return." Then with a cry of triumph, Pan plunges into Aphrodite and the world shakes with Their passion.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

When They have finished, the two Gods look over at you. Both hold out Their arms. "You are indeed priveleged, mortal. You have witnessed the heiros gamos, the sacred marriage. Now come, to the one or both of us that you most desire, and take your pleasure."

The nymphs push you forward. Go now, to either Pan or Aphrodite or both, and spend awhile in Their arms, progressing as it feels safe and appropriate.

 

~ Extended Long Pause---at least 3 minutes ~

 

When you are finished, Pan and Aphrodite step back to the willow tree.

Pan breaks off a branch and fashions it into a simple reed.

"Take this reed and know that when you play on it, the music will summon my attention, and even if I cannot answer, I will know you called."

Take the reed and hold it, know it has the power to alert the God.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

Aphrodite holds out a golden apple. "Eat one bite of this apple. It will reveal to you the knowledge of your own sexuality. It will guide you in accepting those parts of yourself that may be fearsome or embarrassing.

For all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals."

Take the apple and bite into it. The fruit is sweeter than wine, sweeter than honey. As you chew, listen to your heart and what it tells you about your sexual feelings for yourself, and for others.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

Then Pan turns to the stag, "Lead this mortal out of Arcadia safely," the Goat God says. "Go now, knowing that carnality is a part of life. As our intellects and our emotions need to be used and honed, so our bodies need expression. Beauty is found not in the skin, but in the heart and passion that guides it. Now climb on the back of the stag and he will lead you safely to your world.

As you climb on back of the stag, Pan and Aphrodite raise Their hands and wave good-bye.

 

~ Long Pause ~

 

The stag races out of the meadow and once again the trees passing by become a blur. As I count from fifteen to one, the stag will bring you back to waking consciousness.

 

Fifteen . . . fourteen . . . thirteen . . . twelve . . . the stag is beginning to slow . . . eleven . . . ten . . . you have passed through the woods and are nearing the Crystal Grotto . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . the stag comes to a halt next to the pond and you slide off his back . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . you will be fully alert and refreshed . . . three . . . two . . . you will be awake and alert . . . one . . . take three deep breaths and when you are ready, open your eyes.

 

 

 

by Yasmine Galenorn

First posted by Artemisia

in Sabbats and Seasons.

[AZureGray]

I plan to print this up and add some pictures so I can put it in my "room". Thank you for this..I really needed it! Blessings of the Goddess to you,

AZureGray