Beltane & Living Myth
I’m curious. What myth do you live by? Joseph Campbell described myth as the urge to comprehend the world in a meaningful way, the search for a path through life, the need to create fulfilling relationships, and the longing to understand one’s part in the Great Mystery.
Our personal myths are woven together as threads into the tapestry of the collective myth, upon which reality unfolds. With even a small amount of reflection, we are capable of seeing core themes, wounds and paths of healing.
My mythic orientation is a blend of many paths - Dreaming, Earth Wisdom, Mystic Christianity, Yoga, and other healing arts and sciences.
So, in my myth, this weekend marks a threshold point in the cosmic dance - Lunar Beltane - the peak of Spring and gateway into Summer when the Sun is in Taurus and the Full Moon is in Scorpio - Saturday May 18, 2019 @ 2:11pm PDT.
As the Moon reaches fullness, she is exactly opposite the Sun, reflecting its radiance. Taurus is a sign of earthy sensuality, pleasure, patience, attentive listening and waiting. Scorpio, on the other hand, is watery, dark, and secretive; interested in themes of sex, death, money and power - all the taboo subjects! This is Beltane.
Beltane is a fire festival traditionally celebrated by lighting bonfires in joyous ceremony. People would gather around the fire and dance themselves into ecstasy. Couples would leap over the fire hand-in-hand before frolicking off into the woods to make love through the night and merge in bliss.
But you know what? Instead of basking in bliss and frolicking among the May flowers, there is an urgency this year to be more engaged with the powers that be - the powers that destroy and the powers that create. Within and without. I’m acutely aware of both the beauty of this life with the birds singing, flowers blooming, and children playing; and the fucked up political games that are raping the planet and tearing away our bodily rights.
This is a fierce time to be alive. We are collectively in a crucible of transformation and as the fire gets hotter, it will require all of us to come together. Fiercely. Sensually. Courageously. Creatively. Compassionately. Honestly. For old ways die hard.
Under the light of this Beltane Full Moon, our work is to embody and integrate Wholeness - beyond the polarization of masculine and feminine, beyond all the us vs. them bullshit, beyond fear. We have a lot of work to do and there is no way to bypass the fire and avoid the heat. Align with something greater, fuller, deeper, truer. Take action - Sacred Action.
Maria Mitchell, a 19th-century astronomer, said: “Mingle the starlight with your lives and you won’t be fretted by trifles.” Instead, you’ll be ignited and inspired by your place in this Great Mystery.
So, how will you live your myth, transforming and contributing to this world?
Enter these turning points
Where the rhythms of life transform
into each other.Breath flows in, filling, filling,
In this moment, drink eternity.Breath flows out, emptying, emptying,
Offering itself to infinity.
(excerpt from Lorin Roche’s Radiance Sutras - Sutra 3)
We have a lot of work to do, and we’re better and stronger together. Thank you for being here with me, for reading along, dreaming bigger, and doing the Good Work. I’ll see you on the mat, in the world, and in the Dreaming.
Love,
Jennifer
