246 – Blessings For Beltane: Magic and Rituals With Zita Christian
Beltane, which occurs on May 1st, is the celebration of fertility and the encouragement of the world coming back to life. It is halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. The last time we talked about May Day was in our discussion with Selena Fox of the Circle Sanctuary and this year we’re returning to the topic because it is a sacred time not just for Pagans. There’s a reason the Christian holiday Easter, a festical celebrating resurrection, is celebrated at this time of year, because it fits in perfectly with the spirit of rebirth. Spring is naturally a magical time as the earth returns from the dead of winter.
First things first, though. Piggybacking on Episode 245, which was a discussion of film Antrum , supposedly the deadliest film ever made , we received a voicemail from the producer, Eric Thirteen, himself. You can hear that voicemail in this episode. So, that’s an awesome way to kick the show off!
“Ritual without intent is just routine.”
Zita Christian
A ritual doesn’t have to be some sort of ceremony where you sacrifice a ram or a huge mass where you take communion with a hundred other people. It can be as small as rubbing a rabbit’s foot before playing a slot machine, or wearing a hat upside down to rally during a baseball game, or putting on your “lucky shirt” before going on a first date.
We do little rituals all the time, not thinking that they’re magic (how does wearing a hat upside down make you hit the ball better?) but hoping that they’ll help us with a desired outcome. The help us focus our mind, they help us declare our intent. We rub that rabbit’s foot because we want to win, we put on our lucky shirt because it puts us in an attractive mindset.
Rituals and ceremonies have long been human ways of helping us commemorate the passage of time. It’s the coming-of-age bar mitzvah or high school graduation. It’s the shower to welcome a new baby or the saying goodbye of a funeral. There are certain things that we do at all of these ceremonies, whether it’s the games at a shower or the garter belt at a wedding (or even the Electric Slide), they stand for a shorthand that we all know to celebrate together.
But what if you want to do something a little different for your celebration? 23% of all Americans say they have no religious affiliation and it’s usually religion where we get many of our ritual traditions from. So what happens when you’re looking to create a special ceremony but something with meaning to your life and a connection to something besides organized religion?
You call a ritualist, like Zita Christian. You call someone experienced in designing a ceremony that has a connection to the symbolism of spirituality and to ancient traditions but is also personal to you and unbound by the rules of formal religious institutions.
From the very first psychic experience that Zita Christian had when she was only 9 years old, playing a board game and seeing a strange pulsing red energy emerge from the board, she knew that there was something out there that was bigger than ourselves.
After a career as a romance author, she found herself fascinated with magick and astrology and using her learning to help people create powerful rituals in their own lives and has been specializing in weddings (she was a romance novelist after all!) She also performs celebrations and will be doing a Beltane ceremony this year , so in this episode she shares with us her story. We talk about the power of rituals (whether you believe in magic or not) and the history and traditions of Beltane. Some highlights include:
- How the Pagan calendar is based around the Sun, because it was the life-giving force that the agricultural communities were dependent on
- Why farmers should be having more sex in their fields
- How the dance around the Maypole is a lot dirtier than you thought it was
- How The Industrial Revolution changed our sense of the way time passes
- Simple rituals that you can do for Beltane and May Day to celebrate it in your own way
You can find Zita’s podcast and rituals at Moon River Rituals , where you can see her upcoming events as well as ask her questions about creating your own ceremonies to help you commemorate something special.
And of course for this episode, we wanted to write the kind of song you could dance around the Maypole to. So boys grab the white streamers and girls grab the red, and here’s Sunspot with “The Blossom Crown”.
The Blossom Crown
Today we are the endless young
for the new cycle has begun
so give yourself to abandon
and wear the blossom crown
So gather roses while ye may
summer’s too short a date.
every beautiful day
is a paradise
Hail to the Queen of May
the daughter of the Fae
holding the doomed bouqet
a sacrifice
Today we are the endless young
for the new cycle has begun
so give yourself to abandon
and wear the blossom crown
the battle for the dark is won
the winter crone is on the run
and everyone’s a shining sun
who wears the blossom crown
So gather roses while ye may
summer’s too short a date.
every beautiful day
is a paradise
Hail to the Queen of May
the daughter of the Fae
holding the doomed bouqet
a sacrifice
love with all your soul
dance around the pole
red and white laugh in delight
red and white they will ignite
red and white complete the rite,
Today we are the endless young
for the new cycle has begun
so give yourself to abandon
and wear the blossom crown
the battle for the dark is won
the winter crone is on the run
and everyone’s a shining sun
who wears the blossom crown
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