Beltane 2012
Twelve wonderful women braved an unseasonably wet and cold Sunday on April 29th for the Wood Sisters Beltane Celebration. While the rain lashed down outside, we sat by the warm fireside to stir our ‘Wisdom Pot’ of thoughts and feelings about this time of the year. Once again we were joined by some new sisters and it was a pleasure to see them settling in so graciously and finding, in the words of Claire; “Sanctuary, Sisterhood (and a sense of) Coming Home…” Together we explored our experiences of different new shoots that are bursting into life in our lives, old wood and old pains and fears that are ready for pruning and letting go of and also shared much laughter around the spring awakening of dormant sexuality and our longings for intimacy with ‘the other.’
This beautiful image (by John William Waterhouse) of Psyche opening 'the box of beauty' sat on our hearthside for the day, thanks to Linda
After our second round of tea, we were ready to settle into listening to and learning from Sue’s spirited telling of the story of Psyche and Eros. To me this seemed very much an initiatory tale of the awakening of the female soul through the journey of relationship, whether with a beloved in our outer and/or inner life. Psyche begins the story as a beautiful and much projected upon young woman who unwittingly incurs the wrath of Venus, the Goddess of Love. On her journey of awakening she bravely engages with a ‘marriage to death’ as she leaps from a high rocky crag into the unknown. She is carried by the west wind to a dreamlike palace where she is united with a mysterious lover, whom she never sees but only meets in the dark, in bed at night. This part of the story reminded me of the early stages of a love relationship in which ones delights in passionate feelings and lovemaking, while not really knowing the other person at all! Psyche’s desire to see and know her partner more fully reveals him to be Eros himself, but leads to them both being hurt and separated. The quest for a mature experience of love and inner balance is driven by the impossible tasks set by Venus. Does this sound at all familiar? Who among us has not been similarly hard pressed in both outer relationships and in learning about the depths of ourselves?
The tasks set by Venus are worth reflecting on; one involves sorting seeds (something we face during every springtime of our lives as we have to discern what is creative and life giving) another involves gathering soft fleece from angry rams and another brings back sacred waters from a seemingly impossible height. Each task is accomplished with elemental or animal helpers. The final task is like a deeper re-visting of that first brave leap into the arms of death, as Psyche travels to the Underworld to bring back a box of beauty for Venus. When Psyche decides to open the box for herself, unconsciousness overcomes her until she is rescued by Eros. With the help of the Gods, Psyche and Eros are finally united and Psyche becomes a Goddess.
Sharing what had touched us in the story shed light on many different motifs…meeting the Beloved, sacred wounding, achieving the impossible (with help), realising our true divine nature…to name a few. We then took some of the themes and images into meditation. In imagination, we too were invited to leap into the unknown and to journey into the otherworld and meet with our inner Beloved in the lovers’ chamber with both its sweetness and its wounds. Going deeper we encountered the Goddess as challenger and initiator and had to do some inner seed sorting of our own. The journey concluded with a sacred marriage and immersion into the divine light of the deeper Self. Returning to the everyday we quietly explored any inner impressions received through journalling and art before coming back together to share our experiences and creations.
A taste of our Beltane 'Bring and Share' Feast
The bring and share feast seemed even more abundant than usual today and reflected the bounties of late Spring, featuring local greens from tender hawthorn leaves to wild garlic. There was also a strong ‘orange’ theme in our food (from sweet potato soup to mango ‘nocheese’ cake) which seemed like a rather wonderful intuitive response to the creative and sexual energies which in some spiritual traditions are associated with the second chakra, the womb and the colour orange.
Space for being crafty in the conservatory
After lunch, we took four themes inspired by the morning; of love, lust, longing and letting go and explored them through listening to and writing poetry and getting creative in the newly installed ‘craft conservatory’. Some deeply personal and powerful creations emerged from this time, which we shared in the final ceremony. Some sisters took the opportunity for ‘letting go’ as poems were released into the fire, while others lit candles for prayer or blessing and each of us had the chance to be a May Queen and wear a beautiful crown of hawthorn and crab apple blossom as we took our turn to share.
To end, here is a poem written by that champion of sacred love poetry, Hafiz, which we read that afternoon and which seemed to particularly touch many hearts…
BEAUTIFUL CREATURE
There is a beautiful creature living
in a hole you have
dug,
so at night I set fruit and grains and little pots of wine and milk
beside your soft earthen
mounds,
often I sing to you,
but still, my dear, you do not come out.
I have fallen in love with someone
who is hiding inside
of you.
We should talk about this problem
otherwise I will never
leave you
alone!