Merry May - Season-starter Update

Hey, this is my 200th post, which I didn't notice until the next day : ). Thanks to all you readers... on we go!

Summer arrives like a train around here, big, loud and steamy. I’m glad that I had a good winter for ritual and magical work, because now the face rises from the books and shrine and turns to the fire. More time with drums, less with the keyboard.

This is my usual beginning of summer post. May is always packed – public Beltaine last weekend (our best weather in the last several years), May Party here at Tredara this weekend and then the Wellspring Gathering on Memorial Day weekend. I’ll try to produce some content here, though. I have a couple of essays in the chute, but they’ll be done when they’re done.

I’m working on a next phase for the Pagan spirit-arte methods. My moment of revolutionary zeal in the spring has set me to developing a suite of rites intended to draw the spirits back into manifestation in a specific place or region. Such a grand goal must begin with small arrangements, and presently I’m working on rites offered to the Irish god Manannan. As always my problem is in identifying  and classifying the not-god spirits. Unlike Brigid, the Mac Lir has no handy three aspects or list of titles that can provide the ‘archangels’ for the model. I’ve taken another route, and I do hope to test it this summer. I have a growing certainty that Manannan the Trickster is a correct patron for a work of re-enchanting the land.

I’m going to be doing the Court of Brigid Working again at Eight Winds Festival at the end of June. Once I get this suite of Manannan rites to a point I must go back to the original festival script of the Brigid work and see what my year has taught me about it. I look forward to getting a chance to improve it, and test the improvements on willing subjects : ). I think that soon following I will produce a published version of the rites, with the list of spirits and their sigils.

In connection with the trip to Eight Winds I expect to get a bit of time for tourism in Cali, both LA-ish and more northerly. Should be fun. Next year maybe back to the British Isles!

Then it will be off to Starwood! I’m still doing on-the-ground organizer duties, so I still try to avoid doing serious occult work at the event. It’s too bad, really, because it is my biggest potential audience of the year. Maybe one of these years I’ll redirect my energies to doing some Theurgy for the multitudes. As it is ADF will be doing some specialized teaching and the usual demo ritual and I’ll be working with that. I’ll sing at a gig or two there and enjoy what is really more of a working vacation.

Now it’s back to the mowing and prepping. It’s May Party weekend here. This is actually the oldest party on the place, having been held by L since way back in the mid-80s. It’s a secular but Beltaine-charged gathering with a nice tall maypole-dance as the sunset centerpiece. I mean to get pics this year – we’ll see how many of them are blog-friendly ; ).

Hope you are enjoying the merry month of Beltaine. May your luck be good and your life be rich.