What is Evolution?

“We began as a mineral.
We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten our former states, except in early spring when we slightly recall being green again.
That’s how a young person turns towards a teacher.
That’s how a baby leans toward the breast, without knowing the secret of its desire, yet turning instinctively.
Humankind is being led along an evolving course, through the migration of intelligences, and though we seem to be sleeping, there is an inner wakefulness that directs the dream, and that will eventually startle us back to the truth of who we are.”
— The Story of Evolution
— Rumi, 13th Century

5.04.2015

Beltane: Honouring Life & Union

So, I am currently reading the Mists of Avalon, the story of King Arthur told from a female (Priestess') perspective, and for the first time ever I encounter the Beltane festivals. 

Curiosity got the better of me and as, coincidentally, last weekend was actually Beltane, as well as the Full Moon, I ventured down the rabbit hole of information on the world wide web and this is what I came up with: 


Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into its two primary seasons, winter (Dark Part) and summer (Light Part).  Celebrated approximately halfway between Vernal (spring) equinox and the midsummer (Summer Solstice), Beltane traditionally marked the arrival of Summer in ancient times and is the last of the three spring fertility festivals, the others being Imbolc and Ostara.

Observed on May 1st (or October 31 - November 1 for our Southern Hemisphere readers), festivities typically begin the evening before, on the last night of April. It's a time to welcome the abundance of the fertile earth, and a day that has a long (and sometimes scandalous) history.

As Samhain is about honoring Death, Beltane, its counter part, is about honouring Life. It is the time when the sun is fully released from his bondage of winter and able to rule over summer and life once again. 

A holiday of Union--both between the Goddess and the God and between man and woman, Beltane is also a time of fertility and harvest, the time for reaping the wealth from the seeds that we have sown. It is the season of maturing life and deep found love, a time when sexuality (something we see as holy and intrinsic to us as holy beings) is celebrated.

The Lord and his Lady, having reached maturity, come together in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust to celebrate the joy of their union. This is a time to celebrate the coming together of the masculine and feminine creative energies. Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desired the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms and unite. Together, they learn the secrets of the sexual and the sensual, and through their union, all life begins.

Although considered a pagan tradition, I believe that Beltane and all rituals which honoured the cycles we experience in this time are worthy of acknowledgement and appreciation.

 The more you know, the more you grow. 


iNi 

continue to grow and celebrate all aspects of my evolution

Nadya Dee

Penned by on

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Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."