The Family Patch

Happy Beltane 2013!

 

Beltane is, in the Pagan Wheel of the Year, the day we celebrate the return of the summer (isn't that much needed right now?)

As I've written before, Tim and I feel drawn to a Pagan way of living, in that we love the sense of living in harmony with nature and the seasons and looking after ourselves and our earth because we see it all as being part of the whole. For us, following this way of life is about honouring life itself, and in doing so honouring the sacred that is all around us. 

This is an extension of what I have been doing for years and it is just nice to find a group of like-minded people. For me, God is all around us, in everything, creating everything, cherishing everything, and loving everything. That is why I love the beautiful symbolism of the progression of the seasons through the stages of the Goddess' life, from maiden to mother to crone. 

At Beltane, the God begins courting the Goddess and this time of year is all about fertility. Seedlings are beginning to grow, flowers are beginning to bloom, life begins to flourish after the harsh months of the winter. It is a glorious time of refreshment and looking forwards to the warmth of summer and the abundance of autumn yet to come. 

 

This time last year we travelled to Glastonbury and celebrated Beltane there. Though we had been to Glastonbury before, it was our first experience of being there during a festival. And the place was buzzing. I felt truly emotional at times, because the love and joy was so embracing. It was a wonderful tonic after a couple of really tough years for us - a winter (if you will) that had lasted far too long!

We had hoped to return this year as well, but things didn't work out that way. We both felt a slight pang when we realised Beltane was coming up and we were still at home. But it worked out for the best as Little Man came down with a stomach bug Saturday night and we spent Sunday (my birthday) doing load after load of laundry and praying that his symptoms would soon ease. 

Thankfully, though still tender, Little Man is well on his way to recovery. And TJ and I have started to smudge the house with the Beltane incense we bought in Glastonbury last year and are having a massive "Spring Clean" which started a few weeks ago and is finally starting to get near completion. 

 

I feel like the light is finally starting to break through and we're finally starting to cast off the physical, mental and emotional traumas that have so darkened our lives in the past few years. We're letting go of the fear and anger and grief and starting to embrace the hope and joy and returning to a place where we want to celebrate the spiritual in our everyday lives.

We still have a way to go, but this Beltane I feel like we are further on than we were last year and hopefully by next Beltane we'll be even more refreshed in our souls. Cycles of life happen continually and they don't always take the same amount of time. Our physical seasons happen on a yearly basis, and yet even they can get slightly out of whack, just look how long this winter has lasted! And just like in the Wheel of the Year, we can personally go from Winter to Spring to Summer and then back to Winter again. Hard times crop up throughout our lives, but I like to think that we learn from early Winters how to stock up on reserves and enjoy the summer sun and the autumn harvest when they are here, so that when Winter does arrive we have the energy to get through it.

 

And that's exactly what I plan on doing this year!

Happy Beltane everyone x

Celebrating Samhain

The Pagan Wheel of the Year begins at Samhain (31st October). It is a time of looking back at the past year, tying up (and letting go of) loose ends, and preparing for the year ahead. The harvest is over, the leaves are falling from the trees and the winter months are coming. It is a great time for reflection.

I'm not going to go into the connection between Samhain, the Christian festival of All Saints and the modern Halloween. Right now that isn't an issue I feel the need to address. Because although Samhain is a time of honouring the ancestors and remembering the continuous cycle of life and death, this is not our personal focus this year.

TJ and I have been through a hell of a lot in the past few years. Our faith has faltered, and our lives have been turned upside down and inside out more than once. We have harboured a lot of anger, fear and guilt. And we have found it extremely hard to focus on the spiritual side of our lives, perhaps when we needed it the most!

And so, this Samhain we are reflecting on where we have been, how far we have come, and letting go of the downtrodden way of looking at things. We are making a promise to ourselves to embrace our faith, explore it and find out just where we want to go. We have spent the past few years on a solitary path, never quite committing to the values we wanted to uphold. So this year, we are making a fresh start.

Starting today, we will spend a turn of the wheel (one year) exploring our faith in new ways. We want to feel confident and secure in our relationship to life, nature and the Divine, not only for ourselves but also for Little Man.

And a part of this includes stepping away from the blog. I have been feeling disillusioned with blogging for a few months now. It feels very "false" to me, like I am trying to fit into a world that I don't quite belong to. And a change needs to occur. I have known this for a while, and this promise we have made at the Celtic New Year is the opportunity I need to make that change once and for all.

I will not be getting rid of the Patch. I have put a lot of energy into it, and do not wish to lose the journal that saw me through our relocation, wedding, pregnancy and first year of Little Man's life. It has been hard, but the blessings have been immense. So instead of saying goodbye completely, I am making a change...

The Patch is to become more focussed, where I can leave the aspects which I feel are important, and continue to document areas of our journey that I wish to remember in this way. However, by making the blog a small part of a larger whole, I am hopeful that I shall lose that nagging feeling that I should be posting more often. It's to become an "as and when" job that reflects who we are as a family, not what is currently trending in the blogosphere.

And this reflection of us means that the Patch will have a much stronger Pagan slant than it ever has. I have kept my faith away from my blog for far too long, yet it is the thing that has helped me survive the things I have and inspired me to turn those things into a way to help others (eg writing about HG). 

The changes to the Patch will happen soon, but for now I am off to enjoy a celebratory meal in honour of this special day. 

Blessings x

The Evolution of Halloween...

This morning I received an email about an "infographic" created by MoneySupermarket.com about the 'Changing Face' of Halloween.

I found the information quite fascinating and it got me thinking about the debate about the "Commercialisation of Christmas" and whether that could now be asked about Halloween as well.

My husband and I consider ourselves to be Pagan. So we are inherently aware of the deeper significance of this date in the Wheel of the Year. But that doesn't stop us from enjoying the fun and festivities that can be found in decorating the house with spooks and ghouls, dressing up and buying sweets to give to the Trick-or-Treaters. We think those are all fun aspects of the modern Halloween and that enjoying life is important, so long as it is within our budget and doesn't harm anyone. 

The same can be said about Christmas. I may consider myself to be Pagan, but I also read my Bible and take inspiration and comfort from this. I do not believe that one must negate the other. I am becoming more and more able to celebrate both Yule and Christmas and cherish what they mean to me. A friend once asked me, many years ago, what Christmas meant to be as a 'non-Christian'. My reply was that it was about spending time with those you love, showing them you care by treating them with good company and little gifts. It is about celebrating light during the dark months, and celebrating the gifts that family can bring. And that includes decorating the house, writing Christmas cards, buying and making presents and eating lots of yummy food. We could have a simpler Christmas, but just because we buy a few luxuries doesn't mean we lose the essence of the celebration. 

That's not to say that I think the entire commercialisation of the event is a good thing. I would quite like to start seeing Christmas decorations and promotions during Advent only. I don't want Christmas music blaring out as I do my shopping at the end of October. That does detract from the special feeling that comes from a celebration that lasts for one month only, rather than three!! And I hope Halloween never follows that trend and ends up being advertised in the middle of July...

But I see no harm in this 'Changing Face' of our celebrations. In fact, I find it quite fascinating how things change and how quickly it can happen. Which is why I have chosen to share the "Infogaphic" with you all. I'd love to hear you thoughts...

 

 

Image source: MoneySupermarket;