Greetings to all Full Circle friends & members,
In this May 2003 edition of our newsletter we have:
Beltane: Lore, food, history & crafts * Pagan Parenting: Master Builder Block Sets & The Ancient World * P.A.A.N * Pagan Shopping * Viking Bronze * Tarot Deck Website * Warning!: Aromatherapy is not Good for your Cat * Stupid Movie Physics * The Pagan Bookshelf * Hot Tub Mystery Religion * Nebula Awards * Celtic Blessings * Mead Makers Page * The Camelot Project * Learning to Forgive Yourself * Events of Interest * Poncho Tamales Kipling
BELTANE:
LORE, FOOD, HISTORY & CRAFTS:
***
Essays on Beltane:
Beltane by Selena Fox: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/pholidays/Beltane.html
Beltane
Essays at
The Witches Voice: http://www.witchvox.com/holidays/xbeltaine.html
Beltane
Facts & Misinformation
: http://www.tylwythteg.com/Beltaine.html
Dancing
Round the Maypole
: http://homepages.tesco.net/~derek.berger/holidays/mayday.html
Hobby
Horses & Associated Rites by Russell Williams: http://www.conjure.com/TRINE/hobbyhrs.html
The
Lovers & The Greenman as Robin Hood by Jill Pederson Meyer
http://users.internorth.com/~wiccan/seasons/beltane.htm#lovers
***Festival
Foods for May Day:
http://users.internorth.com/~wiccan/seasons/beltane.htm#may%20foods
***
Fire Festival in Scotland:
http://www.edinburghguide.com/feats/beltane.htm
***
Handfasting & Beltane Ritual (one example)
http://www.mindspring.com/~stardancer/handfst2.txt
***
Maibaum (the German Maypole)
http://www.germanworld.com/maypole.htm
***
Making Beltane Baskets: http://basketmakers.org/topics/seasonal/mayday/frprojmaybasket.htm
And
http://www.creatinghomedecor.com/may_day_basket.htm
***
Maypole Dance (instructions) http://www.sacredspiral.com/Database/beltaine/maypoledance.html
***
Pictures from Earlier Celebrations
Cambridge
– A Women’s Morris Dance:
http://www.bit-net.com/~grenadin/belphotos.html
Year
2002 photos by Hearthstone Circle http://www.hearthstonecircle.org/California/photos/2002/index.html
1996
photos at a NAROOGD celebration & ritual:
http://www.conjure.com/TRINE/belpix.html
***
Poem: A Maypole by Jonathan Swift (1752)
http://netpoets.com/classic/poems/062004.htm
PAGAN
PARENTING: MASTER BUILDER BLOCK SETS
Master
Builder Block Sets – Construct the Ancient World in your living room.
Sets
include: Antiquity * Baroque * Ancient Egypt * Rome * Japan * Medieval Castles
* Myan temples * Middle Eastern * Russian sets and lots more.
Your
kids will love these (assuming they can get them away from you!):
Here
is one place to find them: http://www.abcblocks.com/mbindex.htm
We
recommend that you shop around for the best prices.
P.A.A.N:
PAGANS AGAINST ANIMAL NEGLECT
A new group has formed: P.A.A.N or Pagans Against Animal Neglect. For more
information please visit http://pages.ivillage.com/paan/id3.html.
Looking
for a Maypole? This company sells both table top and backyard sized poles: http://www.maypoles.com/ (Want to make your own? Check out the section titled “The Pagan
Bookshelf” for a book that shows you how)
VIKING
BRONZE:
This
page deals with ancient metal craft and research mainly from a reconstruct
ional and experimental basis. The page provides texts, resources and links
related to the archaeology of ancient and early historic metal crafts. The Iron
Age/early Middle Age founders cast in techniques with roots deep down in Bronze
Age and the methods presented here could, with slight adjustments, be said to
be relevant for all the Scandinavian Iron Age and up into the Middle Ages. http://members.chello.se/vikingbronze/vikingbronze.htm
TAROT
DECK WEBSITE – NEWS AND REVIEWS
This
has an excellent section that contains information on 350 different decks,
books & software and offers reviews for each.
“Please be wary of any animal practitioner or supplier of essential oils
claiming that their products or techniques are completely safe to use with
cats: the statement is both inaccurate and unsafe. No matter what their claims
say, nothing will change the unique physiology of a cat.”
To read the rest of this article on ” Essential Oil Safety and Cats”,
please go to: http://www.thelavendercat.bigstep.com/
STUPID
MOVIE PHYSICS:
“Technonerds go to movies strictly for entertainment, and
of course, the most entertaining part comes after the movie when they can
dissect, criticize, and argue the merits of every detail. However, when
supposedly serious scenes totally disregard the laws of physics in blatantly
obvious ways it's enough to make us retch. The motion picture industry has
failed to police itself against the evils of bad physics. This page is provided
as a public service in hopes of improving this deplorable matter. The minds of
our children and their ability to master vectors are (shudder) at stake.”
http://intuitor.com/moviephysics/index.html
THE
PAGAN BOOKSHELF:
On
the Pagan Bookshelf this month we have:
Beltane:
Springtime Ritual, Lore & Celebration by Raven Gramassi
Discover
the roots of Beltane or "bright fire", the ancient Pagan festival
that celebrates spring & the return of nature’s season of growth &
renewal. The author reveals the history behind the revelry, & shows you how
to welcome this sacred season of fertility, growth, & gain with: May Day
magick & divination; Beltane goodies; seasonal crafts; Springtime rituals
& traditions; & myths, fairy & flower lore. The book includes
instructions for constructing your own Maypole.
The
Traditional Irish Wedding by Bridget Haggerty
Written
by an Irish mother who put on a traditional Irish wedding for her American
daughter, this book explores the rich history and lore surrounding the exchange
of vows beginning with the practices of ancient Gaelic tribes. Dress, Claddagh
rings, gifts, food, music, prayers, toasts, and readings.
Coastal
County Plants from Santa Cruz to Mendocino by George Pikkarinan (with
lots of photos)
Spring
Wildflowers of the San Francisco Bay Region by Helen Sharsmith (even
more photos)
HOT
TUB MYSTERY RELIGION:
This
article is causing a great deal of discussion in Pagan circles. Enjoy.
http://www.reason.com/0305/fe.jw.inside.shtml
This
comes from Wren at Wren’s Nest News, a section of The Witches Voice devoted to
Pagan news: http://www.witchvox.com/
NEBULA
AWARDS:
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) have announced this year’s Nebula Award Winners at their annual banquet.
CELTIC
BLESSINGS:
Two
Celtic Blessings have come down to us.
These are often used at Handfastings & at Beltane:
Irish Blessing for Handfastings & Weddings:
You
are the star of each night,
You are the brightness of every morning,
You are the story of each guest,
You are the report of every land.
No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,
In field or valley, on mountain or in glen.
Neither above, nor below, neither in sea,
Nor on shore, in skies above,
Nor in the depths.
You are the kernel of my heart,
You are the face of my sun,
You are the harp of my music,
You are the crown of my company.
Scottish Blessing of the Elements:
Deep
peace
of the running wave to you
Deep peace
of the flowing air to you
Deep peace
of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace
of the shining stars to you
Deep peace
of the spirit of peace to you.
Our
thanks for Mara Freeman at the Celtic Weddings Page for these two blessings: http://www.celticspirit.org/weddings.htm
If
you have a blessing from your culture or tradition that you would like to share,
please send it to info@fullcircleevents.org
THE
MEAD MAKERS PAGE:
“If
it's good for ancient Druids, runnin' nekkid through the wuids, Drinkin'
strange fermented fluids, it's good enough for me!” http://www.solorb.com/mead/mead.html
THE
CAMELOT PROJECT:
THE
CAMELOT PROJECT is designed to make available in electronic format a database
of Arthurian texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information. The project,
begun in 1995, is sponsored by the University of Rochester.
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stm
LEARNING
TO FORGIVE YOURSELF:
“Your heart and mental health may depend on your ability to
reduce hurt and anger, even at yourself. So effective is forgiveness — if we
could just find a way to learn and teach it — that Stanford University is
undertaking a project to learn how forgiveness can enhance health and relationships
and even prevent disease.”
http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/886476.asp
EVENTS
OF INTEREST:
We
currently have hundreds of events listed on our California Community Calendar:
http://www.fullcircleevents.org/calendar/
These
include:
and
lots more. New events are added every
day.
Click
on http://www.fullcircleevents.org/calendar/
to access a list of on-going and dated events through-out the year.
Do
you want your event listed? Then please go to our calendar
page and click on the link that says “Submit Event”. The on-line form is simple and very easy to
use. If you have any questions, please
contact our Networking Coordinator ScoutGhost at ScoutGhst@aol.com.
DOING
THE GOOD THAT’S IN FRONT OF YOU: The Story of Poncho Tamales Kipling
One
definition of a caring, spiritually connected person is that they do the good
that’s in front of them. Such people
are all around us. So, while it’s
tempting to think about all the bad things that have happened lately and all
the hard times, as well, it is also important to remember that both life and
people can surprise us. There is grace
in the world and kindness and great beauty.
Beltane is a wonderful time to reflect on that.
In
the spirit of the holiday, I’d like to offer you some good news for a
change. This man did the good that was
in front of him. Look around this
month. You may have a chance to do the same:
Cool
Cat Makes Oddesy from Egypt to Hayward:
Poncho Tamales Kipling, the stalwart, wayward Hayward cat, has
seen it all -- war, the Gaza Strip, Sinai Desert, Germany, Mountain View and
now peace in Hayward.
The 2-year-old, 16-pound orange tabby is a sweetheart. He is calm,
good-natured and patient with humans driven to hold him, hug him and otherwise
ruffle his fur.
He probably doesn't know that at least on three occasions, humans
tried to kill him.
He has moved in with Betty Johnson and Lance Charnes, and was
busily rubbing his whiskered cheeks on everything in sight.
``He's saying, `I own it,' '' Charnes said. ``At this point he
owns the whole house. You're actually sitting on his couch.''
Kipling has adjusted well and roams the house trilling like a
Wookie and walking like an Egyptian, Charnes said.
``We worshiped them as gods 3,000 years ago and they never got
over it,'' he said.
-------------------------------------
To read the rest of this story from the San Jose Mercury News, go to:
Blessed Beltane & Happy May Day to you and yours,
Sia
Full Circle Events
http://www.fullcircleevents.org