Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of Montpelier Vermont's "All Species Day". It began with a wonderful vision from Janus Walrafen of a day of fun and pageantry for kids, centered around a Spring Beltane theme. What might have been a local only affair back then has now blossomed into quite an extravaganza and an afternoon filled with dazzling costumes and ritual.
The day began with a call to all species in Hubbard Park's soccer field. The field is nicely surrounded in an enclosed and remote circle of trees that is more of ritual place today than anything resembling a soccer field. There were blessings by local Abenaki tribeswomen as well as smudge purification to the hundreds present. The directions are then called by elaborately costumed participants evoking each cardinal direction as the ruling elemental representation. As each direction is called, those children and adults dressed as a particular species of either plant, aquatic animal, legged land animal, or bird or insect (some like myself had their dogs as well), circle the center of the field where a nest of straw is prepared for the dying crone as she too makes her way around the circle carrying a torch to each direction. When the crone makes a full circle she enters the nest and dies whereupon a group of dancers performed an elaborately choreographed dance to traditional Mande drumming from West Africa.
The crone transformed into the Maiden and is born anew as the young goddess; fertile and energetic to meet her mate. She dances her way toward two stacked fires and lights them ablaze with a remaining torch. At this time everyone in attendance passes through them and up a winding and steeply wooded slope to another field that has puppet theater, juggling and silent dance. The Stag King emerges from the woods to be greeted by the masses and leads the crowd down the path to the roadway where a truck full of samba drummers awaits with 25 or so samba dancers in the head of what will now become the parade of participants. As the drummers start up, everyone who was in attendance (still in costume mind you), follows the procession for about a mile or so over a bridge where offerings are made to the river and another Haitian dance of Parigol is performed. The parade continues its mile route to the State House lawn and up the steps.
There is now a little bit of time for people to get blankets and set up a spot on the lawn. Morris dancers perform for a few minutes as a Huge 30 foot tall Earth Goddess puppet is erected and makes it's way to the top landing of the steps. The drums start up again with Cuban yemaya dancers emerging from the puppet. This transitions to Haitian Kongo and more dancers emerge from the Goddess' skirt. The dancers make their way down the steps toward the Stag King who is waiting at the bottom landing for the Spring Goddess to greet him. The drumming stops and the Stag transforms into the Green man to unify with the Spring Goddess, and thus consecrate the birth and unification of Male and female; God and Goddess; The final fertility rite.... The coming of Spring!
Hannah and I have been a participant in this day/ritual for 12years. We have been the stag and goddess on two occasions as well as yearly drummers and dancers. For a few years I have led the samba drummers as well as Drummed for all of the Haitian/Cuban dances. Hannah of course has ALWAYS danced .... in everything. We created the piece of the ceremony that includes a transformation of the Stag to the Green Man. We felt it was a healing way of representing the male aspect of the season as equal to that of the goddess.
This year was the first year that we chose to actually walk the whole thing as mere attendants rather than participant organizers. It was hard to believe for some that we were not IN it this year. We wanted a chance for others to be involved as well as an opportunity to view it with our son Thelonious, on his level and speed. He was a very convincing lion who needed to roam!
I highly recommend attending this event in Vermont if you ever get the chance. Whether or not you follow Beltane in this manner or not, the intention and offerings of renewal and peace are tangible and quite lovely. First Sunday in May... Mark the calendars!
Cheers.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Beltane 2009
Happy Beltane! This evening marked a first for me as my son and my wife joined me in a fairly elaborate Beltane family ritual with our lovely dog Lily. It was just the three of us (plus Lily) in a place in the Vermont Mountains called Spirit In Nature (SpIN). We decided to embark on our trip over the gap with offerings to the altar and some small cuttings from some special trees to build our little beltane fires with.
The rain held out the whole way there and my son was very excited to be doing this with us. He sang the whole way in the car (15min drive) and the whole time down the path to the sacred circle area. He was making songs up as we walked and spoke about the journey there and what we were here for. It was wonderful seeing the pure response to the delightful and inspiring creative energies that this day marks, flowing freely in our son Thelonious.
We created and consecrated a large circle to fit us all. We built two fires and evoked the directions... loudly! We had roses and lavender from our wedding that Thelonious was able to sprinkle in and around the circle; making it more wonderfully about love and our story of creation.
Following calls for blessings and words about Beltane's meaning to us and eachother, We held hands and lept between the fires of the god and goddess; of day and night; of woman and man; of duality joined. We embraced the oneness of the duality of diety and our place within the sphere of life. Even Lily went between the fires!
We ended by singing and dancing through a stone labrynth and laying our prayers and blessings in the center, and then singing and dancing our way out. It was our way of acknowledging visualizing back to the mother. Without a maypole we went straight to the womb.
It was simple, yet profound. I felt confident of the presence of many tonight beyond our family. My wife Hannah and I both felt the strong presence of animals just beyond the reach of the circle. I'm not sure they ever get a chance to be a part of Beltane as we see it. I think they might have been quite interested and in my mind, much a part of why we were there.
We ended by feasting on Indian cuisine that was spectacular. I am almost too blissed out to write much more.
Happiest Beltane to all. May your energies join with those of another to birth a creation filled with love and peace.
-Travis
The rain held out the whole way there and my son was very excited to be doing this with us. He sang the whole way in the car (15min drive) and the whole time down the path to the sacred circle area. He was making songs up as we walked and spoke about the journey there and what we were here for. It was wonderful seeing the pure response to the delightful and inspiring creative energies that this day marks, flowing freely in our son Thelonious.
We created and consecrated a large circle to fit us all. We built two fires and evoked the directions... loudly! We had roses and lavender from our wedding that Thelonious was able to sprinkle in and around the circle; making it more wonderfully about love and our story of creation.
Following calls for blessings and words about Beltane's meaning to us and eachother, We held hands and lept between the fires of the god and goddess; of day and night; of woman and man; of duality joined. We embraced the oneness of the duality of diety and our place within the sphere of life. Even Lily went between the fires!
We ended by singing and dancing through a stone labrynth and laying our prayers and blessings in the center, and then singing and dancing our way out. It was our way of acknowledging visualizing back to the mother. Without a maypole we went straight to the womb.
It was simple, yet profound. I felt confident of the presence of many tonight beyond our family. My wife Hannah and I both felt the strong presence of animals just beyond the reach of the circle. I'm not sure they ever get a chance to be a part of Beltane as we see it. I think they might have been quite interested and in my mind, much a part of why we were there.
We ended by feasting on Indian cuisine that was spectacular. I am almost too blissed out to write much more.
Happiest Beltane to all. May your energies join with those of another to birth a creation filled with love and peace.
-Travis
The Mangroves
I remember being a young boy and playing for hours in the hedgerow of my yard. The tunnels they would create naturally that only a child could navigate; the worlds of wonder they inspired as I would lay upon my back and gaze at a lazy summer sky filtering through the newly budded branches in early spring. As i grew I found that even in the midst of playing army and war with friends, I'd have to be in woods where it felt "real". I would literally be in among the trees from as soon as I was allowed to exit the house until my mother would call at dusk. I wore army camouflage during these battles with peers and would insist on being fully clad in green. I needed the "look" and was convinced that uniformity was the reasons of my first connection to the wilds and forests; ultimately the land.
It was much later in my adulthood, following a near full enlistment in the Marine Corps that I discovered that the cause for my attraction to the military and ultimately to wearing green in the woods was just simply that: to be in the woods as connected and resembling to what I loved so much- The trees.
I had an opportunity while in Guatemala last week to visit a space fairly sacred to our boat driver. We were traveling through a waterway that extended through the entire west coast of Guatemala and extended even into parts of Mexico. It was an expansive preserve of mangrove trees that created an almost false land on every shore side. As our driver propelled us by use of long pole, he beached the boat on a small section of soil and bade us depart for his favorite spot. He had come here since childhood and explained that it was a place where adults could learn to feel as a child again.
All around there were the hardened tentacles of the mangroves reaching downward from sturdy branches. off of each tendril were often five finger like, soft and pliable shoots that resembled hands with fingers coming from the tree tops and reaching for the ground. We were told that we could climb the trees and that they were amazingly hard and could support our weight easily. Immediately I went up into the higher branches and literally played like I was 8 again! I was giggling openly and could feel the tree's delight to have us among them. They felt like children to me as well.
It was only out of respect for the driver's time and a family member needing to go to school that I left the space as easily as I did. I allowed the trees to brush their fingers along my head and shoulders as I walked, and I made sure to touch my hand to theirs as well. There was amazing love in these trees that have seen so much pollution and refuse throughout the years. They seemed to know the driver and love him as he loved them.
As these trees are now being protected I felt honored to be among them and know that they had a caretaker so devoted to sharing his and their experiences with us and others. I marveled at the durability and use of the tree itself, especially after reading about MIT scientists using them to create living houses (a story for another time!), and especially to know of their energy, vibrancy and innocence they exude and inspire in me. As I became part of their story, and they mine, I can only hope to hold on to that feeling and seek to experience and cultivate it, within other spheres of my life, with others both close to me, and as we were to the driver, -seeming strangers on a watery path.
It was much later in my adulthood, following a near full enlistment in the Marine Corps that I discovered that the cause for my attraction to the military and ultimately to wearing green in the woods was just simply that: to be in the woods as connected and resembling to what I loved so much- The trees.
I had an opportunity while in Guatemala last week to visit a space fairly sacred to our boat driver. We were traveling through a waterway that extended through the entire west coast of Guatemala and extended even into parts of Mexico. It was an expansive preserve of mangrove trees that created an almost false land on every shore side. As our driver propelled us by use of long pole, he beached the boat on a small section of soil and bade us depart for his favorite spot. He had come here since childhood and explained that it was a place where adults could learn to feel as a child again.
All around there were the hardened tentacles of the mangroves reaching downward from sturdy branches. off of each tendril were often five finger like, soft and pliable shoots that resembled hands with fingers coming from the tree tops and reaching for the ground. We were told that we could climb the trees and that they were amazingly hard and could support our weight easily. Immediately I went up into the higher branches and literally played like I was 8 again! I was giggling openly and could feel the tree's delight to have us among them. They felt like children to me as well.
It was only out of respect for the driver's time and a family member needing to go to school that I left the space as easily as I did. I allowed the trees to brush their fingers along my head and shoulders as I walked, and I made sure to touch my hand to theirs as well. There was amazing love in these trees that have seen so much pollution and refuse throughout the years. They seemed to know the driver and love him as he loved them.
As these trees are now being protected I felt honored to be among them and know that they had a caretaker so devoted to sharing his and their experiences with us and others. I marveled at the durability and use of the tree itself, especially after reading about MIT scientists using them to create living houses (a story for another time!), and especially to know of their energy, vibrancy and innocence they exude and inspire in me. As I became part of their story, and they mine, I can only hope to hold on to that feeling and seek to experience and cultivate it, within other spheres of my life, with others both close to me, and as we were to the driver, -seeming strangers on a watery path.
Cheers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)