The veil is thin and the Shining Ones dance from the hills. We greet them with sweet wine, as we greet each other with kisses, fierce and tender. Together, we will leap the cleansing fires: the fires of hope, the fires of renewal, the fires of change.
This year, while I am leaping the bale fire, drumming, and dancing around a clitorophallic tree bedecked with ribbons, I will make time to raise a glass in memory of my teacher, Cora Anderson, who crossed the veil on Walpurgisnacht 2008.
As I ever do, I would like to remind us all that Beltane + May Day = International Have Sex with a Worker Day! I hope this is a holiday all of us can get behind.
This Beltane, I also have a gift for you, and a request.
The gift is a new chant for May, lyrics and recording below:
The Wyrding of May
Come weave the spell, come leap the fire, Come weave the spell with me, my love Come weave the spell, come leap the fire, Come weave the spell with me, my love.
We will weave in joy and pleasure We will weave in love! We will weave in strength’s vast measure We will weave in love!
Listen: The Wyrding of May
The recording was done this morning with Winter of El Mundo Bueno Studios. These are the good Pagan folk who provide such high quality recordings for Elemental Castings. Here is where the request comes in. We have recorded this chant as a gift to the community and also in the hopes that more of you will pledge to contribute to the upkeep of Elemental Castings. The quality that so many of you have remarked upon comes partially because the podcasts are recorded by professionals in a studio, rather than on my computer at home. This costs money. Inspired by the Wild Hunt’s Winter Pledge Drive, my hope is that if you enjoy the podcasts, you will make a Beltane pledge to donate $1-2 per episode so that we can keep providing these amazing conversations to the magickal community for purposes of education and enjoyment. (By the way, I know we are an episode behind – there is one in the hopper with Mary K. Greer that should be up soon!)
Please spread the word about both the chant and the pledge drive. Donations can be made here Scroll down to ‘custom donation’ and put in your amount “for Elemental Castings”
Lusty May blessings to you all.
And thank you – T. Thorn Coyle
[photo by Samara Cummins]