Volume 16 Issue 3
Beltane 2019

Seasons of the Moon is a quarterly online magazine published by students and members of The Order of The White Moon, an eclectic international order of women dedicated to The Goddess. The Order provides personal empowerment and priestess training, and operates local groups. All contributions are original material submitted by our students and members. (We do not accept outside contributions.) Please direct comments and questions to the Ezine Editor.

Beltane 2019

Ritual Work
Celebration of the Mother Goddesses, Mystic Amazon
Beltane Ritual, Peace Whitehorse

Prayers and Blessings
Prayer for A Lost Pet, Peace Whitehorse
Pet Passing Blessing, Peace Whitehorse

Sacred Sites
Niagara Falls, Ajna DreamsAwake

OWM Awareness
OWM Happenings, Ka Wahine Ahi

The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit
Pan The Horned Man, Mystic Amazon
May Day, Peace Whitehorse
Litha, Peace Whitehorse
Earth Chant, Peace Whitehorse

Just For Fun
Beltane Word Search, Ajna DreamsAwake

Ritual Work

Celebration of the Mother Goddesses

Have on your altar a red candle for each woman doing the ritual. Dress the candles with Rose, Aphrodite, or Yemaya oil if you have any of these.
Burn an incense that has a spicy or floral scent.
If you have a white altar cloth, that would be good to use so everything will show up clearly.
If you have any red or pink flowers, or carnations that are white and red, that would be excellent to have on the altar.
Any statues that you have of the Mother Goddesses and Love Goddesses will be good.
Also, since Yemaya the Ocean Mother is a summer goddess, a statue of her or a mermaid could be added.
If you do not have statues, you could draw pictures or make a collage of pictures of mothers, and/or sensual women.
To be in a room that feels sensual and feminine that you can decorate, would add to the ambience.

Cast your Circle, and light the red candles. You might want to have tealight candles floating upon water.
Then visualize the fully formed and shaped goddesses of sexuality and coming motherhood.

Chant this poem three times, and visualize yourself becoming sensual and 'at one' with your favorite sensual goddess.

"I am the Mother Goddess,
A sexual being.
My womb is ready for love,
My children yet to be born.

My breasts are fuller than a maiden's
My thighs are much rounder
But they can shake with love,
And my belly rumble with laughter.

I celebrate the warmth of Summer
And the heat of lovers' passion.
I am Aphrodite, burning with love,
I am Pele, the volcano!

I am Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess
Lighting the way for all women;
Burning away the heavy clothes and chains
That bound us in a patriarchal prison.

I am the Mother Goddess,
I am all women.
My loins are always ready for love,
And you are all my children."

After chanting this three times, open the circle.
Then each woman carries her candle outside, if possible, to breathe in the air and look at the moon, knowing that the Mother Goddess is with each of you, and inside you.

Then come back inside and have light 'cakes and ale' to ground yourself after the ritual.

Mystic Amazon is a High Priestess of the Order of the White Moon and an Ordained Minister. Her hobbies include writing, folk art, folk magick, Reiki, and reading.

Beltane Ritual

Dress and anoint candles
Purify the space with sage and light the incense
Ground and center
Cast the circle as you normally do

Call in Spirit
Call in Goddess
Give Thanks by saying:

I give thanks for all that the Goddess Provides,
I give thanks for the presence of the Goddess in my life

State your intent:

The intent of this ritual is to celebrate Beltane and
the union of the God and the Goddess!

Body of Ritual

Dance to raise power for magical activities and then send the power into the bowl of earth on the altar, saying:

Beltane!
I dance with glee on Beltane's eve.
All senses freeing,
I dance for being.
The flower and the flame
of love's own rite shall blossom.
Sun embrace Earth, bright.

Light the white intent candle to the Sun. This is the Beltane fire, our modern substitute for the hilltop bonfires of our ancestors. The Bel fire is an invocation to the Sun God to bring blessing and protection for the coming year. This is sacred fire with healing and purifying properties.

As you light the candle, be aware of its power and significance and say:

I light this candle to the Sun.

Now take up a dish of earth. Bless it in the name of the Goddess. Lay your hands upon it and say:

I bless, consecrate, and set apart this earth,
in the name of the Triple Goddess.
May this be sacred earth, set apart for magic.
For earth is of the Goddess, being her sacred body.

Light the green intent candle.
Remember that the Goddess is not only of the Moon, but also of the Earth and of the farthest stars. She is the Triple Goddess of the Circle of Rebirth, the Mother of All Life.

Now, take the wooden wand and oil it with your chosen oil, saying:

I bless this wand in the name of the Lord of the Day,
The youthful, ardent one,
The Lord of Life,
The God of the greenwood.

Pass it swiftly through the candle flame, the Bel fire, so that it becomes magically imbued, 'charged', with power.

Place the wand upon the dish of earth, saying as you hold it there:

As wand is to the earth,
so the male is to the female
and the Sun to our blossoming world,
Joined, they bring happiness.

May the God of Life give ________________
{something you want, for example, peace on Earth}

May the Goddess bring it forth!

Meditate for a while; and picture the blossoming of what you have asked for.
Leave the earth and wand upon the altar.
Walk deosil three times around the circle. Go evenly, with grace, meditatively.

Light the red intent candle.
Stand in front of the candle flames, allowing yourself to feel peaceful. Gaze into the flames.

Visualize a red rosebud in your womb, this is the source of your creative power, whether you are pregnant with a child, an idea, a work of art or an intention.
Close your eyes and picture the light from the candle streaming into your womb so that the rosebud blooms, unfolds. Hold the image for a while, feeling the silkiness, smelling the scent, the freshness, seeing the color of the fully open rose within you.
Feel the strength and power of your own fully blossomed capabilities. When you are ready, say the following:

I am woman,
Strong to conceive and to create,
to give birth and to tend.
As I am daughter of the Goddess
and blessed by the God, may I __________
{name what you wish to bring forth in life}

Feel the strength and creative force within your womb, the center of your being.
See the power being channeled, flowing into the desire you have just voiced.

Say the following:

With harm to none, this ritual is done!

Thank and release the Goddess
Thank and release Spirit and the Quarters
Take up the circle
Ground

Allow intent candles to burn out safely
Store magickal earth in an appropriate container
Burn the wand to symbolize the bonfires of Beltane

Peace Whitehorse is a graduate of The Sacred Three Goddess School and a High Priestess in the Order of the White Moon, teacher at the Peace Grove School of the Goddess and facilitator and High Priestess of the Peace Grove Coven. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.

Prayers and Blessings

Prayer for A Lost Pet

Blessed Mother, Blessed Father,
Blessed Elements, Blessed Spirits,
Please share with us your Blessings!

We, your Children, are in great need of your help!
My Spirit embraces You as my dear Companions,
You are utterly able to heal this great need!
I stand together with you in perfect trust
and in perfect knowing, absolutely knowing
this situation will be made fixed!

Bring [NAME OF PET] safely to [NAME OF OWNER/SEARCHER],
With Your help, all roads will be made clear
And [NAME OF PET] and [NAME OF OWNER/SEARCHER] will find each other
In safety and well‐being, in joy and peace,
'An it harm none, be it done, and be it Blessed Be!

With great thanks and tender fondness of my heart and Spirit
Thank You Blessed Spirits, Thank You Blessed Elements,
Thank You Blessed Father, Thank You Blessed Mother,
Blessed Be! So mote it be!

Pet Passing Blessing

Bless this pet that is so loved.
I ask you now to touch [his/her] soul.
Goddess, we beseech Thee thus ‐
Take [his/her] pain and make [him/her] whole.

Be with me now as I let go
Of one who is very precious to me.
Be with [him/her] as [he/she] lets go
Of me to travel on to Thee.

Take the pain and take the fear,
Make [his/her] soul as light as air.
Take [him/her] up into Your arms,
Harm not upon [his/her] head a hair.

Let [him/her] never, ever doubt
How very loved that [he/she] has been.
How hard it was to let [him/her] go,
And that [he/she] will never be forgotten.

Goddess, take this precious soul
Of my faithful trusting friend,
Keep [him/her] safe and keep [him/her] warm,
My love for [him/her] will never end.

All this I do ask of Thee, Give us peace, so mote it be.

Sacred Sites

Niagara Falls

Queen of the Thundering Waters
Power exudes from You
and Flows into Me
I am Transformed by Your Presence
I shout with Joy
The Sound seems muted
Lost in Your Eternal Roar
Yet I know You Hear
My Exhaltation, My Prayer

Nee‐ah‐gah‐rah (Thundering Waters in the Iroquois Language) are the most sacred waters of the Iroquois people, and a focus of many of their legends and myths. For centuries, the Iroquois believed that the sound of the waterfall was the voice of Heno, the Mighty Spirit of the waters. The area is known as the Western Door, part of the transportation route that connected the East to as far West as the Mississippi. The Seneca, a tribe of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Nation), were the keepers of the Western Doorway.

Straddling the border between Ontario, Canada and New York State, Niagara Falls is composed of three separate waterfalls. Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side and Bridal Veil and American Falls on the American side. The waterfalls are separated by a series of small islands. Niagara Falls was formed when glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age, and water from the newly‐formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment. One fifth of the World's freshwater passes through here before draining into Lake Ontario and out to the Atlantic Ocean.

Goat Island is a popular destination for tourists visiting the falls on the U.S. side, offering some of the most spectacular views available there, in particular at Terrapin Point. It is connected to the U.S. mainland by two bridges. The island is largely wooded and is interlaced with foot trails. An elevator provides access down to the foot of the falls and to the Cave of the Winds tour. A series of platforms allow sightseers to walk right up to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls with water crashing down right on them and flowing beneath the decking.

Three Sisters Island is named for the daughters of an early settler to the area, General Whitney. It is accessible from Goat Island and offers a great view of the Upper Rapids before the river cascades over Horseshoe Falls. Those people who are sensitive to the subtle realms may be able to hear the voices of spirits while on the island.

Luna Island is also accessible from Goat Island via footbridge. It lies between the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. During the Full Moon, observers can see iridescent "moonbows" in the mists surrounding the Falls (hence the name Luna). Some believe Niagara Falls is a sacred site of Archangel Elen (Elimiel), who, in Jewish Kabalah, is the Spirit Intelligence of the Moon. This would be an ideal site to call on Elen for angelic assistance in matters involving personal transformation.

The Journey Behind the Falls, on the Canadian side, consists of a series of tunnels below and behind Horseshoe Falls. Accessible by elevator, the tunnels allow visitors to view the water cascading in front of the open cave entrances.

The awesome power that has run the hydro‐electric dams since 1881 may also be used to re‐energize one's own batteries. The ionized air cleanses toxins by zapping the body with negative ions. There are many who believe negative ions also act as an aphrodisiac. No wonder they call it the Honeymoon Capital!! Here is a ritual one can do in either the Cave of Winds or the Journey Behind the Falls tours. Bring a piece of cotton or cheesecloth and a plastic baggie. When you reach the mists, gather the spray in your cloth. Then, as Captain Kirk used to say, "ENERGIZE"!!! Place the cloth in the plastic baggie and store in a safe place. When you feel the need for an energy boost, take out the cloth and inhale the power enmeshed within.

Downstream from the Falls one comes across the Whirlpool Rapids. A unique feature of the rapids is the "reversal phenomenon" that occurs when the waters rush into the gorge. Pressure builds as the water tries to cut across itself to reach the narrow gorge forcing the water under the incoming stream and a counter clockwise vortex is created. If there is something you wish to banish from your life, visualize it plunging into the watery abyss, spiraling away from you.

The Maid of the Mist: Fiction and Fact

There are several versions of the Maid of the Mist legend. In one myth, the maid is sacrificed annually to ensure abundant crops. When the chief's only daughter, Lelawala, is chosen to be sacrificed, he follows her over the falls in his grief. In another version, a young woman is forced to marry an older man against her will. Rather than marry, she commits suicide by going over the falls. In a third version, a young boy finds a two‐headed serpent and brings it to the village. As it grows, it requires more and more food, and eventually, the villagers must sacrifice their own people to keep the snake fed. A maid is sacrificed to end the terror.

The Maid of the Mist legends continue to permeate Western culture. Most tourists are familiar with at least one of the many versions of the myth. Unfortunately, they are all utterly false, most likely a construct of the first European explorers passing through the area. The Iroquois Confederacy was matriarchal, women were respected and enjoyed complete autonomy and would never have been sacrificed for the good of the tribe. Nor was suicide a common practice among the Iroquois.

As well, mandatory offerings to a God to insure a good afterlife were not part of Iroquois storytelling. Even marriage was a European ritual not practiced by the Iroquois Nation. The mythical Maid certainly appeals to the romantic notion of the "Noble Savage" but it remains a damaging stereotype and is an insult not only to the Iroquois People but to First Nations everywhere.

By 1996, Native Americans had enough of this "white man's fancy" passing for red man's fact. The Maid legend was viewed as offensive and racist propaganda. First Nations threatened to picket the Maid of the Mist boat tour at Niagara Falls until the tour dropped the controversial audio portion that related the legend. Reluctantly, the tour company did so, but one can still find souvenirs depicting the Maid legend at many local gift shops as well as on the internet.

The myth regarding the two‐headed serpent may at least in part be rooted in some truth. The two heads of the snake can be likened to the two main countries interested in the new land, Britain and France. The Europeans seemed harmless at first, but as their numbers grew, they caused considerable harm to the First Nations of the Americas, bringing diseases and weapons to decimate their populations. As more people came across from Europe, so the snake grew. And the serpent is still growing, to the detriment of the original inhabitants, forcing First Nations peoples onto reservations, coercing them to attend residential schools, destroying their culture, and co‐opting their spirituality.

Despite the controversy, there is no denying the awesome power that exudes from this place. James Dixon, writing in 1845 compared the waters of Niagara to the robes of a goddess. But She is much more than this. Niagara is the watery embodiment of the Great Goddess Herself, in all Her aspects. She is the playful Maiden seen in the dancing droplets, the nurturing Mother who provides needed water to inhabitants of the area and to the farms that feed millions. She is Death to those unfortunates who dare to dance with Her, and She is also Crone, a witness to one's Spiritual Development. There is no doubt; She changes all who come into Her presence.

It is nearly impossible to get much privacy for rituals in the immediate area surrounding the Falls, so you will need to find creative ways to achieve inner solitude. You can devise many simple rituals that can be done surreptitiously near the waters. If you have a message to tell someone far away, tell it to Niagara and She will carry your message to the person. If you have a question, whisper it to the waters and listen for the response. If you are upriver of the Falls, find a bench and attempt to center yourself, allow the voices of tourists to flow around you. Think on what you would like to change in your life. A wish for abundance? clarity of thought? healing for self or others? When you are clear on what your intentions are, find a leaf or stick, or use a small piece of fruit or bread crumb and place your intention into the offering. When ready, cast the offering into the river, knowing that your prayer will flow downstream to the Falls and be taken up by the spirits there. Niagara Falls is more than a popular tourist attraction. The area offers many opportunities to commune with the raw, awesome power of Nature. It truly is one of the Sacred Sites of Goddess in North America.

http://www.webwinds.com/yupanqui/iroquoisdreams3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls
Patricia Telesco: Magickal Places: A Wiccan Guide to Sacred Sites and Spiritual Centers
James Dixon: Personal Narrative of a Tour Through a Part of the United States and Canada

Ajna DreamsAwake is a High Priestess and founder of Dark Moon's Heart School. Her personal journey of self‐discovery continues as she supports and guides women along their own healing paths.

OWM Awareness

White Moon Happenings

Emily Beatrice completed Level One of our White Moon studies to become an Initiate and lifetime member of the Order! You can see her wonderful Final Project on the Goddess Devana at https://orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/devana/devana.htm.

Lynda Aiman-Smith completed Level One of White Moon studies and is now an Initiate and lifetime member of OWM! Read her lovely Final Project on Grandmother Spider at https://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/Grandmother_Spider/Grandmother_Spider.pdf .

Lunaria Cinquefoil completed Level One of White Moon studies and is an Initiate and lifetime member of the Order! See her beautiful project on Goddess Yhi at https://www.orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/Yhi/Yhi.htm.

We are, of course, delighted to welcome our new students in Pyramid of Light Mystery School , The Sisters of the Rising Moon, Sacred Three and Dark Moon's Heart from all over the world! We are always happy when sisters find their way to OWM!

More About OWM

If you're not an OWM student and you'd like to learn more about the Order of the White Moon, the schools offering Traditional White Moon Studies, or browse the Goddess Gallery, we welcome you to learn about us!

You can connect with OWM on social media! Follow us on Twitter at @OrderWhiteMoon for regular updates on Seasons of the Moon, the Weekly Tarot Zodiac and other OWM public outreach programs. Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/orderwhitemoon.

Visit and like us! The Twitter feed and Facebook page are available to the public. Feel free to share these links. We appreciate your feedback so please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.

May the Peaceful, Compassionate and Healing Presence of the Goddess be with you now and always.

HP Ka Wahine Ahi is the President of the Board of Directors and the Head of the Order. She teaches White Moon lessons to women in the school that she founded, The Sisters of the Rising Moon School of the Feminine Divine.

The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit

Pan The Horned Man

Pan, Pan the horned man
Teach me please,
As much as you can!
To the sound of the bells
In Cerrunos' hand,
Sing and dance with me
Dear horned man.

Pan, Pan the horned man
Play your pipes for me
And your sprightly band.
As Diana's moonbeams
Float across the land,
Sing and dance with me
Dear horned man.

Mystic Amazon is a High Priestess of the Order of the White Moon and an Ordained Minister. Her hobbies include writing, folk art, folk magick, Reiki, and reading.

May Day

May Day comes, Holy Beltane!
Leap across the bale flame,
Dance around the Maypole,
In the Goddess' name!

The Earth is a‐greening,
Springtime is here!
Everything is blooming,
It's a wondrous time of year.

The Wheel has turned once again
To this joyful time of growth.
The Sacred Rite performed
By God and Goddess both.

The union of the Deities
Brings new life to the Earth.
Put out the fire Beltane‐eve
And kindle anew in the hearth!

For all kinds of fertility
Go through the Beltane smoke.
Leave an offering outside
For all the Fairie Folk.

To talk to those who've gone before,
The veil between the Worlds is thin,
The time is ripe, the time is good
To contact friends and kin.

Don your festive clothing,
Celebrate with food and drink,
Dance and sing, dance and sing,
In red and green and pink!

Litha

Midsummer bonfire, on the hill,
Set the watch and carry the torch,
Protect the village on this night.
Jump the fire with nary a scorch!

Make yourself an amulet
From the ashes of the fire,
Knead into clay for a talisman,
Let the remnants earn their hire.

Wait upon the sun this night,
You will see the little Fey
If you sit in a circle of stone
To keep the mischievous ones at bay!

Walk the fire thrice about,
Tell a pebble your desire,
And on the final trip around,
Toss the stone into the fire.

Celebrate both work and leisure,
Time for children and for play,
Oak King wanes and Holly waxes,
Nights grow long and short the day.

On Midsummer night, the forest elves
And all the little people appear,
Put the ivy on your door,
Bless the pets, and have no fear.

Ring the cauldron with some flowers,
Wisteria oil, Frankincense burn,
Emerald and Jade are stones to have,
Herbs are larkspur, lavender, fern.

Midsummer is here, we celebrate
The midpoint between Spring and Fall,
Hail the Holly King who conquers,
Bless the Goddess, one and all!

Back to top.

Earth Chant

We are part of the Earth,
And She is a part of us.
We are linked together
In the spiral dance of life!
Earth around us, Earth among us, Earth within us!
Earth around us, Earth among us, Earth within us!
Not living upon the Earth,
But part of Her we are.
We are joined together
In the joyous dance of life!
Earth around us, Earth among us, Earth within us!
Earth around us, Earth among us, Earth within us!

© Peace Whitehorse, Earth Day, 2014
Peace Whitehorse is a graduate of The Sacred Three Goddess School and a High Priestess in the Order of the White Moon, teacher at the Peace Grove School of the Goddess and facilitator and High Priestess of the Peace Grove Coven. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.


Back to top.





Just For Fun


Beltane Word Search




To download and print a PDF copy of this puzzle Click here
Thanks to http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com for assistance in creating this Word Search puzzle.
© Ajna DreamsAwake
Ajna DreamsAwake is a High Priestess and founder of Dark Moon's Heart School. Her personal journey of self‐discovery continues as she supports and guides women along their own healing paths.


Back to top.




The articles featured in Seasons of the Moon are written and/or submitted by members of the Order of the White Moon and are their own intellectual property. Please feel free to share this publication but do give credit where credit is due and link back to the source.
Thank you for reading, we hope that you have enjoyed it just as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you.
Many blessings to you and yours,
Seasons of The Moon Staff
Get Seasons of the Moon via email! Join the Seasons of the Moon group.
Seasons of the Moon Home

Volume 16 Issue 3 Beltane 2019