Wiccans call it Beltane. It is also known as May Day. For me, it has always just been the day I rub my face in the morning dew in order to maintain my youth. You can Google it to get all the facts. Basically, it's a fire festival; a spring celebration to pray for good crops and fertility in the coming year.
Fire is purifying. Anyone who has run a needle through a flame before using it to pop a blister or remove a sliver knows this. Christians also believe in the absolving qualities of the flames. In a story about John the Baptist, Luke 3:16 states, "...I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:" If it's good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for me.
So, here is my version of a purifying ritual for May first. Costs about $20 and 24 hours of bliss :)
Buy a bottle of your favourite wine. I suppose you can use whatever form of substance abuse you're partial to. But, wine is the beverage choice of the gods. I've got no money, but I've always got wine. In this case, I grabbed a bottle of Sandbanks Baco Noir from the stash. Side note: I'm not usually partial to the young vines of Prince Edward County. Too sweet. More on this later.
You can perform this ritual by yourself or with a significant other. If you're "that girl", grab as many people as you like and get your freak on. I was by myself though :( Rod had to work in the morning and I don't think he's interested in performing fire rituals anyway.
I am lucky enough to have access to a lovely little cabin in the woods. If you are not so lucky, it works just as well wherever you might be. That's part of the beauty of this celebration. Candles are key, though, and safety is first. So, buy a jumbo pack of tealights for $4.99 that only last for a few hours and set them out all over the place away from any drapes, paper or other flammable materials. Alternatively, set up a bonfire... outside.
That's enough about prep. Here's the story of my evening.
I left town about 7:30pm. It takes about half an hour to get to the cabin which leaves me enough time for set up before nightfall. The weather was beautiful on Tuesday here. Warm, bright... just beautiful. When I arrived, I took a few minutes (after cracking that bottle of Baco) to walk around barefoot in the grass, breathing in the fresh spring air and all the new things growing. It's quite a workout to walk really slowly, almost tiptoeing, through the woods. A good warmup for the ensuing craziness.
That wine, by the way... maybe it was the weather or the anticipation. Either way, I took one sip and practically downed the first glass. It was sweet. Like syrup. But, it went really well with the black bean burrito I had for supper from Gringo's. The only time I put down that glass for the next hour and a half was to start the generator. Unfortunately, I had to set it on the shit pot in the shed where the generator is located. I'm not proud.
Next step, music. Nothing better than a shitty old ghetto blaster with 8 D batteries to play your favourite radio station as loud as possible. I started shaking my ass and lighting candles everywhere. Dancing is so good for your spirit! Gets the blood flowing to all the right places and makes you feel sexy. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. That one song comes on the radio and suddenly you've got a stripper name and you're begging for a Maypole to rub up on! In my case, it was "I Like to Move It Move It" by Reel to Real. That song made popular by the Madagascar movie and the lemurs for some strange reason.
Other good fire songs:
- We Didn't Start the Fire - Billy Joel
- Sex is on Fire - Kings of Leon
- Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
- Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash
- Fire - Pointer Sisters
- Light my Fire - The Doors
- I`m on Fire - Bruce Springsteen
- Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
Alternatively, you can get out your guitar and play the part from Smoke on the Water that EVERYONE can play. Dun, dun, duuun, dun, dun, da duuuun.
So, here I am, in a very hot cabin (the woodstove is going full blast), stripped down to a tank top and my ugliest cotton undies, half liquored (half a bottle of wine down), amid 16 scented candles reflected in all the windows. You would have thought I was Lady Gaga. Bumping, grinding, running my hands up and down my body and through my hair... in hindsight, it would have been a really fucking ugly performance. But, at the time, I thought I was hot shit.
The bottle of wine was gone by 9:30 p.m. My bonfire was lit, so I stripped down the rest of the way and ran outside through the woods, completely skyclad. Running is maybe not the right word. Frolicking or stumbling might be better. It is quite liberating being naked outside and I recommend it highly. Back at the fire, I danced some more, skin bronzed by the light of the fire. Part of the purifying process is to become one with the flames. Not literally, of course. Ouch. But, just make your body do the same things that the flames are doing. My friend, Amanda, is the best at dancing like a flame. It's like she has no bones when she's dancing. So, I tried to emulate Amanda. It can be quite disorienting and dizzying - watching flames and matching their movements. I needed to lay down on the grass for just a minute.
Ten to twenty minutes later, I woke up with wet grass tickling my face and feeling the damp chill of the night in my bones. Time to stumble back to the cabin and warm up. I flopped down on the couch, arms above my head, waiting for The Horned God. This is where a partner would come in handy - or a group if you're "that girl". It's a shame for all that sexual energy to go to waste. ;)
