Countdown to Beltane, Day 1

Today is April Fools' Day.

It's 30 days to Beltane, the feast of feasts and song and dance and merrymaking and lovemaking...

Last year I posted "countdown to Ostara" with heavy posts every day, starting 30 days before Ostara. I did it to give the Pagan community something to think about, to see Spring Equinox as any other Holiday, give us ideas and information, links to tutorials and recipes etc.

I was very disappointed by the lack of interest - as it seemed to me, because I really cannot know if anyone reads or appreciated my work, unless you leave a comment... It was very dishearthening, and as I then tried to continue with Countdown to Beltane, I didn't have the spirit to do that. I hope I'll do better this year. This is a really important thing to me, you see, and I would like to add more to the Pagan resource box called Internet...

So, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE, comment.
It would be enough to just say ":-)" or "thanks for posting this", if you find it hard to express your thoughts, or just that you read what I have written. "XXX was here" is enough.
Of course, it would be nice, if you added that you like it, hate it, disagree, agree, found something worth reading it in it or anything. Just let me know I'm not alone. It feels like that so very often, and I do get sad, even though I try to tell myself that people do read.

If you give me a link to your blog, I will post it.

If you leave links to an interesting page, I'll link to that, and credit you.

If you have a shop selling things that might work for Beltane, I'll link to that too, and happily, as I think it's great that people can support themselves with the work of their hands and creativity, and I'm overjoyed by the idea of being able to promote my fellow Pagan artisans' endeavors and enterprises. :-)

---------------------------------------

In France April Fools is called Poisson d'avril, the April Fish. The March-April issue of Marie Claire Idées is usually full of fishes made in different art and craft methods, and in France they give chocolate fishes to each other on this day.

Sounds like a much better tradition than the practical jokes version.

But if you love the prankster tradition, try to do it with kindness and consideration. I just read about some idiot parents, who thought it was a great prank to play on their children (7 and 12) to trick them into cleaning the household by promising $100 to the one who did better job. The $100 was fake... Then the mother said that they gave both kids $30 as reward anyway, but it doesn't change the fact that the one who won the challenge got a piece of paper and the whole family laughed at him... Yeah... be a good boy and you end up being the laughing stock of everyone. Nice.

No - things like painting the soap with clear nail polish, or... harmless fun. Nothing that causes people anguish, pain or shame because they are nice, kind and gentle people, trying to help.

Taping the toilet seat ring to the cover so that one has to sit on the cold china is an ok prank.

Putting some good flavor in the toothbrush is a good prank, but not putting in something that tastes bad or makes your mouth burn or itch or numb. That's not a good prank.

But - I have Asperger's. I depend on things being what they look like.
To me the prank of covering onions with toffee and making fake candy apples would be cruel, because I would never eat another candied apple in my life.
To me making fake chocolate eclairs, filling them with chili, salt, cinnamon paste, garlic, mint toothpaste or plastic flies would be cruel.
To me having someone impersonate a police man and telling me I have done something illegal and will be punished, would be horrible.
Promising me something if I do something and then it turns out that something was not what was promised, would not be funny. It would be a promise broken, and I would not trust you again. (Like promising someone iPod, but giving him an eyepad in iPod box... No.)

Colombina by Mark Satchwill


I have to say that I would rather have people play jokes on their own cost.

Have a Fool day.

Do everything the exact opposite.

And not only do the exact opposite of what you were asked to do, or eating the desserts first, or making the dinner where savory dishes look like desserts and vice versa. Not only wearing your clothes insideout, or pants as a jacket and a shirt like pants.

When you are afraid of doing something, you should do just that.
When your inner voice tells you you are worthless, tell it it's wrong, you are very valuable and worthy, as there is not one other being on the whole universe like you.
When you notice you are looking down, look up.
If you "always" go right, go left this time.

You are The Fool. You have the right to look the people in their eyes and see them, really SEE them.
You have the right to do foolish and silly things, dare and try, experience and live the life like a child, as if you were seeing everything the first time.
If the stars were visible only once in every 100 years, everyone would gather out to watch the amazing show. Act as if they were visible for only tonight. If it's cloudy, you can repeat the experiment tomorrow, or day after that. It doesn't matter, because they ARE up there, every night.
But YOU might not be around, so don't push until tomorrow what you can do today.

Except if it's boring. If you are not around tomorrow, no-one will care whether your dishes are done and your shoes in perfect order.

(It might be a good idea to wear something that informs people of that you are celebrating the April Fools, and you are The Fool today, so they won't get confused.)

Some influence for this post:
Origins of April's Fools' Day
Female Tricksters 
Trickster Women
The Trickster: A God's Evolution

Countdown to Beltane, Day 1

Today is April Fools' Day. It's 30 days to Beltane, the feast of feasts and song and dance and merrymaking and lovemaking...

I am going to post a similar countdown to Beltane as I posted to Ostara, and the same goes as for Ostara countdown; if you leave comments, I'll link to your blog, or if you leave links to an interesting page, I'll link to that.

I appreciate comments, it would be enough to just say ":-)" or "thanks for posting this", if you find it hard to express your thoughts. Just give me a little word to remind me I'm not alone. :-)

I was reminded of the difficulty of reading heavy posts, so I will be sharing the information into three: in this will be information relevant to household, living and general holiday information, myths and lore;
in Need More Fiber will be all crafts, daily ornament and such and
in Goddess Food will be all the recipes and menu suggestions, and Goddess information.

You might wonder about my choice of separator line? Christian?
No. This one is fully Pagan.

First, it's a sign of fish made with waxing and waning crescent of the moon, just like the zodiac sign of Fishes is. In that sign the two moon crescents represent two fishes and are back to back, tied together with a line.

The legend tells that Aphrodite tied her son Eros to herself so that he wouldn't get lost, when they were threatened by Typhon, transformed into fishes and swam to safety.

This fish sign is the Mandorla, almond shape, the shape of the vulva.

This fish was also the symbol of the sea God Oannes.
(Oannes-Ioannes association, Fisherking and Kingfisher, and John the Baptist - Bran the Blessed association)

Fish is also the symbol of April 1st. Poisson d'avril, the April Fish, is what April Fool is called in France. The March-April issue of Marie Claire Idées is usually full of fishes made in different art and craft methods, and in France they give chocolate fishes to each other on this day.
Sounds like a much better tradition than the practical jokes version.

This fish is a sign for Beltane.

Kitsune - Japanese trickster spirit

"Tibetan thangka. This dakini is of high status, considered to be a Female Buddha. Her dancing power is iconic, repeated in almost all dakini images. Like Kali, she wears a garland of severed heads. In her right hand she holds a knife used for cutting away illusions, including the illusion of separate ego identity. With the dorje handle of the blade, using the butt, she shatters all mirrors of subjectivity. In her left arm she cradles a magic staff adorned with banners. In her left hand she holds a skull-cup filled with blood—hence the term, blood-drinking dakini. The five-skull crown signifies the Tantric principle of transmutation of the poisons of the five emotions (variously named): anger, jealousy, greed, hatred, and obtusity or denial. The dakini drinks these emotions ecstatically, for to her they are taste delicious and converts them into wisdom nectars."

Colombine-Arlecchina - the female trickster from Commedia dell'arte

Colombina by Mark Satchwill

Old tarot fools

It looks to me like the symbolical meaning of The Fool has been changed quite a bit during the years we have practiced tarot...
Nevertheless, the tarot Fool is an interesting card.

If you plan to take the Fool's Journey, you start it with a day of doing, saying and thinking the exact opposite...
When you are afraid of doing something, you should do just that.
When your inner voice tells you you are worthless, tell it it's wrong, you are very valuable and worthy, as there is not one other being on the whole universe like you.
When you notice you are looking down, look up.
If you "always" go right, go left this time.

You are The Fool. You have the right to look the people in their eyes and see them, really SEE them.
You have the right to do foolish and silly things, dare and try, experience and live the life like a child, as if you were seeing everything the first time.

If the stars were visible only once in every 100 years, everyone would gather out to watch the amazing show. Act as if they were visible for only tonight. If it's cloudy, you can repeat the experiment tomorrow, or day after that. It doesn't matter, because they ARE up there, every night. But you might not be around, so don't push until tomorrow what you can do today.
Except if it's boring. If you are not around tomorrow, no-one will care whether your dishes are done and your shoes in perfect order.

Nevertheless, these older Fools remind me of the Wild Man or Woodwose or the full-body Green Man, Jack-in-the-Green

and funnily enough... we are back where we started. You see, Green Man is usually accompanied by Sheela-na-gig... They are not especially connected, just themes used back at the time the first churches were being built, but they do accompany each other quite often.

Some influence for this post:
Origins of April's Fools' Day
The Pagan Origins of Jesus and Christianity; The Fish, Jupiter and the Zodiac 
The Mermaid
Female Tricksters 
Trickster Women
The Trickster: A God's Evolution
Kosmos Idikos: Crystal Japan
The Sheela Na Gig Project


Ideas on how to decorate for Beltane:

I found this: tis the season to set the table, and I have to say it doesn't look at all like Christmas to me. It looks like a spring table setting.
Here's how to make a cone topiary with flowers, here's a ball topiary made with silk ribbon and vintage flowers (both ribbon and white flowers belong to Beltane), and here's a rose topiary with fabric flowers.
Here's how to make royal icing snowflakes, but for Beltane you'd naturally make flowers.
Good Housekeeping tells how to make those flowers for wine glasses. (It's picture #9)

Some simple flower forms you can try to make with royal icing

You can also use them to make sun catchers.