Creating Altars to Celebrate Beltane

Flower Offering by Jenis Kelamin

Beltane is the English name for the very ancient and very pagan Gaelic May Day festival. Beltane is one of the 'cross-quarter days', the four central holidays that make up the cycle of the seasons. There are also the 'quarter days', which are the beginnings of the seasons -- the equinoxes and the solstices. Most commonly it is held on May 1st, or about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. This mid-spring holiday is about birth and rebirth, when plants are coming out of the ground, and young animals are being born. It is the celebration of renewed life after the long winter, as well as a celebration of sexuality, abundance and community. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. So, an altar built on the earth's surface seems creatively perfect for this celebration, using the earth's own elements and offerings for its form and structure, to fertilize and enliven all manner of things for the coming season. Read more.

Are We Undergoing the Kali Yuga?

The Kali Yuga

We live in a time of accelerated change and transformation. It isn't hard to recognize that even though we live on a planet that surrounds us with beauty, that there is a lot of darkness happening within humanity. Greed, poverty, violence, and injustice are predominant characteristics of our civilization. Many are asking the same question these days; "What is happening around us?" A growing number of voices in the international shamanic community are telling us that Mother Earth and her inhabitants are undergoing a fundamental, evolutionary change--a change that many of us will experience first-hand in this lifetime. Some call it the Kali Yuga, the age of darkness and ignorance that was foretold long, long ago.

Hindus believe that the civilization process evolves through four ages and degenerates spiritually during the Kali Yuga, which is referred to as the Dark Age because in it people are as far away as possible from God. Hinduism often symbolically represents morality (dharma) as an Indian bull. In Satya Yuga, the first stage of development, the bull has four legs, but in each age morality is reduced by one quarter. By the age of Kali, morality is reduced to only a quarter of that of the Golden Age, so that the bull of Dharma has only one leg. Even in the worst of times, the possibility to be well above it is always there for an individual human being. This is a time filled with unparalleled opportunities for spiritual growth and meaningful action. Read more.

Journey into Mongolian Shamanism

Mongolian Shaman

Mongolian shamanism, more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic system of belief that has been practiced in Mongolia and its surrounding areas (including Buryatia and Inner Mongolia) at least since the age of recorded history. For thousands of years, Mongolia has been a nexus of Eurasian shamanisms that competed, mixed, and meshed across our planet's largest continent. In the post-communist era shamanism is undergoing a dramatic revival in Mongolia. Harshly suppressed during Mongolia's long Soviet rule, shamanism is suddenly widely sought to fill the spiritual void of a newly democratic society. From storefronts in Ulan Bator, the nation's capital, to homes in rural Mongolia, shamanism has become a growth industry. The key to its viability seems to be the flexibility inherent in shamanism, where knowledge gained through ritual engagement with spirits in the landscape, rather than a strict cosmological doctrine, is seen as the core of shamanism. Mongolian shamanism evokes a rich and barely-tapped store of astrological, environmental, and geographic cultural knowledge. Read more.

Drumbeat of the Rainbow Fire

The drum has been the guiding force in my life for many years. My journey into rhythm began under the tutelage of Mongolian shaman Jade Wah'oo Grigori. Jade's ancient knowledge of drumming and healing rhythms was most influential in putting together my first book, The Shamanic Drum: A Guide to Sacred Drumming. I had a deep respect for the power of the ceremonial rhythms and drum ways of Jade's tradition, but I had to follow my own path of rhythm.

Though Jade was my mentor, the drum became my teacher and creative addiction. I developed an insatiable thirst for its rhythms. I became a rhythm seeker, learning new rhythms from other drummers, from nature, and from dreams and visions. I explored the rhythms of many of the world’s shamanic and spiritual traditions. It was only natural, at least from my perspective, that rhythm, as a path, would lead me to the rhythmic roots of all cultures.   

As I learned the drum ways of various world cultures, I found the same rhythmic qualities underlying all of them. Like the colors of the rainbow, each culture has its own hue or identity, yet each is a part of the whole. Although the focus or intent differs from culture to culture, rhythmic drumming invariably has the same power and effects in all traditions. The resonant qualities and attributes of these rhythmic phenomena are universal and come into play whenever we drum.          

The sound waves produced by the drum impart their energy to the resonating systems of the body, mind, and spirit, making them vibrate in sympathy. When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves, and spiritual energy centers begin to vibrate in response. This sympathetic resonance leaves reverberating effects up to 72 hours after a drum session. These powerful effects can best be described in terms of their influence on the subtle energy centers known as chakras. Read more.