It was a few days before Beltane, 2001. I didn’t know a thing about this Pagan holiday. My childhood had been full of seeing Faeries, Elves, and in search of the Leprechaun and his pot of gold, but my very conservative Mormon upbringing didn’t offer any experiences of celebrating the turn of the wheel or wisdom about what Beltane was.
I woke up that beautiful spring morning with an interesting idea. I’m not even sure if idea is the proper word. It was more like a full on download and invitation. It went something like this . . . “If you make small bundles of offerings to the Faeries, they will come back into your life just as they had been as a child.”
I went to work (I was a Child Welfare Worker in Marin county) and started my day as most of us do . . . checking my email. There was a message from an old friend from Utah. She was Pagan and had shared a few rituals with me over the years and I’d enjoyed the Earth-based celebrations that her community co-created. They felt good to my soul, even though they were new and unfamiliar. Her message was all about Beltane and the Faerie realms.
There was a suggestion in this message to invite the Faeries to your home by making offerings to them and leaving them out on the land. “WOW!” I thought. I’d already gotten the transmission. I couldn’t pass that up, now, could I?
So, I sent out an invitation to my friends and invited them to come and make Faerie bundles together. I gathered lace, small bits of costume jewelry, beads, rhinestones, glitter, chocolate and other delights I had that I thought the Faeries might enjoy, including little samples of psychedelic treats from my Medicine box.
One of the treats I left in each of the bundles was a bit of Cannabis that I’d purchased from a friend who was in need of the money. I was using Cannabis consciously and in ritual and felt it important to offer up some of this helpful ally.
We gathered and joyfully put together our bundles. It was so long ago now, I can’t remember the details of our ritual, but I do recall some silly songs and a bit of honey mead that was shared. We ended up sprinkling a bit of DMT into some of the bundles amidst the colorful fabrics, sparkles, and other tiny treasures. The bundles were then placed outside, carefully, so that they couldn’t be taken and ingested by the little critters that were so prevalent around our Mill Valley home.
The next day, as I awoke, it felt like I had been off dancing with the little people and making merry all night. I felt different . . . more sparkly inside. I started my day as usual and my partner came in and excitedly told me “All the bundles are gone!”
Now, he could have hidden them, but when I went outside, indeed, they were all gone. Every last one of them. Not a shiny ribbon or glittery button to be found. What’s even more amazing is that every time I shared that Cannabis (what was left after making the offerings to the Faerie bundles that is), it felt like a full on DMT journey. Now, no DMT had been added to what was left for the humans. We’d only added it to the bundles, but it was apparent that the Faeries had blessed up our remaining Medicine. Needless to say, it lasted quite a while since we quickly learned to use it sparingly and VERY CONSCIOUSLY. It was a good thing we were already in the habit of ingesting for meditation and deep inner journey work. That would have been quite an intense experience to navigate if I was working with Cannabis as a recreational drug. Oy vey!
Today, I continue to nourish my relationship with the Faeries, and will be, as soon as I am done writing these words, making some Faerie bundles to put out. This time, I am hoping to appease the Faeries that have been mucking about in my tech. They seem to have learned how to write code and have been making all sorts of trouble for me to keep me out of my comfort zone and not taking myself too seriously.
I invite you to join me today. Celebrate Beltane by inviting the Faeries into your life. Leaving an offering for them (they LOVE sweet things, sparkly things, psychedelics, and intoxicants) and let yourself enjoy a bit of song, dance, laughter, and mirth as you go.
And if you are intrigued to learn more about these powerful beings, and the archetype of the Muse, connect with me. I’d be happy to share some deeper ways you can cultivate your relationship with the magical realm of the little people.
Regardless of how you choose to enjoy this beautiful time of the year, Happy Beltane! And may the Source (and the Faeries’ magic) be with you!
