The Beauty of Beltane

"Lustful Month of May - Camelot" 

Beltane is a Pagan celebration on the eve of April 30th until the morning of May 1st. It is one of the four great Sabbats and also a fire festival. During the Old times, this festival is celebrated outside with bonfires and revelry. This festival also blesses the land with fertility. 

 The celebration of Arcana was done in one of the resorts here in Davao. We gathered in Banehaven and left for the resort around 6pm. The celebration was attended by four members of the Order and since the energies of the circle is quite imbalanced, we made some compromise to make the ritual balanced. We also tried to to have all the elements of the ritual present in the ritual. We prepared the altar and cover it with petals to honor the blooming of the flowers. We also used Tarot number 6 - "The Lovers" to celebrate the union of the masculine and the feminine. We also created the bonfire inside the cauldron and made a makeshift Maypole. 

The celebration happened the entire night and we have raised the energies of the circle to send fertility across the land. The simple but solemn celebration was crafted by Stu, one of the Adeptus Secundus of the Arcana.

Pictures are on my photopage: www.facebook.com/ambientshadows 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.554597017924684.1073741838.290240601026995&type=3&uploaded=59

A Powder of Dust

I always want to travel around the region. Mindanao is always a mystery to me and it's something that I wish to explore in my stay here. My travels became something very reachable when I was moved to the HR-Sourcing Team. In our goal to look for Sr. Consultants for our Travel Account, we have scoured the entire Mindanao area to provide people for Sutherland. 

Just today I have traveled to Valencia City Bukidnon for a Job Fair. This is my first time to stop in Bukidnon and stay here for a day. I was not able to sleep a bit since I need to travel to Valencia City for the Mountain View College Job Fair. I left Davao City around 4 in the morning and I rode this read bus bound for Cagayan de Oro. Since it is a "4-Stop" bus, it took me almost 5 hours and a half to reach Valencia. I went directly to the City Hall and started the interviews. It was a tiring day and the wind is soo strong. There are documents flying around the venue. Luckily, the breeze is cool and it really minimized the heat in the covered court. 

I interviewed quite a lot today and after a very exhausting day, I looked for a place to stay in Valencia. It then occurred to me to experience traveling to Malaybalay, the capital city of Bukidnon. I tried to ask around on how to reach Malaybalay. I looked for a bus to ride, but the terminal is quite far from the place. I rode this Multicab to Malaybalay and the trip took me about 1 hour and a half instead of the usual 45 minutes. 

The sights on the road are gorgeous, you can see endless stretch of farm lands from the side of the road to the horizon. The mountains are also very magnificent as they are bathe in the yellow light of the setting sun. There were also a lot of plantations and processing plants, I just hope that they wont destroy nature as modernization does to nature. 

There was this long stretch of very dusty road where we waited for the signal light. The road is very dusty and I literally dust off sand from my pants. The driver drove his jeep too fast that it left my eyes with dust and powdered my cheek with sand. It was around 7PM when I reached Malaybalay and I rented a room in this Inn infront of the Plaza. I will post the pics soon. 

Resting here in my room in Malaybalay and healing my tired body and mind. 

The Fires of Imbolc

The wheel has turned again. In the first stirring of life, the seeds and plants are preparing for spring. Imbolc is the feast of the Goddess Brighid, who is also known by many names and titles. She is also the Goddess of Healing, Inspiration and Poetry, Crafts and a Warrior Goddess at the same time. 

This is Arcana's first Sabbat for 2013. We traveled to Sta. Cruz to celebrate this Sabbat in a resort, almost an hour from Davao City. Aside from the celebration of the Sabbat, we considered this moment a bonding time for the members of the Group. 

As Imbolc is a celebration of planning, we also laid out some of the upcoming plans of our Order for the year. We also made corn dollies to symbolize the Maiden Goddess. During the feast we lit candles inside the room and discussed the history of the Sabbat. We also discussed some of the lore of the celebration and the story of Brighid. 

After the Sabbat, we had our DADA practicum and discussion. 

Present in the celebration:

Erebus, Discipulus Tertius

Windstorm, Adeptus Secundus

Laire, Novus Sodalis

Jasher, Discipulus Tertius

Karl, Novus Sodalis

And the Last Date on the Calendar is...

This year, 2013 is going to be a very memorable year for me. First, I will celebrate my 2 years anniv with my partner in crime- Bokoko Bongtingpao. Second, I will fly outside of the country for the first time and last, is the title... I just turned 31 years old.

Living in this plane for 3 decades and a year is quite fun- I got to study at a very early age, I get to know very special people, shown my talents, enjoy life and the most important of all- meet my Gods.

For some people who are not introduced to the Path, this might sound very blasphemous or sacrilegious, but I am just talking about my experiences. I have meet the Gods when I was still young. Though, I admit that I was also raised a Catholic, the blood of a seeker in my veins was stronger than my respect for the priests and my religion teacher. When I was 13, I started seeking the Path of the Wise and I have not stopped since then. Now, I have turned 31 and this is my 18th year of service to the Goddess and the God.

 There are still an awful lot of things that I wanna do this year and here are some of them (those things that I could immediately remember)... not in any particular order... =)

1. Bond with my Gods- I apologize My Lord and Lady- Pending
2.  Climb Mt. Apo - before I get too old to climb the tallest mountain in the country-Pending
3. Go to Siquijor - this has been a plan forever.-Pending
4. Save Money - an ongoing challenge but I aim to save a lot this year... I hope!-Pending
5. Go back to the Gym and reclaim my 6-pack abs- this is ALWAYS delayed-Pending
6. Take care of my Health- The spirit is quite powerful, so is the mind, the body out of sync- Pending
7. Read all my new Books- a difficult feat since I am also expanding my library- Pending
8. Do my "official" priestly duty- as an Ordained Minister, I want to do this- Pending
9. Strengthen my magick- working on this- Pending
10. Have my passport stamped- (this will happen this year because I will fly to Singapore)- DONE
11.More Cosplay- Starting with my Admiral Akaino costume this year- DONE
12. Photography- Will try to learn editing and more and more practice.- Pending
13. Just be Happy- I am trying to do this all the time!- Pending

That's all!

Yuletide, T'is the Season to be jolly

I know that this entry is kinda late since Yule already passed, but I wanna share my experience with Arcana as we celebrate the first "formal" Yuletide celebration. Arcana is a relatively small group and the core group is the only one doing the lectures/studies and the Sabbat celebrations. This Yule is not any different.

We went to Kamonsilan Resort in Bansalan. It's a 2-hour bus travel to this place and it's kinda difficult for me to go there since I was from work. After arriving home, I immediately went to the bus station and since it was the long weekend going Christmas, it was very difficult to ride a bus straight to Bansalan. We were just lucky that there happen to be a Digos bus. Digos is an hour and a half away from Davao and one of the "big"  cities near Bansalan.

We arrived in Digos and quickly rode a jeepney to Bansalan. The road is still very rough and dark, but after  30 minutes, we arrived. We quickly took a motorcycle and went to Kamonsilan. After grueling an almost 3-hour trip, we arrived at the place.

Kamonsilan is quite a small resort. It has a pool which served as the bathing area for people who wished to swim. The only thing that really attracted me to the place was the great cottages and the trees.

We started the ritual after midnight since the goal for the Yule ritual is to salute the Sun. We literally were in the dark when the ritual started. We sat around the dimmed room only illuminated by a single candle. As the story telling and discussion ended, we lit all the candles in the room forming a path leading to the circle. Music was played and as we impatiently waited for the sunrise, we talked about the things that we are letting go.

We greeted the newborn sun with a personal salutation and as we are doing it, I tried making a wreath out of the things I saw in the place. We also exchanged gifts to celebrate Yule with food and an apple cider.

Present during the Sabbat:

Erebus, Discipulus Tertius
Windstorm, Adeptus Secundus
Laire, Novus Sodalis
Jasher, Discipulus Tertius
 Bane, Adeptus Primus