Beltane is Almost Here!

So spring has finally arrived, and come Thursday I'll be heading to NE Maryland for that exceedingly adult rite of spring, Free Spirit Beltane. Registration has closed and it is sold out, and no wonder considering what a great job Turtlehill Events does at organizing this event. Every year there are new opportunities to explore sacred sexuality, along with learning practices and skills to utlize to heighten and enhance these experiences.

 

I suppose my workshops fall into the latter category. In other workshops attendees might learn how to experience physical pain as an ordeal and rite of passage, but my work is more about learning to manage, resolve or avoid pain of the relationship-related emotional kind. I'll be presenting three workshops:

• Emotional Edge Play: Polyamory for BDSM/Leather/Fetish Folks
• Safe Enough and Free Enough: Communication and Boundaries in Alternative Relationshipland
• The Shadow Side of Eros: Sex Addiction 

This year's Beltane theme is Feast for the Senses, and one thing I'm really looking forward to is the first ever Sensual Feast described as, "Continuing this Beltane’s “Feast for the Senses,” we come to the celebration of Taste. You are invited to experience a sensuous garden of decadent delights as a divine banquet of sweet, savory, and spicy selections are laid before you, offering up seductive scents and heavenly flavors. Lights sparkle like stars and music murmurs erotic promises; all around you are smoky eyes and sly smiles. In this lush paradise, the only rule is that you must feed others and allow yourself to be fed. Whose fingers will your lips caress tonight? What aphrodisiacs will fan the flames of your desire? In the garden of sensual delights, the Divine Beloved nourishes us with Love and intoxicates us with Beauty."

 

Dinner will lead directly into the Fires of Venus ritual, described as "Tonight we begin a Sacred Love Spell.  A spell that will touch our lives, open our hearts, and change the way we move through the world."  And, of course, somewhere along the way we'll dance the maypole (phallic design complete with Prince Albert piercing) and add a fourth or so layer of interwoven ribbon that takes on layer and layer of energy and meaning with every passing Beltane celebration. 

 

I'll be staying with all my friends from Sandbox Explorations, and as usual, we have a community kitchen planned.  My job is to set up the coffee station and make sure we all have hot, immediately available, good quality coffee each morning. 

 

Now, if only the Gods and Goddesses will smile upon us and gift our senses with warmth and sunshine!

Free Spirit Sacred Sexuality Beltane

Hey, hey, the first of May, outdoor lovemaking begins today!

Every year I look forward to Free Spirit Beltane. This will be my fifth FSB, and there will be more than 300 people attending. (Adults only.) It's the only event of it's kind in the US. It happens in a secluded summer camp setting where clothing is optional and everyone interested in respectfully learning, observing, participating, or just being in sex-positive, sensual and spiritual space is welcome. There will be bonfires and drumming at night, rituals, and a Maypole dance. Poly people, kinky people, swingerfolk, pagan people, and tantrikas will all be in attendance.

The origin of the Beltane tradition is pre-Christian fertility rituals during which the Goddess was called upon to bless the fields and make them fertile, thus providing food in abundance in the coming growing season. I imagine more than a few babies were also born nine months later.

This year I'll be presenting three new polyamory programs:

Poly/Mono Relating, Cheating, and the Spirit of Love (Friday 4:15 pm - 6:15 pm)

Polyamory as a Spiritual Path (Saturday 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm)

Polyamory in Media's Spotlight (Sunday 11:00 am to 1:00 pm)

There are a total of seven poly-themed programs on the schedule, so people who want to learn more about polyamory will find a lot to choose from.

Poly program titles by other presenters are:

Polyamory for Non-Primary Partners
Polyamory—The Basics and Beyond
Real Life Polyamory: A View from the Trenches
Negotiating Healthy Poly Relationships

Many thanks to the Beltane schedulers for such abundance.