Greeting my friends and Happy May Day!
This whole period of time is a juicy one because it is a time to joyfully embrace the fertility of Mother Earth. There is growth and pollination everywhere which will provide us with abundant harvests in the fall. The Celtic name for this period is Beltane, which means bright or sacred fire. It began traditionally on the eve of May 1st and lasted throughout the next day. It was often celebrated with feasting, dancing, and merriment all the way through May 15th. Before it became taboo, Beltane was a time when lovers ran off to the woods together to honor the Goddess with ecstatic lovemaking. This whole time period in virtually all cultures was a celebration of sexuality. The May Basket is actually a symbol of the sacred marriage and the union of male and female. The Maypole, symbolizing the phallic energy of the season, was festooned with ribbons; dancing around it celebrated the power of sexuality.
In Ancient Rome, Maia was the Goddess of May and along with the Goddess Flora, was honored at this time. The Roman rites of this season included a carnival of fun and liberty. Floralia was a celebration of general sexual freedom among the whole populace with flowers and blooms in abundance. This year’s Beltane Awaken Your Inner Goddess on May 4th will be enacting our own version of Floralia. www.goddess-studio.com
In case you’re wondering why there is such an emphasis on sexuality, populations were responding to the energy of the natural world and in the Northern Hemisphere, this season is when all of nature is making love. Flowers are indeed a very sexy display of nature’s fertility and animals were responding in their own ways to the exceptionally abundant spark of life force energy. This is my favorite time of year, not only because it’s close to my birthday, but also because it is the season of joyous love making. Millennia ago the Hieros Gamos or Sacred Marriage was enacted during Beltane. This ritual was a magical and sexual union between the High Priestess and her consort. This integration of sex and spirit revealed the deeper mysteries of sexuality and it was believed to facilitate the renewal of life and unveil this pathway to expanded consciousness.
The whole month of April has been a powerful time because of several astrological events that are potentially life changing: a lunar eclipse on tax day, the 15th, followed by a particularly powerful Grand Cross in cardinal signs, initiating significant changes April 20th to 22nd and then a solar eclipse on the 29th. By the time you read this, you may have experienced emotions running quite high as well as changing circumstances for you or those around you. You may have felt inspired to do spontaneous things. (Special thanks to Simone Butler’s insightful essay on AstroAlchemy.com). So what within you is re-emerging, being reborn or reclaimed?
No matter what is going on, enjoy the powerful resurgence of life force and celebrate the energy of this season. Happy Beltane everyone!
Linda
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