The Joyful Fire is Blooming!

On this first day of May joy has come up to the surface for all to experience!

This pure joy is coursing through every deeply planted root, up every tree trunk, and out through the tip of every lofty branch where, manifesting as soft green leaves, it absorbs the sun-filled air!

On this first day of May desire tingles and twirls!

Every dream is now happening! Every goal is possible! Beauty is tangible and invites our embrace!

All of life seems to be celebrating!

The energy of this time is one big exclamation point of joy!

Happy Beltane! Happy May Day! Happy first day of Summer!

As a young child I remember my parents bringing me to our local May Day festival. It was held in an open field of soft grass, surrounded by trees that were all decked out in new green leaves. In the center of the field stood a tall pole hung with long brightly-colored ribbons and topped by a ring of flowers. I remember many other children and their families all gathering with us. There was laughter and excitement everywhere I looked. This joy was a wave that swept me up into the pure beauty of it all. The shining warm sun our witness.

As a young child I didn't understand the science of what was happening: that the angle between the sun and the earth had shifted so that the increased amount of light and warmth was causing the flowers to bloom, the trees to leaf out, the migrating birds to return, the animals to mate and raise young...the unfolding of the growth half of the year essentially.

No, the science wasn't interesting to me when I was a young child. I preferred to dance and paint and sing; and all I remember in that magical moment at the festival on that warm sunny morning was that I wanted to embody the joy, the delight, and let the firey vibes sweep me off my feet. I wanted to dance and to sing, to laugh and to play, to wear a crown of flowers in my hair, and to feel free! Thankfully the traditions of Beltane have brought us the Maypole Dance where all of this was on offer.

FERTILITY & THE COMING ABUNDANCE

Beltane (May Day - May 1,2) is a fire festival, a cross-quarter day landing half-way between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, that welcomes in the energies of summer here in the northern hemisphere. Although the temperatures are still chilly in the mornings, and what leaves we can see are still quite small, there are a handful of flowers in bloom out in the yard, and the sparkles on the water and tintilating bird song express the energies of fire. And, what's become much more noticeable, is the potent strength of the sun has become a dominating force upon the land: nourishing and strong.

The Maypole Dance is a magical experience where dancers weave brightly colored ribbons around and around a central tree. It's an old pagan ritual that welcomes the arrival of summer. Practiced on Beltane, the Maypole Dance embodies the rebirth of nature and in ancient times was danced to ensure fertility.

THE FIRE WITHIN THE LAND

Here in northern New England the chilly mornings and lack of flowers and large leaves makes it appear more like the first day of spring, not the beginning of summer. But if we shift our perspective and consider the heat, the fire, and its movement through the land over time, we can better understand why it's the first day of summer. When we think back to Winter Solstice, the pendulum of the sun's movement along the horizon starts swinging back north and the light slowly begins to get stronger. Despite this, it's still winter and the grip of darkness and cold is too strong making the fire barely perceptible within the land.

The first time we get a hint of the fire in the land beginning to stir is at the fire festival of Imbolc (February 1-2). This is the beginning of spring, making Spring Equinox the height of spring. After Spring Equinox we come to the next fire festival, Beltane (May Day), where we are today. This is the time when the energies of summer appear and the warmth, the fire that began stirring deep in the ground at Imbolc, has reached the surface and is manifesting in all of nature for all to see and feel. We can feel this Beltane fire strong in ourselves as well. At Beltane the masculine and feminine energies come together, leading to fertility and the promise of a bountiful harvest. This is what dancing around the maypole expresses and honors.

How is this joy within the land showing up in your life today?

Do you feel this potent fire energy of Beltane moving through you? Are nature's colors, bird song, blossoms, and bustle of human community appearing vibrant and alive in your life? Perhaps you, too, are living a full life. I have so much energy, so many projects underway; and the eagerness to harness their potential and bring them out into the world is strong. It all brings me so much joy.

Or, perhaps the heaviness of the world is weighing you down and joy seems out of reach, or not for you? I feel this, too. But we can hold both and still know joy.

Beltane is a time when joy, beauty, and possibility are vibrant and freely available for all of us to tap into and be nourished by.

Where is your life vibrant? What desires are bursting forth from within you?

What wave of joy is sweeping you up into the pure beauty of it all?

Wishing you a vibrant and happy Beltane!