Beltaine

May 1st. My favourite day (I have many).
This may be because I am a Beltaine baby, being born on the 3rd and directly within this powerful energy of new beginnings. Perhaps this is why I can breathe a little deeper as May 1st arrives, as the tension that begins at sundown on Beltaine Eve (April 30th), breaks at dawn.

Summer. Winter has ended and here, May 1st, heralds that Summer has arrived.

Interesting enough, it’s actually Spring here in Alberta. But my ancient ancestors did not originally mark Spring and Fall as Seasons… maybe because they are betwixt, and to speak of them would be like talking directly of the Little People – dangerous.

It was always Winter and Summer. Living so close to the land, it makes sense that everything was understood and worked around the Lady’s Wheel. Mother Earth dictates when things live, and when things die. When to plant, and when to harvest. And the Land always, always wins. She is Sovereign.

There are so many ways to celebrate Beltaine – I completed one of my most important ceremonies within Beltany Stone Circle in Ireland on May 1st. But not every year brings those opportunities, so the ritual I return to is honouring the change by decorating my enormous Willow tree that protects my home. In a tradition as old as time, I hang ribbons (or other pieces of cloth) upon her bows, carefully asking her permission first and making sure to not secure them too tightly that they injure her skin.

If you don’t think trees speak, you are mistaken.

This year, I decided to also add prayers to the ribbons. Prayers for myself, and prayers for my community. My local village and tribe, as well as the outer community – the province, the country, the world. I will let the wind take my magic and send it upon the winds in flight, mixing in with this powerful energy of New. Of Fertility. Of Creation.

The opposite of war is not peace; it is creation.
~ Jonathan Larson (composer and playwright of Rent)

This is something I have come to know more than anything else. And I wish each and every one of you time to sink into your creative, fertile Spirit. It is innate in each of us, and we have the magic that will bring upon the world great things – love, compassion, abundance, joy, peace, understanding, companionship, passion, and beauty.

Beltaine Blessings to you all.
~Nikki