Beltane Blessings

Beltane blessings everyone!  Happy first day of Summer!  Oh my I can’t tell you how optimistic I feel about the coming months.  Although the rain scuppered our plans for a bonfire on the beach last night, we celebrated Calan Mai with some beautiful music and great company.  In Welsh folklore, Calan Mai and Calan Gaeaf (1st November) are thought to be the two dates where the veil between the real world and other world is at it’s thinnest, and faerie activity at it’s most noticeable.  Rowan branches were typically hung above the threshold over Beltane to protect the house against mischievous activity.

Beltane is a fertility festival, a celebration of the marriage of the Goddess of Spring and The Young Oak King.  It is also a fire festival, where the sun is encouraged to nurture the coming harvest and the community. I’m not sure it got the message yesterday though, so there was no frolicking in the forest all night for us, but we did manage an adventure to a new spot not too far away before the sun set this evening.  Traditionally, Beltane is the only date where it’s acceptable to bring hawthorn into the house, although of course I couldn’t find any today!  I did find this beautiful rain kissed feather and some pine cones which I brought back to the house with me, and thought it would be a lovely family tradition to bring May Day treasures back home every year.

Sometimes the cyclical nature of our own climate offers us ideal times to make plans and set intentions for the year ahead, to count blessings and be grateful for all that we have.  I  sure am gonna take the opportunity to re-evaluate and focus my energies on new and inspiring projects.  Exciting times ahead!