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Earth Mother’s Day
The gradual movement that we are aware of here in the northern hemisphere is the full blossoming of springtime as we move through this part of the solar cycle. In the Celtic Wheel of the Year, May 1 is a cross-quarter day, meaning the day halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. The symbology for this rebirthing of the world is abundant. As I wrote in Sacred Ceremony:
“It’s the season of Mother’s Day and the sacred marriage of the May King and the May Queen. The fertility of the King and Queen is reflected in the land, crops, animals and people. It’s also another one of those quarter days where the early peoples lit a bonfire, which served the purpose not only for cooking the feasts and providing light and warmth, but also for blessings, healings, fertility, and preventing diseases. A Celtic tradition was to “leap the Beltane fires”, which was for good luck and the fulfillment of wishes. It was also to heat up one’s loins and carnal desires, since this was also an intensely erotic time.”
“It’s the season for the Maypole and for May baskets. The dance around the Maypole honors the life-giving fertility of the Earth. In days gone by men and women would dance in a spiral while holding colorful ribbons, moving ever closer to the middle, where not only the ribbons intertwined, but their bodies would mingle as well. This rite was also an elaborate form of foreplay during this season where lusty passion was unabashedly expressed.”
Good time for planting. Being a Farmer by name and ancestral karma, planting is one of my favorite things to do this time of year. Already I have several vegetables planted here and there about the yard. The sweet corn, just like last year’s very small crop, is stretching to the sky already! I didn’t think I’d planted so many radish seeds, but the evidence is clear that I did. Literally planting seeds is timely now, but it’s also a great metaphor for starting new projects this time of year.
So what new projects are you creating? What is Spirit’s urging and how are you receiving messages? I finished a song recently called “Strange Days,” and one of the lines in it is, “Listen the silence, listen to the wind. They’re telling stories with no beginning and no end.”
May we all become better listeners with out ears, eyes, and hearts to the messages through the signs and omens that are abundantly and always present and available to us.
