in full bloom

5.01.2020


Happy May Day!  Today is Beltane, one of the Celtic fire festivals, and it celebrates light and fertility, feasts and flowers ... the turning of the wheel.  Directly across from Samhain (Halloween), it is also day when the veil is thought to be very thin.  It is halfway between spring equinox and summer solstice.  The days are longer.  The fertility of the earth is in full bloom. 

Last night I lit candles and burned incense, my small version of a Beltane Eve bonfire.  I gazed at waxing Grandmother Moon and thought about the feminine influences in my life, grateful for each one.  

Early this morning I went for a long walk.  The sun shone brightly, warming my face.  I brought sprigs of parsley, mint, and thyme from our garden and picked buttercups and weeds along the path, tying them up with grass and offering them to the pond on the way, sending them floating across the surface while a chorus of birds and frogs filled my ears.  At the base of my favorite tree, I left a mandala of dandelion, dock, purple dead nettle, and milky oats, things so precious to me, gifts of spring.  Once home, I tucked some more nasturtium and wildflower seeds into the earth.  

I made a pesto of parsley, mint, and purple dead nettle from our yard for lunch.  For dinner we will have asparagus from a farmer a mile or so up the road.  After, we will light candles and have a drink on the patio as the sun sets.    

The earth is singing.  I will close my eyes and listen.  
by mlekoshi