Fire and flowers
Today is a powerful occasion, a culmination of the first day of May, the Celtic fire festival of Beltane, and the Full Moon in Scorpio!
Beltane is the halfway point between the Spring Equinox Ostara and Litha, the Summer Solstice. Beltane traditionally heralded the beginning of the farming year, a time of abundance, fertility and growth as the world around blossoms and blooms. It honours the return of the light as the days get longer, and is a time of creativity and joy.
Celebrated in England as ‘May Day’, a time to dance around a brightly coloured, ribbon laden ‘May pole’ with crowns of flowers (of which many will remember as an activity from Primary school!) the concept of welcoming in abundance this time of year is ingrained into folklore, magic and daily life itself.
Early Gaelic traditions in Ireland and Scotland gave Beltane’s name as the ‘fire festival’ due to early Gaelic traditions where bonfires were lit upon the hillside for protection nd purification. People would extinguish their own hearth fires and re-light them from the communal Beltane flames, a sign of shared protection. In Sark (to this day!) a Wicker Man is handcrafted from natural materials and set alight, representing leaving the old season and energy behind, releasing to make way for new growth and renewal.
As the earth blooms, May is a time for cherry blossom and hedgerows with frothy ‘May blossom’ of the blackthorn. These were often gathered and created ‘May Boughs’, decorating houses, barns and peoples heads alike. Although, their link to the fairy world meant that such decorations were treated with both reverance and caution. May also brings the flowering of the Lilac and Lily of the Valley, which too are closely associated with folklore and fairies. Interestingly, both Lily of the Valley and Lilac are unusual in that their perfume cannot be extracted - so any scent of either you have smelt in perfume, room sprays or candles is actually chemically made to recreate them.
The Flower moon in Scorpio rising tonight is also a Super Moon, which means that the effects of the moon are amplified further (and the moon appears even larger in the sky, especially as it rises!). This full moon calls for transformation, illuminating what we perhaps try to ignore or hide. Scorpio is known to rule all that is hidden and unconscious, such as our desires, fears, emotional wounds and inner power.
The Full moon and Beltane together bring intention towards growth and transformation. The fires of Beltane are burning, and it feels a little as if we have reached crossroads. Do we cross the embers, rise from the ashes and dance across into abundance and newness, or do we linger, guilty to leave behind the smouldering parts of our lives that still control us? Leaving behind all the no longer serves us, the stagnant energy of the past season, or areas of our life that no longer serve their purpose can be frankly terrifying. But as today embraces abundance, movement forward is like picking fruit, the best is always picked just before it’s ripe, just before it’s ready. And we, too, can act just before we truly feel ready for the best results.
Beltane asks us to combine both fire with the fertile energy around us, stepping forward into our power. To take up space unashamed and blossom like all the beautiful flowers in around us. Let yourself be the fruit that picked even though is not quite yet ready, step across the flames into the new and enjoy the sweetness of a fruit picked at the perfect time even though at the time it did not feel like it at all.
May calls for sowing seeds, both physically and metaphorically! This time of year is perfect for planting, whether that be vegetables, flowers, or tending to a small pot of herbs in your kitchen that you can sometimes buy from the supermarkets. As the moon is in a water sign (Scorpio), it is the perfect time especially to plant leafy greens, such as lettuce, spinach, chard and parsley! It is also a time for enjoying fresh, local produce - such as asparagus and our own Jersey Royals! - and for baking and cooking.
If you are wanting to plant seeds of newness into your life, a method that I love is making your own seeded paper to write your intentions on to plant (or simply enjoy!). All you need is old paper, water, some seeds, and dried flower petals (if you can get them!).
Intention Seeded Paper:
What you need:
Paper sheets to be recycled.
A small pack of wildflower seeds
Some dried petals (not essential but very pretty!)
Water
Sponge
Tea towel
Blender
Biscuit cutter, of your desired shape.
Shred your paper into small strips that fit in your blender. Add a little warm water, and blend until thoroughly shredded and pulpy. Pour into a large-ish bowl, and add your seeds and petals and mix. Place your tea towel down on a flat surface, I would opt for a tray so it’s moveable. Gently press the water out of handfuls and press into your biscuit cutter on the tea towel. Remove the cutter and soak up any extra water with the sponge and press down firmly to flatten them. Leave for around two days to dry out (the warmer and dryer the area the better).
Whether you celebrate Beltane, or not, it is a time to appreciate the beauty and bounty of the world around us. I’m in awe each day of how thick and full the hedgerows appear, how green the landscape seems after being so bare for what feels like so long! And I hope that whatever you may do today, brings you much happiness and joy xx
