Beltaine

The ancient Celts among whom many of my ancestors could be found, were fond of dividing things. They marked each year by the sun's journey back to the same spot and then broke it into quarters to mark the key points of the equinoxes and solstices. Not content with that they then split each quarter into halves and made more festivals on those points. Maybe they just liked to party but I think there was more to it than that. They lived close to nature in an agrarian life which centered around the seasons, the weather and of course propitiating the deities in order to get good crops and other blessings.

Beltaine or May Day in modern usage was one of those half-quarter points and marked the beginning of summer. They lit fires and celebrated the coming of summer, fertility--of crops, livestock and themselves--and honored various deities, among them the Goddess Brighid who presided over a number of things --fire and water, the forge, creative inspiration, healing and the home. Tonight --since the traditional holidays were always marked from sundown to sundown--I will celebrate with some like minded friends with a small virtual ritual in our group's chat room and maybe even a tiny fire in my yard. It's very dry and burning is dangerous right now so if there is the least breeze it will be a fire of spirit and not reality! A candle only perhaps.

The image is a statue of Brighid. Celtic goddesses are often shown with a white sow. There is speculation as to the symbolism but pigs were valuable animals and known to have high intelligence and perhaps special powers so there you see Brighid and her familiar.  In some Druid circles she is honored by a candle set in water to symbolize her power over both --sacred fire burning in the midst of water, a dichotomy and a demonstration of her power and strength.

Tomorrow I will try to share some special experiences I had over the past weekend as I celebrated my birthday. They were pretty amazing! Blessed Beltaine to all!