Just as the dawn chorus is reaching its glorious peak, and the wild violets are shyly raising their faces to the ever-brightening Sun I am off to work in Japan for a month.
All our senses are heightened at this time of the year if we open ourselves up to the joy of lengthening days. I have to admit that I will envy all those of you who will enjoy the sound of the calls of returning swallows and swifts, the heady scent of English bluebells on the forest floor, the sight of the delightful pink and white Hawthorn blossom, the taste of young plants and herbs.
The only heathen festival the christians haven’t purloined is Beltaine. It’s not difficult to understand why. Yet this is the celebration of the mystery of life itself. The ecstatic union between the Green Man and the Earth Goddess brings forth new life. It is the ultimate honouring of sexual equality and fecundity. Beltaine is the energy of creativity, in whatever form that takes. The Maypole, sadly forgotten by most parts of the country is the symbol for the sacred act of loving surrender. The phallic pole plunges into the yielding and welcoming Earth as the people dance and make merry.
In our ancient past bonfires were lit on the tops of hills and beacons to honour the passion of the Divine beings of the Earth as she blossoms and wallows in the warmth of the ever-strengthening Sun. Enjoy every moment, dear friends. I will be harmonising and connecting with my beloved country as she sings her fiery Beltaine song.