MAY DAY

Hey hey it's the first of May, outdoor f---ing begins today...

Actually, Bealtaine, the "real" May Day, isn't until next Tuesday at sunset. The sun reaches 15 degrees of Taurus on the 6th, and all the really good pagan feast days start at sunset on the night before. (The "eve".)

Bealtaine is the start of the waxing half of the year, just as Samhain (the ancestor of Halloween) heralds the waning half of the year. Ironically, this year's Bealtaine is accompanied by a Mercury "retrograde" cycle. And on a Wednesday to boot, so you know that there will be some computer and travel issues, as well as a flood of visitors and returns from the past. (Old friends, lost items, thieves, writing & communications. All the usual Mercury ruled stuff.)

I wonder if this retro period will get me back to posting here more regularly, or if my attention to this blog is perhaps winding down. Each time I go to post I feel as if I am saying the same things that I have said many times before. However, the changes that will be taking place in our world over this summer will be so deeply felt that I think maybe by fall I will have lots of new things to say. And new issues to address.

So today is a good day to prepare for next week's ritual. The carnal celebration and feast should be on the night of the 5th-- perfect for Cinco de Mayo here in Los Angeles! But the ritual should be at dawn on the morning of the sixth. If you don't have any lovely naked young ladies to jump over the bonfire, or any cattle to be blessed, or Wicker men to burn, then just plan on getting up and greeting the sunrise.

Say a blessing, or a prayer. Thank the green earth for her goodness and tell the winds and the spirits what you are hoping to grow in your life this year. The veil between the world's is thin at this time of year- more so than any other day except Samhain. And Bealtaine is about new spirits, and fertility. Not the dead and haunted, as it is a Samhain.

With the swine flu epidemic and the concern with global warming and peak oil, peak clean water, and all of the problems we have created for ourselves in regards to the earth, I suggest turning Bealtaine into a kind of Valentine's Day (or Mother's day) for Mother Nature. Nothing makes a woman happier than appreciation, so be sure to thank the violets and daffodils, and the little grubs and worms, and the bees and birds, and anything else that you love about this planet.

In fact, don't wait until Bealtaine. Today is a lovely day, the first of May, to spend a few moments in a beautiful, outdoor place (like a garden or park) really appreciating the power of spring and the explosion of new growth and colour.

PRAISES, THANKS, AND BLESSINGS!!!
conjurewoman1@yahoo.com