May Day - Beltane

Maybe I should have done this blog yesterday so that you could have gone outside and done a May Day, Beltane ritual that I did so many time as a child, and also as an adult with my Mom.

I did not get up this morning before dawn as I just got back home from overseas and I am enjoying sleeping well in my own bed!

It has been a tradition that I have done with my Mom and by myself that on the morning of May 1st (May Day), just after sunrise, we would go out to collect the dew from the grass, flowers, and leaves as on this day it has magical and healing properties. Once gathered we would wash our faces with it to enhance beauty and preserve youthfulness as well as giving the skin a clear radiant glow for the year ahead. We also believed that the May Day morning dew would bring good luck, love, and fertilely for people as well as animals and the land. Purification is the spirit of Beltane and the dew acts as a natural form of spiritual cleansing as one washes away the old and welcomed the new.

However today I am going to celebrate Beltane with another tradition: the use of fire. In the olden days we celebrated this day with great fires to purify, bless, and honour the Sun as it got brighter and warmer with each new day. On this day communities would gather to dance around the May Pole and some would leap over flames or pass between flames seeking purification, healing, and good luck for the coming season.

Some years ago I visited Hollywood; the one in Northern Ireland! Where the one remaining old May Pole still stands in the town centre, and from it multi-coloured strands of bright ribbon were woven by dancers as symbols of joy as they danced in harmony and excitement for the many blessings ahead.

Beltane invites us to go outdoors and here in central London I did that today and enjoyed a walk and time in vibrant and very warm sunlight, factor 50 is on today and I got so sunburnt yesterday when I was just out for a short walk! Now this eveningI will light a candle to purify myself, giving thanks for all I have as well as being excited and grateful for the changes ahead.

I invite you on this beautiful day to take time to acknowledge the moment, maybe you too can go for a walk in nature, gather flowers, and create a flower ring for yourself. Dedicate a candle to release the old, or make a wish using the candles flame. Enjoy the moment as you reconnect with yourself, using its power and warm light to bring joy and goodness in the season ahead.

May your path be lit with love, your days warmed by purpose, and your spirit nourished by the beauty of the season.

Beltane blessings to you, now and always.