Beltane article written for Inspiration Magazine, Beltane 2008
Living ‘The Wheel of the Year’
Are you looking for a way to ‘awaken’ your connection with yourself, with Nature and her annual growth cycle?
Take some time out from your ordinary life to mark Beltane – the third and most vibrant Celtic Festival of the year
Sarah Partridge writes – ‘Arriving at Orchard Barn, I step back in time – to an era when the pace of life was at walking or dancing speed, a time when the continuation of human kind was dependent on the fertility of the earth, careful observation of the seasons, and, of course, appropriate weather. A successful harvest was realised by community working collectively. There was no choice, people worked with the annual growth cycle.
Engrained in their ancestral awareness was the knowledge that without the fecundity of the earth and the animals, life would come to an abrupt and hungry end. Today, we take for granted that the shops will stock exactly what we want to buy 24/7/52. Collectively, we have become divorced from the annual cycle of life, believing that we can do anything, anytime, anywhere. The cost of this modern belief is devastating to our environment. Whilst it is impossible to turn back time, it is helpful and healing to become more aware of, and give thanks for the support we receive from the Earth. In this way, some of the destruction of our planet can begin to be reversed.
I am sure that you good readers of Inspirations are aware of the earth’s annual cycle. Many of your already mark the Celtic Festivals, but just in case you are newer to the Wheel of the Year, here are the names of the eight festivals our ancestors celebrated.
The best known are Winter and Summer Solstice, and Autumn and Spring Equinox. Then there are the four festivals in-between the Solstices and Equinoxes – Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain. Yes, they have other names, such as Candlemas, Mayday, Lughnasa and All Hallow’s Eve. In Inspirations, I will be writing more about the festivals and offering suggestions as to how you could mark and celebrate them.
The festival of Beltane is marked at the beginning of May. Nature is alive and vibrant, so too our human celebrations. Outside in a beautiful meadow, we dance round a magnificent Maypole, weaving together ribbons that symbolise the union of the lord and lady of the greenwood. The fertility of the land is thus acknowledged and blessed. We ask that our collective harvest be delivered safely, so that life (in all forms) can continue. We leap between twin fires as a way of cleansing ourselves of any impurities left over from the previous year. (This has the added benefit of raising your energy level.) Couples jump together to renew and revitalise their union. Individuals leap to energise their intention for the year.
YES! It can be a raucous affair, awakening to the upward flow of earth energy. Are you ready to experience that aspect of yourself? You don’t have to join an organised celebration. Next time you are outside, pause, consciously feel the breeze on your skin, breathe new life deeply into the depths of your lungs, savour the scent of the spring flowers, enjoy the expectancy of the buds on the trees, feel into the upward pulse of life surrounding you and within you. Engage with your skin and your senses, and actively lift your energy level. YES, Beltane is about celebrating aliveness, and in doing so we perpetuate a time-honoured tradition of honouring the annual growth cycle of the earth. Marking the festivals gives us the time and focus to step out of ordinary time, stop being mindless consumers, and become one with the greater scheme of LIFE unfolding.
If you would like to mark Beltane with like-minded others, there is a celebration on the evening of Thursday 8th May in north Suffolk – traditional Maypole dancing, twin fires and shared supper. (Yes, I know that the 8th is a little late – but life is full to brimming.) Give me a ring on 01473-658193 if you are interested in attending. Dance your way into greater aliveness and greater connection to this wonderful earth on which we live.'
