I saw the above picture on Facebook last weekend and it struck a chord.
Change is afoot in my world and I’ve spent the last few days contemplating it. That picture filled me full of a renewed sense of hope.
“So, what’s Beltane got to do with it?”
“What’s Beltane?”
Beltane is a pagan/Gaelic celebration that marks the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. This year that’s 1st May. As a festival it was gradually dying out by the middle of the 20th century but since the late 1980’s it has seen a rekindling. (See what I did there? Hee hee)
Beltane is a fire festival.
According to Irish mythology, Beltane marked the beginning of summer when farmers would lead their cows out to the summer pastures. To celebrate this, ritual bonfires were lit and the local people would walk round or in between the fires with their cattle. These fires were believed to have protective powers. At this time too, every household’s fire was doused and relit with embers from the Beltane fires. It was a time for feasting and celebration.
Beltane is a celebration steeped in the shedding of darkness (winter) and the welcoming back of the light (summer).
It’s a time of change. A time of transition and this year for me personally, its significance isn’t lost on me. (More on that another time.)
If you feel stirrings of passion for something or a need for new beginnings this week, trust your gut instincts and let the Beltane fires energise your soul.
That new project that you were thinking about…start it!
The book you plan to write…start it!
The new whatever it was you have been dreaming about…start it!
I have!
(picture sourced via Facebook – credits to the owner)
Coral McCallum 