Bealtaine (May Day) circle recording + journalling questions

Our May Day online circle at this abundant time of year

I’ve now edited this post with the recording link and journalling questions, for subscribers, scroll down :-)

It’s the green in sunlight against the blue sky that gets me

Hello friends,

On my runs and in parks with my kids I have been watching the colours change, the blossoms bloom and the insane abundance and verdancy of springtime. In London as in any city, this has to be watched in parks or in small pockets, a hedgerow here, the patches of land by the railway or the small spots of green where the will of the green force pushes through.

I think the latter are some of my favourites, the unexpected places where so much happens, without human interference.

I’ve been finding the cold really hard to deal with and watching the Met Office weather app like a hawk. As predicted, today, Monday, a few days before the beginning of May, brings weather that finally feels a little more seasonal - warmer temperatures and sunshine too. My bones feel relieved and I can feel my body sighing out a little bit.

Tomorrow night I host an online gathering to mark Bealtaine or May Day, a festival on the Celtic calendar that symbolises a doorway to summer. I love this time of year and it’s my birthday on May Day, which always puts me in the mood to review and ponder. You can find out more about my regular online circles here.

One of the things I love most about the Celtic wheel is the way we can use the interplay of seasonal energies as a framing device for our lives and for the wider world. These energies play out in every cycle - within us and our lives, on a seasonal and planetary scale. I’ve been busy learning with the brilliant teacher Mari Kennedy, who characterises these as masculine/feminine energies, which I find very helpful as I regard my own life. Where is chaos welcome? Should I slow down? Do I always need to know the answer and solve the problem? What might be gained from staying with uncertainty? Where do I need to allow and where do I need to step forward?

Spring/early summer, thank goodness for you

We’ll be thinking about this tomorrow night, as well as how to navigate our lives when we feel deeply out of sync with the seasons or wider energies as play (this brings up interesting questions during a climate emergency, too).

Even if you’re not a paid subscriber, I’d love to welcome you to try our circle tomorrow. If you’re interested in what goes on, please join us, without any obligation to become a paid member afterwards. Just drop me a line and I’ll send you the Zoom details.