by The Rev. Mark Gallup
Beltane is the Celtic festival celebrating the return of summer. Lying halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, it was a time of ritual to promote growth and fertility. It was celebrated with bonfires, merry making, and unrestrained foolishness. In Mother Nature’s world it is a time of blooming trees and flowers—as well as mating season for many animals and birds—so that life may be sustained.
If Imbolc was a time to “den up” and patiently nurture what needs to be born, Beltane marks a need to come out into the light and live our days with joy and even frivolity. It is especially a time for enjoying Nature and all of Her gifts which begin to return to us this time of year: spring rain, flowering plants and trees, young furry creatures and birds.
So contemplate what needs to be birthed and come out into the light. Perhaps it is an idea for a project you have long been nurturing. It could be a trip you’ve long wanted to do, perchance to reconnect with old friends. Or it could simply be a feeling of well-being that comes from gardening or walking in the woods.
And by all means have some fun! Jump outside the box and run free. Sing loudly a song of thanksgiving for the return of summer. Cook or bake something utterly decadent. Go forth and whoop it up in the rain. Raise a fire and invite friends to share it with you, to dance around the flames. Do something out of the ordinary and keep it up as summer blossoms. Honoring the changing seasons in this way will make you very happy and well satisfied.
The Rev. Mark Gallup is a Pagan high priest, interfaith minister, spiritual seeker, mystic, and diviner of the Natural World. Mark has been a practicing Pagan for over thirty years. He is a graduate of the College of Wicca and Old Lore as well as being trained in Feri. Mark was ordained in 2013 as an interfaith minister by the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. Along with his wife, Mary Gelfand, he leads Earth-centered spiritual events and serves as an elder for White Pine Programs in York, ME.
