In just a few more days, Walpurgisnacht and Beltane will be upon us. I’m on tour with our band, so there won’t be any official rites, dancing around the maypole and bonfires, and other physical celebrations of…fertility.
So what’s mulling around in the back of my head is the concept of the veils being “thin” or lifted between this world and the other worlds – however you see them.
Most people tend to think of the thinning veils only around Samhain, when we consciously think of and celebrate the dead. But if we flip the hemispheres around, those down under are celebrating exactly that, so it does make a great deal of sense. It also balances in the idea that if you’re looking to invoke and celebrate fertility, this would be the time for spirits to take up residence in corporeal forms, ye old fashioned way. But it can also mean a clearer connection to our divine selves.
I’d like to step back from the conceiving and birthing other beings part for a moment. Not everything has to ride on physical fertility of the plants, animals, and the continuation of humanity physically. Instead, let’s be a bit more introspective and consider our own selves. Who are we? What do we wish to bring forth of ourselves?
The bonfires we dance around, between, and jump over symbolize cleansing and purification. We burn away the negative, the unwanted, the unneeded. We make offerings to feed the spirit. Consider – what do we discard and cleanse ourselves as we move between the Beltane fires?
The maypole is an erect symbol of fertility with its tall rod piercing a wreath of flowers, but there’s more to those ribbons than colors. We can look at the ribbon we hold as our own lives, how they weave a pattern with those around us, and how we connect to the divine. What bonds do we strengthen as our ribbons intertwine with others? Who do we support and who supports us? How will these bonds and weavings make us grow? What pattern will they create in the future?
So if you’re one of those folks who has a hard time relating to a fertility ritual, I invite you look a little deeper. How would you change where you are at right now? What do wish to leave behind? What will give you new inspiration and invigorate your life? Go through the fires, began anew, and weave your pattern bright.
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