Blessed Beltane

With all of the current stressors going on in my personal life - between work, our battling with Sears' installation over the gas stove fiasco and some other more recent personal issues - I nearly forgot that today is Beltane! So Happy May Day everyone!

Back in Fairfax, CA, there used to be a fantastic May Day Festival in the park, with a maypole, music, crafts, and all kinds of fun stuff. Unfortunately I checked the Fairfax website and it looks as though they've abandoned the May Day Festival. Here's a picture I shot on May Day 1999, but sadly it's the only one I have of the park itself that day. We were about 3 weeks away from leaving California and so all the pictures I shot that day were of my fave stores and places in Fairfax, and not so much the festival.

From www.circlescentury.org:

Also known as May Eve, May Day, and Walpurgis Night, happens at the beginning of May. It celebrates the height of Spring and the flowering of life. The Goddess manifests as the May Queen and Flora. The God emerges as the May King and Jack in the Green. The danced Maypole represents Their unity, with the pole itself being the God and the ribbons that encompass it, the Goddess. Colors are the Rainbow spectrum. Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight.

Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend. Form a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty. Dress in bright colors. Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within. On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it. Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck. Welcome in the May at dawn with singing and dancing.