(May 1st) BELTANE: The Ties That Bind

May is the heart of spring when the earth is soft, supple and green. Days lengthen and the sunshine draws us completely out of winter seclusion now, as if we are roused from hibernation. And who can resist the out of doors! Every tree is a like the canvas of a French impressionist painting, branches dabbed with delicate foliage in tiny, swirling strokes of chartreuse, while swathes of color weave a floral carpet across fields or lawns naturalized with daffodils and crocus. Gaia awakens and every budding leaf whispers secrets upon the breeze, while tantalizing mysteries are revealed with the unfurling of each flower petal.

The first of May was celebrated throughout various parts of pre-Christian Europe. In Germanic lands it was known as Walpurgis, in Celtic isles it was and still is called Beltane -- and that is how it shall be referred to here. Beltane is traditionally a fire festival, with themes of fertility, merrymaking and enchantment. This is a time for tapping into the fresh new energy of the awakening season. Observing Beltane’s spoke on the wheel of the year provides another opportunity for continuing the creativity conceived of at Imbolc and initiated at Ostara. Winter seeds sown in the fertile soil of our intentions begin to bloom now in pledge of summer’s bounty and autumn’s fulfillment.

The name Beltane literally means “bright fire” and in days gone by farm fields and hillsides, woodland clearings and village greens were dotted with bonfires on the night of May Eve in raucous celebration of spring, to welcome the fertile time of the year. Fire’s relationship to fertility is creation out of destruction. Distilled to the essence, fire transforms matter – dramatically. Fire obliterates what was and makes room for the creation of something completely new in its place. Agriculturally, fire clears out the old growth, removes debris and leaves nutrient rich cinder and ash behind from which new life can grow and be nourished. It was also believed that the balefires of Beltane were protective, sympathetically spreading warmth to the land and encouraging crops to grow, burning like countless mini suns.

You know, it’s very telling that this old Celtic practice of lighting the Beltane fires was sometimes referred to as kindling a “need fire”. Isn’t that a wonderful term? Need-fire. Our needs, our desires, our wishes can burn within us like a flame. Our yearnings can propel us and compel us…they can be the driving force of our lives or they can unexpectedly consume us in a frenzy if we are not careful. When we light our need-fires with positive intent and openness to change, then they too will act as mini suns, encouraging personal growth and shining the way.

Because Beltane fires were meant to be clearing and purifying they were usually not lit from the flame of another source. Rather, they were traditionally started from scratch, so to speak, by the friction method -- the proverbial rubbing of two sticks together to create sparks. It takes friction, interaction to create the level of heat that will ignite a flame...after that the fire has to be quickly and carefully stoked, otherwise it smolders and extinguishes. Building a good fire is like building any relationship….it takes time, it takes thought, it takes care and above all it takes work. And when that flame finally blazes strong and bright it doesn’t mean you are done, you cannot simply walk away. A fire needs to be tended or it will burn out.

A relationship with whatever we revere as divine, sacred, or soulful, is not a passive endeavor either; it is an ongoing process of interaction, of feeding that inner flame. The more it is fueled, the brighter it burns. The purpose of any spiritual path is to activate a more meaningful experience of life. One way to do this is to engage with the rhythms of the earth thru ceremony and celebration. By doing so we connect to something beyond ourselves, we become participants in a greater process. This strengthens our bond to that which we deem sacred, illuminating our path with the torchlight of self-discovery and reflection.

Our human yearning for kinship needs tending, too of course. Connection to each other, in community, family or friendship, can kindle our need-fires as well. These relationships mean various things to different people, but the central truth is in some way or another people need each other. Like so many beacons punctuating the blackness, Beltane fires were lit to signify the last vestiges of winter with its isolation and deprivation were finally long past. Holidays and gatherings speak to the simple innate desire for union, for interaction with another – whether lover or family or friends. Connecting with others is an assurance that we are not, after all, alone. When we build community we knit ourselves into the fabric of the web of life, the unifying threads of existence of which we are a part. Akin to a May Day basket woven of separate, thin branches, we are stronger bound together. We earthlings are inextricably joined and we can share the collective warmth of each other’s glowing need-fires.

Of course not all Beltane festivities center on evening fires…for how could we honor spring without enjoying the gifts of warmer days that the glorious sunshine brings? With the greening of nature, spring takes on a light, whimsical air and all the fabled beings that embody the untamed and mystical almost seem to beckon us come out and play. Springtime mythology is prolific with legends of fairies, tree spirits, impish elves and all manner of unseen metaphorical creatures. Such tales remind us of earth’s natural magic, that sense of wonder we can all experience when we spend time in the wild. Mother Nature stirs and unfolds, frond by frond, petal by petal, till She is finally released from the confines of Her tightly held bud, open and exposed to the sun’s radiating warmth. Spring is an invitation, an opportunity, a promise.

What better way to appreciate that promise than by enjoying flowers? With a rainbow palette Flora has decked the earth out with a vibrant array of blooms to be inspired by. Cheerful tulips and narcissus along with heady hyacinth undulate in splattering waves from suburban gardens to urban courtyards. Cherry blossoms float upon the scented breeze like soft confetti, while shy violets peak out from their mossy beds tucked beside sheltered streams. Forsythia branches arch their golden arms in a shining embrace while lilacs gathered on a May morning feel like a sweet indulgence…and of course spring is nothing if not the season of sweet indulgences.

Beltane was also a time for coupling and trysting, a celebration of the sacred nature of sexual union, an honoring of passion’s first awakening. The blossoming time of bodies and of land signified hope for future abundance. You cannot really speak about Beltane with out talking about sex. Human sexuality was once strongly linked to the earth. Long ago ecstatic rites of making love in fresh ploughed fields before planting were emblematic of our connection to the earth and our dependence upon Her fertility. But beyond encouraging prolific growth, our longing for each other and desire for pleasure creates a quality of energy like no other. It transcends any boundaries, dictated by pure unadulterated passion. Whether shared with another or indulged in alone, physical pleasure connects us to the primal center, to the creative core of our being and therefore, to the universe. In a way, the very big bang itself that exploded this universe into being was nothing short of the ultimate orgasmic shudder, a cosmic spasm that reverberated thru space and time, vibrating thru the eons…the definitive creative act.

But fertility is not just about body and cosmos, flora and fauna…it is about the mind and heart as well. It is about potential, about weaving possibilities into reality. We all have the ability to be creative in the essential meaning of the word…to be not only procreative but also pro-creative, re-creative – to perpetually reinvent our selves and our society, to develop our own sense of individual empowerment, to shape our reality and initiate our thoughts into action, into art, into love. Passion isn’t just about the body either…it’s about the soul, that elusive fragment of ourselves that when we listen speaks to us from the depths and engages us in the ultimate pursuits of existence, those of following our bliss and seeking our own truth. This soul-voice comes from our center…that place where our collective divinity is immanent and our experience is accumulated and transformed into wisdom.

The center is where we all radiate out from, like the multi colored ribbons streaming from atop a Beltane maypole. Each strand marks a different connection point but they all weave around the same post, like mystical umbilical cords tied to All That Is. No matter how tangled up you get in life’s trials and tribulations as long as you hold fast you will continue to weave around the spire. But if you do happen to let go, that’s okay too…someone else is no doubt skipping around the same center point and can take your hand till you find your way again. Most importantly, at the end of the dance all the ribbons will be completely wrapped around the pole…to be bound closer to center then when we began is the journey of life.

every day is earth day

As a child, when we celebrated first Mother’s and then Father’s Day, I remember asking my parents when “Kid’s Day” was. They laughed and said, “Every day is Kid’s Day”. That made no sense to me then but now that I’m a mom I totally get it.

Until recently I felt sort of the same way about our family celebrating Earth Day. Ideally, wasn’t every day Earth Day? Don’t get me wrong -- I wasn’t knocking the objective of setting aside a day to honor the planet. I’ve been just as thrilled as anyone that Earth Day has gained popularity since 1970. But as someone who follows a nature-based spiritual path I already revere the earth as sacred throughout the entire year; Earth Day seemed a bit redundant and I saw no need to make a big deal of it in our little family on that one particular day. We had the whole crunchy-granola-earth-celebrating thing covered all year long, right?

Of course that’s assuming that I actually put the earth in my earth-centered spirituality in the first place. Just being a pantheistic type Gaia devotee is apparently no guarantee that you are earth-friendly. And sad to say I’ve even been to a couple neo-Pagan celebrations where disposable plastic plates & cups were used -- complete with a vinyl tablecloth covering the altar since it might get “dirty” outside. Seriously.

Granted, I think those were isolated incidents of “religion as hobby” rather than any sincere form of nature reverence. Certainly most Pagan oriented celebrations are not so ridiculously hypocritical, but it does make one wonder. How can you be part of an earth-based spiritual movement without concern for the actual planet? And shouldn’t that concern be an integral part of your convictions, isn’t supporting environmental protection issues as sacred as lighting candles and welcoming the changing seasons with ritual?

However my faith has evolved, whatever label I’ve given it…one constant aspect of my spirituality since my 20’s has been my dedication to the belief that the earth is sacred. So, when people who know my spiritual perspective would find out that we didn’t actually celebrate Earth Day, they'd be surprised. I would just explain that it happened to fall close to Beltane, a spring holiday that we did celebrate, so my attention was on that. I would then go on to illuminate all the ways we tried to take care of the earth 365 days a year…the recycling, the reducing, the organizations we supported, our veganism, eating organic, so on & so forth.

But recently our already high level of concern for the dire straits the planet finds itself in has been even further heightened. It’s finally obvious to a larger amount of people than perhaps ever before that the earth could use alot of extra consideration right about now. Earth Day has become a great chance to promote thoughtfulness regarding a wide variety of environmental issues -- always a good thing. So, in my little neck of the woods we are now paying more attention to Earth Day, to participate in this growing positive movement.

Earth Day presents itself as a great teaching opportunity for kids, and let’s face it, we really need them to do a better job than we have of living gently upon the planet. To that end we have used these weeks leading up to it as an opportunity to focus on relevant subjects in homeschooling our 5-½ year old daughter. We’ve explored issues such as global warming, pollution, and the various things we can do about them. For those interested, a great book for that age group is, “Where Does the Garbage Go?” (revised edition) by Paul Showers. Another would be, “Be a Friend to Trees” by Patricia Lauber.

We are also spending some time this Earth Day weekend preparing for Beltane with an eco-friendly focus. On Saturday we are creating May Day “baskets” to give to some of our neighbors on Beltane. These will be made out of recycled Silk Soymilk cartons, painted and decorated by our daughter. We’ll be planting them with flowers purchased from a woman who owns a local nursery and grows them organically. I think this has been a good little lesson for our daughter – for one thing she gets to literally see how garbage piles up, what with all the empty cartons quickly taking over our dining room table! And she also can experience the value of giving something back, both to the neighbors as a gift and to the earth in terms of turning trash into treasure. It’s even been eye opening for us and has me thinking of a way around buying our soymilk to reduce the trash output…perhaps making it at home someday instead.

Anyway, on Sunday my husband is taking our daughter to a nature center where a special walk is planned for children & parents. I’ll be at home with our baby son. Perhaps I’ll slip outdoors and nurse him on a bench in our yard, my own quiet way of spending some special time in nature with him.

I thought we could end the day with an organic Earth Day Birthday cake, the name of which is inspired from the sweet children’s book, “Earth Day Birthday” by Pattie Schnetzler. We can all blow out the candle and make a wish for Mother Earth’s future and talk about ways to ensure that future is tread upon in ways that will leave a lighter footprint.

Along the same lines, in addition to getting out in nature or attending festivals or even participating in green protests, I would like to see Earth Day become a time for making personal earth-friendly commitments, like birthday wishes or New Year’s resolutions – only with a decidedly ecological purpose. Things like promising to switch all the light bulbs in your home to compact fluorescents, no longer use paper napkins, go more often to farmer’s markets to support sustainable and/or organic agriculture, turning the thermostat down in the winter & up in the summer, buying less overly packaged goods, etc, etc. (For other ideas & more info, click here.)

Our plans are not grand, not very elaborate. But we are using Earth Day as an extra focal point, another chance to remind us of how important protecting the planet is. Actions, even small ones, speak louder than mere words when it comes to genuinely honoring the earth. She is our mother, She is our home, She is amazing, and She is sacred. Remembering that more often would truly make every day Earth Day.

a question of faith

I consider myself a woman of faith. I couldn’t have gotten thru some of the rough patches in my life without a deep sense of faith – and like a lot of us I've had my share of tough times to get thru.

In fact the one time I almost didn’t make it through a period of severe adversity was when I’d completely lost my sense of faith. I found myself deep in a pit of despair where I held out no hope, no future was worth looking towards. Thankfully, by what I call sheer Grace, I managed to hold on. Slowly I regained my footing and life went on. It was different, but I came to accept that.

With acceptance of “what is” often comes a degree of peace. Not to mention surprisingly positive elements can sometimes be discovered during the most negative events of our lives. I don’t see that as a grand purpose for suffering, though, as if we had some lesson to learn that can only be taught through adversity. Rather, I attribute it to human nature and our innate ability to make sense out of the seemingly senseless. We search for meaning, for that which gives us consolation and comfort, and finding good amidst tragedy provides us with something to hold on to. We, most of us, manage to find hope and the strength to keep going.

All of this has reaffirmed my faith, but more importantly it also redefined my personal sense of that faith. I have come to disbelieve in the type of god/dess that literally controls my destiny, nor do I think the universe is sentient in the way we humans typically define it, therefore it is not capable of guiding or saving me. So what exactly do I have faith in now, from a spiritual point of view, and how does it sustain me?

For one thing, I have faith in myself in terms of my own mortal strength. Secondly, I have faith in the over all collective goodness of humanity. Lastly, I have faith in the natural universe beyond my singular life – the sun will rise tomorrow no matter what.

The faith I have in myself reminds me it is often within our power to change, to transform various difficulties beyond what we may realize at first. But even if something cannot be changed we can adapt and go on. Adaptation is miraculous and worthy of awe. Change happens. Maybe life will be harder, maybe it will really suck sometimes, but there is at least some semblance of contentment still to be had. And even the most meager crumb of happiness is enough to make life worthwhile in the face of the unknown alternative. Life is NOT cheap; it is precious, mysterious and wonder-full even at its bleakest.

But bleak is not the natural state of things! I have faith in the unlimited potential for good existent in humankind. (While "good & evil" are qualities ascribed by humans, they are useful descriptive devices for labeling the societal mores and preferences that are necessary for civilization as we know it). So, certainly there is malevolence to be found, but I have faith in the possibility of transcendence. And call me an optimist but I do believe that light can overcome darkness and that what we define as good can always triumph over what we deem evil. We humans possess remarkable powers to change much of what plagues our species. Our baser qualities can be transcended, transformed. Hate, fear, anger, ignorance, all can be unlearned and replaced with love, hope, kindness and understanding. Mind you, utopian ideals are not something I espouse or aspire to here! I just hold the thought that the scales can be tipped for the greater good. This belief gives me hope. We can all make a difference; even the smallest acts of compassion or altruism are worthwhile and can have farther-reaching effects than is imaginable. It is not egocentric to act as if your life matters to others if it causes you to strive for society’s greater good. Every life has intrinsic value and can make an impact.

I have faith that the world won’t end tomorrow. That sounds trite or silly, but really what it means to me is that the universe in all its flux & flow, in all its evolution, will be here when I wake up in the morning, and at least in some capacity beyond my lifespan. My daily trials and triumphs, however huge they are to me, make not even a microscopic dent in the complex system that is our entire cosmos. Rather than make me feel insignificant or contradict my belief that every life matters, it instead gives me comfort to be a part of something so impressively vast. There is something bigger than me – in effect, everything is bigger than me. There’s plenty of room for anything under the sun and most of it is a lot more important than my individual desires or disappointments.

But as the universe is so big and faith is an individual thing we tend to have need of a personal relationship with it. I name the central focus of my faith, referring to Her as Goddess. Aside from the empowering gender implications, this is a metaphor for that which I cannot possibly fully describe. She is the quantum thread that connects my inner, deeper self to the divine in others and to the natural world of which we are all a part. This thread is woven into a sacred tapestry, an elegant theory of Everything-ness. Whether metaphorical Universal Mother, archetype of Self, or Gaia as Sacred Home, I find comfort and poetic truth in Her expression as my holy touchstone.

It is not that I have faith in Her, but that my faith is Her.

couldn't have said it better myself

On April 5th a TIME article entitled, "Einstein & Faith" by Walter Isaacson contained several quotes by Albert Einstein. Two in particular struck a chord of resonance with me:

"The most beautiful emotion we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle. To sense that behind anything that can be experienced there is something that our minds cannot grasp, whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly: this is religiousness."



"Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious."