Beltane – a poem and a dance
A few bits, but by no means a full dive, about the history and meaning of Beltane, include its translation as “bright fire” or “mouth of fire” in Irish. Like other seasonal ritual days, the celebration of Beltane was supposed to have involved fire. The fire was a way of ushering in the summer and light time of the year. Beltane also connects to a time of fertility and fecundity, when the earth is coming alive with color – plant and flower life, greenness of trees and grasses,
new animal life. The abundance has arrived and continues to burst forth. Like its counterbalance in the fall (Samhain), the time of Beltane is also a time where the veils between the worlds are considered thin, when we have closer access to the ancestors and the otherworld, whatever we may consider that to be.
Right now, when I look at the land around me, I see more animal and bird life, I can hear birdsong all day long, the vibrant pink of the azaleas and the green of the grasses are saturating the yard. The snowdrops and crocuses have given way to the dandelions; the fragrance of lilacs and hummingbird shrubs fill the neighborhood. The bees are flying two by two. There is a hint of summer in the air, but nature will not be rushed, and I don’t want to be rushed either. There’s an invitation to linger in this late springtime, to be taken by the sweet smells and colors, to dream in the afternoon breezes and begin to soak in the warmth of the sun.
Here’s an offering of a poem and a dance to welcome some of that Beltane energy.
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