Granting that most, if not all of you reading this already know about this wonderful festival, i'll be brief. Beltaine, no matter the pronunciation, is a cross quarter day that falls between Imbolc (the Spring Equinox) and Lughnasadh (the summer solstice), and lies directly opposed to Samhain. As such it is a feast day of love and life. It is the rise of summer to greet spring and take the throne as God, embodied in the life giving sun, joins in union with the earth below to grant life.
Workings related include fertility, prosperity, blessings, and purification. This is a time of joy and mirth no matter where you are, which is hard at present, as it's been raining since this morning and through the night. I would have entirely missed it had i not been presented with an over the top and in your face reminder of its power. There is a bush i pass every day on the way home from work, the gym, or the grocery store. I remember it because it blooms incredibly vibrant purple flowers, which it had not yet... until today. i had been stopped at the stop sign down the street and was taken aback by it. Up until then i had been straining against the tiresome and depressing atmosphere outside, and the work i still have to do. But then, in that small instant, everything was good. It suddenly hit me that it really was Beltaine and there would be no ifs ands or buts about it. I had no party to get to, or shmancy ritual prepared, but all in all, it was a good day, and that's enough for me to be grateful for.
Solstice
