I’m pleased to have Mary Pat Lynch as my guest blogger for this wonderful cross-quarter holiday.
Beltane is one of the four great Fire Festivals in the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. In the ancient Celtic calendar, Beltane is a hinge ushering in the light half of the year, a time of fertility and abundance. In the standard calendar, Beltane is May 1. Astronomically, Beltane is May 5, when the Sun reaches the middle of Taurus, at its 15th degree. Celebrations include bonfires lit to honor the solar god Belos, rites of cleansing and purification, and rites to bring fertility to the land, to animals, and to the people.
This year’s Beltane season promises to be powerful indeed. The Sun may be in peaceful Taurus but five planets continue to blaze in Aries. In the Beltane chart, Uranus the Awakener is first, followed by Venus conjunct Mercury, and Jupiter conjunct Mars. The bonfire is alight!
At this time, the veils between the worlds are thin, the land of Faery is close at hand, and magic abounds. White hawthorn blooms, whose branches are cut but not brought indoors, for this flower of May belongs to the Fae. Now everything gestated during the winter is born, desires are made manifest, the unconscious emerges into the light. Venus and Mercury together are expressive, Jupiter and Mars are active, Mars exactly trines the North Node energizing our life path.
The past weeks have brought the challenges of Aries––irritations, miscommunication, anger, headaches, accidents––with an almost overwhelming energy. This Sunday, as the lusty month of May arrives and Beltane begins, we are invited to flow that energy into exuberant celebrations of Spring. Throw open the doors and dance with fairies in the fields.
During this Beltane, find your joy. Connect with whatever brings you alive. Be juicy! Where is Aries in your birth chart? With so many planets in Aries now, something new and exciting wants to happen there. Saturn remains in Libra, opposite Aries, but remember one of his roles is to make things real. The Taurus New Moon is also part of this Beltane season, a time of planting seeds in fertile soil. Celebrate the fiery energy of Spring!
“It loved to happen” ––Marcus Aurelius
Mary Pat Lynch combines archetypal astrology with the Tarot, dreamwork, and shamanic practice, exploring many intuitive languages. Her blog traces the Moon’s transits and cycles through signs and seasons.
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