Hello, you. And Happy May!
Throw back the curtains + open the doors! Listen to the sounds of nature, watch the sun move across the sky and the moon rise at night. Feel the sunshine on your skin, let the fresh air blow through you. Today the wheel of the seasons turns once again and we find ourselves at the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice.
It is a magical, magical day, my friend. One that ushers in the beginning of summer energy - even if it might not feel much like it where you are. However, there is no denying it. The earth has awakened and is either already bursting or just about to burst with life and color and all of those sunshine-y, late night, summery vibes. We’ve even had a couple of those kinds of days already way up here in Sweden. Nature may not be completely warmed + awake yet, but she is well on her way. Winter is a very distant memory now. Spring has sprung and it is time to dance and sing and celebrate.
Many celebrate Beltane, an ancient Celtic/Gaelic fire festival marking the beginning of the summer season, on the first day of May. In Sweden (and other Nordic countries), we also celebrate an ancient festival, known as Valborg, on April 30/May 1 with bonfires and song and rituals of welcoming in the season of life and growth and summer. It is a wild, free-spirited celebration of releasing all that has been dormant, sleeping, quiet, and lost during the long winter months. There is joy and lightness and laughter in the air. A time for gathering together, a few or many, and simply indulging in moments of grilling food, singing, talking, and basking in the bright, sunny day + cozy, fire-lit evenings.
In Sweden, there is even a tradition of starting the day of Valborg with a champagne breakfast and ending it with some kind of bonfire, candlelight, or grilling food.
Valborg/Beltane is the perfect way to kick off May and the summer season, in my opinion. After this, we’ve got three months ahead of all of that bright, warm, golden + green summer energy.
But before I get too far ahead and wish the time away, I want to sink way down into the vibes of May. Because they are sooooo good.
May is all about the earth. It is a lush, colorful, grounding month. It is the month where I take off my shoes and let my feet sink down in the deep green grass whenever I can.
As I move through May all I want to do is bask in the fullness of life. Right now, we are entering the height of living. In our seasonal year, this is the time of being fully alive. Looking outside our windows, we can see that life literally has been reborn. Blooms on trees, baby animals, flowers, bright sunshine, cleansing rains, green grass under our bare feet. Just stand outside for a moment + feel the pulsing energy of life teeming through everything. Feel it in the air, in the dirt, in the trees, in the petals, in the birdsong. That pulse, that rhythm, that awakening is coursing through our veins as well right now. Put your hand on your heart, my friend. That’s the same beat that’s in the earth. We, too, are nature. And we are alive.
There is a simplicity to the month of May. It doesn’t feel complicated to me. Everywhere I look, all that I feel, is beauty and art. Surrounding me, inspiring me, reminding me that it is the simplest of things that are the most important. Flowers, fruit, herbs, fire. All of nature calls to me and moves me into a state of bliss.
May is meant to be enjoyed and loved. It is a month for indulging. Not overdoing, but soaking in. Even in the middle of everyday life, even in the face of disappointment or grief, even in uncertainty and stress, May begs of me to just slow down. To align my pace with the opening flower and the budding trees. To hear the music of the world. To let my wild spirit be free. To sit outside whenever I can find a minute and connect with all that is around me and within me.
Six months from now it will be time for the festival of Samhain, also known as Halloween. It is the festival of death. A day meant for honoring the cycle of life, which also includes release, death, and surrender. It is the end of the growing season and the beginning of winter. The complete opposite of the celebration of Beltane + Valborg, and the energy of May 1. But, without celebrating Samhain, I would not be celebrating Beltane. Without death, there would not be new life. Without the cold + darkness of winter, I would not bask in the warmth + light of summer.
May is also the time to remember all that has been lost, forgotten, let go of, and grieved during this past winter. The bonfires of this month purify, cleanse, and rid us of all that has ended so that now we can plant new seeds and grow + thrive + indulge in the pure joy of living life. May is the month where we step into the light and are set free to live our wildest, most artistic, inspired days all summer long.
So, this May I’m only doing one thing: indulging in life. I intend to keep it simple, though. Slow down. Step back. Get offline. Take it one day at a time. Look for all of the little things. Spend time outside. Write. Rest. Cook. Gather flowers. Create. Meditate. And just enjoy the beauty of May one day at a time.
For me, as I enter this season of growing, I do not know at all what lies ahead for me. I have big dreams + ideas of how I want to live. At the same time, I have no specifics or details about how things will unfold. So, entering this season of growth + life truly is opening myself up to exploring how I have been changed by the long, difficult dark winter from which I am emerging. And then trusting the process to unfold as it is meant to as I discern my way forward.
So, I’ll leave you now with a few questions I am asking myself as I cross into the season of light + life. Steal away a few moments, preferably outside around this Beltane festival day, and ponder how you are being called to grow:
What is bringing you great joy right now?
Where do you currently find inspiration? What do you feel inspired to devote your energy to right now?
How can you slow your pace down + indulge in everyday life?
What intentions are you planting for the summer months?
What do you hope to grow in your life?
What do you want to harvest come autumn?
Sending all of the magical, bright, fertile, life-filled energy of May to you that I can. Bask in it all. Observe + feel + give thanks for the growing light, and know that light, love, and truth are also growing and expanding in you.
Beltane blessings, my friend. May we be guided ever onward.
xoxo. liz.
What a beautiful ode to May! She deserves it, May is one of my fave months: brimming with life, warmth, and possibility 🌱🐣🌞