A May Festival Candle

With the festival of Beltane/May Day just two days away, here is a simple candle rite, reproduced from my book, By Candlelight: Rites for Celebration, Blessing & Prayer.  The illustrations are from The Victorian Fairy Tarot, created by Lunaea Weatherstone and illustrated by Gary A. Lippincott.

            In moderate climates, May Day (May 1st) signals the beginning of the summer season.  (The astrological cross quarter date, half way between spring equinox and summer solstice, is 15 degrees Taurus, around May 5th or 6th.)  Here in the Midwest, in the last days of April, the leaves on the trees are still quite small, and many are pinkish and yellowish tinted, so they create a visual impression of colorful dot patterns.  Shortly after the first of May, however, you turn around, and lo and behold, most of the trees are now fully leafed out.  Also, the woodland wild flowers are at their peak, garden flowers are in bloom, and the last songbirds are returning.

           At this time, the Celts held one of their most important fire festivals, known as "Beltane" (meaning "bright fire"); they made great bonfires, and some would also ritually rekindle their hearthfires.  With Samhain (Halloween), Beltane divided the year into light and dark halves, and because such transitional points were very magical, it is prominent in the fairy legends.  Around the same time, the Romans had a six day festival in honor of Flora, goddess of flowers, which they regarded as no trivial thing, as this was one of their oldest holidays.  The themes of fertility and festivity survived in customs like the May pole and May baskets.  Through the first half of the 20th century, youths in many American communities rose early to hang baskets of flowers from neighbors' door handles, and some schools arranged May pole dances.

            A modern celebration of May could take up the themes of leafing, flowering, and brightness, emphasizing the ways that all of us may cultivate unique gifts to brighten the world.  (As a verb, leaf can mean to "shoot out" or "produce leaves," and flower "to develop.")  You can celebrate these themes in your own life by lighting a candle and saying:

            As I light this candle,                                                

                        I celebrate the joyful festival May.

            As the green world bursts forth

                        in leaves and flowers,

            and the Sun's light ever increases,

            so may I fill my own world

                        with life, and light, and color.

            So may I leaf, so may I flower,

                        so may I kindle

                                    a flame of brightness.

While thinking about how you could cultivate your own gifts and share them with the world, think about recognizing other peoples' special qualities as well, that each may be valued and encouraged.  Perhaps you could also arrange some celebrational outings, as this is a time to be out in nature, doing something playful and active.