Hal-an-tow, jolly rumbelowWe were upLong before the dawnTo welcome in the summerTo welcome in the May-OFor summer is a comingAnd winter's gone away-O...
~ Traditional Mayday song
On Mayday, the 1st of May, when I was a child, I would sneak up and leave bouquets & arrangements of flowers on my neighbor's doorsteps, ring the doorbell and run away. I loved leaving a beautiful surprise for my friends. Later as a pre-school and Kindergarten teacher I would lead my entire class through a similar exercise of leaving surprise flowers for the other classes while they were out to recess or lunch. This celebration of the gifts of spring, the sharing the bountiful beauty of the season; I have always loved this.As I grew older, and explored different traditions, I learned that the May day is also Beltane, a celebration of Fertility, and the seemingly sweet innocent maypole dance with ribbons and flowers children dancing revealed an older archetypal symbolism as the pole with a phallus carved at the tip was buried in the earth to represent the penetration and fertilization of the earth. The Beltane fires were lit and people would jump over the fire to insure fertility and the fire burned all night as they made love on the earth in the surrounding hills, woods and valleys to celebrate the bounty of mother nature and ring in the Spring with a Goddess sanctioned holy fling. In these traditions, children conceived during Beltane fires were special indeed as they were blessed by spring, the goddess and mother earth.
Mother
I will look upon this land as Mother Her body and her breath so strong From the mountains to the deep deep waters It's Mother
We are children of her ancient secrets Her power and her mystic ways No matter where we go We never leave her Our Mother
From the river song to old old country Her music well it comes so full Let us quiet down and listen closely To Mother
To the womb of all Sing my praises Mother of the dark and light Outside and in I only sing of Our Mother
The steam rising up from the core of the land With these lessons recited will I ever understand She washes me gently Takes my hand in her hand Whispering the secrets of the pride and the plan Chances delivered through the palm of her hand
Hope for the needy in the chain of command She’s the Mother of All Giving it Back to the Mother
And naturally it was easiest to transmute this pagan holy day into a celebration, a week later, of every mother on Mother’s Day in “civilized” society. We celebrate the women who gave us birth and all the women who have tended cared and nourished us during our lives. We are so grateful for our mothers. Without them we would not even be here!I am blessed to have a wonderful mother, who birthed and raised me as well as a wonderful step mother (the best gift, after life, that my father ever gave me). Both of these women have shown me how to love selflessly and to give unconditionally of themselves. While one birthed me, I met the other only a year or so later and so they both raised me and enriched my life with their love, kindness, tending and support. I am so incredibly grateful for my mothers!
Earth, water, fireThe air and the spaceAll of creation is only Her face......In the womb of SamayMother of us all
~ Trevor Hall,Samay on Kala
As we honor our mothers this month, let us also honor our mother earth, without whom we would not be here. And as we happen to also be in the month of May, the 5th month, let’s look at the dynamic and powerful number five. Five is a powerful and dynamic number, it is the number of movement, it takes the standard grounded solid number four and ads a fifth, creating a wheel and keeping things rolling. All of creation is said to be made of these elements; the first four: earth, air, fire and water are agreed upon by all, the 5th element is more of a mystery. To some it is space as in the song above by Trevor Hall, to others it is metal (Chinese Meridian Theory), and in still others it is love (The Fifth Element the movie) or spirit (The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk)In the 5 element theory of chinese medicine, earth - air/metal - fire - water - wood, elements are related to different organs and meridians in the human body and when used in conjunction with acupuncture and acupressure and herbs, the elements are arranged in a circle, and also in a star pattern of cross relationships in order to treat certain issues. It’s a 5 pointed star.A Pyramid has 5 points as well, four at the ground/base and one at the top, pointing to the sky. As I was imagining into this, I began to see the pyramid in a whole new way and could imagine why the Egyptians built such grand and powerful forms as they did, the pyramids seem to connect heaven and earth in a most dynamic and powerful way.And then there is Vitruvian man by Leonardo Davinci where the human being, in perfect physical balance is portrayed as a star. The number five is dynamic, active, it takes the solid grounded foundation of four and adds the 5th element of spirit, or love or space and with that movement happens, healing happens, love happens.The 5th card in the major arcana is the Hierophant (LINKED to my previous article on the hierophant), in this card I see a powerful time of a spiritual information download; an alignment with one’s spirit and reason for being here. It’s as if one is connecting to their star and becoming inspired to move forward in their reason for being here on earth.Notice there is a five pointed lotus behind the figure’s head. The groundedness of the cow and the person sitting in the lotus position against the tree whose leaves are pouring sacred information down from the heavens.This 5 of Pentacles shows two figures sitting beneath a beautiful stained glass window of a 5 pointed purple star. One figure stares intensely at his hands as if wondering, worrying when and where “it” is going to come from, how he is going to get “it” and the other figure is laying on the ground,holding herself in the fetal position as if in a great deal of pain, grief and regret for having lost, or broken or destroyed “it”.This is a card of staying in the now, of letting go of worry and regret and staying in the present moment. If the two figures in the card could stop worrying and regretting, and instead breathe in and look up, they would see the star and perhaps realize that they are sitting outside of a community center or church that, around the corner at the entrance, is actually giving “it” away with lunch for the needy.This 5 of Cups portrays a woman sitting and reflecting, looking sorrowful, by a river with 2 cups on the bank beside her and 3 cups floating by in the water.This card is about letting present situations that elicit powerful feelings be a catalyst for letting go of old emotional baggage. So often the reactions we have to current events are hooked somewhere back in our past with the event of a trauma or difficult situation that we were never able to fully process or accept.As we recognize what those issues are, acknowledge, feel, honor and release the suppressed emotions, we are able to let the past go and move forward in loving action rather than reaction. This is the basis for the work done in ACA, Adult Children of Alcoholic and Dysfunctional Families.This 5 of Swords shows a man lying on the ground surrounded by swords while a woman appears to be gathering up swords after the battle. Every battle, won or lost contains a defeat, regardless of the side you are on. If anyone on either side has died or lost so that one or the other side could win, then we have both lost.This card is a reminder that when anyone loses we all lose. If you are in a place of conflict or battle with another, look at what is happening for you, why are you diggin in your heels, what is really going on under the surface here? Is the “win” really worth it? Become aware of what you are sacrificing in order to “win”Take a look at what you are wanting with this battle, and at the ways you might get what you want while also helping the other person get what they want...it’s likely very possible when you step back and take the sword away from ego, lay t down and give your heart the opportunity to lead the way.In the 5 of Wands two figures are playing and african stick game called Donga. It is the indication that there is some conflict going on. In this 3D world of duality there is often conflict going on, and it’s how we handle that conflict that matters.This card reminds me of the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. The slaves in Brazil were not allowed to fight, if they were caught fighting by the overseers they were severely punished and likely killed. In order to allow for themselves to resolve the physical conflicts that needed to be resolved, they created Capoeira, a martial art done to music, that appeared to be a dance but was actually an opportunity to compete physically without fear of death or punishment.How can we learn to enjoy and appreciate the dance of conflict? Is this possible? The five of wands indicates that it is, at the very least, important to explore the possibility.Have a wonderful month, enjoy your mother if she is still on this side of the veil and send her prayers of love and light and gratitude if either you aren’t able/willing to communicate with her now or if she is on the other side of the veil. We all came from a mother, who gave us life from her body, and we all live on mother earth together, who is continually giving us life. Let’s remember to treat her and ourselves with tender loving care, to breathe into the present moment, to release our old hurts, to lay down our swords and to dance dance dance in honor of the mother and of each other! Blessed be.Honor Thy Mother...A Dance to Honor Mother Earth
