Celebrating May 1 - May Day

Picture of May Pole Dancing from www.Classicalvalues.com  

 

Our Ancestors believed in the power of ritual and celebration.  The month of May is named for the Greek Goddess, Maia, seventh daughter of Atlas. In Europe, May Day is regarded as a way of celebrating the feminine, the Goddesses of Fertility, to ensure that the planting and harvesting will be successful.  The Maypole represents the male, and the ribbons represent the female. The Maypole becomes an artistic rendering of the act of copulation.  

In some countries, the people that have enough to eat and wear often leave presents tied to the trees to honour the Goddesses, and to allow the Goddesses to “see” how generous they were, thus ensuring the “reward” of a bountiful harvest.  The Goddess would then “direct” sending of the gifts to those that needed them.  

Sacred trees which are used in this honouring festival include willow, rowan (mountain ash), apple, fig, pine, and oak trees.  As the trees received gifts, the people believed the fruit of the tree multiplied so that both humans and animals would receive much harvest in the fall.

Some thoughts on May:

• the full moon is called “The Frog Moon”
• colours are hazel and pink
• flowers are lily and trefoil
• May’s creatures are magpies and doves

Enjoy May as a time of renewal!

Many blessings,

Judy

Skunk’s Support

One of the things that Creator worked with me on is to understand how to change our lives.  Creator lead me through a meditation-journey.  Part of the journey was meeting up with a Spirit Animal guide who will help me through the changes.

My spirit guide was Skunk.  I thought this was odd because I have an aversion to very strong smells.  However, as we sat on the beach of the river, side by side, I grew accustomed to Skunk’s odour, and actually even found it comforting.

Some of the ideas that Skunk conveyed were:

• You need to be di-stinct.  Be comfortable being different.  Distinguish your self by your smell, your appearance, and your actions.
• You need to follow your in-stinct.  When something smells wrong, know that it is wrong and do not look to fix it.  Walk away!
• If you are indi-stinct, it is difficult to be a teacher-leader.  This is the time to show your skills and to share them.

Skunk went on to share some other thoughts that I need to sort through for a while.  

If you have thoughts on Skunk’s appearance by my side, please send me your comments.

Many blessings,

Judy

“Heads Up”, Says Giraffe

I know that an animal wants to talk to me and give me a message when a picture pops up of it, over and over.  This has been happening with Giraffe.  I will open a magazine, and there will be a picture of a Giraffe.  Or, I will open an email slideshow, and the first or second picture will be a giraffe.

I finally slowed down and asked Giraffe what it wanted to tell me.  She asked me to close my eyes, and imagine that I was in Africa.  She then asked me to open my eyes and see the scrubby bushes and grasses that give lions and cheetahs something to hide behind.  

Then she said,

“Life is a lot like the scrubby bushes that cover the savannahs in my world.  We often get so used to seeing the bumps and the valleys, that we soon ignore them.  In the beginning, we do watch them so that we don’t trip or stumble.  We make sure that we are not taken by surprise by predators.  

Then suddenly, we seem to forget about these parts of the environment.  We look beyond them, and forget that at some point, we must deal with them.  They are like the details in life that we must take care of – car payments, mortgages, food, shelter – details that are taken for granted, and therefore not treated with the attention, and perhaps respect that they require.  Soon they catch up with us.

Giraffes know that at all times, especially with the young about, that we must keep our heads up.  We must look beyond the immediate, to the distance to see what is coming.  You, too, need to do that!”

I have been paying attention to what is around me and ahead of me.

Blessings,

Judy