What potent blood hath modest May,
What fiery force the earth renews,
The wealth of forms, the flush of hues;
What joy in rosy waves outpoured
Flows from the heart of Love, the Lord. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, “May-Day”
It’s Beltane again, and the world is warming; though here in North America the winter held on right into April and another chill is expected across much of the continent tonight, that seems to have daunted humans far more than the plants and animals, which (around here, at least) have been behaving just as one expects them to in April. The grass turned green again, flowers are everywhere, birds are singing and insects are buzzing. Mind you, I’m not terribly happy about that last; May and June are the two worst months for flies, ticks and chiggers where I live, so from now until the end of August I don’t dare set foot outside without rubbing insect repellant on my shins and feet. And though I prefer skirts to jeans, that simply won’t work in the summer unless I’m going straight from house to car; the nasty little parasites will climb up the inside of a skirt, then right onto my repellant-free pelvis. Ugh!
May is also the time when we shear our long-haired animals so they’ll be comfortable for the summer; I won’t do it until I’m sure the cold is gone, but it will have to be fairly soon. If it’s done too late they won’t have time to re-grow their coats by winter, but if it’s done too early their hair will be long again by the Dog Days, always the hottest and most miserable time of year. But May is usually lovely; as I’ve said before, spring is my second-favorite time of year after autumn, not only for the gorgeous colors but also because I love warm (not hot) days and cool (not cold) nights, and that’s the typical pattern around here from April to June and September to October.
May Day is largely a forgotten holiday; thought it was once rich in tradition, it was stolen from the old pagan gods and goddesses by the followers of one of the modern secular religions (though that one, too, has died in its turn). But these are autumnal thoughts, and not suitable for lusty May; go forth, enjoy the day in whatever way suits you best, and remember that in less constipated times, this was a day to celebrate Nature’s gift of sex.
Blessed Be!
“(though that one, too, has died in its turn)”
Would Goddess that that were true. Communism is alive and unwell in China, North Korea, and on College campuses worldwide.
Pillocks.
Blessed Beltane to you and yours, Maggie. May you continue to be a burr under the saddle of the Prissybritches through the coming year!
China is communist in name only; they’re as capitalist as the US and Europe are now. And its incarnation on campuses is more like a fringe sect than a thriving religion, kind of like Zoroastrianism in modern India.
All that “capitalism” in China is still subject to the central State; not exactly Communism as envisioned by Marx, but 1) at least as close as any other Communist State ever got, 2) still calling itself Communism, and 3) Very much the same style of government by patronage and exception that has cursed Chine essentially forever.
As it is in the USA also.
Cursed them for all three thousand years of uninterrupted civilisation. Poor chinese! A good dose of christianity would sort them out, but it’s probably too late in the day for that.
We don’t really have seasons here in Florida the way we do in the North, we sort of have a rainy season and a dry season. One of the ways we separate parts of the year is by a type of insect that starts swarming called love bugs, but they aren’t as charming as they sound.
“Love Bugs are small flies that are in the process of mating when they swarm over the roads. So usually there are two individuals: the large one is the female and the small one is the male. The female usually gets her way and she drags the male around with her.” — http://www.floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe00508.htm
Ok, that is kind of charming, but not so much when they are getting all over your car.
They swarm in Late April/Early May, just around Beltane. So we humans may forget the holiday, but the insects certainly observe it!
LOL! Have you read any of the “legend” behind Love Bugs?
They were first documented in 1940 and were prevalent mostly in Louisiana and Texas. However – by 1950 they had spread across North Florida – and now, well they inhabit everything on the Gulf Coast.
One of the myths is that LoveBugs are the result of a University of Florida Genetics experiment gone wrong.
They quite literally suck. I have driven through swarms where you could literally hear their biomass striking the vehicle – sounding like popcorn.
In Hawaii – I LOVED to ride my motorcycle all over the island with only a beanie helmet. It’s completely impossible to do on the Gulf Coast unless you like to dig Lovebugs out of your teeth. Then again – I like to ride on Hwy 90 near where Jane Mansfield died … and that’s in the middle of the swamps sooo … there’s a lot of things up in there worse than lovebugs in there!
Yes, I remember that legend, because they look like they have two heads, though that particular situation is usually described as two backs….
They’re incredibly common in South Louisiana as well; there was almost no point in washing one’s car in the spring because as soon as it went back on the road the entire grill, hood and windshield would be plastered with the nasty things.
Yes, we often put car bras on our cars down here for that reason. I think the “tiger mosquitos” are worse though.
I have a truck “bra” … and my wife enjoys reminding me that it’s very uncool. 🙁
In Hawaii, May Day is Lei Day. It’s also Space Day.