From the days of our long north eastern winter this year we needed the fire of Aries to wake us up and get moving again.  Aries is Mars, fire, masculinity moving through, heat and boldness.  After Mars helps us to wake up and move we then transform again into Taurus or Venus from mid April to mid May. The Taurus season runs from April 21st to May 20th, and in the Celtic calendar marks the time of Beltaine.

May day and Mother’s day are celebrated within this time frame.  In ancient Ireland, England and all Celtic (pronounced kell-tic) cultures this season was celebrated with rituals that honored land-husbandry, planting in other words the sacred relationship of man and mother earth is renewed now.

On May day we plant a May Pole, which represents the masculine, while the the ribbons which wrap around it represent the womb.

On May 11th we celebrate Mother’s day.  The word mother comes from the Latin for matter.  No matter what kind of relationship one has with one’s own mother we can all cultivate a good reciprocal relationship with the one that feeds us all, Mother earth.

And so in the season of Beltaine we may all find a way to marry ourselves to the abundance of the land, even by just having a pot of herbs on your kitchen window while you take the birdsong into your heart.

An important gift of the Taurus season is to remind ourselves to reconnect to sensual pleasures, good food, warm embraces, a kind eye, even taking a bath with some pine or lavender scents.  When we slow down to the pace of the bull of Venus, we connect to our breath and the deep heartbeat we share with the divine Mater.  The spirit of Beltaine reignites our natural inclination to tend to ourselves, our dear ones and this glorious eden of abundance we call home.