05/02/2026
Happy Beltane!
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“The fires are lit, my lover, and the hills
are flickering with little points of light
The sun is set, and deep within the rills
the seeds of stars are littering the night
The smoke is rising, lover, rising high
in winding spires of ribbons in the air
and in the rivers where the willows cry
and on the leys the ancient druids dare
to walk, the chalk is glowing. I know you
will never leap the Beltane fires with me
or rise on one May morning in the dew
beside me, spellbound by my poetry
Or so it seems. But oh, my lover, how
the blossom burns, so brightly on the bough
The maypole’s up, my lover, on the green
its willow ribbons flutter in the breeze
I would you be my king, and I your queen
for one night only, here beneath the trees
The hawthorn froths, my lover, in the hedge
the buds are bursting, birds are nesting high
yet still you fly, my hawk, above the edge
of some cold mountain way up in the sky
Come down, or are you wary that a flame
might fall within your feathers, or a spark
ignite your heart, or god forbid, you came
to want to stay beside me in the dark
It’s so, it seems. But see, my lover, now
the blossom burning brighter on the bough
~ Gail Foster, The Blossom On the Bough,
Two sonnets for May, and my muse
© Gail Foster, 1st May 2018
Art: Bonny Hut, “Beltane”
on Instagram
🔸🔸🔸
“Around the world, the use of fire and smoke have long been seen as cleansing and purifying, and this may have been the original purpose of leaping the [Bealtaine] fires, passing between them, or indeed fire-walking.
As late as the 19th century, peasants were observed herding their cattle between bonfires at Bealtaine, en route to highland summer pasture. The heat and smoke may have killed off any external parasites and blessed the herd’s fertility and milk production. Irish mythology also mentions this custom. . . .
Applying fire to fields in order to clear them of weeds, nourish the soil, and prepare it for planting is something that farmers have been doing for many hundreds of years. It is certainly possible that our ancestors may have viewed this vital act as something sacred. . . .
The experience of fire is quite a feast for the senses; there's something hypnotic and beguiling about watching golden flames leap high into a night sky, fanning your face with melting warmth, while the hiss, pop, and roar as they consume their fuel fills your ears and clouds of fragrant wood smoke drift around you.
Add to this the primeval beat of drums, the chant of voices, the whirling of dancers in strange fantastical costumes, the anticipation of an expectant crowd, the brooding cloak of darkness lurking on the periphery, combined with the press of our mysterious past, and one begins to get a sense of what Bealtaine may have felt like to our ancestors.”
~ Ali Isaac, for , May 01, 2024
Note: A celebratory mood prevails during this entire month of “Bealtaine,” the Gaeilge word for the month of May. The *true* festival day, called “Béaltine” in Gaeilge, falls on the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, which is the 5th day of the month. Think of May 1st as an opening door to the true festival and month.
~ Rebekah Myers
Her Circle Woven
