| Hi Mary,
Beltane is the cross quarter holiday in Taurus time. The term Beltane refers specifically to the ancient Celtic festival that's also honoured by contemporary pagans the world over. The Cross Quarter day itself, which we could call Astrological Beltane, is a seasonal marker honoured by many northern hemisphere cultures present and past as the height of the Spring season. This year, Astrological Beltane falls on May 4th.
So what's special about these cross quarter days?
They are markers in the solar year which occur when the Sun reaches 15º of each of the fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. These holy days mark the halfway points between the Solstices and Equinoxes. But what makes a holiday a holy day?
In his beautiful book Astrological Time, Brian Clark talks about the ancient Greek term Kairos, which we might understand to mean divine right timing or the perfect moment. The root of the word Kairos is apparently from both archery and weaving. It speaks to the moment when the arrow finds its mark and is able to penetrate the chink in the armour, or the moment when the shuttle flies unimpeded through the warp, carrying the thread to create the pattern.
At the holy days, the points of balance or extreme or stillness in the Sun’s journey, we're in Kairos time.
These are moments outside of the Ordinary, marked by the solar transit. These are the times when we can pierce through to the heart of the matter, when the thread can slide easily into place to create the pattern of our lives. At these times we can pierce through outer layers of reality into eternal time, into some kind of truth or wisdom, the wisdom held in the special moment marked by the Sun.
The wisdom of the Cross Quarters, coming as they do in the middle of the fixed seasons, is their ability to drop us into stillness. On these special days we experience a kind of eternal perfection of the seasonal moment. The bloom of Taurus, the rot of Scorpio, the freeze of Aquarius, the heat of Leo.
At the Taurus Cross Quarter we are dropped into the stillness of the perfect bloom. The fixed earth of Taurus ripens the blossoms to perfection. The Rose opens and exudes its warm scent in the ripening light of the sun.
Traditionally, Beltane is the time to light a fertile fire, to gather blossoms and string them together. It's a time to dream your true love, or to make love with a stranger in the thrice-plowed field, your passion ensuring the fertility of the coming harvest.
Ok, but what do these symbols mean and how do they apply to your life? How can you best immerse yourself in the blossoms of Beltane, and ignite the inner fires?
What is that thing about the thrice-plowed field anyway? There seems to be a contradiction. There's impulsive, anonymous passion, but it happens in a very well prepared environment. I think there's a clue to the Kairos wisdom of Beltane in that symbol. It's about how preparation and Grace come together in the moment of conception.
So as well as being a time for celebration, for enjoyment of the gorgeous weather, the blossoms, the food, the company, the sensuality, the warmth of the fire, the delights of the senses, Beltane is also a time to bring together your urgency and passion with your careful preparation.
How has the ground of your being been worked and prepared over the last season? What are you ready to receive? What abundance do you want to create, what passion is welling up?
What do you urgently want to see take shape, grow and blossom in your life?
Whatever your stage of life, it is your birthright to create. There is always fertile ground within you for your passions to play upon.
Bright Beltane Blessings from Bronwyn
Bronwyn Simons, Predictive Astrologer and Astrology Mentor at Bronwyn Simons Astrology |
