Beltane can come as a somewhat discomforting quarter in our staid, puritanical 2ist century northern hemisphere cultures. It is the season of fertility in every area of life; all the rituals and traditions associated with it are intended to honor the fertility of the earth and to insure the fertility of crops and herds through …
My mother’s birthday is June 19 – she would have been 85 this year – but her favorite day of the year was the Summer Solstice. On that day, she would traditionally drive to somewhere she could see the sun set into the ocean, and she would drink a champagne toast to the light. One …