The Festival of Beltane

Sunset on the 30th April heralds the Celtic festival of Beltane, the beginning of summer. It is a joyous festival and celebrates the gift of life in all its forms, from the gathering of greenery to decorate and protect homes, to making love in the woods until dawn. Many Pagans enact the marriage of the God and Goddess in their Beltane rituals which symbolises the masculine sun and the female earth, the union of which will hopefully result in an abundant earth as we move into the warmth and beauty of summer.

Celebrate this coming weekend by attending one of the many May Day festivals that are held around the country, perhaps the Green Man Festival in Clun Shropshire or the classic and evocative 'Obby 'Oss festival in Padstow Cornwall.

Whatever you decide to do for May Day however, make sure you celebrate the joy of life.

April's planetary aspects

Many people have commented on the rather disruptive forces that seem to be spinning through their lives at the present time. Illness, breakdowns in communication, chaos all seem to feature to varying degrees and the time surrounding the equinoxes are always periods of flux before the energies settle for the new season. Perhaps the following will help make sense of what is happening.

Venus is in its own sign of Taurus where it is joinedby Mercury, both of which form a fiery square to Mars and Pluto engineering yet more change in the areas of money, resouces and the environment.

On the 8th Saturn moved back into Virgo and forms an exact opposition on the 27th, a day which may turn out to be extremely disruptive or rather innovative. Other days which may have similar elements are: 19th and 25th.

The new moon in Aries on the 14th pushes forward vibrant spring energy and those who are involved in the healing and creative art professions are well favoured. The full moon on the 28th forms a 'T' square with Mars, indicating a very dynamic period.

Highlight of the month is the 'Lyrids' meteor shower which is best seen on the 21st and 22nd and is expected to produce around 20 meteors per hour, although best viewing is after midnight.

As April moves forward may its fiery aspects drive you ever forward into the spring.