Beltane 2025

Happy Beltane or May Day! We did it, we made it through the long Winter and are gratefully stepping into the warmer months of the Wheel. Today we’re surrounded by examples of life, fertility, and renewal; birds are chirping, plants are blooming, and here on the Eastern Shore we’ve been covered in layers and layers of tree pollen. Seriously, enough with the pollen, ha! Beltane is all about life - beautiful, vibrant, noisy, and often messy life.

I was doing a little dirt therapy this past week prepping the garden beds for seedlings. Unfortunately my beloved Rosemary bush didn’t make it through our unusually cold and snowy winter. These things happen. What was remarkable though were the three Praying Mantis egg sacks she well and faithfully hosted. Fun fact: a praying mantis egg sack is known as a ootheca. Who knew?! I carefully snipped the branches they were on and relocated them to other spots in the garden to hatch.

When we moved into this house nearly seven years ago we planted blackberries, elder bushes, asparagus, a fig tree; we created a diverse pollinator garden in the front, and built a few raised beds for herbs and veggies. It’s certainly not a ‘pretty’ yard (I have a bad attitude about grass and it rarely rates my attention) but it is full of life. The past two years I’ve noticed a huge increase in beneficial insects. The praying mantis being one of my favorites. I appreciate the symbolism of finding three egg sacks - Maiden, Mother, Crone. The full circle of life. It doesn’t happen all at once. The life we build often takes years to cultivate before thriving. Beltane reminds us to appreciate the life we’ve nourished and to plant seeds for the next season. It is my wish for you all that you’re able to take a moment today to celebrate the beautiful, messy life that surrounds you! Blessed be!