What is it about Mayday that has made it such an enduring festival? Other pagan festivals such as Imbolc or Lughnasadh have lost much of their general appeal, but even people without a shred of interest in paganism tend to think of Mayday as a day of celebrating, with or without maypoles on the village green.
When I was young, May Day was just like any other day – you went to work or to school, there was no bank holiday. Yet even then there was an element of mystery to the day, a folk memory of earlier times when people danced and made merry. A golden age that never was? Perhaps. But sometimes folk memories have a way of intruding into the everyday world, making us remember (and sometimes experience) things we might otherwise miss. For example we may not have physically celebrated today (how many of us have a maypole handy anyway?) and yet in our hearts a part of us has danced amongst the buttercups and daisies, and skipped along the woodland paths.
Some people might argue that this ‘interior celebration’ is somehow inferior to the real thing. I beg to differ. If we cannot celebrate for whatever reason, or do not wish to take part in whatever celebrations are on offer then that’s our decision. We can celebrate within ourselves, and magical journeying is a useful skill to learn. It's not quite the same as meditation, but sometimes it's too close to call!
I might try and post some magical journeys up here one of these days.
Brightest blessings
TYlluan
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