When will it be green again?
That’s the question everyone above a certain latitude asks as spring sets in.
We want to know when the leaves will come back.
When will the trees be green again, dammit!
Good news!
Soon!
It’s the end of April as I write this and the trees are budding.
The beginning of spring was on March 20, the spring equinox. But things are finally starting to boogie as we head into May.
Have a look out your window and see the light fuzz of green that’s begun on the trees!
May 1 is Beltane, the seasonal festival that falls between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. For the ancient Celts, it marked the first day of summer and time to take cattle to the summer pastures. Obviously, the weather in Canada is a little different and there ain’t no pastures ready for no cows just yet. But soon.
It is a time for bonfires of celebration and protection. For celebrating the fertility of the Earth, and for decorating with yellow May flowers!
When I was deciding how to paint Beltane, I knew I needed green.
SO. MUCH. GREEN.
I wanted to crown her with yellow flowers, and the first yellow flowers to arrive on the scene where I live are forsythia.
So she is crowned in forsythia blooms.
While painting her predecessor, Ostara, I ran late. Which you can read all about here.
It’s a pattern of mine that when I miss a deadline, or otherwise fail at something I want to do, I become disheartened and ashamed.
And give up.
But I didn’t give up on Ostara. I persevered. I finished her late, and shared her late. And was glad I did.
Having just endured the discomfort of admitting Ostara was late, I immediately started on Beltane!
And guess what?
I finished her a whole week early!
The pleasure I got from completing Beltane early is possibly larger than the discomfort I felt for delivering Ostara late.
That seems like a useful lesson, no?
The outstanding question here, is whether I will be able to take this lesson forward.
I think the way for me to do so is to remember that the pleasure of finishing early is greater than the discomfort of being late.
Beltane is depicted in shades of bright, new greens and chartreuse. She marks the return of green leaves to the world. She is crowned in garlands of yellow forsythia representing the brightness of daylight and springtime.
Her eyes are the color of earth, as is her body. Her expression is kind and playful, while her face reflects the fire of her yellow orb. She embodies the upward energy of plants returning to the world.
See all of her sisters in The Wheel of the Year Collection.
You made it all the way to the end! Congratulations!
Here’s a little reward in the form of a secret!
Beltane was supposed to have cow horns to represent the important of cattle during this sabbat. You can see them in the original sketches in the time lapse video on Instagram! But they disappeared under a few layers of paint, and by the time she was finished I’d forgotten about them entirely. And so she is hornless.