...to celebrate Beltaine on the astronomical cross-quarter date!

There are still some revelers around the bonfire tonight. The blaze is still going strong, strong enough to light up the sky for miles from atop this holy hill. I take a moment for quiet reflection on the winter that is rapidly receding into an icebound memory. Another moment to ponder the beginning of the raiding season that stretches out ahead through the golden promise of summer. I listen to the crackling voice that sings through the flame and hear my ancestors laughing with all the mad mirth of May Eve. By this fire on this night, time slips away into the eternal spiral of the Dance of Life as the glinting sparks rise upward and unite with the stars above.

A deep peace comes over me. I am thankful for my life.