Kathy Crabbe, Daffodil & Solara, 2001, watercolor on paper, 8.5 x 11”.
Welcome, with your lovely greenwood choir, summery month of May for which I long! ~ Welsh, 14th Century
When the gates of Beltaine swing open on May 1, sunlight and blossom welcome the procession of the year into the green halls of summer...we celebrate life, growth, love, and sexuality: "the force that drives the green fuse through the flower," in the words of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. ~ from Kindling the Celtic Spirit by Mara Freeman
Kathy Crabbe, Willow Goddess, 2000,silk dyes on silk, 8.5 x 11”.
Druidic Sacred Tree Saille - The Willow 5th Lunar Month Bird: Hawk Color: Haze Gemstone: Blood-Red Carbuncle
Beltane is the 2nd cross-quarterly festival day and is sacred to Sappho, the poet, Fairy Queen Brigid and the goddess Dana. Midway between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, it celebrates the full blossoming of the spring. At May Eve, the goddess is one of Love and Death such as Freya, Frigg, Holda, Held, Hilde, Goda, and Ostara. Traditionally, this celebration was an orgiastic revel which celebrated the Maiden's coming of age and the rebirth of flowers and the fertility of the Earth. ~ Paraphrased from Year of Moons, Season of Trees, Mysteries and Rites of Celtic Tree Magic by Pattalee Glass-Koentop
The paintings above are available as originals, prints and cards. Please email me for more information.
More Celtic Tree Musings can be found here.