Journal the Year - Beltane
Our next mini journaling retreat (NOTE: TIME CHANGE)
Oh my loves, we are about to have the most glorious couple of hours together at the weekend and I am READY for it.
Our next mini (virtual) writing retreat is happening this Sunday 4th May, 3-5pm UK (please note the slight time shift, apologies, when I first put this in the diary I didn’t have a family clash, really hope that doesn’t cause any issues).
All the joining details are at the bottom of this post.
What can I do to prepare myself for this beautiful two hours all to myself?
Glad you asked.
Well, Beltane actually falls on May 1st, so you might want to do some naked bathing in a lake somewhere tomorrow morning (I’m joking, half joking, this did feature as a suggested activity within the research I’ve been doing ready for Sunday so….)
In all seriousness, since tomorrow marks the exact half way point between Spring equinox and the Summer solstice and would traditionally mark the start of Summer within the Celtic year, it would be a really nice idea to recognise this in some way.
Perhaps a spot of journaling in the sunshine tomorrow if you get the chance? I’ll likely just get up a bit early and do some journaling with a Spring-like focus alongside my coffee in the garden. I’ll aim to tap into how I am feeling, what I can see around me, what, if any, messages I have for myself.
A couple of prompts, if you like a prompt:
How am I finding ways to be IN Spring right now?
What is happening within nature that I can learn from?
What is on my mind that I am itching to give some time to at our Beltane writing retreat?
Likewise, just spending five minutes with your feet in the grass listening to the birds and inhaling the Spring air, pointing our flowers with your kids on the way home from school and talking about where we are right now in the season, a few minutes with your eyes closed letting your shoulders drop down while sat in the quiet near an open window.
Just taking a moment to say, “I am here now,” “we are here now,” “this is now” can be enough to feel that bit more connected.
To bring along with you…
Some ideas. None are necessary (you know that). Other options are available, go with wherever you feel called to go..
A few flowers for your desk / hair / to have next to your notebook? Yellow flowers are apparently key. Dandelions, daisies, violets. I am planning to just create a small posy of flowers from our garden. There is so much white blossom, a small bunch of that will do nicely.
A candle, of course. We will do another small ritual at the beginning.
Notebooks and pens. I am definitely being called to get the colours out.
Since I’ve been reading that Beltane is a festival of love, if there’s something that brings you a lot of pleasure that you could have sat on your desk, that might be a nice idea. I’m just gonna leave that one there.
And the obligatory snacks, nice drinks, this is going to be a celebration of abundance so don’t hold back.
Are you looking forward to it?
I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about Beltane before now. A couple of the other festivals within the Celtic Wheel of the Year I was more aware of. But this one, not so much.
I’m wondering if this is part of the reason why:
So I am more than ready for the reminder to stay intentional. As well as get my act together and capitalise on the heightened enthusiasm for new things.
I don’t know whether it’s because it IS Spring and my energy is rising, or whether this one just appeals to my desire for women to be whatever the hell they want to be, but Beltane is ticking ALL my boxes.
We’ll be reviewing the things we wrote down at Spring Equinox (don’t worry if you didn’t journal back then), tapping into where we find our joy and ramping up on the self love. There will be poetry, quotes, writing prompts. There will be time to scribble wildly, time to feel inspired by others, and time to quieten down enough to listen to our own hearts. We will of course be learning how to stay connected to this planet we’ve found ourselves on (as per this whole Journal the Year project) and also to ourselves, our own ‘what next’s.’
Get ready to feel that life within you my friends. It might even get a tad steamy. Two hours all to yourself.
Can’t wait.
You coming?
Nelly x