Find a place where you can feel the late spring breeze on your skin. Ideally, position yourself near flowering plants or trees, perhaps under the dappled shade of a newly leafed oak or beside a stream whose waters have been warmed by the strengthening sun. Remove your shoes to feel the earth beneath your feet. Have a small vessel of water beside you, representing the flowing energies of mid-spring

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Tha mi 'gairm air spiorad an t-samhraidh òigI call upon the spirit of young summer

A' tighinn le blàths agus beatha ùrComing with warmth and new life

Ann an Cèitean, mìos nam blàthan is nan duilleagan ògaIn May, month of blossoms and young leaves

Thig a-steach do mo chridhe, thig a-steach do m' anamEnter my heart, enter my soul

Feel the warmth of mid-May surrounding you. Notice how the world has transformed—no longer tentative in its growth but now surging with confidence toward summer's fullness. The birds have established their territories, nests are filled with eggs or even hatchlings, and the first butterflies dance through air heavy with pollen and promise.

Èist ri guth na talmhainnListen to the voice of the earth

Mothachadh an t-sìol a' briseadh tro ùirFeel the seed breaking through soil

Mar a tha e a' sìneadh suas, tha mise cuideachdAs it stretches upward, so do I

Today, on the eleventh day of May, we stand within the growing surge of life. The wheel turns toward Beltane's fire, and the Green World revels in its power. Let your awareness expand to embrace both the vibrant joy of spring and the deep reflective melancholy that sometimes accompanies such beauty.

Joy and melancholy—these twin companions walk with us today.

An gàirdeachas de bheatha ùrThe joy of new life

Is an cianalas airson na chaidh seachadAnd the melancholy for what has passed

Feel the joy bubbling up within you like a spring of clear water—pure, bright, and irrepressible. This is the joy of witnessing the Earth Mother's abundance, her endless creativity expressed in every unfurling leaf and opening blossom. Allow this joy to fill your chest, to make your breath come quicker, to bring a smile unbidden to your face.

Now, feel alongside it the gentle melancholy that often accompanies beauty—the awareness that all blooms are temporary, that change is constant. This is not a heavy sadness but a sweet ache that deepens your appreciation. In Celtic tradition, this feeling is called "hiraeth"—a homesickness for a place that perhaps never was, a longing that enriches rather than diminishes.

Ann an gàirdeachas, tha mi a' faireachdainn mo cheangal ris gach nìIn joy, I feel my connection to all things

Ann an cianalas, tha mi a' tuigsinn luachmhorachd gach mionaidIn melancholy, I understand the preciousness of each moment

Let your awareness rest in this complex emotional landscape—joy and melancholy intertwined like the roots of ancient trees. Neither overshadows the other; they exist in perfect balance, each enhancing the depth of the other.

Leig do d' anail a dhol domhainLet your breath go deep

Mar freumhan seann darachLike the roots of an ancient oak

A' sìneadh sìos gu meadhan na talmhainnStretching down to the center of the earth

Visualize yourself as a young tree in mid-spring. Your roots reach deep into the soil, drawing up the Earth Mother's nourishment. Your trunk stands firm yet flexible, able to bend with the winds of change without breaking. Your branches reach toward the sky, newly adorned with bright green leaves that capture sunlight and transform it into life energy.

Feel joy in your leaves—the dance of photosynthesis, the exchange of breath with the world, the simple delight of existence. Feel melancholy in your roots—the connection to ancestors, to cycles of decay and renewal, to the knowledge held in darkness.

Tha gàirdeachas agus cianalas mar shruth is cuanJoy and melancholy are like stream and ocean

An sruth a' ruith le beothalachdThe stream running with vitality

An cuan a' gabhail a-steach gach sruth le foighidinn dhomhainThe ocean receiving each stream with deep patience

Imagine now that you can feel the Earth Mother's heartbeat through your roots. It is steady, powerful, ancient. With each beat, send your joy down into the darkness, offering it as a gift. With each pause between beats, draw up the sweet melancholy of deep time, the wisdom that comes from embracing both light and shadow.

Your joy nourishes the Earth Mother. Your melancholy connects you to her ancient wisdom. In this exchange, find balance.

Ann an còmhradh leis a' MhàthairIn conversation with the Mother

Tha mi a' toirt seachad mo ghàirdeachasI give my joy

Tha mi a' faighinn a cianalas naomhI receive her sacred melancholy

Agus ann an iomlaid seo, tha mi a' faighinn leigheasAnd in this exchange, I am healed

Remain in this state of connection for several breaths. Feel how the joy and melancholy cease to be separate emotions and become instead a single, complex experience—the full richness of being alive on this turning Earth at this precise moment in the great cycle.

Take a moment to contemplate:

How might embracing both joy and melancholy simultaneously enhance your experience of the natural world? In what ways does the Earth Mother teach us that apparent opposites can exist not in conflict but in complement?

Mo bhuidheachas don Mhàthair TalmhainnMy gratitude to the Earth Mother

Airson a' ghàirdeachais a tha i a' toirt dhuinnFor the joy she brings us

Airson a' chianais a tha a' teagasg dhuinnFor the melancholy that teaches us

Gum bi an cothromachadh seo nam chridheMay this balance be in my heart

Mar a tha e ann an cridhe na talmhainnAs it is in the heart of the earth

Beannachd leibh, a spioradan an àite seoBlessings with you, spirits of this place

Gum bi sìth eadarainn gus an coinnich sinn a-rithistMay there be peace between us until we meet again