Beltane morning. I am in the foothills of the Appalachians yet there is a cool breeze blowing which transports me to the Isle of Oronsay, sitting on top of a Mesolithic shell midden - made by people who perhaps moved around their landscape in a great ritualistic gesture.
Sitting on a Mesolithic Shell Midden on the Isle of Oronsay - looking over to Jura. Photo by Joanne Wright
My days of Beltane as a great fire festival and all the celebrations of dancing wild around fires with strangers have changed over the years and now I choose to go sit with Cee-al.
Dolphin Skull - An altar to the Wild.
This is a reminder to feed your wild self - walks in the rain, the sight of storms brewing, dance and song - whatever your wild self yearns for. Cee-al is the holder of your most sacred desires, your wildest yearnings. These desires should be rooted in the world, a yearning for a world to come into balance - what is your role in all of this? What can you do in your life, in your community that brings us back to balance with the Earth, the wild and all living beings? Beltane 2020 is a unique time to brings these yearnings into being - to make changes happen in the here and now.
Selkie Stone
My Selkie Skin hearth altar holds a divination of Scottish cowrie shells. The clouds are racing East this morning as crouch in the garden and wash my face in the dew.
Click on the image to hear Julie Fowlis and the Unthanks sing the Great Silkie of Sule Skerry
The guided journey will take you to meet Cee-al, the Wise Woman of the Seal People. She will wrap you in your Selkie Skin, sit you on a rock and face you out towards the sea.