Mark Green's Atheopaganism Blog

Joyous, pleasurable, a little transgressive, and underneath all that, sacred.

That’s May Day to me.

Historically in Europe, May Day was the beginning of summer–the time when freezes were generally over and spring foliage was leafing out. It was the time of the custom of “going a-Maying”, wherein young adults would go into the forests to “gather wildflowers” and get some unsupervised time together. It was a wink-nudge practice and everyone was in on the joke, so there are many ribald poems, songs and stories about it:

Now is the month of Maying
When merry lads are playing
Each with his bonnie lass
A-dancing on the grass

So the coming of summer also meant an opportunity to slip out from under the watchful gaze of Mum and Dad for some sexytime–fun!

Here where I live, the oaks are bright with their new green foliage, the wisteria along my back fence are blooming with that delicious scent, and the dogwood tree out my bedroom window is blooming. Fruit trees are in bloom and the hills remain a rich green, soon to convert to gold as the grasses go to seed and die.

In my Atheopagan wheel of the year, May Day is a time that celebrates young adulthood: sexy, brash, a little foolish and naive, filled with energy. A time of grand aspirations and big ideas, however impractical; often, new things are accomplished because their creators were too green to know they were impossible.

This is the time of life when most of us are conceived: each a new and unique manifestation of the Universe. It is a time of exploring the possible, of extreme creative flow.

Once upon a time, for me it was also a great time of year to find some out-of-the-way place in nature for some outdoor sex. Given proper precautions (like a blanket and a careful eye out for ticks), this can be wonderful fun. It’s been years, but those are good memories.

Of course if you are asexual or simply not doing that at this time, there are alternatives for celebrating the season. It’s not all about sex.

So I encourage you to be thinking about all that creative juice, the wild sap of late spring rising in everything: what do you want to make? How can you find some deep, restorative pleasure at this time?

If it has a message, the season of Maying’s voice says: “Enjoy! Create! Aim high! And GET OUTSIDE!”

The time of budding-out is gorgeous in the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, just as the drawing-down of the year is beautiful in the south. Take time to get out into nature, breathe some fresh air–there is a sanity to nature that will help you to surf these turbulent times.

For myself, I am going to a Beltane celebration this weekend, on Pagan land north of me which is always magnificent at this time of year. It’s been more than 20 years since I last went; in fact, it was on this land that I had the negative experience that led me to withdraw from Paganism and to begin the inquiries and explorations that resulted in my original essay on Atheopaganism. But the person who caused that negative experience–and a number of others–now lives far away, and will not be present this weekend; I will be able to dance around the Maypole without twinges of anger or recrimination.

It now occurs to me: I should be grateful to him. If not for his abuses, I would not have embarked on this journey of Atheopaganism, and would not have met this incredible community of people.

So there is that. Atheopagan Principle #5: Perspective, and a sense of humor.

That’s May Day for you: learning something new, taking on a fresh perspective, being bold with your heart.

I hope yours is lovely, however you celebrate.