5/1 (Sat) Birthday of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881), whose
seminal
ideas on the unity of natural and human consciousness have
influenced nearly every Gaian and holographic thinker of
the
last half-century.
5/1 - 3 May Day, Beltaine, the great Mid-Spring Festival that
comes
(Sat - Mon) midway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice,
and
is therefore observed throughout the planet as one of the
eight
great festivals of the year. The word "Beltaine" itself
consists
of the name of the god known as Bel (Mesopotamian), Baldur
(Norse) and other cognate names. The phallic implications
of the
maypole surmounted with streamers are obvious in this
month
that
celebrates the burgeoning of fresh green leaves. At this
time
plants reach maximum growth; thus May Day on the year
wheel is
directly opposite the festivals of the dead in early
November.
In Sweden this festival is celebrated as the annual
victory
of summer over winter.
5/2 - 3 The ancient Roman festival of Floralia, celebrated in
ancient (Sun-Mon) times and still observed in Europe with displays
of
flowers.
5/3 - 4 In the Roman tradition, the festival of Bona Dea, the Good
(Mon - Tue) Goddess, began on the evening of May 3 and was celebrated
through the next day. It was customary--still is in places
where
women's mysteries are practiced--to decorate hawthorn
trees,
which flower at this time, particularly those located at
sacred
places.
5/3 - 6 The annual Dolphin Convocation in Indonesia. Every year on
these
(Mon - Thu) days, huge numbers of dolphins, totalling perhaps in the
millions, are said to gather in the treacherous, eddying
waters
between Bali and Lombok islands, and to swim for a few
days
in a
gigantic wheel or spiral pattern. The reason for this
gathering,
and its timing, remains a matter of speculation. An
interesting
synchronicity: every year on May 6 the Sun is at 15°
Taurus.
This point is on the eastern horizon at dawn; the Pleiades
and
Aldebaran (the first-magnitude "Eye of the Bull" in
Taurus)
are
nearby. On the western horizon is 15° Scorpio, near
Antares, the
heart of the Scorpion, exactly 180° across the wheel from
Aldebaran. Directly overhead at the zenith is 15°Leo, near
Regulus, the heart of the Lion. Directly below at the
nadir is
15° Aquarius. Thus the earth is perfectly aligned with the
center points of a cross formed by the four fixed signs of
the
zodiac: the Bull, the Lion, the Eagle (variant of Scorpio)
and
the Man (variant of the Aquarian Water Angel), famous in
religious and occult symbolism throughout the Earth since
ancient times, manifesting most familiarly for Westerners
in the
symbols of the four Christian gospel writers. The
alignments of
Earth and other planets with this fixed sign cross will
bear
especially careful watching this year and next in
connection
with the Grand Cross alignment of August, 1999 and a
similar
configuration of great power on May 5, 2000. See Coming
Attractions at the end of this May calendar.
As yet there have been no recorded human
diplomatic
expeditions to the area between Bali and Lombok at Dolphin
Convocation time. It would be interesting, would it not,
to
send
one or more boats of humans and other animals to the
periphery
of the conference and ask the dolphins'permission to
participate
as observers?
5/5 (Wed) The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight. This meteor
storm,
with a faint average magnitude of 2.9 and a frequency of
only
some 20 per hour, is best observed in the southern
hemisphere.
The Moon, still nearly full, interferes.
In the ancient Egyptian calendar, this was the Day of the
Children of Nut, honoring the direct and indirect
offspring of
the primordial mother goddess. As Nut was the most ancient
of
all goddesses -- her name, cognate with Neter, means "the
goddess" -- and the mother of the Sun (Ra), the Moon
(Thoth) and
the five epagonal neters Osiris, Isis, Set, Horus and
Nephthys,
Nut embodies universal feminine fertility, the eternal
limitless
abundance of the womb (Month of Payni,day 21).
5/9 (Sun) Mother's Day, one of the countless May celebrations of the
nurturance and fecundity of the Mother Goddess.
5/9 - 13 On May 9, 11 and 13 the ancient Romans celebrated the
Lemuria, (Sun-Thu) the annual festival honoring their departed
ancestors, the
lemures, whose spirits were said to visit the family home
on
these days.
5/10 - 12 In the Roman Catholic calendar, these are the Rogation
Days, on (Mon-Wed) which prayers are offered annually for bontiful
crops and the
health and peace of the natural world.
5/11 (Tue) Venus is high in the evening sky. From now until July,
Venus
will set in the West up to three and a half hours after
the
Sun.
The symbolic implications of this--the Goddess of Love
remaining
gorgeous in the sky for hours after the lights go down
low--are
not rocket science. The time for love is at hand. This
spring
and early summer are a a superb opportunity to practice
love,
not war on a persuasive scale.
5/12 (Wed) In the ancient Egyptian calendar, Day of the Purification
of all
Things (Payni, day 28).
Also the birthday of Florence Nightingale (1820).
5/13 (Thu) Ascension of Jesus, always reckoned as 40 days after
Easter
Sunday. On this day the physical body of Jesus is said to
have
ascended in glory to Heaven.
5/14 (Fri) In the ancient Egyptian calendar, this was observed as the
day
on which Shu, god of the air, persuaded his twin sister,
the
solar goddess Tefnut, to return from the land south of
Egypt to
the country of the Nile. The legend relates that Tefnut
was so
incensed at the presumption of Ra, the male principle of
the
Sun, that Shu required the help of Thoth's eloquence to
induce
Tefnut to return. This story is thus the Egyptian version
of the
universal solar regeneration myth in which the female
principle
of fire withdraws her light and warmth from the Earth
until
she is treated with the respect she deserves (Payni, day
30).
5/15 (Sat) New Moon conjunct Sun at 24° Taurus. This conjunction in
Taurus
12:06pm UT favors the prosperity of joint enterprises pursued with
2:06am HT determination and tenacity, though there is a risk of
obsessive, one-pointed pursuit of the primary goal. Mars
at
27°
Libra, quincunx to the Sun-New Moon conjunction, may lend
a
certain aggressiveness, even fanaticism, to the natural
Taurean
energies of stamina and drive -- or may stoke alliances
with
high enthusiasm and spirit -- depending on how these
celestial
dynamics are played. This is why diversions of art and
other
shared pleasures, which are also prominent under Taurus,
are
especially important balancing factors at this New Moon.
In the ancient Roman calendar, this day was sacred to the
goddess Maia (For whom May is named) and also to Vesta,
goddess
of the hearth and all sacred fires. On this day Vesta's
devotees, the Vestal Virgins, offered prayers to request
an
adequate supply of water for the coming summer months. The
festival of Maia was always observed a week before the
entry of the Sun into Gemini, ruled by Maia's son Mercury
(Hermes).
On this day Sufis honor Rabi'a-al-'Adawiya (d. 801), the
early
Sufi saint and teacher especially noted for her ecstatic
love of
God.
In the ancient Egytian calendar, the month of Epipi,
sacred to
the protective cobra goddess Wadjet, begins with festivals
of
Hathor and Bastet. In contrast to the preceding month of
Payni,
Epipi is a markedly feminine-centered month which
celebrates
above all the female forces of latent vitality and
continuity in
nature; and the critical importance of Truth, embodied by
the
goddess Ma'at, in all universal order. Some of the May
events in
the dramatic month-long festival cycle that now
begins:
5/16 Goddesses honored in their temples throughout
Egypt
(Epipi, day 2)
5/19 Hathor returns to her home in Punt, south and east
of
Egypt (perhaps present-day Somalia). The neters
mourn
her absence. (Epipi, day 5)
5/21 The neters sail after Hathor (Epipi, day 7).
The festival cycle culminates on June 16 with the
transcendence of Hathor as the star Sirius.
5/17 (Mon) Roman festival of Dea Dia, honoring the goddess in her
role as
cosmic mother.
Also the Baha'i feast honoring the Deity as 'Azamat, or
Grandeur.
5/18 (Tue) In the ancient Greco-Roman calendar, this day was sacred
to
Apollo, god of the Sun, of divination, poetry, music and
all
higher intellectual activities.
Curiously, the Greeks and Romans honored Apollo's opposite
number at this time too. 5/18 was also the first day of a
week-long festival in honor of Faunus, or Pan, the
primeval,
riotous deity of male sexuality and vitality. The emphasis
during this festival was on masculine relationships of
brotherhood, parenthood and mentorship.
5/20 (Thu) In the Chinese calendar, this is the day of the Dragon
Boat
Festival, held in honor of all the arts, especially
poetry.
The
poet Qu Yuan is particularly honored at this time.
5/21 (Fri) Birthday of Plato (429 BCE).
5/21 -22 Sun enters Gemini, sign of the Twins. The next 30 days,
influenced by Mercury, ruler of Gemini, are especially
favorable
for learning and studies of all kinds; this is why for
many
centuries spring exams have been held in late May and
early
June
in Western countries. This time favors communications, and
all
enterprises that are opportunistic and flexible in nature.
Mercury is only four degrees behind the Sun (at 26°
Taurus) on
the day the Sun enters Taurus, and moves conjunct the Sun
on
5/26, so that the first week of Sun in Gemini is
especially
good
for the fruitful integration of creative and intellectual
energies.
In some Native American calendars, Deer Month begins.
In the Jewish calendar, the feast of Shavuot begins at
sundown
on 5/20, and continues until 5/22. Shavuot comemorates the
revealing of the Torah, and the moment when Moses received
the
tablets of the Law on Mt. Sinai. This feast also
celebrates
the
first fruits of the harvest with offerings of bread.
5/23 (Sun) Pentecost Sunday, commemorating perhaps one of the first
recorded trance channelling events in history: the miracle
by
which the Holy Spirit inspired disciples of Jesus to
"speak in
tongues", communicating in languages not consciously known
to
them.
5/24 (Mon) This day was celebrated throughout the ancient
Mediterranean
world as the feast of Hermes Trismegistos
("thrice-great"),
derived from the Egyptian neter Thoth and honored as the
patron
deity of alchemy and other occult sciences. The famous
saying
"As Above, So Below" is but one of the Hermetic
principles
attributed to Hermes Trismegistos.
5/25 (Tue) Birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803), philosopher who
taught
the immanence of divinity in huanity and nature.
5/29 (Sat) Greco-Roman purification festival of Ambarvalia, so-called
because it was customary on this day to circumambulate the
fields and pray for the continued blessing of
Demeter/Ceres on
the growing plants.
5/30 (Sun) Full Moon in Sagittarius, opposite Sun in Gemini. The
2:56pm UT characteristic tension of this opposition, combining as it
does 4:46am HT the garrulousness of Gemini with the extravagance of
Sagittarius, represents the point of dissipation, the
scattering
of energy, as the Taurean drive toward action yields to
the
relaxation of talk. The conjunction of Moon and Pluto in
Sagittarius is likely to lend an impulsive urgency to the
energy
of the time. The good news is that talk will yield more
readily
to action; the tough news is that some actions may be
precipitate, creating powerful unforeseen consequences.
In the Theravadin Buddhist tradition, this Full Moon is
Wesak,
the festival honoring the birth, enlightenment and
parinirvana
of the Buddha.
In the ancient Egyptian calendar, a 16-day festival cycle
in
honor of Ma'at, neter of Truth, begins on this day. The
image of
Ma'at is carried in procession to the temple of Ra in
Heliopolis, symbolizing the power of Truth as equal even
to
the
majesty of the Sun (Epipi, day 16).
Whitsunday, sacred to the Norse goddess Frigg, who was
wife to
Odin and honored among ancient Germanic peoples as Queen
of
Heaven. It was customary to celebrate the power of
feminine
love
by decorating love nests and mazes. In the Whitsuntide
season
ancient European peoples also performed the rite of
killing
the
King of the Wood.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
While major festivals such as the Equinoxes, Solstices, Midseason
Festivals, Millennium Countup days and other milestone events in Earth
rhythms, celestial dynamics and focused guman consciousness, there are
three major astral events on the near and slightly more distant horizon
that deserve special mention and more comprehensive advance planning:
8/11 (Wed) The last total Solar Eclipse of this Milennium. The path
of
totality extends from Luxembourg and central France
through
Romania and Karachi, Pakistan, then across India and into
the
Indian Ocean. Best advance source of esoteric information
about
this eclipse: astrologer Carol Willis, e-mail
cbwillis@aol.com
8/16 - 17 Grand Cross alignment, with nearly every planet in our
solar
(Mon-Tue) system in the four fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and
Aquarius. This very powerful configuration will occur
twelve
years to the day after the Harmonic Convergence of 1987,
and
will represent in some ways the further development and
manifestation of the shifts in consciousness that occurred
at
that time. Excellent information about the Grand Cross
is available from Rick Riedel, e-mail Riedel@drizzle.com
5/5/2000 Another major astral alignment with the Sun and many other
(Fri) planets in fixed signs of the zodiac. Though this
alignment is
well over a year away, it has already begun to draw
considerable
attention. It will occur at the time of next year's
Dolphin
Convocation (see 5/3 - 6 above). The earliest prolific
source of
e-mail information: calendersign@vip.at
When freedom is a struggle, it's solitary.
When it succeeds, it's inclusive, a communal action impelled
by love.
From The Play of Freedom
