Bealtaine - May Day (from "Cassandra in the Mirror")

Uisneach, 1 May 1996

Darkness covered the hill. The light would soon come to bless Bealtaine, May Day. The bonfires lit during the previous night were now flickering embers piercing the morning mist like cats’ eyes. Dances had been woven around them. Couples had let their hair down as their loving ways unfolded, covered by blankets under the stars. The night was dedicated to the Sacred Fire, the Light of the Life Force itself. For centuries, fertility, union and growth were celebrated on this date. These ancient rituals had stood the test of time. Like at Samhain, the doors to the Otherworld flung open at Bealtaine.

Holding torches to find their way up the hill, the party of Light Workers wove their way to the ancient site that marked Ireland’s mystical navel. Two good friends of Cassandra’s were among them: Maria-Carmen and Lydia. The group positioned themselves around the Cat’s Stone. Holding hands in a circle, they formed an unlikely patchwork of people. Some were old and looked like respectable middle class pensioners in tweed jackets and wellies. Others were younger and of a more colourful hippy stock. From their encircled voices, a chant of harmonic sounds bridged dimensions and reached their guides in Shambhala.

Nature listened in, waiting for the arrival of the new day with infinite stillness. Idle cows mooed. Dawn’s rosy fingers tantalised the shadow in a foreplay that culminated in the appearance of the sunrise in all its golden glory. The voices of the Light Workers rose in volume and pitch. Their vocalises contained a secret code, a mystical frequency. Their song grew into the climax of the perfect sound wave. Elsewhere in space and time, the lock of the Gates of Shambhala clicked open, and Cassandra and Oscar bid farewell to their friends in the Diamond City. In their astral bodies, they had gained easy access to the place the night before as they slumbered like lovers do after joining their limbs in Sacred Union. Now it was time to return to their physical bodies that were fast asleep under a blanket on the Hill of Uisneach, under the still starry sky.

The campers started to stir in their sleeping bags. Dawn was upon them, tickling their dreams with its light. It was time to arise and partake in the blessings of May Day. Following an ancient propitiatory custom, people washed their faces with the morning dew that is known to have powers of rejuvenation on Bealtaine. Others wandered around the hill to collect flowers and boughs from the mountain ashes or rowan trees, to be later hung across the doorways or on the outside of the windows of their homes. Coffee, fruit and biscuits were shared in the usual tradition of hospitality and generosity associated with the festival.

Cassandra and Oscar woke up in each other’s embrace. Sparkles came from their hands. To their amazement, they were both wearing a Claddah ring which had not been there when they had fallen asleep. They remembered that they had held an impromptu mock wedding ceremony on the Hill the day before. Now their true vows had also been sealed in Shambhala. Cassandra put her hand on Oscar’s heart as a promise to love and respect him forever. No words were spoken. In silence he swore to love and honour her until the end of time. They could by then read each other’s mind with great ease. Then they anointed each the other’s forehead with the morning dew to symbolise the eternity to their bond. Sacred Marriage vows can’t be broken. Most importantly, they can only be made in heaven.

(From "Cassandra in the Mirror" by Piera Sarasini, chapter 9, 'Magical Pair', p. 166-167; the paperback is available at http://www.completelynovel.com/books/cassandra-in-the-mirror--2 and the ebook is available at  http://www.amazon.com/Cassandra-Mirror-Complete-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0089LU8L8/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1347097193&sr=8-2 ; photographs courtesy of Mary Gaynor)