Prana Light

Beltane

Beltane is an old Celtic, Druid festival day at the beginning of May in the Northern Hemisphere, and celebrated in November for those in the Southern Hemisphere. The word "Beltane" means "bright or "brilliant fire," referring to the bonfires lit in honor of the Celtic god Bel, or Belenus, the god of light, fire & healing. The day was marked by dancing, feasting and love... a celebration of life & love, fertility & fruitfulness of the land.

For modern Pagans, Wiccans and Druids, Beltane is marked as a day of union and pleasures, a time of celebrating the returning warmth of the Sun, the greening & renewal of the Earth.  Fertility is the big theme of the occasion.  It is a time of flowers, feasting, dancing (don't forget the maypole!)... It is a time of renewing our promises to the Earth, to the land, a time of realigning the masculine & feminine aspects of our nature, a time for renewing commitments of love...

I have hung this fun paper butterfly garland that I made to celebrate the day.

May we love each other... and this Earth...

Bright the Sun
Bountiful the Earth
Together in Union
All connected
Blessed are We
Who LOVE and share
The Light.

Art and Away

Just days before the exhibit is due to close, we went to Haugar Vestfold Kunstmuseum--Haugar Art Museum, a gallery here in Vestfold county noted for changing exhibitions of contemporary art--to see the collection of paintings by Norwegian artist Ragnar Almén. For more details of the art we saw, please see my post at Perspectives.

Formerly a naval college, Haugar was converted into a big, bright space ideal for hanging/viewing art. We have been to Haugar many, many times over the years, as it is close to where we live. The exhibits are always fascinating.

New decor at the museum's cafe. I like the black & white scheme.  And I especially fell for the stunning, ceiling lamps that look like dandelion-heads gone to seed...

The museum cafe is under new management. The food is better and very carefully presented. We enjoyed a delicious vegetarian lunch of tomato, mozzarella and avocado bruschetta topped with arugula and a light pesto dressing.  Don't you just love a museum/gallery that serves up exciting art as well as great food?!

And on this note of good food and art, we are heading to a city famed for art, architecture, food/confectionery, music and much, much more... Vienna awaits us!  We will be away there for a few days. I will be taking this time as a digital sabbatical--so I won't be Tweeting, emailing, or posting at Flickr, etc. My Etsy shop will be closed, re-opening 2nd May. I look forward to sharing more when we get back! :o) 

Until soon... be well, and may you be surrounded by beauty...

Taking the Joy Road

Taking the Joy Road

unbuttoning
my coat
of expectations
i leave
behind
the garments
of fear

i bury them
in the woods
last autumn's
leaves
cover their
shivering bodies

warm spring light
weaves me
a new gown
of less burden
for my shoulders
to carry
more room
for my heart
to breathe

as i take
the joy road
hungry ghosts
follow me
no more

Fear...It just keeps us stuck in its muddy path. Leave it all behind.  Put on the cloaks of courage and possibility.

To enhance this dose of poetic-therapy, I've taken a photo from my archives and played with the colors...

What possibilities are you dwelling in?

Earth Day

"Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves--or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth." --Ayn Rand

 

All for Love: Changing Places, a Guest Post

What are you willing to dare?  Are you wiling to risk all for love?

These questions are my own, and ones I share in a guest post that I've written for my friend Helen, who invited me to join in her new series, Changing Places. I've been living here in Norway for twelve years now and can definitely say living abroad has changed my life in many ways! You can read my post here.

When was the last time you took a risk?

P.S. Photo notes... that's me, taken last summer at Mølen, the amazing rocky beach/geopark in Larvik, Norway. This unique seaside landscape was created by the last ice age, some 10, 000 years ago. Another feature of this beach are cairns, human-made rock mounds--ancient burial mounds. There are over 200 of these burial mounds along the beach. It is one of the most exciting landscapes I've ever seen. A wild, beautiful, and sacred place, the realms of the natural world and spirit meet in Mølen in a great way. 

**Sunday, 22nd April is Earth Day!**