Buckle up, it's Beltane

Time to stop re-arranging chairs on the Titanic

What is it about impending disaster that draws us like a moth to a flame?

If we look at the world around us – pollution of the oceans; corruption in banking, politics, media; senseless wars; the iniquitous distribution of wealth – it’s easy to recognise a civilisation in its death throws.

Yet, just like the moth, we seem powerless to do anything other than sail full steam ahead into catastrophe. Everything’s far too complicated now.  We would get angry about corruption in banking – but we don’t understand the maths. We would get angry about dishonesty in the media – but we’re pretty certain the politicians are in on it too.  The fact is, we no longer trust anybody to tell the truth. And as for war… try picking a side.

In one corner, oil greedy, cheating capitalists who purport to protect freedom. In the other corner, impoverished, God-fearing people – who stone women and throw gay people off tall buildings.

Life was so much easier in the time of John Wayne.  Knowing who the bad guys are gives anger a sense of direction.  If we channel our rage, we can get a lot of things done.  When rage has no direction, it can turn in on ourselves. We now have an epidemic of self-hatred and depression – something Chuck Spezzano aptly named “anger without the enthusiasm”.

But there’s good news! 1st May (for the Pagans) is Beltane, a springtime festival of optimism and joy. It features music, singing, and dancing around the Maypole. It celebrates the marriage of the May Queen to the Green Man, who (after the barren winter) jump over the threshold to their new life of fertility and abundance.

The Church patriarchy banished Beltane because they couldn’t find an appropriate biblical story to morph it into. They found one for Christmas (previously the Winter Solstice) and they found one for Easter (which previously commemorated the resurrection of Tammuz, the son of the Moon Goddess Ishtar). But they scratched their heads over Beltane.

In an attempt to create order, the church invented the vertical model of power.  God at the top (the very literal top – you can’t get higher than Heaven) followed by male popes, bishops, priests, then ordinary men, then all women.

This hierarchy became enshrined in the Bible “Men shall have dominion over the earth” (as opposed to “live in harmony with the earth” which the pagans were quite keen on). Open season was declared on all forms of life. We now see the effect of all that looting… and it isn’t pretty.

Time to turn the ship around… to switch from a vertical to a horizontal model of power. In a vertical model of power, energy comes from competition and adrenaline. In a horizontal model of power, it comes from creativity and love.

It’s hard to squish creativity and love into words, but a vertical model, with its org charts attempts to do just that. This is a bit like squishing a Genie into a text box on an Excel spreadsheet.

True love isn’t sentimentality or romance, it’s something we are.

True creativity isn’t something we do, it’s something that does us.

True power isn’t strength or status, it’s having enough self-esteem not to sell our soul for security or status.

We need a new trinity for the times we live in.

Three is a powerful number. It was the number of times Peter denied his principles. It’s the number of times the S.O.S. call has to go out.  Mayday. Mayday. Mayday.

It means things are serious now. We can’t be trusted at the helm of the boat.

The word comes from the French “M’aider” – help me.

It’s Beltane. We’re crossing the threshold into a new era. One that will be defined by creativity and fierce love – love powerful enough to usher in the consciousness upgrade we need to survive. The birthing process has begun.

If you’re looking for a midwife, I’m offering 50% off all mentoring sessions in May. DM me for details.