Ideas and Activites
*** are also great to do with children ;)
***Walk the perimeter of your property to check that everything is in good order. Bring trash bags and do a general clean up of anything that is not where it should be.
Make a miniature maypole for your altar if you can not make a full size version
Get a new mirror, or use one you have already, and decorate it with ribbons and flowers for your bedroom
Fill a cauldron or a large bowl with fresh flowers (wildflowers are best)
***Braid bracelets out of white ribbons and give them as gifts to friends or family
***Make a dish of fruits, berries, nuts and leave in the wood for the animals and fae folk to enjoy
Cut branches of fresh green from budding trees, or make garlands of flowers to decorate the home for this celebration. Hang them on the doors and windows early, so the may sunrise finds them there!
Create a special wreath for the top of the May Pole
***Make "May Day" baskets of flowers and leave on friends and family's doorsteps as a surprise gift. Maybe they'll think a faerie did it!
***Create hair pieces and garlands for decorating your head or around your neck from flowers that are in bloom
***Tie ribbons to trees to celebrate the coming of spring. Make a wish each time you tie a ribbon as it's good luck to wish for things on this day!
Bathe your face in the morning dew to retain youth.
The fair maid who, the first of May
Goes to the fields at break of day
And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree
Will ever after handsome be.
Other sources suggest using the dew found under oaks or on ivy leaves. Make a special wish as you wash your face in it or as you drink from a well before sunrise.
***Dance the May Pole
During the Maypole dance, think about what you wish to weave into, or out of, your spirit. The Maypole is an ancient symbol of the male aspect of the Divine, while the ribbons are strands of life. Have small baskets of goodies around the room to symbolize the coming abundance and to enjoy after the Circle. Magic is hungry work. (from Trish Telesco's Victorian Grimoire)
Plant your frost sensitive bulbs now. Use the wonderful Bulb Planting Chant below.
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