This May is going to be very different than Mays of years past, but it brings familiar comforts I always associate with the month. Flowering shrubs, the end of a hard academic year, the return of spring and some kind of summery, carefree normalcy.

Maybe I’ve always love May so much because April has been associated with hardship. April is the month in which my mom died back in 2016, a month that ended up blurry and grey but May brought a springtime thaw and healing.

I rarely feel any relief as April approaches. Even though it signals spring, I associate it with apprehension and grief. But May is a relief, when things finally start to look beautiful again.

This year followed the same pattern. April brought with it an entire month of quarantine and uncertainty, the fear of having to grieve in isolation – but May inspired new hope and an appreciation of my surroundings.

We’ve had a lucky string of beautiful days here, so we decided to go on a very summery outing to the lighthouse (I documented the outing on YouTube). It reminded me of all the beautiful things nature bequeaths us in spring. I read my tarot cards in a daisy field, braided flowers into my hair, I felt carefree and effervescent even in a time of so much concern and uncertainty.

I don’t know what this month will bring, but it brings hope with the end of lockdown scheduled for the middle of the month, and a cautious optimism growing amidst the community. It will bring a challenge, but it will also reveal the fortitude of our spirit. Just like nature bounces back after months of dullness and dormancy, we will rebound with the grace and vibrancy of spring’s first buds.

For those of us who celebrate May Day or Beltane, we celebrate a new period of fertility and growth and release the feelings of stagnancy and decay we may have developed over winter. Tonight’s Full Flower Moon in Scorpio is a fabulous time to release any negative energy and fully accept the new power of spring as we enter this time of abundance.

How do you feel about May? Do you do anything to celebrate? Please let me know down below, I’d love to hear from you!