May, Poets, and Dreamscapes

Bealtaine’s Fiery Magnolia

We are at the beginning of May. Another month has revealed itself with the promise of surprises ahead. Something different is happening with the lunar cycles. This May will give us two full moons, a rarity. May 1st the Scorpio Moon, sometimes called the Flower Moon, shined. With it came the possibility to recognize unneeded baggage and purge it into the fire. At the same time, we have an opportunity – if we pause and notice – to observe what’s lurking in the moon’s shadows. By that I’m not hinting about seeing what’s uncomfortable but noticing the good stuff hiding in the shadows as well. We get to see what wants to be known. May 1^st offers us the protective fires of Bealtaine to assist us in this effort.

With Scorpio as both my Sun and Ascendant signs, I typically pay attention when this zodiac symbol appears. Especially when it shows up in Bealtaine and not in Samhain when I expect it. We’re in the seasonal time between spring equinox and summer solstice and it’s pushing me to listen instead of the usual polite nudge. Nudges can be ignored. Pushes make us stop and turn around to see who or what is there.

I’m sitting in a local Starbucks, writing. I’m not usually a Starbucks devotee but, as I said, today’s full moon isn’t typical. I’ve got my headphones on trying to drown out the canned music playing right over my head. Currently, I’m listening to Frank Steiner Jr.’s Touching Silk. It’s beautiful.

This particular coffee shop has been here for decades. It’s had time to settle in. It’s been here so long growing roots that even the trees surrounding this place are aged. The cobblestones embedded in the sidewalk show well-earned scars. I watch as the green mermaid sign outside the door lures in one local after another – adults and kids alike. They walk over the café’s threshold with a smile of anticipation. Interesting. I wonder what they are hoping for this morning. But I’m mindful of today’s significance. I too yielded to the Norse Siren’s call and decided to sit here, watch and write.

Poets

Poets, and I can’t forget my own artist siblings, do this kind of gazing all the time. They seemingly slide into a parallel space (or realm) that exists beside all of us and often goes unnoticed. They may not always know that they’re doing it but one minute they are setting up their artist tools and the next they are recognizing something else. For example, they suddenly notice the air movement around them. Or maybe they notice a shape in the wood they are about to carve. Or perhaps the poet, gazing at birds singing in the garden, slowly rubs their stomach as if to say “I feel you” before they reach for their pencil.

I marvel at how poets allow themselves to be lured by a Siren’s call of their own making and slip into full recognition of…what. What are they seeing? What are they noticing? I’m so curious about this. They not only see the shimmering of another side-by-side reality but their descriptions of this “other” world helps us find our way there too.

I have my favorite poets. I search often for poetic expressions of this other-world that they see. Who hasn’t paused reading Mary Oliver’s reflections in Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me. Or hasn’t experienced vibrations when Joy Harjoy writes in her poem Fire about “the voices of the mountains” and the “continuance of the blue sky.” Yet, truly, there are so many poets. Those who have written books and those who are unknown. All of them, every one of them, send their healing ripples into the world saving us from ourselves. Their reflections are like the Bealtaine’s seasonal fires offering a protective energy as we glimpse into our shadows.

Dreamscape

Poetry also helps us slip into a deeper understanding of the dreamscape. I’ve often said that the dreamscape doesn’t just appear in night dreams but can reveal itself in waking visions as well. We can talk about that another time. For now, however, we’re speaking of dreams as sacred ground. In the different expressions of our dreamscapes, we have the opportunity to notice something special. Marion Woodman famously spoke about how “dreams contain precious, untapped wisdom” and not exploring them is like “leaving the gold behind.”

How do we do this though? How do we see in our own inner-scape what poets are seeing? One way is to let go of the need to interpret what we think we are supposed to see. Before racing too quickly to figure out the dream’s meaning, approach dreams with a sense of not-knowing. Pause and look with curiosity.

Yes, dream figures and images are busy doing their thing. And we’ll give them our attention later. Yes, there may be a message or a sign in there somewhere. But first, just stand still.

Standing still reminds me of the poet David Wagoner who wrote so beautifully of the forest in Lost. “Stand still…the forest knows where you are. You must let it find you.” This is what we want to do when pondering our dreams with a poet’s eye.

You may feel lost for a minute but the forest knows where you are. Let the dream-self look around. Notice the air shimmering. Notice the vibrant colors. Notice if animals emerge out of the dreamscape. What is their energy like? Allow the impossible to be possible. If they speak to you, let them. Breathe…because with slow intentional breathing we activate our parasympathetic nervous system which calms us and enables our senses to take notice.

The Scorpio Full Moon reminds us of the Bealtaine fire. It is shining its protective light toward the season ahead. It’s giving us a safe haven to access our inner poet where we can visit our inner-scape (that often appears in our dreamscape) to reveal its hidden features and find the gold.

What’s Happening in May

Join the free monthly Dream Conversation – on Sunday, May 10 at 11:00 am ET (US/Canada). For one hour each month I offer thoughts on various dream topics. In May we’ll talk about…I’m Not Remembering My Dreams. I’ll suggest ideas on how to go deeper into your dream exploration and then I’ll open the zoom call to everyone for a conversation.

Click here for more information about upcoming Dream Conversations. Or, if you’d like to inquire about joining a Dream Circle this fall, click here.