May, Mary's Month
the Mother in the garden
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May is the only month that actually looks different when the calendar page turns. When January turns to February, there’s no difference in the cold bleakness of the woods and fields in winter. When July rolls over into August, the changes of midsummer are imperceptible. Even as October slips into November, it remains steadily the same until the first storms of winter blow the leaves off the trees. But May is something altogether different.
In a magical moment of the year, right on schedule, April ends with branches only in tight bud, and the very next day, on the first of May, the entire landscape is delicately cloaked in the tenderest hue of new green. Leaves, though small, have everywhere unfurled and create a screen of living tracery throughout the woods. Flower buds on shrubs burst open and lacey caps, and apple blossoms flutter. Winter was hanging on was only an illusion, and then the spell is broken, and spring really and truly arrives, and the promise of summer coming into its fullness is just around the corner.
Lessons from nature generally show us that change is slow and transformation is nearly imperceptible as it occurs. May is the exception that proves the rule. There are many years, decades even, in our lives that march on one day at a time, when things seem much the same as the day, month, or year before. It is only after many years that we may have occasion to look back and realize how much we and our circumstances have changed. There are times, however, when everything changes in an instant.
You may immediately think I refer to some tragic disaster. Those certainly do change us immediately and forever. What I’m thinking of, though, is more in line with the beauty and gentleness of May.
There are moments in our lives when something happens, usually something spiritual, that transforms us in an instant. For whatever reason, a grace is poured out upon our souls, and we enter into an encounter with something beautiful, loving, merciful, and most certainly divine.
Over many years, I have moved on from my inherited and later chosen spiritual path and entered into something entirely new for me. Over quite a few years, the longing for an expression of the divine feminine dogged my steps. If you read back through many of my prior Hedge Mystic posts, you’ll see this exploration.
Suddenly, after years of exploring many and varied expressions of mother goddesses, virgin goddesses, and crones, something happened. Amazingly, it was my husband who saw this unfolding and told me to pursue what he perceived was calling me.
What was calling to me was the beauty and grace of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I had been exploring her through art and the Rosary for several years. After a year of faithfully praying the rosary every day, in a moment of mystic clarity, I decided to become Catholic, took the confirmation name Mary Magdalene, received my first communion, and became deeply devoted to Our Lady, Queen of Heaven and Earth.
May is the month dedicated to Mary, and I am reminded by the turning of the month how quickly and completely we can be changed, transformed, and newly restored, just as the coming of spring.
If you are in need of grace, you very well may find it in Her, as I have. I am not one to preach, pressure, argue, or debate matters of faith. But this has happened to me, and I share it as my personal experience and as my joy at this tender, green time of the year.
In honor of her month, I have placed her in my garden surrounded by salvia, a most appropriate plant.
Salvia, an aromatic herb (Salvia officinalis), is esteemed as a medicine; the name is from Latin salvia, from salvus "healthy" ("whole, well-kept"). So called for the healing or preserving qualities attributed to it. In English folklore, salvia is said to grow best where the wife is dominant. ~ www.etymonline.com/word/salvia
If you have a story from your life about Mary or the rosary, please do share it in the comments.
Enjoy every moment of the year. Each month is a gift, each season of life filled with goodness beyond measure.
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My church congregation, of the Orthodox Church of America, is of the Sign of the Theotokos. Theotokos is a Greek word that means “ carrier of God” and her icon is of mother Mary and the child Jesus as she carries Him in her body. The “ sign” part comes from the prophesy of Isiah. It’s worth looking up that icon to get an image of Mary as mother before she becomes a mother.
My husband has recently gotten into planting salvias of several different types throughout our yard - we had a good giggle over that bit of folklore.