#amplemas

May 4th marked our Cardinal Sabbath of Amplemas, and on this holy day, we experienced a small and simple "miracle" that I have since been given leave to share publicly.

In the past, as part of the lead up to Amplemas, we celebrated the traditional Spirit Night of Walpurgis/Beltane/May Day by gathering and decorating a branch of flowering Hawthorn that we brought back to our home. Last year, certain omens moved us both believe that we were meant to establish a "permanent May Bush" of sorts, by harvesting a large "thorn-broom" from the Matron Hawthorn of our land which we could dry and reuse. We did all this, but in the days following, we had multiple omens leading us to believe that we misunderstood and were actually supposed to root a scion of the Matron Hawthorn, which we could then tend on our own property as a living May Bush. This was confirmed for us by a single green bud appearing on the thorn-Broom, over a week after having left it in a warm room to dry with no water or soil. We did everything we could to try and rescue this scion tree, feeling quite worried that our misunderstanding would lead to her death, but amazingly, she managed to survive.

Fast forward to this year, and we were working with the Scion Whitethorn as its own tree for the first time, which was lovely. But then, on the astronomical cross-quarter of Amplemas, she put out her first flower buds. The timing of these first buds was quite beautiful already, but the fact that it is even managing to put out flowers right now is a bit surprising, botanically speaking.

Our Astronomical Sabbath of Amplemas fell upon May 4th this year. Here is a picture of our setup for the Ancestor Feast, which proceeds each Sabbath proper.

April 30th is a very special day for my tradition, as it is for many others. Though, I think I approach it a little differently than most.

In the Wending Way, the Cardinal Sabbath of Amplemas is celebrated upon the Astronomic Cross-Quarter midpoint between the Equinox and Solstice—which is May 5th, this year. When I discuss "astronomic" versus "traditional," I am referring to the long-held belief that the Cross-Quarter days hold power because they represent liminal midway points between the Solstices and Equinoxes; these celestially based windows of time change year to year and are what I refer to as "Astronomic." In the past, though, these seasonal points became more standardized and syncretized within the framework of the Gregorian calendar, resulting in the static dates that are generally regarded today; these are the dates I refer to as "traditional." Using our Sabbath of Amplemas as an example, it is related to the folk-celebrations of Beltane, May Day, and the like, and as such, the traditional date of celebration would seemingly be on May 1st. However, since we observe the Astronomic date of celebration, the actual date depends on the given year.

Even with the Wending Way celebrating the Celestial Sabbath days, though, the traditional Spirit Nights—which we generally call Maedoc's Feast (late night of January 31 & early morning of February 1,) Walpurgis (late night of April 30 & early morning of May 1,) Neot's Night (late night of July 31 & early morning of August 1,) and Hollantide (late night of October 31 & early morning of November 1)—are still enthusiastically observed.

A selection of the Gloaming Worts I gathered on the morning of Amplemas (Clover, Bluebell, Foxglove, Hawthorn, & Lily of the Valley,) for use in a particular rite.

A picture of our Quietus Altar from last evening’s Spirit Night (Walpurgis.)