"The wise ones of old understood that in the final days of May, when spring's green fire prepares to transform into summer's golden flame, we walk between worlds—our feet still touching spring's tender beginnings while our eyes behold summer's approaching fullness, teaching us that all transformations require both release and embrace."
Physical Setting & Preparation
Find a place where you can witness the interplay of light and shadow—perhaps beneath a tree where dappled sunlight filters through new leaves, or near the edge of a wooded area where open sky meets forest canopy. If possible, position yourself where you can feel a gentle breeze on your skin and smell the complex fragrance of late spring. Bring a small token of transformation—perhaps a bud that is partially opened, or a feather found on your path. Remove footwear to establish direct connection with the living earth. Sit or stand with your body both grounded and receptive—weight settling through your bones toward earth, while your chest remains open to receive the light and air. Begin by placing one hand on your heart and the other on your abdomen, connecting your emotional and instinctual centers, breathing slowly until you feel these centers synchronize their rhythms.
Opening Invocation | Fosgladh
"Air an latha seo de Chèitean, tha mi a' seasamh ann an tìm nan dà shaoghal." On this day of May, I stand in the time of two worlds.
"Tha mi a' gairm air Màthair na Talmhainn, banaltrum gach beatha." I call upon Mother Earth, nurse of all life.
"Eadar gealladh agus coileanadh, eadar dòchas agus toradh, tha mi beò." Between promise and fulfillment, between hope and fruition, I live.
"Fosgail mo chridhe don ghliocas a tha ann an atharrachadh." Open my heart to the wisdom that exists in transformation.
Become fully present to this specific moment on May 27th. Feel how the earth has traveled deep into spring, with summer's threshold mere days away. Notice the particular quality of growth around you—plants now fully leafed, early bloomers already setting seeds while later flowers prepare to open. Listen to the confident songs of birds established in territory and purpose. Feel the distinctive warmth in the air that speaks of seasons turning. This exact moment in the year's great cycle will never again exist precisely as it does now—this perfect balance between spring's accomplishment and summer's anticipation belongs uniquely to this day.
Body of the Working | Corp
"Tha mi nam phàirt den tìm mhòr, mo chuisle a' bualadh le cridhe na talmhainn." I am part of the great time, my pulse beating with the earth's heart.
"Tha gach latha a' toirt dhomh cothrom ùr airson fàs agus atharrachadh." Each day gives me a new opportunity for growth and transformation.
As you deepen into presence, become aware of a feeling of trust arising within your being. Like a seed that releases itself to the darkness of soil without demanding guarantees, there is a quiet confidence in the underlying benevolence and wisdom of life's processes.
"Tha earbsa a' lìonadh mo chridhe mar a lìonas suth craobh." Trust fills my heart as sap fills a tree.
Let this trust spread throughout your body. Feel it as a gentle relaxation of muscles you didn't realize were tense, a deepening of your breath into previously constricted areas, a settling of your nervous system into its parasympathetic mode. The natural world embodies this trust in countless ways—the flower that opens its petals to the night without fear, the bird that builds its nest following ancient patterns, the river that releases itself to gravity's pull toward the sea.
"Mar a leanas an lusan cùrsa na grèine, tha m' earbsa ann an cùrsa na beatha." As the plant follows the sun's course, my trust is in life's course.
Now, notice how your trust is accompanied by a sense of anticipation—a vital alertness to emerging possibilities. Like the hawk poised on a thermal current, ready to respond to whatever appears below, you feel keenly receptive to life's unfolding potentials.
"Tha fiughair a' dùsgadh annam mar dhuilleagan ùra sa gheamhradh." Anticipation awakens in me like new leaves in spring.
Experience this anticipation as a pleasant heightening of your senses, a natural inclination to lean slightly forward, a gathering of energy that feels ready without being urgent. The natural world demonstrates this anticipation through the bud about to bloom, the thundercloud building before release, the animal alert at the edge of its territory.
"Mar a dh'fheitheas an talamh air an uisge, tha mo chridhe fosgailte don ath cheum." As the earth waits for the rain, my heart is open to the next step.
Allow these two energies—trust and anticipation—to interweave within your being. They are natural companions, each balancing and enhancing the other. Your trust gives depth and ease to your anticipation; your anticipation gives movement and vitality to your trust.
The Deep Working | An Obair Dhomhain
"Eadar earbsa agus fiughair, tha gliocas a' Chèitein ri lorg." Between trust and anticipation, May's wisdom is found.
Close your eyes and visualize yourself standing on a gentle hillside where wildflowers bloom amid tall grasses. The sun is beginning its descent toward evening, casting golden light across the landscape while long shadows stretch eastward. Mother Earth rises to meet you through the soles of your feet, her ancient presence flowing upward through your body like water through the roots and stem of a wildflower.
"Tha an talamh a' bruidhinn rium tro gach pòr de mo chraiceann." The earth speaks to me through every pore of my skin.
Feel how your trust connects you to the deep, abiding currents that flow beneath life's surface changes—the recognition that beneath apparent chaos and uncertainty, there exists a fundamental coherence and order. This trust is not naive optimism but mature relationship, like that between longtime companions who have weathered many seasons together.
"Ann an earbsa, tha mi a' faighinn fois—chan eil feum air smachd a chumail." In trust, I find rest—there is no need to maintain control.
Mother Earth whispers that authentic trust arises not from denial of difficulty but from intimate knowledge of life's resilience—from witnessing countless examples of renewal after devastation, growth after pruning, dawn after darkness. When we approach the world with trust, we recover our innate capacity for surrender not as weakness but as wisdom.
"Tha earbsa mar acair a' cumail soitheach sàbhailt eadhon air muir dhùmhail." Trust is like an anchor keeping a vessel safe even on a stormy sea.
Now, feel how your anticipation connects you to the creative edge where potential becomes actual—the threshold space where what might be begins to emerge into what is. This anticipation is not anxious craving but alert receptivity, like the hunter who waits with all senses attuned, neither grasping nor rejecting what may come.
"Ann am fiughair, tha mi beò gu h-iomlan—mo shùilean, mo chluasan, mo chridhe fosgailte." In anticipation, I am fully alive—my eyes, my ears, my heart open.
Mother Earth reveals that true anticipation involves not desperate longing for what is absent but keen attentiveness to what is emerging—the capacity to perceive subtle shifts and respond appropriately as they unfold. Like the plant that neither strains toward the sun nor remains indifferent to it, but adjusts its growth in perfect response to light's invitation.
"Chan eil mo dhùil ri rudeigin sa bheil mi dìth, ach ri foillseachadh na tha ann." My expectation is not for something I lack, but for the revelation of what is present.
Feel the healing power of Mother Earth harmonizing these energies within you. She teaches that trust without anticipation can become passive resignation; anticipation without trust can become anxious striving. When balanced, they create the perfect state for authentic participation in transformation—grounded in confidence while remaining responsive to emergence.
"Eadar earbsa shuidhichte agus fiughair bheothail, tha mi a' lorg slighe an atharrachaidh." Between steady trust and lively anticipation, I find the path of transformation.
Let this wisdom illuminate your understanding of the season. May 27th embodies this same dance between trust and anticipation—the world demonstrating complete confidence in the processes of growth while remaining exquisitely alert to each moment's unique possibilities. Neither rigidly fixed in predetermined patterns nor chaotically reactive to every fluctuation, but steadily responsive to life's unfolding intelligence.
"Mar a chothromaicheas an talamh eadar dìlseachd agus sùbailteachd, mar sin nì mise." As the earth balances between fidelity and flexibility, so will I.
Afterthought | Smuain Dheiridh
Take a moment to contemplate:
How might the balance of trust and anticipation transform your relationship with uncertainty and change? What becomes possible when you approach life's transitions with both grounded confidence in the process and alert openness to emerging possibilities?
Closing Blessing | Beannachd Dheiridh
"Gun robh earbsa a' Chèitein nad chridhe." May May's trust be in your heart.
"Gun robh fiughair an earraich nad shùilean." May spring's anticipation be in your eyes.
"Gun robh thu comasach air leigeil às agus gabhail ri aon uair." May you be able to let go and receive at once.
"Gun robh thu daingean mar a' chreag, sùbailte mar an luachair." May you be steady as the rock, flexible as the reed.
"Gun robh an cothrom eadar earbsa agus fiughair a' fuireach annad." May the balance between trust and anticipation remain in you.
"Tha mi taingeil don Mhàthair Thalmhainn airson a teagasg." I am grateful to Mother Earth for her teaching.
"Slàn leat, a Mhàthair mhòr, gu ruige an ath choinneamh." Farewell, great Mother, until our next meeting.
Hold the token of transformation you brought to your meditation, acknowledging the wisdom it embodies. Return it to the earth or carry it with you, as feels appropriate. Place your hands on the earth in gratitude, then bring them to your heart, carrying the earth's blessing within you. Take three deep breaths before returning to your day, carrying the balanced energies of trust and anticipation as guides for navigating all of life's transformations.