05 May 2008

Spring has Springded


Springtime in DC is a mixed bag. Weather-wise, I mean.

I remember several years of childhood in this city when "nature" mercilessly flipped from winter to summer in one heaving step. And I was left gasping in the rancid hellhole of a pollen-infused, mid-Atlantic sauna. Sneezing and sweating: not a hip combination. Unbelievable as it may seem, I was NOT a suave young chap.

But this year, Mother is giving us a break. After a mild winter, we're being treated to a mild spring. She's taking it easy on us this time. Hakuna matata. No worries, mate. Irie...


Thus the stage was set: A group of like-minded bloggers gathered in a pastoral back yard in northern Virginia to indulge in a little pagan revelry: Pole-dancing, Beltane-style. Mayday. 'Tis the season, baby: the green loins are fertile and there's dancing to be done. To quote the great prophet Silver Convention:

Get up and boogie...

M and I hadn't danced a maypole since Tucson, years ago. We were still courting then, and the Tucson Area Wiccan/Pagan Network (TAWN) held public rituals for each of the Sabbats. And, uh, an ancient communal fertility ceremony seemed like a fine "date" idea for a new couple, yeh?

One marvelous result of that ritual were the human connections: Through the officiating Priestess (a lovely creature in her own right), we met a pair of Druids that would become close friends and would later officiate our own wedding/handfasting. So I guess it WAS a fertility rite after all.


More than a decade later, here we are at a maypole again with a new set of friends this time: A ragtag bunch of bloggers from near and very far, weaving the pole like happy fools in the comfort of a mid-atlantic spring. A REAL spring, for once. Thanks, mom.

6 comments:

mouse (aka kimy) said...

and a good time was had by all.... or at least this member of the ragtag bunch gathered for the springtime rite....

all this talk of loins and fertility has me thinking that at the feast of brigid next, there may be some wondrous surprise in store for one of the members of this august gathering.

great meeting you....and I hope you don't mind I've added you to the mouse's roll.... just to insure frequent nibbles.....

Reya Mellicker said...

Spring weather is supposed to be tempestuous, my dear Intangible! A calm spring like this one is lovely, but out of the ordinary, definitely. And I AM lovin' it!!

But, fan of drama that I am, I also enjoy crazy springs with the storms and sturms and drangs, the thermometer and barometer careening like drunken sailors back and forth (and my sinuses along with them!)

Even though I sweat and sneeze, I still love spring. C'mon spring, vamp it up!! Amp it up! Ramp it up! Yeah!

lettuce said...

ragtag? how very dare you! Actually, though, its probably a compliment.

hard to believe though, that you were NOT a suave young chap.
It was great to meet yourself and M - maybe see you in old Londinium before too long.

IntangibleArts said...

Lettuce: I'll admit to using 'ragtag' simply because it sounded fun, but just now had to run to dictionary.com and check it out. And the results are in:

RAGTAG:
1. ragged or shabby; disheveled.
2. made up of mixed, often diverse, elements: a ragtag crowd.

Of those, I'll definitely go with no.2 for this bunch. And that is a very good thing. And yes...that sound I keep hearing in the back of my mind is London calling...

Steve Reed said...

Oh, disheveled definitely applies to me now and then. :)

LOVE that bottom photo!

Gary said...

DC in the spring time certainly gave me a beating. Who knew I was so sensitive? Not I. Oh well, the sneezing, itchy eyes and scratchy throat were well worth the price for dancing around the maypole with this ragtag group of bloggers. It was a pleasure meeting you. BTW - I am loving your header!