In Spring, growth blooms wild and untamed around us. Buds burst open, branches stretch toward the sun, and green seeps back into the landscape. At first glance, it seems simple. Linear. A seed is planted, it grows, it blooms, and eventually, it fades.
But nature tells a far older, deeper story, one that spirals rather than climbs.
One rooted in descent before rise.
Growth, in its truest form, begins in the dark.
Before the blossom, there is the seed. Before the stretch, the stillness. Seeds fall to Earth not in sunlight, but in shadow. They are buried, tucked into the underworld of soil, wrapped in decay and silence.
There they rest, disintegrate, and soften; returning to their roots before they ever dream of reaching skyward.
The descent always comes before the ascent.
Fairytales echo this same truth.
The heroine often begins her journey by wandering into the deep woods, stumbling through wild forests or slipping into forgotten caves. She loses herself to find herself. The darkness holds the medicine, and the shadow births the light.
This is the mythic pattern of growth.
The Mythic Pattern of Growth.
Whether in ancient fairytales or modern myths, a familiar rhythm pulses through the narrative – an archetypal spiral that mirrors the soul’s journey.
The Call – The Descent – The Transformation – The Return
The Call – Something stirs. A yearning, a whisper.
The character senses there is more and is beckoned toward it. It’s a moment of awakening, when longing becomes louder than comfort. The first step is always the hardest- and just like the fool in tarot – there’s an excitement around taking that unknown road.
The Descent – An obstacle emerges, be it physical, emotional, or another form.
The descent is rarely gently when the shadows rise, and the unknown reveals itself. It’s the moment when the soul is tested. It’s the underworld of the tale, where the old self begins to fall away.
The Transformation – A spark ignites.
This is where the true alchemy occurs, when courage is chosen, when an ally is found, or when the inner fire roars to life. The character is irrevocably changed by what they’ve met along their journey. It’s not the end of the journey, but their truth begins to burn through.
The Return – The character circles home, with new eyes.
She is not who she once was, she’s filled with wisdom in her eyes, truth in her bones, and blooms in her own becoming. The return here is a spiral; she comes back to her starting path, older, wiser and changed. She starts a new spiral from here.
We can see this sacred rhythm everywhere – in the turning of the seasons, the waxing and the waning of the moon, even in the ebb and flow of our own lives.
I see it reflected back to me in the books I read, the stories I write, and the cycles I live through.
Our lives are not linear. They are layered and looping, unfolding in sacred spirals. Each time we spiral back to the start, we’ve learnt something new.
Archetypes of the Season.
Beltane Season is a lush, evocative, sensual time of year.
It’s a time of fire and fertility, of sensuality and sacred bloom. It’s a season brimming with archetypal energy, inviting us into embodied celebration.
The Maiden walks besides us now. She is the fresh bloom of possibility, the curious gaze of new beginnings.
She runs barefoot through wild meadows, untamed and unafraid.
But Beltane also welcomes The Wild One – the fiery, instivitive and alive one.
She dances at the edge of the woods, flames flickering in her hair, joy radiating from her fingertips. She creates from passion, speaks from intuition, and knows that desire is a sacred compass.
Cradled gently within this fiery season of Beltane is also The Healer. She who is compassionate, tender, and deeply attuned.
She tends the soils, holds the hands of those she loves, and knows that growth comes from care. In the lushness of Beltane, she reminds us to nurture – not only others, but ourselves.
For me, Beltane holds the essence of the Wild Maiden – a fusion of sensual wonder and creative fire. She who delights in the sensuality of Beltane, the heat of the sun, the smell of the flower, the taste of the ripe strawberry.
I find my words pour to keyboard and paper. My journals bloom with poems, sparked with ideas, and my soul seeks inspiration under open skies. I feed my muse in the garden, letting nature whisper storylines through birdsong and blossom.
And when the sun blazes kisses upon my skin, I lean into the pleasure of it, book in hand, heart wide open as I soak up the words of another writer.
Writing Your Own Myth.
Which archetypes are walking beside you right now? Who is whispering your name from within the fire, the flower, the unfolding leaf?
Perhaps it’s the Wild One, calling you to the edge of your own creativity. Or the Healer, asking you to tend your home, your land, your loved ones. Maybe it’s the Maiden, curious about what’s next, her arms wide open to adventure.
if you’re feeling the pull toward creation – follow it. Let yourself write your own fairytale this season. One where you are the main character. One where your path spirals through shadow and light, and your myth becomes a mirror of who you are becoming.
I’ve been exploring this practice in my own writing – threading together myth and memory. Among the fairytales i’m revisioning through the lens of the Goddess, I’ve begin crafting my own personal myth. It begins like this:
“There was once a girl who heard the whispers of the wild places…”
From there, I follow the threads of my life, weaving them into story, remembering myself in sacred language. Magic is my WOTY, and I weave magic into everything I do this year. This magic is my truth. It’s how I root deeper into who I am this year. Of who I am becoming this year.
So this Beltane, I invite you:
To listen.
To feel.
To write.
To become.