So what does Vegas have to do with Beltain?

Beltain is one of the 8 major Holidays. A basic primer to the Celtic Holiday calendar can be found here.

Beltain for me has a number of important aspects.

1) The beginning of warmer weather. While we just celebrated Spring Equinox a short while ago the weather here in the Pacific Northwest hasn't really changed until early May. That change is here by Beltain, there shouldn't be anymore frost, days finally above 50, the gaining strength of the sun and goodbye to the gloomy weather day after day. We also get to look forward to even longer days of sunshine and continued lengthening of the light.

2) Fertility and transformation, or the mystery that is the spark of life, a moment of change from something static to something animated, the transformation from a seed to a sprout, the magic that happens when an egg is fertilized.

3) Like all of the Holidays it is a time of celebration, marking my place on the wheel of the year. Time to count my blessings and celebrate with friends.


Vegas, or more accurately my impressions and experiences of Vegas, embrace these things and provides a venue for intense celebration. Let there be no doubt that the sun of the Nevada desert is warmer then anything that makes it's way through the cloud cover of Western Washington. When I travel there in Spring it reminds me of the summer that is on it's way. There is a transformative energy about Vegas, partly rooted in the fact that the city shouldn't even be there. Without the transformation provided by the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead the area is desolate to say the least. The feeling of that transformation is in the air everywhere you go, at least on The Strip. With giant lakes and fountains, trees and flowers and grass it's amazing the amount of life that surrounds one, not to mention the thousands and thousands of tourists too. As those that have traveled with me there can attest I am transformed upon arrival. My normally high energy level rises to all new heights and pulling all night visits to blackjack tables and video poker machines becomes easy even at my age. There is an intense energy about the city, it's always in the middle of a transformation. Old casinos get torn down and new, larger, glitzier places pop up. This creates a feeling of youth and constant change. Gambling provides it's own power of transformation, poor one minute and flying high with wads of cash in my pocket the next with my mood following the rise and fall of my fortunes.