Tide of Fire

The Golden Tides
The golden tides are solar rhythms of spiritual energy that coincide with the four seasons and resonate with the four elements of Air, Fire, Water
and Earth. Each tide has a distinct wave form that can be accessed and tuned to. Riding the waves of the solar tides is a skill that can be learnt and
applied by anyone, and indeed it was an integral part of the lives of most people until fairly recently. Unfortunately our modern society has left most
of us unconnected to these great cosmic rhythms ~ much to our detriment. People often end up swimming against the tides and thus are frustrated
when life seems hard. If we understand the rhythms of life and death, the powers of giving, taking and the interaction between them, we can live
more effectively and harmoniously with ourselves and others.

The Tide of Fire
The Tide of Fire encompasses the period from May 1st to July 31st, and peaks at the summer solstice (June 20-21). As a whole this period is
concerned with increase, ascendancy, balance, protection and warmth, and it resonates magically with the direction of South, which in the northern
hemisphere is the direction of warmth and brightness. The protective energies of this tide make it appropriate for preventive healing, while its
associations with increase and empowerment make it useful for growth and development of any kind.

The early part of May is filled with traditions, festivals, images and energies associated with fire and growth. The fires of May are not small
kindlings as at the onset of spring, but great bonfires, shining testaments to the spirit of life. It is thus a time for bringing creative efforts to climax.
Because fire increases and illuminates, it embodies the energies of the universal Axis. I draw attention to manifestations of the Axis such as
Maypole or Bile Pole (which assimilate to the luminous Tree of Life), Spear of the Bright Warrior, Flower Woman, May Queen, Queen of Faery,
Mother of Light, Queen of the South, and so on.

The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year and thus of the highest point of the ascendancy of light, which accounts for its many
associations with the Bright One, who moves between the Realms at will. It is a time particularly appropriate for magical initiation, when the
powers of the inner earth and sky are most open and accessible. In magical tradition the summer solstice is known as the "gate of the
predecessors" ~ which is the portal of initiation into the streams of the mysteries that rise from ancestral lines and spiritual affinities.