Welcome to May in Oregon, where the rains have lasted so long that our old apple tree has only just now gotten filled with blooms.

May. Small word with two origins and a wealth of power and subtlety.

I shall use free association to wander through the facets of May and see what connections to myth and archetypes arise.

may, the verb

[Fetches the dictionary to see what’s what about may and May . . .]

And may is finally about intention. “May she rest in peace.” “May you be blessed…” May as manifestation.

Well, lots of possibilities here. [Digs further into the dictionary. . .]

It seems such a mild word, but originally in Old English, the verb meant to have power (which is where “might” comes from as well). I think that feeds into the manifestation aspect that the word still carries. When we wish well for some one (or even wish them evil), we are using the ancient sense of the literal power of words to manifest situations in the real world. May as magical spell.

That takes care of our lowercase may, the verb we use every day.

May, the goddess

But wait! May as the last fullness of spring in the calendar is actually a whole other word (English is so cool!). So even though I made all those lovely connections to the verb may (and they do fit nicely), the month’s name, like many calendar names, leads back to gods and goddesses, in this case, Greek. This May is for Maia.

Maia, a Greco-Roman goddess/nymph is the daughter of Atlas (dude who holds up the world—talk about power!) and Pleione the Oceanid, and is the eldest of the seven Pleiades (get your sky charts out and look to the west just below the constellation Orion’s belt—that fuzzy “scabbard” is the Pleiades). [Vulcan and Maia (1585) by Bartholomäus Spranger]

Thanks to Zeus’s general philandering (see the sexual union permission meaning for may), Maia is also the mother of the Greek messenger/trickster god, Hermes, better known by his Roman name of Mercury. If you have Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot (see right), you’ll see Hermes at the position of the Magician. More magic spells.

Bet you didn’t really think about how many “mays” there were (being a linguist by training, I get excited about such things!). We native speakers often take for granted the richness of our English language. So many late spring gifts of growth, warmth, and general manifestation in May.

Joanne’s May Possibility Spread

Gotta have a cool takeaway, so here’s a spread to use with beads, cards, crystals, tea leaves, or other divining or contemplative tools to create your own manifestation from the different meanings of may/May:

1) What’s my wish for myself? (You can purposely choose a card for this one)

2) What’s possible?

3) Where do I need look for permission?

4) Where should I look for my Maia (mother power) to make my wish come true?

I used my Universal Waite Tarot deck for this spread:

1) My wish (randomly drawn, so subconscious) is Five of Pentacles, to find a path out of financial struggle to something way better!

2) My possibilities are quite powerful because they are represented by the Major Arcana card of the Empress. She is pregnant with creative ideas and surrounded by resources to take care of them. These are my possibilities if I so choose.

3) To the highest, wisest version of myself. The Hermit is a life card for me, based on numerology of my birthdate, so this is a really important draw! I already know everything I need to know to be a great intuitive coach.

4) The Six of Swords reminds me to ask for help in traveling a path to greater success in my coaching practice. I may have all the wisdom I need, but I can accept help in growing my practice (finding new “locations”/clients.

If you’d like a May Day/Beltane reading interpretation from me, book a 15-minute reading on my Readings page.