Having drank from the Well of Youth as the Cailleach in Samhainn 2022, I have the privilege and pleasure of emerging from the belly of Winter a young, bold, and curious May Queen for Beltane 2023. It is my hope that the earth we laid fallow together in October will prove fertile for playing, keening, and sharing in April.

I view the May Queen as the Goddess Brìghde (also known as Brigid, Brigit, Bride, or Bríg) under whose purview poets write, smiths craft, healers mend, domesticated animals find protection, and — my personal favorite — bees pollinate. With so many responsibilities, it is no wonder that Her name means “Exalted One” in Old Irish. Brìghde’s myriad powers inspire me in my embodiment of Her, but more than Her power, I am drawn to Her numerous migrations.

Brìghde emerged as a Goddess out of Ireland and migrated first to Scotland then to other Celtic countries. From there, Brìghde was canonized by the Catholic Church as St. Brigid, and, as my favorite painting in the National Gallery depicts, She migrated to Bethlehem with the help of angels. During the Highland Clearances, She migrated to Canada, the United States, and Australia with Her displaced people. The colonization of Haiti and the Americas resulted in Brìghde migrating to enslaved communities, becoming Maman Brigitte to Voodoo practitioners. We witness Her migrate around Calton Hill right here in Edinburgh with our celebration of Beltane. I hope to explore the common threads of Brìghde’s migrations during my tenure as May Queen. This year, that thread is Her position as a solar deity.

I am looking forward to exploring fertility and reproductive themes this year through the lens of solar energy, agrarian and nature-focused growth, and my own asexual identity.