maypoles are a whole thing and i'm going to tell you why: every ribbon is an intention. the dancers move in opposite directions — half going one way, half the other, alternating over and under — so the ribbons braid themselves down the pole as the dance goes on. opposites interlaced. the year woven tight. masculine and feminine. sky and earth. spirit and body. the self you've been and the self that's coming. it is one of the most elegant pieces of ritual choreography that humans have ever come up with. it is also — tall pole, flower wreath, dance of opposites merged — extremely, lovingly queer-coded. both of those things are on purpose. Beltane is many things and subtle isn't one of them.