Whether you call it Beltane, Beal-Tene, May Day, or Walpurgisnacht, it’s here. It’s time for celebrating one of the most popular Pagan celebrations of the year. Beltane is arguably only outdone by its opposing holiday on the Wheel of the Year, Samhain. Even then, you’ll find many Pagans will say these are their two favorite holidays of the year. They tend to have the most extravagant celebrations and the most interesting energy of all the Sabbats. These are the points on the Wheel when the veil between the worlds thins. We find that we can contact the spirits with more ease, but often it’s more that they’re visiting us more often.
During the holiday of Samhain we celebrate the process of death and transition. When the veil thins at that time of the year we connect with our ancestors and those that have moved on to the other side of that veil and are using this opportunity to visit with the living once again. At Beltane, being on the opposite side of the Wheel, we celebrate the power of life and growth along with the aspects of passion, unity, and fertility that are part of these things. When the veil thins here we often seem to find a different kind of energy pokes its head through and takes a peek at what we’re doing. Many would call these visitors faeires, but it’s not uncommon to still see spirits of the dead during this time of year but they might be younger spirits, those who may have passed when they were still young and in that stage of fertility. Myself and others I’ve talked to have noticed that during the thinning at Beltane it’s not unheard of to be visited by children who have crossed over.
The Celts only divided their year in half with only two seasons rather than our modern day four. Beltane is the gateway to the light half of the year in the same way that Samhain is the gateway to the dark half. Beltane marks the beginning of Summer. Beltaine, an alternate Irish spelling for the word, is Irish Gaelic for May and means “Bel’s Fire”, “bel” in honor of the Celtic God Belenus and “taine” meaning “fire”. Belenus is a Celtic solar deity that is akin to the Greek God Apollo. His name means “bright-shinning arrow” and he is associated with healing as well as the obvious solar energy. Belenus is connected to the Goddess Belisima in mythology, a Goddess of the cosmos, rivers, and solar power. She is sometimes confused with Brighid in some stories because they have very similar qualities and characteristics.
Beltane is the last of the spring festivals and carries a little bit of spring and a little bit of summer. It’s the last chance for planting and it’s time to check in on what we have already started to see that it is growing as it should. It’s the time in the myth cycle where the Goddess and the God are joined together sexually. They have reached their sexual maturity and come together in the Great Marriage, solidifying their union as partners and with it they bring new life to the earth.
Many of the traditions of old are ones that we have carried and adapted but there are some things that are key to Beltane that are sometimes missed in our modern world. The lighting of fires, especially bonfires up on high hilltops, is something that was a once the signal that Beltane had arrived. All the hearth fires would be extinguished and they would be relit from the flames of the nearest hilltop fire. These fires were called balefires or need-fires.
Originally these fires severed a purpose agriculturally. The first were made with all the old brush that needed to be cleared away in order to make room for new crops that would be planned. They were also seen as holding certain powers, especially those of cleansing and banishing. Not only where they seen to be cleansing the land but it was believed that by driving cattle and other livestock between two of these fires, they would cleansed and blessed, guarding them from sickness during the year. Some accounts of this practice have suggested that the animals would be driven close enough to the fires to singe their hair but not close enough to cause them harm. The suggestion here was that by having their hair burn slightly they were giving a little of themselves to the fire, and thus making a sacrifice in exchange for receiving health for the coming year.
A few fire building traditions for Beltane that we often see today including creating the fires from the nine sacred woods, birch, oak, rowan, willow, hawthorn, hazel, apple, fir, and vine. Today we often try and incorporate as many of the sacred woods as possible in our Beltane fires. Another popular Beltane fire tradition is to jump the fire once the flames have died down. Couples will jump together holding hands focusing on fertility if they wish to have a child. People will jump the fire on their own to draw love and other forms of fertility into their lives. No matter what size fire you have for Beltane you can toss a prepared packet of sacred herbs for the holiday into the flames and send wishes to the Gods and release energy of the season with ease. In a natural muslin bag or on a square of cheesecloth gather together jasmine flowers, dragons blood, rose, and wormwood. Tie the cloth or pouch up with ribbons in seasonal colors like purple, deep blue, gold, and green. During your rituals or meditations toss it into the fire to call on the energy of Beltane for your work.
Another big tradition at Beltane is what is called the Greenwood Marriage. Much has been made of this tradition over the years, but a lot of the time it’s a largely misunderstood, especially by those outside of the Craft that look to try and pervert the sexual aspects of the Pagan traditions. In truth, the Greenwood Marriage is not just a reason to run off in the woods with anyone, but it was meant to be a way to apply some sympathetic sex magick to enticing the fertility of the earth to stir. Couples would seek out green patches in the earth and have sex on the ground believing that by enacting an act of fertility that they would be able to encourage the earth to wake up and be fertile as well. Today we don’t do this for the exact same reasons that people did thousands of years go, but when we do this today at Beltane we are encourage fertility in all its forms to wake up around us.
There are those who run out and use this as an excuse to have sex at will, but remember that just because it’s a magickal time it doesn’t mean that disease and pregnancy are immune to you. Always be sure that you have the permission of your partner should you wish to have sex with someone else on Beltane and always use your common sense and practice safe sex, especially with someone that you aren’t already in a relationship with.
Children that are conceived on this date are often said to be special, being children conceived of the Gods and carrying magickal gifts into the world. Some call them faery children, or merry-begets. Today we might see them as Indigo Children.
The other tradition that we all think of is the Maypole. This is another symbol of fertility. The pole representing the male and either a wreath placed on top or a hole dug in the ground where the pole is placed represents the female. The Maypole is an English addition to the otherwise Celtic festival and the ribbon dance that we often do around the Maypole is only about 100 years old. According to historian Ronald Hutton there were no dances around the Maypole that involved the holding and braiding of ribbons prior to the 19th century. At one time in the 1600s the Puritans banned the Maypole from village squares but it would return before the turn of the century and would be even more of a focal point than it had been in the past.
So, no matter what traditions you carry into your Beltane celebrations, the key and the focus is always on the union of the God and Goddess and the power and energy of fertility. Even if you’re not in a situation where you want to draw on fertility in the sense of having a child, remember that fertility is about growth and abundance in any form. Beltane is a great time to do work that draws on planting the seeds for growth in any area of your life including money, career, and health. This is a time for unity and growth in whatever form it takes in your life.
Because of the sexual nature of the holiday it’s a great time for working sex magick of any kind. It’s also a great time to do work specifically on the sacral chakra. If you’re dealing with any sort of sexual blockages or sexual dysfunctions, now is the time to work on trying to clear those up as well.
Here is a list of correspondences and ideas for your own Beltane celebrations.
Gods: Bel, Green Man, Pan, Herne, The Horned God
Goddesses: Artemis, Belisima, Diana, Lady of the Greenwood, Venus
Colors: Purple, Green, Gold, White, Yellow
Animals: Honey Bees, White Horses, Rabbits, Swans
Flowers & Herbs: Angelica, Cinquefoil, Daisy, Hawthorn, Hibiscus, Ivy, Mint, Mugwort, Rose, Rue, Yarrow
Trees: Apple, Birch, Fir, Hawthorn, Hazel, Oak, Rowan, Vine, Willow
Incense & Oils: Frankincense, Lilac, Rose, Vanilla
Stones & Crystals: Bloodstone, Carnelian, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Rose Quartz
Decorations: Fresh spring flowers in the cauldron, Chalice of wine, Ribbons in deep spring colors, Oak twigs and branches, Cauldron fires, Torches, Tall candles
Spell Ideas: Sex magick, Maypole dance, The Great Rite, Fertility magick, Beauty spells, Handfasting or renewal of vows, Dancing the besom, Fire leaping,
