Beltane

Introduction

Beltane and Samhain divide the year into two parts: Dark (Honoring Death) and Light (Honoring Life). These are said to be a “time of no-time” when the veil between the two worlds is at its thinnest — “when the worlds intermingle and unite and the magic abounds.” (Popular Pagan Holidays)

• Beltane is the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice; it traditionally marked the beginning of summer.
• A number of Beltane traditions came to be celebrated as May Day in the Northern Hemisphere.

Theme Ideas

• Light
• Life
• Spring, Summer
• Beginnings
• Magic
• Sensuality, Sexuality
• Sacred Union, Fertility
• Reawakening
• Energy, Bliss, Joy

Readings & Reflections

WE ALLOW THE VITALITY TO ENLIVEN AND HEAL US

At Beltane, we open to the God and Goddess of Youth. However old we are, Spring makes us feel young again, and at Beltane we jump over the fires of vitality and youth and allow that vitality to enliven and heal us. When young we might use this time as an opportunity to connect to our sensuality in a positive creative way, and when older the mating that we seek might well be one of the feminine and masculine sides of our nature. Integration of the male and female aspects of the Self has long been seen as one of the prime goals of spiritual and psychotherapeutic work, and Beltane represents the time when we can open to this work fully, allowing the natural union of polarities that occurs in nature at this time the opportunity to help us in our work – a work that is essentially alchemical. Nurturing growth Father Sun shines brightly Warming mother Earth Joining in creation. – Druidry.org 

SAFE PASSAGE THROUGH THE DARK INTO EXPLODING PASSION & FERTILITY

We reclaim the original meaning of Virgin, a woman who belongs only to herself. We look in the mirror at the center of the wheel and tell ourselves: I am a woman faithful to herself… This virginity, never lost, is our indelible nature.  Beltane celebrates safe passage through the dark into the exploding passion and fertility of plants and animals… All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Whether savoring solitude as a party of one, trysting with another, or whirling in community round a Maypole, we call forth the memory of the Temple Virgin, conduit to the Great Cosmic Mother. As channels, our power to transform the world burgeons. We sing! To the tress, the water, the winds. We sing fierce incantations to heal our Gaia! We dance and love with every fiber of our beings — until we drop like children into her bountiful lap. – Susa Silvermarie  

CELEBRATE LIFE AND HOW LIFE IS CREATED

Beltane lifts our hearts from all the winter weight. We have gone through our inner battles, overcome great obstacles and now it’s time to light the fire of youth and restore our faith in ourselves. Beltane celebrates life and how life is created, through our creative and sexual energy. This is a time to honor our inner God and Goddess by dancing and casting our wishes into the fires. We discover what it takes to be our own ultimate lover and cultivate a deeper devotion to the purpose of our soul. Than we know what kind of partnerships to attract for new business ventures or romantic relationships. – Nicole Marie

HISTORICAL ROOTS

Beltane is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. It marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers… These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast… Doors, windows, byres and the cattle… would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush: a thorn bush decorated with flowers, ribbons and bright shells. Holy wells were also visited, while Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness. Many of these customs were part of May Day or Midsummer festivals in other parts of Great Britain and Europe. – wikipedia  

VARIOUS CELEBRATION TIMES

Beltane is is the second fire festival of the Celtic year for pagans following the Wheel of the Year. It is also the third and final spring festival of the year (celebrating the height of spring), and the beginning of Celtic summer. Occurring around May 1st in the Northern Hemisphere, some people celebrate Beltane when the local hawthorn trees are in bloom (even though this now occurs in mid-May since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar), or on the full moon nearest this event. 
– Danaan

ANCHOR GODDESS LIGHT, AND A REUNION OF DIVINE FEMININE & DIVINE MASCULINE

Beltane (or known as Lá Bealtaine in Irish) marks the beginning of summer which is the season of growth and life for crops, animals, and people. It is also known as May Day, which arose from the Celtic holiday, Beltane, which was celebrated in ancient Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. This was one of four Gaelic seasonally-based festivals, which include Samhain, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh. Beltane, however, was one of the most important. Ancient Celts practised the law of Love and Light around the lighting of bonfires in the mountains on the eve of Beltane. Druids would create Circles of dances where they would dance around campfires to anchor the light to purify all animals, lands and beings on the planet. Blessing all with the sacred dance around the Maypole was a custom tradition to anchor Goddess Light on the Planet, as well as reunion of Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine. – We Love Mass Meditation 

THE SUN IS FULLY RELEASED FROM THE BONDAGE OF WINTER

It is the time when the sun is fully released from his bondage of winter and able to rule over summer and life once again. – Popular Pagan Holidays 

AS THE CHILD’S UNRESTRAINED EXPRESSION OF BLISS AND DELIGHT

[This is] the month of sensuality and sexuality revitalized, the reawakening of the earth and Her Children. It is the time when we reawaken to the vivid colors, vibrant scents, tingling summer breezes, and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter. It’s a time of extraordinary expression of earth, animal, and person—a time of great enchantment and celebration. The excitement and beauty of Beltane cannot be better expressed than through the gaiety and joy of our children… It is the child’s unrestrained expression of bliss and delight that is what Beltane is all about. It is the sheer joy of running through fields, picking flowers, rapturing in the sunlight, delighting in the fragrance of spring, dancing in the fresh dew covered grass. – Christina Aubin 

Ritual & Celebration

A Maypole is usually a freshly cut tree trimmed to a pole that is decorated at the top with wreaths, strung with long ribbons, and erected in a clear area large enough for dancers, musicians, and spectators around it. (There are also permanent Maypoles in some towns in Europe.) Dances are done with the ribbons around the Maypoles, and include circle or interweaving dances. – Danaan 

Some of the ways Beltane is celebrated include:

• Gathering flowers and budding branches for decorating homes, for wearing as garland wreaths, and/or for making May Baskets.
• May Baskets were traditionally “given or placed secretly on doorsteps of friends, shut-ins, lovers or others.” (Beltane Lore & Rites)
• In some places, Maypoles are permanent; in others, they are created annually. They may be a pole, a bush or cross. Ribbon dances or dances occur around the Maypole.
• Traditionally, sacred woods were used for a Beltane Fire. Celebrants jumped over the fire or danced around it. There were symbolic sacrifice offerings. Today, dried herbs are often used as offerings.
• “Rolling in May Eve dew or washing face in pre-dawn May Day dew for health, luck, beauty. Getting head and hair wet in Beltane rain to bless the head. Blessing springs, ponds, other sacred waters with flowers, garlands, ribbons, other offerings.” (Beltane Lore & Rites)
• Sacred Union and Fertility may also be celebrated and blessed during Beltane.