Beltane
Here in Australia Its Beltane ~ what does it mean to you? Anything? Nothing!
To me Beltane is a Magikal time of fertility and growth and union.
A time to dance the maypole, weaving the energies of male and female together.
A time to run between the fires, to cast out any negative energies left from the dark of winter and to bring positive aspects into our lives.
A time of union between Goddess and God.
Sing, Dance, LOVE, Sunshine Rainbows and Many Blessings Peoples xxxx
The time of fertility and new beginnings after a long winter. The Faeries are
afoot! They dance in the hills and roll in the grass, reveling in the joy of
warm breezes. Our spirits are high with the lust and heartiness of spring.
In Celtic tradition, the two greatest festivals of the solar year are Samhain and Beltane, celebrations of death and rebirth, respectively.
Love is in the air at Beltane.
In rituals, many celebrate the union between the Great Mother and her young Horned God. Their coupling brings fresh new life on Earth. Some form of this Great Rite is enacted on this sabbat in nearly every modern pagan circle. The Great Rite symbolizes the sacred marriage, or sexual union, of the the Lord and Lady.
Often the rite is performed symbolically by a male and female who place a knife (a phallic symbol) into a chalice (a female or yonic symbol). In Old Europe, whole villages would celebrate by slipping away into the woods for indiscriminate sexual encounters. Any children conceived during this occasion were known as “merry-begots” and were considered children of the gods. These “greenwood marriages” were acts of sympathetic magick believed to have a positive effect on their crops, animals, and themselves.
Drape the altar in a green cloth and decorate it with blooming flowers and herbs.
All-heal, blessed thistle, broom, curry, daffodil, dogwood, coriander, dragon’s blood reed, fern, fireweed, nettle, flaxseed, hawthorn, marjoram, paprika, radish, rue, snapdragon, mushroom, almond, meadowsweet, rose, woodruff, tansy, elder leaves.
Incense
Rose, jasmine, ylang, ylang, peach, musk, or vanilla.
Malachite, garnet, rose quartz, emerald, beryl, tourmaline.
Spells to ensure prosperity, conservation, safety, and love.
Jump the balefire. The bonfire, or need-fire, is one of the oldest Beltane traditions. When lighting the fire, use nine sacred woods from the following list:
- oak, apple, hawthorn, birch, elder, ash, blackthorn, grape vine, mountain ash (rowan), holly, willow, cedar, yew, and hemlock.
Ashes from the balefire can be scattered in the fields as a fertility charm. Women wishing to conceive can tie a bag of the ashes around their necks. Traditionally, cattle and other animals were driven between two fires for protection, healing, and purification. Modern pagans can ritually purify tools or other things in the balefire. Jump the dying embers of the fire for summer blessings.
Dance around the maypole.
Gather the first wild herbs of the season.
Go a-Mayin’ by going to the woods and fields to gather flowers. Take a picnic.
Wash your face in dew at sunrise on Beltane for beauty in the coming year. (Traditionally the dew from the hawthorn tree, but dew from grass and flowers will do.)
Make daisy chains and fresh flower wreaths and chaplets (head dresses) to wear and to place atop the maypole. Braid flowers in your hair. Make and wear leafy green masks to represent the Green Man who has returned.
Make a wish at the hawthorn tree, a tree associated with faeries. Place strips of cloth symbolizing your wish in the tree (the colour should be appropriate to the nature of your wish, i.e. blue for health, pink or red for love, green or gold for prosperity). Take some time to attune to the tree. When you feel you have contacted its spirit, visualize your wish coming true as you hook the cloth on one of the tree’s thorns, chanting your wish. When you have finished, leave a gift for the tree.
Make love in the woods. Beltane is the time of year when the Goddess and God consummate their passions. Traditionally it is a time when lovers pledge to live together for a year and a day. At the end of the period, they may part ways if things haven’t worked out. If all has gone well, they may make plans for a handfasting at Midsummer.
Commune with the faeries.
Mark the boundaries of your circle with oatmeal, a traditional Beltane grain.
