Merry Beltaine // Turning The Wheel of the Year

Beltaine marks the turning of the wheel of the year into Summer. Many people refer to the Summer Solstice as the advent of Summer, but in the pagan tradition each season is qualified by three points: A Beginning, Middle, and End/Beginning, Middle, End Pattern. Beltaine marks the return of the Sun and for some Celtic tribes was a time to celebrate the Sun deities, God Beleus to some, or Goddess Sulis to others. 

In Ireland, The Tuath de Danaan was said to have arrived on Ireland’s shores on Beltaine. According to lore, the Tuath de Danaan later became the little people living in the sidhes. Because of this, Beltaine is considered the time when access to the Otherworld opens again, and was celebrated with great enthusiasm

In Germanic peoples, Beltaine was known as Walpurgisnacht, and in pre-christian days was the night that witches would gather for a “flying” ritual. They would have crafted a “flying ointment” containing mind-altering plants such as Belladonna and applied it externally to their skin, commencing a psychedelic journey together. Later, when the Christian church had vilified witches and their rituals, this night became dedicated to Saint Walburg, an abbess from Francia who was invoked to protect against witches who would be gathering together and flying on their brooms in the sky. 

The famous well-known elements of Beltaine are fire and fertility. Many pagan peoples built a massive bonfire, mounted a sturdy Maypole into the Earth and decorated it with bright strips of cloth and ribbons. Couples were known to go “looking for flowers” and come back a wee bit disheveled. Later, in the early days of the Christian conquest, Puritans would complain that every maiden that went “a-maying” never returned as a virgin. There are theories that some villages or tribes would hold a bonfire and encouraged by libations and feasting, would allow a night of merriment in which all was allowed. In the very least, A May Queen and May King would be selected as a symbol of the sacred marriage between Earth and Sky These spontaneous dalliances and fireside rituals were known as greenwood marriages, and brought about many babies born the following winter. 

Invoking the rain for the newly planted crops was common, and usually done by walking doesil (clockwise) around standing stones 3 or more times, chanting or beating the stones with sticks. With a season of drought upon us once again, might be worth giving it a try this weekend!

Sacred herbs to Beltaine include Red Clover, fruit tree blossoms, Rowan, Hawthorne, Belladonna, Orchid, Rose, and Sorrel. It was a traditional time for love spells as well as divorces. Pagans had a different view of marriage. They were seen as sexual alliances that could be ended at the discretion of either party, at any time. This was socially respectable, and after a long winter together some couples may have been ready to part ways and make a new alliance before the growing season was completely upon them. 

Beltaine is one of the last chances for recreation before the busiest art of the agricultural season begins. Indulge in something pleasurable, whatever that may look like for you. You can capture the heart of the season by lighting a candle or small fire, and declaring all that is Good into the flames. Dance in the sun, get lost in the scent of a lilac tree, show the ones you love just how much you love them. 

Merry Beltaine! May Sulis bless you. 

In Love,

Susan Marie