DEITIES: Bilé, Irish God/dess
                Boan, Irish Cow Goddess
HERBS: Red Clover, Hawthorn, Rowan, Belladonna, Orchid, Rose, Sorrell
ASTROLOGY: Aries {passion, new beginnings} transitioning into Taurus {sensuality, artistic ability, routines, perseverance}

FERTILITY RITES

Beltaine marks the end of Spring and the onset of Summer. The plants are budding, flowering, growing, sprouting, thriving. The seeds planted in the Fall or in the cold of early Spring are now vibrantly alive. 

The May pole is the most obvious symbol of this celebration of sex & fertility. Young couples were known to disappear to “pick may flowers” and come back with a few sticks in their hair. Greenwood marriages were common, and some European cultures officialized these indiscretions with a party around the bonfire in which the community could be free with each other. 

Rain, the essential component for farming communities, was invoked by walking doesil around standing stones 3 times, sometimes beating the stones with sticks in order to call in the rain. 

A May Queen & King were selected in order to symbolize the sacred marriage between Earth and Sky. 

FIre festival

The Beltaine bonfire is well-known, and still takes place today in Scotland by the Beltane Fire Society. The bonfire was a welcome to the Sun God, and lit up the night in order to celebrate being free from the dark days of Winter and ushering the light in. Some people may have invoked the Celtic Sun God Belenus, “bright shining one”.

Fire represents passion, and the abundance of the green world makes it safe to revel and feast once again. Fire is also associated with sacrifice, and in winter many ancient peoples would have lost some of their loved ones to illness or malnutrition. Druidic Celts engaged in human sacrifice in order to acknowledge the cycle of Birth and Death, giving and receiving, and would have offered a member of their community in hopes of ensuring the health of all the community throughout the year. If this seems barbaric or cruel, remember that The Ancients had a much more intimate relationship with death, and therefore had a different perspective of its meaning and the life of the individual. 

On a lighter note, on May eve, every home would have extinguished their hearth fire and re-lit it with a flame from the community bonfire. Dancing, drinking, singing, and general revelry would have taken place around the bonfire, with fire-leaping happening for every able person as well as driving the livestock through the embers once the fire was spent. 

seasonal TRANSITIONS

Many call Summer solstice the “beginning” of Summer, but in the Wheel of the year each of the 4 seasons has 3 points in which to mark the beginning, middle, and end. Beltane is the end of Spring, and begins the transition into full summer and all of the hard work in the hot sun to come. The length of the days begins to significantly lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere.

In the Germanic pre-Christian traditions, the first of May 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 transcendental experiences with sacred plants, this night became dedicated to Saint Walburg, and abbess from Francia who was invoked to protect against witches who would be gathering together and flying on their brooms in the sky. 

Beltane in Ireland marked the day the Tuath De Denanna arrived from the Otherworld on its green shores. They reigned for 300 years before being defeated and retreating into the sidhe hills to become the little people, or fey folk, of Ireland. It is considered a time at which the Otherworld is once again open and available for journeying, and can be a good time to engage in deep meditative practices, with or without sacred plants. 

CELEBRATE

Beltaine is an excellent time for divination. Tarot readings and other divination arts are extra potent at this time.

As Beltaine marks the end of the quietness of winter and the onset of the busyness of winter, it is an excellent time to envision the seeds you wish to plant for the summer and Fall. A simple way to invoke this is to name your intention for the year, and then plant a literal seed into a pot. A squash seed makes a great plant to grow, as it will ripen in late summer/early fall.

Another simple way you can celebrate is to invoke the tradition of the Celts of greeting the morning by gathering dew off the green plants and placing it on your face or in a jar to spritz on your face and body. This calls in the vibrant new energy of the season and is an invitation to revitalize your body.

Merry Beltaine dear ones!

May the spirit of the season bring you joy, laughter, playfulness, and new life.

Green Blessings,
Susan Marie