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Beltane

Your Friendly Familiar

May Day Holiday of Love & Life

After the Spring Equinox brought us its energy, it has kept building and building to peak into Summer’s arrival.  Many people celebrate Summer with a holiday known as Beltane (pronounced BEL-tayn), and also known as Roodmas, Walpurgisnacht, or May Day.  Beltane is considered a “cross quarter” holiday because it lies between the Spring Equinox (Ostara) and the Summer Solstice (Litha).  For the Northern Hemisphere, it is celebrated on May 1st.  For the Southern Hemisphere, it lies on October 31st (which is also the Samhain/Halloween holiday) so people there celebrate the Beltane sabbat and Samhain/Halloween holidays at the same time.  In the Pagan Calendar, a day technically starts the evening prior, so Beltane is oftentimes said to take place April 30th – May 1st. Anyone can celebrate Beltane, not just Wiccans or Pagans.  Here’s some information about the holiday!

Table of Contents

    What is Beltane

    Summer has arrived and with it comes the equal balance between masculine and feminine energies.  Meaning it is the time of year when the God and Goddess have equal power and their energies are united.  It is true that Ostara contains a lot of fertility themes… but Beltane really drives that fertility notion home, so to speak.  It takes it to the next level.  To honor the divine unification of masculine and feminine energies, people have been known to announce marriage engagements, focus on romance, or even have sex and spend the night in the woods or elsewhere in nature. Another tradition that some do are for couples that have been married for exactly 1 year and 1 day.  These couples could remove their wedding rings and the “restrictions” that they represent for this holiday.  Beltane celebrates life and love.  Of course, sexuality and sensuality is a focal point.  But it’s important to keep in mind that there is no fear, shame, or seriousness behind it.  It’s all lighthearted.

    One of the most common fertility rituals involves a maypole.  Many celebrate by erecting a very tall pole in a field that is decorated with garlands and attached with ribbons.  Then people (typically women and children) will grab a ribbon and dance around the pole in a way so the ribbons weave together in a special pattern.  Sometimes men dance around a maypole, too.  If that’s the case, oftentimes you’ll see the men dance in one direction around the pole while the women dance in the opposite direction as everyone’s ribbons weave together.  Another fertility ritual is to light a bonfire and people will dance around (or even over!) the flames.  In Scotland, there’s a Beltane Fire Festival that greets thousands of attendees!  At the same time, to recognize the Summer season, people would also plant seeds and gather flowers.  Many create flower crowns to wear on their heads or make “May baskets,” which contain summer flowers.  The general idea is to have fun with life and vitality through dancing, fire festivities, and fertility rituals.  

    History from Bonfires

    Beltane in Celtic means “bright fire” and draws reference to the god Belenus.  Belenus protected cattle and offered ancient Celtic pagan followers light and healing.  Belenus was an important figure for ancient Celts.  Back in those days, a “need-fire” was lit in Tara, Ireland, which was used as a source for the other fires in local communities and even the country at one point!  At the time, two bonfires were lit and Celts believed that the smoke contained healing and purification properties.  Not only that, but it was also said that it would increase their fertility.  The healing, purification, and increase of fertility would apply to both humans and animals.  As a result, locals would drive their cows in between bonfires and into the smoke, such as when the cattle were being moved into summer pastures.  The idea was that that the smoke would help the herd by purifying them, healing them, and ensure its fertility.

    The ancient Celts used to cook bannock cakes over the need-fires, make love in the night prior (April 31st), and set up maypoles the next morning (May 1st) to dance around later in the day.  It was also said that sometimes they made animal and human sacrifices to honor the Gods.  Ancient Romans also celebrated in their own way!  They celebrated Floralia on April 27th, which recognized Flora, the Goddess of Fertility.  On Floralia, the Romans would wear flower crowns, have sex, watch play performances, and other typical self-indulgence or pleasure-seeking that was the norm at the time.   

    Symbolism

    With Beltane comes a variety of symbols and imagery.  Fire plays a major role in Beltane, considering its origins.  Flames are warm and generate energy much like the sun.  The smoke from a fire is said to be healing and purify you.  Beyond that, it’s important to note that the holiday focuses on the unity of equal masculine and feminine energies.  As a result, you’ll find a lot of symbolism referencing this.  For example, maypoles can be seen as a phallic symbol of the God’s masculine energy and women dancing around it with ribbons are a gesture of an increase of fertility.  I made a quick chart below for more symbolism:

    How to Celebrate

    Nowadays, most people celebrating Beltane do not drive their cattle through smoke.  However, many celebrate in other ways that still can be traced to those original ancient days!  See if any of these ways to celebrate look fun for you to try!

    So what are your thoughts on Beltane?  Are you interested in celebrating it?  If so, how?  If you do celebrate Beltane, how do you celebrate?  If there is anything I may have missed, please feel free to share with us so we can all learn more!  Thank you, my friends, for reading this post.  I wish you all a Blessed Beltane!

    “Enjoy life. Have fun. Be kind. Have worth. Have friends. Be honest. Laugh. Die with dignity. Make the most of it. It’s all we’ve got.”

    – Ricky Gervais

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