Beltane
May your days be as beautiful as the buds of May.
Beltane is also known as May Day. It’s a celebration of life. Spring is at it’s peak and summer is on it’s way.
Celebrated April 30th – May 1st Sunset to Sunset.
Beltane is considered on of the Main Sabbats and is celebrated as a fertility festival. Beltane is directly opposite of Samhain on The Wheel of The Year and while Samhain celebrates death, Beltane celebrates life.
Beltane Correspondences:
Colors:
Green, blue, purple, red, brown, white, yellow
Incense:
Frankincense, jasmine, Musk, Rose,Vanilla, woodsy smells
Herbs:
Almond, Marigold, Peach, coriander, flaxseed, primrose, paprika
Oils:
Jasmine, Ying-Yang, Rose
Stones:
Emerald, Garnet, Tourmaline, Bloodstone, Amber, Fire and Moss Agate, Aventurine
Foods:
Oatmeal cakes, Honey, Leafy Salads, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Animals:
Cattle, Cat, Dove, Frog, Swan, Leopard, Rabbit
Symbols:
Flowers, Chalice, Cauldron, Eggs, Lanterns, MayPole, Ribbon, Baskets
Trees:
Alder, Ash, Birch, Hawthorne, Holy, Oak, Willow, Rowan
Spells:
a great time for spells involving love, sex, romance, fertility, relationships, crops and gardening, protecting your property or interests, creativity, wealth and prosperity.
Traditions:
May Pole – Making a May Pole with ribbons is a great way to celebrate Beltane. A phallic pole, representing the potency of the God is placed in the Earth. A ring of flowers at the top of the Maypole represents the fertile Goddess. Its many colored ribbons and the ensuing weaving dance symbolize the spiral of Life and the union of the Goddess and God, the union between Earth and Sky.
Weaving – Weaving flower crowns or baskets is another good way to celebrate this festival.
Bonfire– Beltane is a Fire Festival so gathering around the fire is one of the most simple and easy ways to celebrate. They were lit in honor of the Suns protection.
Feasting – Gathering with loved ones and feasting upon the harvest of the earth is a great tradition regardless of Sabbat. Using foods relating to Beltane to celebrate the festival.
History:
The term “Beltane” is derived from the Celtic god named Bel and Gaelic word “teine” which means fire. Together Beltane means “Bright Fire”, thus celebrated as the Fire Festival with bonfires to honour the sun. In ancient Rome, the first three days in May were celebrated as the festival of flowers, known as Floralia
“Beltane honors Life. It represents the peak of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility and at this point in the Wheel of the Year, the potential becomes conception. On May Eve the sexuality of life and the earth is at its peak. Abundant fertility, on all levels, is the central theme. The Maiden goddess has reached her fullness. She is the manifestation of growth and renewal, Flora, the Goddess of Spring, the May Queen, the May Bride. The Young Oak King, as Jack-In-The-Green, as the Green Man, falls in love with her and wins her hand. The union is consummated and the May Queen becomes pregnant. Together the May Queen and the May King are symbols of the Sacred Marriage (or Heiros Gamos), the union of Earth and Sky, and this union has merrily been re-enacted by humans throughout the centuries.”
It is a time when we honor the union of the Divine Couple—God and Goddess—and from this union it is said that all life springs forth.
Ostara
