BELTANE

(May 1st - May Day)

We now celebrate the height of Spring and the flowering of life. The Goddess manifests as the May Queen and as flowers in our fields and gardens. The God emerges as the May King in our woods and greens. The danced Maypole represents their divine unity, with the pole itself being the God and the ribbons that encompass it, the Goddess. Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight.


SACRED, SIMPLE WAYS TO CELEBRATE:
Fill a cauldron or a large bowl with fresh wildflowers and herbs.
Make a miniature maypole for your altar, wrapping ribbons and herbs around a long candle.
Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers, positive energy and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or an elderly friend.
Weave a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty. Dress in bright colors. Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within.
On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it.
Buy a new mirror for your bedroom and decorate it with ribbons and flowers.
Braiding white ribbons into bracelets for friends/family symbolizes the joining together of two to form a third.
Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck.
Welcome in Beltane at dawn with singing and dancing.


RITUAL:
A great way to celebrate Beltane is in a forest of near a living tree. If weather or other circumstances do not permit you to go outside, bring a small potted tree or plant into your circle.

Create a small token or charm in honor of the wedding of the Goddess and God to hang upon the tree. You can make as many as you desire. Some ideas: bags filled with fragrant flowers, strings of beads, carvings, flower garlands.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle of Stones. Recite a Blessing chant, and invoke the Goddess and God. Stand before the altar, with wand upraised, and say:

O Mother Goddess, Queen of the night and of the Earth;
O Father God, King of the day and of the forests,
I celebrate Your union as nature rejoices in a riotous
blaze of color and life. Accept my gift, Mother Goddess
and Father God, in honor of Your union.

Place the token(s) on the tree:

From Your mating shall spring forth life anew;
a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands,
and the winds will blow pure and sweet.
O Ancient Ones, I celebrate with You!

Works of magic may follow. Celebrate, sharing a ritual meal with the Goddess and God, and release the Circle.

CUSTOMS
~Maypole~
Ribbondances took place, with two clockwise circles interweaving, around a decorated pole, bush or tree.
In England, permanent Maypoles were erected on village greens, with smaller Maypoles in the yards of homes in the villages.

~Flowers & Greens~
Gathering and exchange of flowers and greens pre-dawn on the first day of May.
Decorating homes, barns, and other buildings with green budding branches, such as hawthorn.
Making and wearing garland wreaths of flowers and green plants.
Baskets were woven and placed secretly on doorsteps of friends, shut-ins and lovers.
Punch (May Bowl) concocted of wine or fruit juice and laced with Sweet Woodruff blossoms

~Beltane Fires~
Sacred woods kindled by spark from flint or by friction.
Those celebrating jump over the Beltane Fire, move through it, or dance clockwise around it.
Traditionally, livestock was driven between two fires for purification and fertility blessings.
Rowan twigs are carried around the fire three times, then hung over hearths to bless homes.
Burn sacred wood and dried herbs as offerings in the Beltane fires.

~May Waters~
Roll in May Eve dew or washing face in pre-dawn Beltane dew for health, luck and beauty.
Run and dance in Beltane rain to soak hair and bless the head.
Bless springs, ponds and other sacred waters with offerings of flowers, garlands & ribbons.
Collecting sacred waters and scrying in a spring, well or pond.

SPELLWORK
Fertility, Love, Spiritual communion with deity, Safety, Prosperity, & Conservation

HERBS:
Honeysuckle, St. John's wort, Hawthorn, all flowers

FOODS:
Ice cream and other dairy, Oatmeal cakes, Cherries, Strawberries, Wine punches, & Green salads

COLORS:
Green, soft Pink, Blue, Yellow, and White

STONES:
Emerald, Orange carnelian, Sapphire, and Rose quartz

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