Blessed Beltane

Beltane is the last of the Spring festivals and the beginning of Summer. It is the time of prosperity, love and rebirth. As Samhain is the time of Death, Beltane is the time for Rebirth, and during this time the Veil between worlds is once again at its thinnest. The Fairies return from their Winter homes. The God has reached manhood and has fallen in love with the Goddess. They unite in marriage and consummate their relationship. The Goddess is the Maiden and soon she will become the Mother. Young men and maidens come and dance under the Maypole and jump over the bonfire for good luck. Couples go to the fields and make love to bless their crops.

Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight. It is the time for children and young maidens wear bright colors and make daisy chains. Women weave flowers in their braids. It is time to make May baskets for those who are in need and for the elderly. It is the perfect time to make mead and May wine. Fried honey cakes are a favorite for the fairy folk and dandelion salad is always a nice and healthy.

Beltane is an agriculture festival it is time to spring clean your animal areas. Blessing your farm animals by driving them between two bonfires was the traditional way. If you live in the city and have house animals this might be difficult but basing on the same premise you can bless your animals. Jasmine blessed her dog by having Cybele pass between two hurricane candle lanterns.

It is time to weed out your flowerbeds.  Your Spring flowers should be starting to bloom along with trees. Colors are all around and it is time to show them off. You can build a outdoors shrine welcoming the rebirth of life. As you need good weather to plant and grow, it is a good time for Weather Divination. Frost being deemed as bad times ahead while rain is a sign of good fortune and a strong harvest.

You can decorate your alter by draping a green cloth over it and add your fresh flowers. You can use fake flowers if need to. As I am allergic to flowers I make origami flowers.  Beltane is about the union of the God and Goddess so I use red or wedding candles. I also made homemade maypoles using pencils and ribbon. I made some with regular pencils and some with the larger pencils. My nephew gave me a small purple tree that I keep up all year round. I decorate it with flowers, ribbons and fairies.

As the Veil between worlds is once again at the thinnest, but Beltane is about Rebirth, it would be great times to introduce the newest members of the family to those that have passed on. Make a family shrine bring the entire family together. When having dinner, reminisce about the good times and the qualities that you want to pass on.

On Beltane eve it was customary to set out blankets and other fabric to catch Beltane dew. Girls would wake up extra early and wash their faces for beauty, luck and health. Some would roll around in the dew on the grass. Getting wet with Beltane rain would bless the head. I figure that means that it could help with physic powers and memory.

There are so many things that you can do to celebrate. You don’t need to do the same thing as everyone else; you can mix it up and make it your own celebration. Just remember the facts. Beltane is the end of Spring and the start of Summer, so lots of flowers. Beltane is the marriage of the God and Goddess, so you can use this time to start Handfasting or get married. You can use the symbolism of marriage for decorations also. Make a Maypole with flowing ribbons. It is the time that boys and girls grow up and transforms into men and women. It is the time for fertility and rebirth so you can use this time for baby plans. The Veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, use this time to communicate with those that passed on. Beltane is an agriculture festival so take some time to commune with you pets and animals. Beltane is a fire festival so if you can make a bonfire. Beltane is the time that the Fairies return from their Winter home. Make a Fairy house and make sure to leave food for them.

Just because you may live in an apartment does not mean you cannot celebrate Beltane. I made miniature Maypoles out of pencils and made another out of paper towel tubes. If you can’t have a bonfire, then use a group of candles or make a paper one. The store has several gardens that you can purchase and grow. Jasmine’s brother always gets her a Chia Pet. She has quite the collection now. There is so much that you can do, so be creative. May the God and Goddess bless you.

CB Bats 2011