Beltane

Origin and meaning

In ancient Celts, Beltane marked the moment when cattle was brought out of winter shelters to summer pastures. Two great balefires (fires of Bel) were lit between which the cattle was passed in ritual purification of the previous winter. The flame represented the arriving solar power; the fire was sacred symbol of the season turnaround. People also jumped between the two fires for personal purification and luck for the year.

Beltane is a celebration of life, fertility, sensuality and joy. It is the opposite of Samhain: where Samhain celebrates the death and dialogue with ancestors, Beltane celebrates the life and union of the living. Strong erotic-fertility ritual element: union of the divine masculine (the May king, often associated with the green Pan or the Cernunnos Celtic horned god) and divine feminine (the May queen, associated with the great mother Goddess). The mythical sacred ritual marriage in Beltane fertilises the world for the productive luminous half of the year.

Traditional celebrations

Traditional elements that survived in folk European tradition: 1) Mayflower festivals in May 1 — celebrations with crowns of flowers, dances around Maypole (decorated central pillar with ribbons of colours that the dancers go weaving). 2) May queen — young woman crowned with flowers as living embodiment of the goddess of spring. 3) Bonfires of Beltane — surviving in the bonfires of San Juan (June 24) Christianised but related. 4) Decorations with green branches and flowers in the houses. 5) Sensual erotic celebrations — May 1 was historically associated with the start of summer love affairs; many nights of "May" of pre-Christian European tradition were of relative sexual freedom.

Christianisation absorbed elements: in Catholicism, May is the "month of Mary", with marian-feminine devotional emphasis; the festival of San Felipe and Santiago on May 1 partially substituted Beltane in Catholic Spain. Modern Wicca and reconstructive paganism celebrates Beltane in original form: bonfires (where it is safely possible), Maypole dance, May king and May queen ritual, sensual celebration of life, fertility rituals (literal — for those who try to conceive — or metaphorical — for fertility of creative projects).

Celebrating Beltane today

1) Decorate your home with fresh flowers and green branches (preferably those of your local nature). 2) Light a candle (red, orange or green) in honor of the season turn. 3) If you have garden, plant something — Beltane is excellent moment of intentional planting. 4) Cook with seasonal ingredients (asparagus, fresh herbs, light vegetables). 5) Connect with your masculine-feminine energy and the sensual life. 6) Joyful celebration with friends or in solitude — but with intention of receiving the energy of joyful expansion of the year. 7) Optional ritual of fertility (literal or metaphorical) — formulate seed intentions for the productive half of the year.