Also referred to as Roodmas, Rood day, the Eve of St Walburga's Day and Walpugis Nacht (these last two show relations with St Walburga, who was born in Sussex and died in AD180 after emigrating to Germany. Walburg is also an old Teutonic name for the Earth Mother), this date also marks the festivals of Hades or Pluto, God of the Underworld.
Beltane, similarly to the Spring Equinox, is a fertility festival but this, the first day of Summer, is indeed an extravagant holiday. The British countryside is now filled with the delicate May blossoms of the Hawthorn tree. This is the Love Dance of the Gods, the Wedding of Heaven and Earth, the Bridal feast of the Goddess! The month of May is named for Maia. This festival is the time of Her wedding to the God. At Beltane, our energies are turned toward the animal kingdom: the fertility of livestock and humans, and the love and union which brings a Harvest of new life among us.
When, on May Eve, the Druids raised the Beltane fires on hilltops throughout the British Isles , they were performing a real act of magick, because the fires were lit in order to bring the Sun’s light down to earth. In Scotland, every fire in the household was extinguished, and the Great Fires were lit from the Need Fire, which was kindled by three groups of three men using wood from the nine sacred trees. When the wood burst into flames, it proclaimed the triumph of the light over the dark half of the year. The nine sacred woods used were:
Birch
The Goddess, or Female Energy
Oak
The God, or Male Energy
Hazel
Knowledge and Wisdom
Rowan (Mountain Ash)
Life
Hawthorne
Purity and Faery Magick
Willow
Death, sacred to Hecate
Fir
Birth and Rebirth
Apple
Love and Family
Vine
Joy and Happiness
Then, suddenly the whole hillside would come alive as people thrust brands into the roaring flames and whirled them around their heads in imitation of the circling of the Sun. If any man there was planning a long journey or dangerous undertaking, he leapt backwards and forwards three times through the fire for luck. As the fire flames lowered, the girls jumped across it to procure good husbands; pregnant women stepped through it to ensure an easy birth, and children were also carried across the smouldering ashes. When the fire died down, the embers were thrown amongst sprouting crops to protect them, whilst each household carried some back to kindle a new fire in their hearth. When the sun rose that dawn, those who had stayed up to watch it might see it whirl three times upon the horizon before leaping up in all its summer glory.
Beltane, like Samhain, is a time when the veil between the worlds is thought to be thin, a time when magick is possible. Whereas Samhain revellers look out for wandering souls of the dead, Beltane merrymakers watch for Faeries. Beltane is the night when the Queen of the Faeries rides out on her white steed to entice humans away to Faeryland. If you hear the bells of the Faery Queen's horse, you are advised to look away, so she will pass you by. Look at the Queen and your sense alone will not hold you back! Bannocks were also sometimes left for the Faeries, in hopes of winning their favour on this night.
The Rites of Spring
Beltane was a time of fertility and unbridled merrymaking, when young and old alike would spend the night making love in the Greenwood, returning to the village the next morning, bearing huge budding boughs of Hawthorn , otherwise known as the May Tree. May flowers and other spring flowers were used to bedeck themselves, their families, and their houses. On their way back home, they would stop at each house to leave flowers, and enjoy the best of food and drink that the home had to offer. In every village, the Maypole was raised and dancing and feasting began. Festivities were led by the May Queen and her Consort, the King who was sometimes Jack-in-the- Green, or the Green Man, the old God of the Wildwood. They were carried in state through the village, in a cart covered with flowers, whilst enthroned in a leafy arbour as the divine couple whose unity symbolized the sacred marriage of Earth and Sun.
To Celebrate Beltane Today
Rise at dawn and wash in the morning dew: the woman who washes her face in it will be beautiful for the forthcoming year, and the man who washes his hands will be skilled with knots and nets.
Go a-Mayin' by going to the woods and fields to gather flowers. Take a picnic.
Make love in the woods. Beltane is the time of year when the Goddess and God consummate their passions. Traditionally it is a time when lovers pledge to live together for a year and a day. At the end of the period, they may part ways if things haven't worked out. If all has gone well, they may make plans for a Handfasting at Midsummer. This activity must only take place between two consenting adults, and is not to be taken lightly.
If you live near water, make a garland or posy of spring flowers and toss it into stream, lake or river to bless the water spirits.
Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill, then give it to one in need of caring, such as an elderly or sick friend.
Beltane is one of the three ‘spirit-nights’ of the year when the faeries can be seen. At dusk, twist a rowan sprig into a ring and look through it, and you may see them.
Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck—but make sure you tie up long skirts first!
Commune with the faeries.
Make a May bowl —wine or punch in which the flowers of sweet woodruff or other fragrant blossoms are soaked—and drink with the one you love.
*Actually May 1st is the day I usually pick the dandelions to make delightful, but sometime very potent May Wine or Danelion Wine as my great-grandfather called it. It seems like he tasted it so much along the way there was none to be bottled when the time came.
