Beltane





 
WHAT IS BELTANE? 

Beltane honours 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. 
Beltane is a celtic festival, also known as May Day, and is celebrated on the 1st of May. The Festival Sabbat Beltane translates as ‘Bright May Day’ -  ‘Bel’ meaning ‘Bright one’ and ‘Tein’ meaning Fire.


It is a fire festival which celebrates the return of the summer and the return of the fertility of the land, and is one of the most celebrated of the pagan holidays. It is a festival of fertility, abundance, regrowth and renewal. Beltane falls on the opposite side of the wheel of the year to Samhain, and both Sabbats are believed to be when the veil between our world and the spirit realm is at its thinnest, making this a very potent time to work with prosperity, abundance, fertility, new beginnings, as well closer access to our spirit guides and a deeper intuition around this time.

Beltane is the wedding day of the Spring Goddess and the young Sun God. Fully grown and fertile they join in loving union. Nature is celebrating with them, blossoming all around them, and everywhere, love is in the air. The fires of Beltane are lit and people join the wedding feast of the May King and Queen, jumping the fires to purify their souls and to welcome in new beginnings. It is now a very popular time of year for weddings and handfasting, which is the symbolic act of a couple's hands being tied together, often with cords or ribbons, representing their union. This sacred day honours fertility, abundance, and sex, and is a time of forming bonds and improving fertility.  We see fertility all around us, in nature and in animals, and is a time to honour the growth of everything beautiful on Earth.


HOW TO BRING THE MAGIC OF BELTANE INTO YOUR LIFE…
Some of the pagan traditions you can do to celebrate Beltane are:

 Build a sacred fire (outside, and somewhere safe!)

Unleash your inner ancient Goddess and dance wildly (maybe naked) with friends around the open flames! Let the energy of Fire energise your soul and free your spirit! If you can’t build an outdoor fire, light a special candle, indulging and dancing around it just the same. The magic is in your intention, not the size of the flame!

 Read or sing a Beltane blessing with your partner, family, or friends.

I’m offering a blessing you can use here, but writing your own is best, as it will carry your own energy and intention. Whether you choose to honour this festival for fertility, or whether you are just welcoming back the sun, or embracing new beginnings; write and sing whatever comes to you!

We honour the union of the God and Goddess, may your bond stay as old and as sacred as the Earth, may the fires in your heart burn brightly till the end of time.
We welcome Beltane, the season of change and fertility

We greet you with passion, love, and joy, and welcome abundance into our lives.
With open arms and loving hearts
We welcome fertility, we join together in sacred union to create life
Honouring the Divine union between masculine and feminine
For we are both
We celebrate the Earth Goddess, receiving her blessings
We give thanks and await our bountiful blessings,
Our souls ablaze with the fire of infinite possibility
Amen, A’ho, So it is

 Build your own Beltane Altar:

Decorate your altar in a way that feels right for you. Whatever you add to your altar should resonate with you, remember it's about the intention! Add things you want to honour, this festival and the representation of Beltane should spark fire and joy in you! You can use a red cloth to decorate your altar to represent fire, and add red candles to invoke the fire element into your life. You can also add statues of the Earth Goddess, use pretty red ribbons to decorate as well as your favourite crystals or whatever crystals you have chosen to represent Beltane. If you are wanting to connect with your twin flame, rose quartz and symbols of love are a good idea to decorate your altar with.

 Build your own Maypole: 

Craft your own mini sacred maypole using wood from the park or your garden, (traditionally Birch wood) decorate with colourful ribbons, and flowers, and top with a crystal point. The maypole represents the potency of God when placed into the Earth. The ring of flowers at the top of the Maypole represents the fertile Goddess. Its many coloured ribbons and the ensuing weaving dance symbolise the spiral of Life and the union of the Goddess and God, the union between Earth and Sky. You could add your creation to your altar as a way to represent the eternal dance of Divine Masculine and Feminine.

☽ Making a Wish Box Charm

Beltane is a good time for bringing hopes, dreams and aspirations to life, and here is a truly beautiful charm to help you bring these into manifestation.

You will need:

  • A small shallow cardboard box. Shoe boxes are good.
  • Rose petals
  • Sunflower seeds and/or poppy seeds
  • Paper
  • A piece of willow bark or piece of willow, an acorn or oak leaf
  • Something that represents your wish (see below)

Take a piece of paper and write your wish on it while visualising your wish coming to life and growing. Feel as it would feel to receive your wish, hold that feeling in your heart and your mind for a couple of minutes. You can do this alone, with friends, or as a family. If you want to, decorate the lid of the box, with a triple moon, pentacle, heart, or any symbol of your choice. Poke a few holes in the lid - this will help your wish/plants, to grow. Take your box and sprinkle some earth into it. Put in your paper wishes, wish symbol (see below), and seeds/bark/acorn. Cover with another layer of earth. Mix the rose petals with the seeds and scatter them on top. Cover with a final layer of earth and place the lid on top, leaving enough of the rose petal/seed mixture to scatter on top of the box when you are planting it.

Planting Your Wish Box

The best time for planting your Wish Box is just after a fresh cleansing rainfall as this gives you a bright new start, but if the season is dry just give the earth a good watering the night before. Dig a hole two inches deeper than your wish box and lower it into the earth carefully while concentrating on your chosen wish, visualising it coming to fruition. Imagine your wish growing with the flowers reaching skyward. As you cover the box with earth say:

"Dream that lies within the earth awaken now. Hope that sleeps awaken now. The stars await as so do I. Grow true, grow strong, toward the sky."

If you don't have a garden you can make a mini wish pot that can live on a window ledge and it works just as well. Just replace the box with a terracotta pot - one wish and one symbol per pot following exactly the same instructions as above. Remember that wishes are only to be used for positive motives.

Suggested Symbols For Your Wish Box:

Love & Marriage - gingerbread

New Job - copper coin

Abundance - silver coin

Difficult Task - glove

Hearth & Home - thimble

Seeking the Truth - sprig of rosemary

Health, Healing, Renewed Strength - blue & green ribbon entwined

Happiness, Good Luck - cinnamon stick

Seeking Knowledge - apple

To Find A Lost Item - feather

Protection - key (an old iron key is best if you have one)

☽ Make your own Flower Crown!
Go for a walk and pick pretty daisy's and other flowers to decorate your hair with. Weaving and building an intricate flower crown can be used to celebrate this festival and can also be used in ritual. Plaiting flowers into your hair is a simple and beautiful way to honour the Goddess and to feel pretty in Spring.


Crystals associated with Beltane: Carnelian, Rose Quartz, Garnet, Beryl, Turquoise, Red Jasper, Fire Agate, Moonstone - all stones that are connected fertility, abundance, love, and associated with fire element and the Sacral Chakra.

Carnelian - A stone deeply connected to the Sacral Chakra, our sexual chakra, the seat of our emotions and sexuality. Carnelian energy enhances creativity and passion. 

Garnet – In the spirit of the regeneration and purifying nature of Beltane, Garnet is a stone that cleanses and energises the chakras. Connecting to fire energy, it resonates with the returning sun. Garnet removes old or obsolete ideas, behaviour patterns that are no longer serving you, and other modalities that are holding you back.

Moonstone – Known as “the stone of new beginnings”, it encourages the start of things. A mystic stone, it opens our intuition, making it beneficial for meditation and reflection. Moonstone is also used to encourage fertility, especially when worn under a full moon. The perfect potent combination for baby making!


TREES, COLOURS AND HERBS ASSOCIATED WITH Beltane 

☽ Tree's for Beltane: Hawthorn, Rowan, Birch

☽ Herbs & Flowers for Beltane: Coriander, Elder, Hawthorn, Marjoram, Bluebell, Dragons blood, Meadowsweet, Marigold

☽ Incense of Beltane: Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Vanilla, Patchouli 

☽ Colours for Beltane: Red, Orange, White, Rainbow Colours. Anything that represents passion and fertility to you, colours that invoke the fire element for the fire festival!

☽ Foods for Beltane Feasts: Bread, Almonds, Bananas, Oysters, Asparagus, Figs, Nutmeg, Vanilla, Truffles, Strawberries

☽ Drinks: Mead Wine, Grape juice and Ginger Ale 

Beltane Blessings Everyone! I hope you have a magical time celebrating this joyous and inspiring festival! I hope the energy of this Pagan holiday sparks something in you, and may it be a reminder of the promise of new beginnings, and potential of new life in you. I hope you find your passion, I hope your creativity flows, and I hope love is abundant in your heart for yourself as well as others. 


1 comment


  • bqoxbixvcj

    Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?


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