Beltane:

The Traditional Celebration of Beltane

Beltane (30th April/1st May - May Day) is the most important Wiccan feast of the year, alongside Samhain (Halloween). Yet where Samhain is a festival based upon the acknowledgment of the beginning of winter, Beltane is a celebration of the beginning of summer. All around flowers are blooming, and the ripe lush scent of summer floats upon the air. Optimism is all around us, which is unsurprising as this is the most prosperous and fertile time of the year.

And as such, in pre-literate times, festivals were the acknowledgment of the happenings of nature. At Beltane, cattle were driven to summer pastures to feed on the fresh and fruitful grasses and flowers; the hawthorn foamed with a proliferation of pure-white, highly scented blossoms, and houses were decked with it’s boughs in a mark of the celebration of summer. This was also the traditional time for bonfires, and the name Beltane is indeed derived from the Celtic “Bel” meaning good, and “Tan” meaning fire. These fires were symbolic of many things: they were stocked with highly scented herbs and sacred plants and the fragrant smoke was used to purify the cattle and sheep before the journey to new pastures began. They were also burnt on hilltops, and used to strengthen burgeoning sun, which would arm and bless the earth for fruitful crops at this still precarious time of year for arable lands. The soil was also blessed with fertility when the ashes of such fires were scattered upon it. Indeed, Beltane fires would create a chain of beacons on hilltops across the land in times yore. Household fires would be extinguished, and re-lit with a branch from the Beltane fire to bless the people’s homes and lives. Folk ran between the fires too, as well as jumping them, especially new brides and childless women. It was also belived that a girl who danced around nine bonfires would see the face of her husband-to-be in the flames. Thus Beltane is a celebration of fertility, vitality, passion and love!

Traditionally, Beltane festivities started on May Eve (April 31st), when the young people of the villages would search for the perfect Maypole. The night would be spent celebrating, singing dancing and making love. (To the later, Christian community, traditional May Day activities were seen as sinful. In 1583, Philip Stubbes wrote about the Beltane traditions in ‘Anatomie of Abuses’: "all the young men and maids, old men and wives, run gadding over night to the woods, where they spend all the night in pleasant pastimes; and in the morning they return, bringing with them birch and branches of trees, to deck their assemblies with all. And no marvel, for there is a great Lord present amongst them, as superintendent and Lord over their pastimes and sports, namely, Sathan, prince of hel. But the chiefest jewel they bring from hence is their Maypole…”) At Dawn, these young adults would return triumphant, carrying a living tree. The tree was thenceforth erected in the hope that the Tree Spirit would bless the women, crops and animals with fertility. In later times, permanent poles were erected in most villages, and were painted with red and white spiral stripes (red for life, and white for new beginnings). Some were also painted red white and blue – and although we would now see these colours as very patriotic, they were in fact the colours for the Triple Goddess: white for the pure maiden, red for the fertile Mother, and blue (or sometimes black) for the Wise Crone. The community would dance around the Maypole, bedecked with ribbons, and oft a garland of mayflowers, and would dance the dance of the spiral of life: a dizzying winding and unwinding enactment. The maypole was of course, a great symbolic of fertility in the sense that it was symbolic of the phallus. Thus, Beltane is a celebration of the union of the God and the Goddess; the maypole the God, the supple winding ribbons and beautiful may blossoms the pure Maiden Goddess, about to become the fertile Mother Goddess.

The May Day festivities were presided over by a May King and May Queen, who represented the scared union of Father Sun and Mother Earth. The May King was chosen by contest, usually dash to the foot of the Maypole, or more challengingly a climb up it. Later, the May Queen was chosen by popular consent and crowned with a garland of may-blossom. This crowning is a tradition that still lives on today, with the crowning of the statue of the Virgin Mary. Indeed, the crowning of statues of the Virgin Mary with a wreath of flowers as the “Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May” and the Catholic Church’s designation of May as “Mary Month” is an example of the association of springtime with feminine deities found in many cultures. However, in recent times, the May King is a thing of the past, while the custom of crowning a May Queen still lives on.

The union of the God/King and the Goddess/Queen was an incredibly important aspect of the celebration of Beltane, and as such Beltane was a traditional time for the celebration of love.

A Modern day Beltane

This fruitful time can be seen as a three-fold celebration: “coming of age”, fertility, and union. How then can these traditions be celebrated today?

Younger Children

In terms of Fertility, those of you who planted bulbs at Imbolc with your children should now be rewarded with beautiful blossoms! Alternatively, you and your children could gather blossoms (remember though, please do not pick wild flowers, only those within your own garden!) to create your very own garlands. Hang these above your door to bless your home over the coming months. Those lucky enough to have a hawthorn tree can follow the traditional of hanging a bough of hawthorn over the entrances to you home. Remember though, it is considered unlucky to take hawthorn into your home, as it is a tree of great enchantment and is sacred to the fairie-folk… if you take the blossom into your home, you thus invite the fairie-folk with all their mischief!

Gathering blossoms with your children is the perfect time to talk about the Earth coming back to life, and supplying us with her bounty of fresh fruit and vegetables. You can also take this time to discuss the wheel of the year, the cycle of life displayed so well by our deciduous trees. Explain the purpose of flowers – how the bees pollinate them, how blossoms can turn into fruit and seeds to continue the cycle of life. If you do gather blossoms, place them gently into a basket, and give them to a neighbour or friend and share their beauty!

Young Adults

Coming of age is an incredibly important time of life. In most cultures, a ceremony, ritual or celebration rings in a time when a child becomes a young adult. For boys, the magikal age is traditionally 13. In terms of Celtic beliefs it is thought to be because of the significance of the number. The number 13 has long been viewed as evil or unlucky, but 13 is actually a number of transition. It can be seen as "1" individual person stepping onto the divine path of the "3" Goddesses (or God if you are a Christian – represent by the traditions of Holy Communion and Confirmation). It also has numerological significance. Numerology adds all numbers together until there is only one, and in this case, (1+3=4); four is the number of wholeness or the full circle of life. You could mark this time of transition with a gift; perhaps some grooming products, such as a razor or aftershave, accompanied by a comprehensive lesson in how to use them!

The Coming of Age for a female came at their first menstruation. For some that could be as early as 9 or 10 and for others as late as 16 or 17. Traditionally, menstruation was a celebration of life. Today it can sadly be seen as something to be hidden, spoken about in hushed tones giving a young girl an inexplicable feeling of shame. Many green/pagan mothers are trying to bring back a feeling of pride in this momentous event by celebrating this coming into womanhood. You could take your daughter out to dinner, have a party, (as you could with your Son), or give a special piece of jewellery to commemorate the occasion. Buy your daughter some environmentally respectful sanity protection, such as reusable pads or a Mooncup. Explain that this is a natural and beautiful thing – something to be rejoiced, not hidden and “disposed of”. It could also be a time to go and buy that first bra, in acknowledgement of your daughter’s furthering transition into womanhood.

You can also use this time to mark the occasion with your older children by talking openly and candidly about procreation and sexuality. Honestly is always the best policy here – respect your children’s intelligence and capacity for acceptance and understanding. Respect breeds respect. Buy a good and informative book on the subject, and settle down with your young adult to read it together and encourage their questions – by doing so you engender an atmosphere of trust. It is important to establish that sex is something natural, beautiful and positive with the right partner at the right time, and if your children feel that they are allowed to ask your advice, you are doing all that you can to help create respectful and responsible adults.

A Traditional Celebration of Love

“Handfasting” is a traditional custom at this time, and is the Wiccan version of marriage. It is a celebration of loving union in which both parties are equal. Vows are written and proclaimed, in recognition of the union. Many of our traditional phrases concerning marriage stem directly from Handfasting. “Tying the knot” and "Getting Hitched” both refer to the tradition of binding the hands of the couple together with a gold and silver cords as part of the Handfasting ritual. In the middle of the Handfasting rite, the couple joins their hands to be bound with cords as they are questioned about their intents toward each other. At the end of the proclamation of their intent towards each other, the couple, with a series of cords lightly draped around their joined hands, the couple then join the cords and tie them into a knot at the centre. It is interesting to note that the couple make no promises to each other – just proclaim their union, equality and love for each other. Thus, although Handfasting can be a legal marriage ceremony, it is not necessarily so. Sometimes a Handfasting is a commitment made for "a year and a day," perhaps before a couple make their “full” commitment to each other. At the end of the rite, hands still corded, the couple jumps a broom laid on the ground in recognition of the ancient folk method of sealing a marriage.

Handfasting can therefore be the perfect way to celebrate your respect and love for you partner. You needn’t create an elaborate ritual, if you do not feel confident enough to do so, indeed it could be just the two of you present. The important part of Handfasting is the vows, and the symbolism of the binding of hands. You could be a couple making your vows for a year and a day. You could already be married, and which to pledge your love for each other in a non-religious renewal of vows, as after all, relationships grow and evolve!

Your own personal Beltane

Setting up a maypole in your back garden is relatively easy! Using crepe-paper streamers, one for each member of the family, you walk (or more commonly run due to the giddy excitement of your children!) clockwise around the pole, whilst weaving in-between each other. Mind you, this sounds very simple, although in practise it can end up rather erratic! However you do do it, it never fails to be beautiful and a lot of fun!

Another lovely idea for celebrating with small children is to make baskets to collect your Beltane garden treasures in. It is incredibly simple to create a Beltane basket. Cut a large circle out of stiff paper or card, and then cut from the outer edge to the centre of the circle. Then overlap the cut edges to create a cone shape and secure with sticky-tape. You can then fashion a handle from a strip of paper or card, again secured with sticky-tape. Now draw and colour in some beautiful flowers to decorate your baskets with before you go hunting! These make a lovely gift for elderly neighbours, or a beautiful bouquet for your very own crowning of your May Queen! For this, create a tall pointed hat in the same way as the baskets to fit your child’s head. Decorate with flowers and crepe paper streamers at the point.

Beltane of course would not be complete without a bonfire. If you have the room in your garden, light your own small bonfire. Let your children help gather firewood, and enjoy the blaze before bedtime. There is something about being outdoors in the evening with a bonfire roaring that always promotes a lovely deep sleep! Once your children are safely tucked up in bed, you can then have your own fire-jumping ritual! Singletons amongst us can jump the coals to find good partners; pregnant women can (carefully!) jump the coals to ensure an easy birth, or a couple can jump it together – because it’s fun!

Then, put a fire in your hearth with the coals of your Beltane fire to bless your home. Have bright bountiful and beautiful Beltane!