Beltain
Beltain is that point in the year when you normally feel the springtime
has arrived at long last and you just want to be a part of the Earth and the
things that are growing in it.
Each Beltain we try and connect with that spirit of lightness and growth that signifies the season and this includes your garden, your mind and your spirit.
If you are lucky enough to be a part of a large group, you could make a traditional May Pole and do a dance around it. This is an old pagan rite that personifies the mating of nature with all things.
You need a pole that is at least 16 feet long, and it should taper from the bottom to the tip in a gradual way. Each person that is taking part in the rite brings a ribbon that is 16 feet long. (Urge them to bring different colors.) The ribbons are attached to the top
of the pole with a length left swinging free.
The pole needs to be put into the ground very firmly, some people use a 5 gallon bucket filled with sand and then sunk into the ground.
In this way it can take the tug and pull that happens as the people turn around it.
To line the people up it is customary to make it as much male female as possible. You can use any music or even people chanting.
Every other person faces in the opposite direction as the music
starts and everyone that is designated as part of the outer circle takes their ribbon in a clock wise fashion, (deosil) while the others go in the opposite direction, (windershins). You simply go under the ribbon of the person coming at you, in this way at the end of the dance you will have wrapped the ribbons around the pole in a colorful pattern.
The May Pole is the representation of the God and the ribbon represent the Goddess. This is a symbol of the mating of all things in nature.
Many traditions have competitions in different sports, as well as having contests for handicrafts. Many foods are shared and the day is spent in fellowship.
This is also the time when Hand Fastings are traditionally announced and performed. Beltain is the most joyous time of the year and one that brings people closer together within families and circles of friends.
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Beltaine, May 1
Beltaine, also called May Day by many Christians. This Sabbat celebrates the fertility and union of the Horned God and the Goddess. At this time, life is renewing itself. Birds and animals are mating. In the fields, newly planted seeds are beginning to grow. Great fires are lit honoring the fertility God Belenos. Some leap the fires to show the exuberance of the season.
A Maypole is erected and bright ribbons are hung on it. The Maypole, a phallic symbol, represents the masculine. The soft colored ribbons are the feminine. The union of the two symbolizes the union of the God and Goddess.
This is the time to fertilize your dreams with action. It is legend that children conceived at Beltane were gifts by the Gods. These children became known as Merry-Be-Gots.
HERBS:
Honeysuckle, St. John's wort, Hawthorn, All flowers.
INCENSE:
Frankincense, Lilac, Rose.
COLOR:
Green, Soft pink, Blue, Yellow.
DECORATIONS:
Maypole, Strings of beads or flowers, Ribbons, Spring flowers
FOOD:
Dairy, Oatmeal cakes, Cherries, Strawberries, Wine, Green salads.
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Beltaine is one of two Celtic fire festivals, a cross-quarter sabbat, and is sometimes referred to as Cetsamhain, meaning "opposite Samhain," because it falls opposite to Samhain in the Wheel of the Year. Likewise, where Samhain is a festival recognizing and honoring the necessity of Death, Beltaine is a celebration of life and fertility returning to the world.
Also known as May Eve, May Day, and Walpurgis Night, Beltane happens at the beginning of May. It celebrates the height of Spring and the flowering of life. The Goddess manifests as the May Queen and Flora. The God emerges as the May King and Jack in the Green. The danced Maypole represents Their unity, with the pole itself being the God and the ribbons that encompass it, the Goddess. Colors are the Rainbow spectrum. Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight.
Prepare a May basket by filling it with flowers and goodwill and then give it to someone in need of healing and caring, such as a shut-in or elderly friend. Form a wreath of freshly picked flowers, wear it in your hair, and feel yourself radiating joy and beauty. Dress in bright colors. Dance the Maypole and feel yourself balancing the Divine Female and Male within. On May Eve, bless your garden in the old way by making love with your lover in it. Make a wish as you jump a bonfire or candle flame for good luck. Welcome in May at dawn with singing and dancing.
Place roses on your windowsill on May Eve, asking the fairies to bless them. Make sure to leave an offering of honey or milk. Arise at dawn and wipe the dew-soaked roses on your face for a beautiful complexion. Save the petals to make holy water at the next full moon.
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Beltane ... the great fertility rite of Life proclaiming the coming of summer!
Dancing around the Maypole, frolicking in the woods, young at heart, young love and passion celebrate the Greening Time ... when flowers smile, vegetation sprawls over the face of the earth, and the nature spirits return to bless us with color, fragrance, and a freshness in the air. Feel newfound vigor... breathe in the excitement... feel the Beltane fire dance in your soul!
Beltane is the great Fertility rite of Life, starting at dusk on the 30th of April and continuing until the dawn of May 1st.
Spelled Beltaine, Beltain, Beltine, Beltane, Bealtaine, or Bealtuinn, is also called May Eve, May Day, Lady Day, and Cetshamain.
Dr. Proinsias MacCana defines the word as follows: "... the Irish name for May Day is Beltane, of which the second element, 'tene', is the word for fire, and the first, 'bel', probably means 'shining or brilliant'. The festival was known by various names in other Celtic countries... Beltaine in Ireland, Bealtunn in Scotland, Shenn do Boaldyn on the Isle of Mann, and Galan Mae in Wales.
To the ancient Celts, Beltain began the season of summer - the greening time, when crops began to sprout, flowers bloomed, vegetation became lush, animals bore their young, and the earth spirits returned.
People finally got out of their houses, where they had been cooped during the long dark cold winter months. Keep in mind that the people in those days had no electric lights or heat, and that the Celtic countries are at a much more northerly latitude than many of us are used to.
At that latitude, spring comes much later, and winter lasts much longer than in most of the United States. The coming of fair weather and longer daylight hours would be most welcome after such a long period of inclement conditions. It is no wonder that Beltane was the holiday of the Maypole, dancing, contests, frolicking in the woods, young love, and passion!
According to the ninth century Irish glossator Cormac, Beltane comes from "Belo-tenia", which roughly translated means "bright fire." The original meaning is "Bel-fire"- the fire of the proto-Celtic god variously known as Bel, Beli, Balor, Bile or latanized Belenus - names traceable back to the Middle Eastern Ball, which simply means "Lord." Bel was the "Bright One," god of Light of Fire.
He is the god of the Underworld, emerging from his caverns on Beltane to become the Green Man, God of Vegetation. Bel is associated with the rising sun and as a pastoral God, watching over the cattle and the fields, whose reign continues through the summer solstice. Symbolically, the Cernunnos aspect and the Bel aspect can be seen as ways of visualizing the Great Father who impregnates the Earth Mother. The two themes that dominate the May Eve/Beltane festival throughout Celtic and British folklore are : Fertility and Fire.
