BELTANE
May 1st
Beltane, also known as
Walpurgisnacht or May Day,
is a time to celebrate fertility and life.
The God and the Goddess come together
in a sacred union, and spring is in full bloom.
Lore & Legend
Beltane is said to be a time when the faeries are out in abundance. Long ago, chains of daisies were placed around children's necks to offer them protection from faerie antics. The ringing of bells on Beltane is also common to scare off faeries with ill intentions.
In order to promote fertility among the spring plantings, women would straddle besoms and leap through the fields encouraging the crops to grow higher. This image is the basis of the myth that witches fly through the air on broomsticks. Long ago, women would also menstruate on the crops, as menstrual blood was considered to be sacred, and the source of all life.
Activities
The lighting of balefires is one of the most common occurrences at Beltane. Pagans of old would leap over the balefire in a celebration of life and fertility. In some areas, it was also tradition to take a smoldering piece of the balefire home in order to bring summer blessings into one's home. Ashes from Beltane fires were spread among the crops to promote growth.
The Great Rite is performed on Beltane to re-create the union of the God and the Goddess. Most pagans perform the ritual in a symbolic fashion, by dipping an athame into the fluid within a chalice. The athame is a phallic symbol representing the God's manhood, and the chalice is a representation of the womb of the Goddess.
Maypole dancing is also a common activity at Beltane. A large pole is erected, and men holding red streamers and women holding white streamers dance around, interweaving the streamers around the pole. The pole is another phallic symbol representing the God, while the red and white streamers represent the birth canal.
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