Walpurgis, Beltane (April 30 - May 1)

Buy Herbs, Candles, Crystals, Incense, and more to celebrate Beltane, also known as May Day. Beltane (or May Day) festivities typically begin the evening before on the last night of April, Walpurgis (May Eve). The holiday celebrates spring at its peak, and the coming summer. Beltane is a celebration that has a long (and sometimes scandalous) history associated with fertility and sexuality. On Walpurgis night is when sexuality is at its peak. It’s a time when the Earth mother opens up to the fertility god, and their union brings about healthy livestock, strong crops, and new life all around. In ancient times, farmers would build bonfires at night and walk the cattle between the flames for protection and fertility. … Beltane signifies the sacred union between the God and Goddess, and some celebrate by having sex, usually outside. It is a time when the veil to the spirit world thins and spirits seeking reincarnation or sexual intercourse pass through. Children conceived on Beltane (and thus born at Imbolc) belong to the Goddess and have a special connection to the faerie realm. Some cultures designate a May Queen (or May Bride) as a representation of the Maiden Goddess, that is chosen to select a man that represents the young Oak King (as the Green Man), who wins her hand and impregnates her. This young couple is believed to represent the union of earth and sky, the May Queen and May King that symbolize the sacred marriage (or “Heiros Gamos”). Because of this, it is a popular time for weddings and handfastings (a commitment for a year and day with the option of parting without reproach, or a commitment for life). Handfasting always involves the tying together of hands, or “tying the knot”, in a figure eight with a red cord or ribbon, then later untying at some point of the ceremony. If committing for life, couples sometimes “jump the broomstick”, which goes back to a time when people could not afford a church ceremony, and also happened in times of African-American slavery, when the couple literally jumps over a broomstick to be accepted by the community as a married couple. … The name Beltane comes from the Celtic God ‘Bel’, which means “the bright one”, and the Gaelic word ‘teine’, which means “fire”. Together meaning “bright fire”, it is traditional for large bonfires to be lit in honor of the Sun. People jump the fire to purify, cleanse, and bring fertility. Couples sometimes jump the fire together to commit themselves to each other. Farm animals are sometimes walked through the smoke for protection and to bring fertility. At the end of the evening’s festivities, some will take from the Beltane fire to start their own smaller fires. … Walk the perimeter of your property or town to bring protection for the coming year. … Decorate doorways and windows with yellow flowers. … Women wear a crown of flowers and ribbon. …. Write a wish upon a ribbon and tie it to a tree (preferably a hawthorn, ash, thorn or sycamore) so it may be granted by the gods. … Maidens decorate a Maypole (a phallic symbol of masculine power) with colorful flowers and ribbons, and festivities include dancing around it. Those maidens wishing to conceive a child light a small fire to set a cauldron upon and jump over it (symbolizing the womb). … Some groups have a tradition of venturing to gather flowers and other plants in the woods while also engaging in casual sex with a partner found along the way (usually planned), to whom they become joined with for a year and a day. … Gather May Day morning dew and apply to the face and body for beauty and youth. … Decorate your altar or table for Beltane with white, green, red, pink, blue, yellow, purple and other bright colors. Use stones like sapphire, blood stone, emerald, orange carnelian, and rose quartz. Decorate with lilac, violet, and hawthorn flowers, and garlands of ivy. Use herbs like primrose, rosemary, and lavender. Light Beltane Incense. Other symbols include the goat, honey bee, fairies, rabbits, chicks, eggs, and pegasus. … When you’re ready to relax and restore, enjoy a hot herbal bath and warm cup of herbal tea.

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