The Celtic Festival of Beltaine (Beltane, Beltainne, Beltain, Bealtaine, Beltany) marks the beginning of summer in the ancient Celtic calendar. As a Cross Quarter Day, it sits exactly half way between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. While the Beltaine Festival is now associated with May 1st, the actual astronomical date is a number of days later at exactly 15° in the fixed season of Taurus.
The name “Beltaine” derives from Bel, the Celtic god of fire, honored with bonfires lit on sacred hills. Smoke from the fire blessed the fields, animals, and community, and maintained the careful balance between the human and faery realms.
In Irish mythology, the beginning of the summer season started with the Fire Festival at Beltaine. Great bonfires would mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with rituals to protect the people from any harm by otherworldly spirits. CLICK HERE to read about the May Queen and Green Man at the Fire Festival.
Blossoms were gathered to string them together into wreaths that might be placed at the top of a maypole. It’s a time to dance with the flowers and dream your true love and celebrate passions to ensure the fertility of the coming harvest. Read The Origins of May Day and Beltane and All About Maypole Dancing
“At the Taurus Cross Quarter we are dropped into the stillness of the perfect bloom. The fixed earth of Taurus ripens the blossoms to perfection. The Rose opens and exudes its warm scent in the ripening light of the sun” (Bronwyn Simons)
It’s time to invite some friends over eat, drink, and be merry, embracing the beauty within and outside of ourselves as we celebrate the awakened, blooming flora and fauna of Earth. Originally celebrated as a Gaelic festival to protect cattle and encourage growth, Beltaine is the light and beauty where we celebrate the sun and blossoms which perfume the air. In this May Day ritual, we are celebrating and giving back to the Earth, using all the elements (fire, earth, air, water) to ignite the hearth of Beltaine.
Here is the coming of summer when the sun shine on the land
and the oak tree gives forth his new green leaves
The deer run through the forest
people dance to the pipe and drum
all celebrate the kiss of summer who banishes winter gone
We are all one with nature as the Gods and Goddesses are with the planet
that is coming into bloom with the scent of hawthorn and elder
For Mother Nature has smiled on the land in this the time of Beltane
a time of new birth and happiness
a time of love and healing
-Nick Ambrister
The Power of Story 