Beltaine (Dedicant Path Essay)

Beltaine is celebrated in early May. It corresponds with Welsh Calan Mai and is rendered in Gaulish as Belotenes. Some Beltaine traditions may also be derived from the Roman Floralia. It is the cross-quarter day when the warm season has truly begun, and the modern rituals are about flowers and the greening of the land and the fertility of earth. In pre-Christian Europe, this would have been when the cattle were put out for the summer grazing. Purification was a theme at Beltaine, with the cattle being driven between two fires to purify them, and the people walked around or jumped over the fires to purify themselves. The community’s hopes rested on a successful summer and harvest, so starting the growing season right was critical. Beltaine was also a time when the Aos Sidhe were particularly active, and offerings were made to them. Many fairy stories about fairy wives or mortals that wander into the hollow hills are set around Beltaine. In modern culture, Beltaine has a bit of a hedonistic reputation. The Wiccan God and Goddess come together at Beltaine, conceiving the young God who will be born at Yule. To quote the geek bard Jonathan Coulton, “First of May, first of May, outdoor f***ing starts today!”

Growing up in New England, there were May Day customs that we practiced yearly. My mother taught us to weave baskets from leaves, birchbark, or strips of colored paper and we filled these with the first wildflowers (violets and strawberry blossoms and tiny bluettes) and would leave the baskets on our friends’ doorsteps before running to hide. May pole dances are probably a modern elaboration of the May pole as a world-tree symbol.

Photo by Paul Barnett via Wikimedia Commons
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In my practice, Beltaine is a time to work with the nature spirits. It’s when I clear the gardens of last year’s dead plants and prepare the ground for planting (it’s still not safe from frost for another couple weeks, but I try to celebrate the holiday by getting my hands in the dirt). Some of the hardier plants go in, my herbs are started inside in a sunny window. It’s a time when I offer to the outsiders as well, to keep our truce in place for the upcoming year.