Paganism 101 – Ways to Celebrate Beltane
- Kara Lea
- Oct 23, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 4, 2018
Beltane is celebrated as one of the 8 Wiccan Sabbats that mark the turning of the Wheel of the Year, and signifies the time of year when the Sun has taken back power after winter, with the days getting longer and the nights getting shorter. Beltane (pronounced byal-taa-nah) is actually the traditional Irish word for May and is synonymous with the Gaelic May Day festival.
In modern times however, this Sabbat is not always celebrated in May. The seasonal changes occurring all around us are the reason for this celebration and all of its symbolism, and so in the Southern Hemisphere, Beltane is usually celebrated at the end of October/the beginning of November, which marks the midpoint between spring and summer for Southern Wiccans and Pagans.
As a Wiccan festival this time is rich with beautiful symbolism and creative ways to celebrate. In Wicca, Beltane is also the celebration of the marriage and sexual union of the God & Goddess (or Lord & Lady), our masculine and feminine archetypes. The festival is traditionally associated with cattle and crops, and in the modern world can represent abundance, growth, the Sun, fire, warmth, sexuality, love, fertility, marriage, passion, vitality and creativity. Based on these principles as well as old traditions, there are many ways to celebrate Beltane, and so I have compiled a list of my personal favourite ways to celebrate!
Ways to Celebrate Beltane:
Decorate your home and altar with flowers to celebrate spring and fertility
Hold a feast to celebrate abundance
Give gifts to your romantic partner, love interest or loved ones
Practice Tantra
Have a romantic date night
Start a new creative project or hobby
Plant seasonal vegetables in your garden, or start an edible garden if you don’t already have one
Start a new habit that will help you to be kinder to Mother Earth
Have a picnic out in nature
Hold a bonfire party and dance around the fire all night, or just dance the night away even if you can’t have a fire
Cast a love spell or a self-love spell
Cook or bake for the people you love
Learn or practice fire dancing
Make and wear costumes representing characters in the story of Beltane
Dress in white and red (particularly if you’re a woman)
Dress in green (particularly if you’re a man)
Make flower wreaths and wear flower crowns
Light lots of candles to invite fire and the sun into your home
The external acts and rituals that we use to celebrate the Sabbats can be extremely powerful, but what gives them their power is the underlying meaning behind them, because we are using the physical as symbolic for something more. The Sabbats themselves serve as not only observances of the physical occurrences happening around us in nature, but also as celebrations of the symbolic associations we give to the changes taking place in our world and within ourselves. Because of this, I use journaling and inner reflection as a powerful way to tune into the changes that are taking place in my inner world and what each Sabbat really means to me as an individual. Here are my favourite journal prompts for Beltane:
Inner Reflections:
What parts of me are ready to mature?
How have I “grown up” since last spring?
How does my Mother aspect express itself through me?
Where do I need to take more action in my life?
Where is my life abundant?
What seeds have I planted, both within myself and in my life, that are now growing or coming to fruition?
What new projects do I want to start?
What do I want to create in my life right now?
How can I care for Mother Earth better?
How can the Masculine and Feminine energies work together in my life in harmony?
What does ‘Adulthood’ mean to me?
How can I improve my relationship with sex and my own sexuality?
Beltane is a beautiful time of love, abundance and power, and I wish everyone reading this can harness the power of nature to live the best life they can.
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