Apr 30, 20236 min read

Exploring Beltane

Updated: Oct 5, 2023

Halfway between spring and summer, this sabbat gives us the last burst of spring's fertile energy. A time for embracing both sexuality and sensuality, masculine and feminine energies, and the ever-growing sunlight, let's talk about Beltane.

Below, I will cover

A Brief Summary
History & Background
Celebrating
Resources & Further Reading

Before we begin, however, I want to address the heteronormative qualities of this sabbat. This is a holiday that celebrates and revels in sexuality. Whether you observe the union of the God and Goddess on this day, or you're simply focusing on the general union of the masculine and feminine energies in our universe and natural world, sex is an aspect that is difficult to ignore. However, this angle of masculine/feminine, sex and fertility paints a heteronormative and gender-conformist picture.

I hate the idea of anyone feeling excluded from this or any Pagan holiday, so please know that it is not as binary as it may appear. Of course, you never have to celebrate any sabbat or aspect of a sabbat that holds no meaning for you. You do not have to observe the duality of masculine and feminine if that feels too black and white. You can observe this duality limited to nature--the seed and the soil, the pistil and stamen--or simply observe the mingling of these two binaries as they exist on a continuum.

The same can be said of fertility and sex. It is not just about the human reproductive process. In any sabbat, the celebration of fertility is largely focusing on the fertility of the land. Not to mention that fertility stands for creation in all its forms: plans, goals, ideas, projects, a new business, new relationship, etc. Additionally, the sexuality inherent in Beltane is also about sex as a source of pleasure. So if the sex aspect is not something you are comfortable with or find pleasure in, then celebrate the things that do bring you pleasure and ecstasy.

Okay! Now we can begin...

A Brief Summary

Names: Beltane (sometimes spelled Bealtaine, Beltin, Belltaine, or Beltene), May Day, and Walpurgis Night

Date(s): Usually May 1st in the Northern Hemisphere, November 1st in the Southern

Observances: Beltane is a cross-quarter day, marking the approximate halfway point between Ostara (the Spring Equinox) and Midsummer (the Summer Solstice, or Litha). Days will continue to get longer until they reach their peak at Midsummer with the longest day of the year. This is the peak of spring, which makes it a time to continue celebrating fertility. Meanwhile, we also observe the mingling of the masculine and feminine, how the two work together on a spectrum, creation in all its forms, and purification.

History & Background

Unlike most of the ancient Pagan sabbats, Beltane is one that was never absorbed and recycled into a Christian holiday. However, like the other cross-quarter days, it was originally an Irish-Celtic holiday. It was first mentioned in the historical record in Cormac's Glossary in 900 CE. Most likely written by someone with a connection to the Catholic Church, Beltane (or "Belltiane", rather) was described as "lucky fire" and "two fires which Druids used to make great incantations, and they used to bring the cattle [as a safeguard] against the diseases of each year to those fires [in marg.] they used to drive the cattle between them."

As their cattle was a crucial source of food, the ancient Celts prioritized blessing them by walking them between two fires over skipping, dancing, and romanticizing under the maypole by firelight. However, it was also said that a person could jump over the Beltane fire for good luck.

While Beltane is sometimes incorrectly linked to particular deities, there is no evidence for this. In fact, the common spelling of the name comes from The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazer and, it is believed, the Celtic root word "bel" which translates to "lucky", "fortunate", or "bright".

For many centuries, and even after Christianity had spread across the British Isles, Beltane has been celebrated as a fire festival. In fact, the Irish were not the only ones to do so. In Germany on April 30th, Walpurgis Night saw Christians building bonfires in order to keep witches at bay and invoked Saint Walpurga (whom the night was named for) to protect them. However, while it's interesting that the two saw the value of lighting fires on this night, it is unlikely that the practices in Ireland influenced the practices in Germany at the time due to the distance between the two countries.

As usual, despite knowing that the ancient Irish-Celtic Beltane was originally an ominous fire festival, we know little about how it was observed due to this historical information being lost to time. Most contemporary Beltane traditions comes from post-Pagan Europe. That does not necessarily make them Christian traditions, rather ones developed from secular celebrations. The English celebration of May Day would look very familiar to a contemporary Pagan as that is where we see the origins of May Queens, the maypole, and Jack in the Green. However, it is theorized that May Day and its traditions are derived from Germanic paganisms practiced in medieval England, although these have little to no ties to the older Irish-Celtic Beltane.

The first mention of May Day in historical record was in 1240, and it was a time for frivolity, games to welcome in May, joy, and play. The maypole, which is probably the most common festival attraction of the season, is often seen as a phallic symbol but that is a generally recent interpretation. The oldest official record of the maypole dates back to the 1300s but some historians believe it may date back to the days of the ancient Pagans. The link between Beltane and sexuality seems to date back about 700 years as well, although it took a few hundred more years for the maypole to get pulled into the sexual symbolism.

"Why can’t people simply enjoy being outside playing a game or two? Why does it have to turn into a twelve foot tall penis? I can think of better things to dance around." -Jason Mankey

Maypoles were originally put up to signify the end of winter and used to mark the locations of gathering places for rural communities. Eventually, greenery and spring florals--and sometimes ribbons and flags depending on the time and location--were added as décor and the pole was used as a festival beacon under which to dance and play.

Nowadays, outside of Pagan circles, much of what was once attributed to both May Day and Beltane have been doled out to other holidays: the pageantry went to Easter, the event of the first "coming out" since winter and presentation of livestock went to Memorial Day, and both an upending of the social structure as well as a timely fear of the fae were pushed to other times of the year.

As always, I am only providing a brief overview of the history of this sabbat. To learn more, check out the resources listed at the bottom of this article.

Celebrating

Here is a jumping-off point for forming your celebrations. Please keep in mind that these lists are here to help but they are not definitive! You should absolutely put your own spin on how to decorate and celebrate based on how this sabbat works into your life and spirituality.

Decorations

Colors: White, red, orange, yellow
Flora: Spring flowers, seeds, spring produce
Other: Fires (especially outdoors), honey, symbolism of the masculine and feminine, Maypole (mini, if placing it on your altar), symbols of things in your life you wish to keep fertile or you wish to become fertile, anything that represents fire (candles, string lights, obsidian, etc.)

Activities

Create something - Whether you prefer to craft, bake, or write a short story, fertility is about creation
Light a Beltane fire - Preferably this will be an outdoor bonfire, but even if you are limited on what your living space can manage, tea lights or even electric string lights can stand in symbolically
Raise energy and pleasure - Yes, the most popular form of this is sex (or solo sex), but you can also dance (around a Maypole, anyone?), sing, chant, drum, or even swim
Forage for spring flowers - I recommend using them as décor for now and then hanging them to dry before they begin to wilt
Make a flower crown
Collect morning dew - It's said that if Beltane morning dew is used as a face wash, it will bring about beauty and youthfulness, or it can be used in spellwork for beauty, youthfulness, or luck
Be bold - Beltane is a time for taking great strides, so check in with a goal you have or a project you're working on and make a bold maneuver to move your plan forward. Even better if it's something you planned with Imbolc and kicked off on Ostara!

Rituals, Spellwork, & Magick

Sex magick - Solo or with a partner
Beltane fire - If you have a full fire lit, you can jump over it for purification and luck or find a way to incorporate it into your spellwork
Smoke cleansing
Leave offerings for the fae and nature spirits
Intentions: Light, fertility, sexuality, sensuality, duality of masculine and feminine, pleasure and ecstasy