Beltane blessings

Bless, O threefold true and bountiful,

Myself, my spouse, my children.

Bless everything within my dwelling and in my possession,

Bless the kine and crops, the flocks and corn,

From Samhain Eve to Beltane Eve,

With goodly progress and gentle blessing,

From sea to sea, and every river mouth,

From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.

Be the Maiden, Mother, and Crone,

Taking possession of all to me belonging.

Be the Horned God, the Wild Spirit of the Forest,

Protecting me in truth and honor.

Satisfy my soul and shield my loved ones,

Blessing every thing and every one,

All my land and my surroundings.

Great gods who create and bring life to all,

I ask for your blessings on this day of fire.

Beltane ☀️

May Day, May Eve, Lady Day, Walpurgis/Valpurgis Night, Roodmas, Gŵyl Galan / Calan Mai (Welsh)

Beltane or May Day, which occurs about 6 weeks after the Equinox – symbolizing spiritual union and fertility. 

Beltane is a fertility festival that celebrates the return of spring, the sun’s warmth and nature’s abundance. It is a cross-quarter festival, celebrated approximately halfway between vernal (spring) equinox (Ostara) and the summer solstice (Litha).

Literally, Beltane is thought to mean ‘fire of Bel’ or ‘bright fire’, associated with the Celtic sun god Bel, the bright and shining one. It is the Gaelic name for the month of May, also known as Beltaine/Beltine in Old Irish, Bealtaine in Modern Irish, and Bealltainn in Scottish Gaelic.

Beltane incorporates many traditions, including the Gaelic practice of using bonfires to ensure protection from harm. It closely follows the Germanic ‘May Day’ festivities, such as dancing around the Maypole to celebrate the earth’s growing fertility. 

In northern Europe, this day was called the feast of Walpurga, or ‘Walpurgisnacht’ (Walpurgis Night). In the Christian calendar, it was celebrated as ‘Roodmas’, or the Feast of the Cross.

Beltane is the last of the three spring fertility festivals, the others being Imbolc and Ostara. In many Neopagan traditions, Beltane and Samhain are treated as the most important dates on the Wheel of the Year. They divide the year into its two primary seasons, the dark season of winter, and the light season of summer.  

On Samhain, the Wild Hunt is set loose to bring winter into the world, while May Day (specifically Walpurgis Night) is celebrated as the last night that the Wild Hunt of winter rides free.

In Wicca, Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood (known as the Stag King at this time). Stirred by energies in nature, he marries the Goddess (the May Queen) and she becomes pregnant.

Beltane is associated with lust and passion! It is the traditional time for marriages and handfastings. Young unmarried adults would stay overnight in the woods ‘A-Maying’, while those who were married were given permission to remove their wedding rings and enjoy lusty freedom for the night. 

Often bonfires were jumped to encourage luck and fertility. Groups danced with ribbons or greenery around Maypoles, a phallic symbol of fertility and the union of the Goddess and the God to create life. Morris Dancing and images of the Green Man were also common.

It is a time of planting, flowers, birds, bees and honey. At this time, it is thought that the veil between the worlds are at its thinnest (as with Samhain), therefore faeries are thought to return from their winter hiatus.

As life springs forth from the fertile earth, this is a good time for all celebrations of fertility, new ideas, abundance and prosperity.

Half way between the spring equinox and the summer solstice is a festival known as Beltane. It is one of four Gaelic festivals that are still observed today, The others are Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh. It is usually held on May 1st and widely celebrated in Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. 

Some of the earliest Irish literature make mention of Beltane and it has associations with important events in Irish mythology. It is also another time of the year when the veil between our world and the underworld is thin, making it the best time to contact the spirits.

HOW WAS BELTANE OBSERVED?

Traditionally, Beltane marks the beginning of summer and was the time when cattle would be driven out onto the summer pastures. It was common for rituals to be performed that would protect farmers crops and cattle, as well as people. And also to encourage growth. 

It is common practice to light bonfires because it is thought that the smoke, ashes and the flames have protective powers. Customs included walking around the bonfires or between two and sometimes even to jump over the flames or the burning embers. 

Fires in a home would be put out and then re-lit using the Beltane bonfire. As well as the bonfires there would also be a feast, with some of the food and drink being offered to a supernatural race known as the aos si.

People would decorate their homes with yellow May flowers as well as the cattle. And in certain parts of Ireland a May Bush would be made. This would consist of a thorn bush decorated with ribbons, flowers and brightly colored shells.

IS BELTANE STILL OBSERVED TODAY?

As with many myths and legends there is still a place for Beltane today. While its celebration may not be quite as widespread as in previous years its customs are still observed today. In terms of festival, interest has almost died out by the middle of the 20th century. 

However, it has seen a revival in recent years and a few places hold cultural events to mark the occasion. Presently, the custom of lighting Beltane fires is only observed in County Limerick and Arklow. But it is being revived in a number of other parts of the country. There are also certain groups that are looking to revive the custom at the Hill of Tara and at Uisneach. 

Some areas of Newfoundland still decorate the May Bush. And the town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders still has a week long Beltane fair, but it is held in June. In Edinburgh, on Calton Hill, the 30th April sees the Beltane Fire Festival. An event that has been held every year since 1988. its inspiration is the traditional Beltane, but nowadays it is more of a modern arts and cultural event.

Beltane honours Life. It represents the peak of Spring and the beginning of Summer. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility and at this point in the Wheel of the Year, the potential becomes conception. 

On May Eve the sexuality of life and the earth is at its peak. Abundant fertility, on all levels, is the central theme. The Maiden goddess has reached her fullness. She is the manifestation of growth and renewal, Flora, the Goddess of Spring, the May Queen, the May Bride. 

The Young Oak King, as Jack-In-The-Green, as the Green Man, falls in love with her and wins her hand. The union is consummated and the May Queen becomes pregnant. Together the May Queen and the May King are symbols of the Sacred Marriage (or Heiros Gamos), the union of Earth and Sky, and this union has merrily been re-enacted by humans throughout the centuries. 

For this is the night of the Greenwood Marriage. It is about sexuality and sensuality, passion, vitality and joy. And about conception. A brilliant moment in the Wheel of the Year to bring ideas, hopes and dreams into action. And have some fun..

Traditions of Beltane

Beltane is a Fire Festival. The word 'Beltane' originates from the Celtic God 'Bel', meaning 'the bright one' and the Gaelic word 'teine' meaning fire. Together they make 'Bright Fire', or 'Goodly Fire' and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the Sun and encourage the support of Bel and the Sun's light to nurture the emerging future harvest and protect the community. 

Bel had to be won over through human effort. Traditionally all fires in the community were put out and a special fire was kindled for Beltane. "This was the Tein-eigen, the need fire. People jumped the fire to purify, cleanse and to bring fertility. Couples jumped the fire together to pledge themselves to each other. 

Cattle and other animals were driven through the smoke as a protection from disease and to bring fertility. At the end of the evening, the villagers would take some of the Teineigen to start their fires anew." (From Sacred Celebrations by Glennie Kindred) Green Man - Beltane.

Handfasting

As Beltane is the Great Wedding of the Goddess and the God, it is a popular time for pagan weddings or Handfastings, a traditional betrothal for 'a year and a day' after which the couple would either choose to stay together or part without recrimination. Today, the length of commitment is a matter of choice for the couple, and can often be for life. 

Handfasting ceremonies are often unique to the couple, but include common elements, most importantly the exchange of vows and rings (or a token of their choice). The act of handfasting always involves tying the hands Handfasting ('tying the knot') of the two people involved, in a figure of eight, at some point in the ceremony and later unbinding. 

This is done with a red cord or ribbon. Tying the hands together symbolises that the two people have come together and the untying means that they remain together of their own free will.

Another common element is 'jumping the broomstick' - this goes back to a time when two people who could not afford a church ceremony, or want one, would be accepted in the community as a married couple if they literally jumped over a broom laid on the floor. The broom marked a 'threshold', moving from an old life to a new one.

Mead and cakes are often shared in communion as part of the ceremony. Mead is known as the Brew of the Divine, made from honey which is appropriate for a love ceremony (and is the oldest alcoholic drink known to humankind).

Going A-Maying

Handfasting or not, both young and old went A-Maying... Couples spent the night in the woods and fields, made love and brought back armfuls of the first May or haw thorn blossoms to decorate their homes and barns. Hawthorn was never brought into the home except at Beltane - at other times it was considered unlucky. Young women gathered the dew to wash their faces, made Flower Crowns and May Baskets to give as gifts. 

Everyone was free to enact the Sacred Marriage of Goddess and God, and there was an accepted tradition of Beltane babies arriving nine months later.

Maypole

The Maypole is a popular and familiar image of May Day and Beltane. A phallic pole, often made from birch, was inserted into the Earth representing the potency of the God. 

The ring of flowers at the top of the Maypole represents the fertile Goddess. Its many coloured ribbons and the ensuing weaving dance symbolise the spiral of Life and the union of the Goddess and God, the union between Earth and Sky.

The colours of Beltane are green, red and white/silver. Green represents growth, abundance and fertility. Red represents strength, vitality, passion and vibrancy. White represents cleansing and clearing and the power to disperse negativity...

#Beltane

Article Courtesy: facebook