Beltane

Beltane or May Eve is the last Sabbat of the waxing year. The next holiday is Summer Solstice, the zenith of the light, from which the year begins to wane. Beltane is the approaching height of fertility and is a feast of fires and flowers; women’s passion is its theme, and the Goddess’s passion, and the earth’s passion to bloom and bear fruit. Brightness and abundance are present everywhere at Beltane, in the greening and blooming of the land, the colors of the May pole and the candles, and brightness of the women’s clothes. Where Spring Equinox colors were pastels, Beltane’s are rose for new love or primary colors that emphasize brightness and fertility.

Persephone has come of age and reached menarche, she is no longer the child/Maiden. Her body changes and she discovers the fires of sexuality, of physical love and self love, and learns what passion means. She begins, experiments, and changes partners as she learns. The custom of making love in the fields on May Eve was done in wiccan England to enhance their fertility of the growing crops. It may also have been a remnant of the days when women menstruating bled in the fields, for the same reason.

In the Motherpeace tarot, a card for Beltane is the Four of Wands, which is a menarche celebration for a young woman coming of age. Other of the Wands, signifying sexuality, passion and life force energy, are also appropriate for both Beltane and Summer Solsitce. The Lovers is a Beltane card, the coming together of two Be-ings. At Beltane love is new and just beginning, still trying out committed relationships. Persephone at Beltane discovers love and passion for the first time, and the earth blooms with her sexuality. “All acts of love and pleasure are the Goddess’s rituals.” Flowers are female sexual symbols and the symbol of the season, as are the Maypole and the May Eve fire.

The Maypole is a European custom, brought to this country from wiccan England. Decked with flowers and danced/woven by women, it is a female Goddess and fertility totem, the moontree of the Great Mother. Fertility in this Sabbat can be sexual or celibate, procreative or creative in any form. To make a Maypole where a handy tall tree without lover branches is unavailable, use a pole such as a clothesline pole. Ideally the pole should be twice as tall as the dancers, and the ribbons are half again as long as the pole, attached at the top. Have each women in the coven bring a roll of wide giftwrap ribbon or crepe paper in all colors. To make the pole stand up unassisted, dig a hole for it a food deep or more (depending on height of pole), and wedge the base with rocks. Steadying it at the top by crossing two clotheslines also helps. While weaving it in the ritual, remember the weaving of the universe by Spider Woman.

Indoors, this type of Maypole is harder to manage, but a Maypole is still possible. Fasten the lines to a high lighting fixture, if someone can get up there, and don’t pull too hard. Or make a weaving frame instead. To do this, take tow horizontal poles and string a warp between them vertically. In the ritual, the women use this as a frame for Spider Woman type weaving. The effect is not the same as dancing a vertical Maypole, but is still creative and appropriate. In this horizontal May weaving frame, use a variety of materials: yarn, ribbon, fabric, lace, beads, bells, shells, etc. to make an interesting tapestry. The indoor weaving frame is also and alternative when women are doing Beltane rituals alone.

Goddess of flowers and blooming, love, fertility, and the moontree/Maypole are the Goddess of Beltane. Some of them are: Flora (Rome), Bloddeuwedd (Wales), Bona Dea (Italy), Freya (Norway), Oshun (Africa), Aphrodite (Phoenicia/Greece), Ishtar (Semitic), Asherah (Hebrew), Tonantzin (Mexico), Danu (Celtic), Gwenhwayvar (Wales), Mary (Christian), Mawu (Africa), Ostara (Germany), Belili (Mesopotamia), Kwan Yin (China), Spider Woman (Native American), and Hina (Polynesia). Use rose colored candles or passion, new love, and first blood. Foods for the Sabbat are sensual ones, strawberries and vanilla ice cream, lady locks, cream puffs, whipped cream and red cherries, red fruit juices and cherry sodas.

The other Beltane custom is the May fire or Bel-fire jumped over for fertility, health and good luck for the year. use a candle in a cauldron for this, a hibachi or small charcoal grill, or a real outdoors Beltane fire. Step over it, jump over it or even walk around it, focusing on wishes to come true.

From: Casting the Circle; A women’s Book of Ritual by Diane Stein