Beltane 2021

Beltane has arrived! Two days of dancing, baking, singing, and indulgent merriment must commence! For those of you who don’t know what Beltane is, here’s a little information…

Beltane is a fertility festival held from April 30th to May 1st. Beltane marks the transition from Spring into Summer on The Wheel of The Year. The Wheel of the Year is a calendar of eight holidays (I celebrate for an extended amount of time, so the lengths of some of these dates aren’t traditional.)

Imbolc - February 1st-2nd

Ostara - March 20th-23rd

Beltane - April 30th-May 1st

Litha - June 20th-23rd

Lammas - August 1st

Mabon - September 20th-29th

Samhain - October 31st-November 1st

Yule - December 20th-January 1st

I’d love to go into detail about each of these wonderful holidays in this article, but that would end up as a novel about The Wheel of The Year.

Since Beltane is on the opposite side of Samhain on The Wheel, Beltane is the second thinnest time of the year; this means that The Veil Between the Worlds is very easy to pass through. Spirits, the fae, and other beings will be able to come to our world much easier than during the rest of the year. It’s the easiest to pass through the veil of Samhain, but Beltane is another easy time to do so.

Things you can do to celebrate Beltane:

1. Plant flowers. It’s the start of summer, so help out the pollinators in your area and give them some grub, also the fae love flowers! You can start from seeds, but supporting your local garden shop and buying some partially grown flowers has a more immediate result.

2. Introduce yourself to your local land spirits. Those spirits were here long before you were. They are eternal and we only exist in this life just for a short while. You are the guest in this area, this is their home, so be kind and introduce yourself to them. But don’t go emptyhanded! Bring a small offering like a crystal, a rock you think is pretty, but clean water is the best offering. Each tree has their own individual spirit, just like us. After you introduce yourself, sit still and listen. You may encounter a few spirits or several! You may encounter none if you’re new to the place, or if you have been cruel to the land (littering, tearing up grass for fun, saying the land is ugly, etc.)

3. Leave a gift for the Fair Folk. Be careful when doing so. Research fae manners beforehand if you’ve never done this before. Faeries are thought to be very active on Beltane

4. Perform divination! This is my favorite thing to do even when it’s not a thin time. My favorite form of divination is tarot reading, but I also love pendulums, although you have to be careful to stay still. (I shake like a crack addict because of anxiety.)

5. Walk between two fires or jump over a fire. Beltane is a fire festival, so people would jump over fires, walk between two fires, and walk their livestock between the flames to increase fertility and energy. If you can’t build a fire (or two), you can walk between some candles. Pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and think of the things you want to leave behind and the things you want to bring into and cultivate in the next year.

6. Take a nap under a tree. If you don’t have the energy to do anything else, go rest with a tree friend. Of course, ask first. If you’ve never asked a tree for permission, state your question out loud or in your head. If the energy you feel within the next few moments is welcoming, go ahead and snooze under that sycamore. If the energy doesn’t feel friendly, go back home or find another tree.

I celebrated Beltane by starting on some dandelion honey with my friend, but I had to go home before we could finish it. When at home, I made some protection spell sachets I’ll be putting on my Etsy shop (MossyFoxShop) and I made some lovely dandelion chains. I also drank three mugs of tea and tried to spend some time outside before it got too windy and hot. The high in my area was around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. (Way too hot for my enjoyment.)

I really wanted to do some baking, but I was so drained. Grandma had some Pillsbury Honey Butter crescent roll cans in the fridge she bought around Christmas, but they were fine. Surprisingly, they were vegan, too! My best friend and I were surprised Pillsbury hadn’t gotten into any legal trouble over naming something “honey butter” and there isn’t any honey or butter in it. (I felt so weird not making something from scratch. Making something from a can felt like an abomination because I love making homemade things because a majority of my practice is kitchen witchcraft.)

I hope your summer is filled with warmth, light, love, growth, and healing. Blessed Beltane and Blessed Be!