May 1st, or May Day, Beltane, B'ealtayne or the first day of summer...the Fire Festival, is a beautiful tradition from the Gaelic lands of Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man...and has a deep history with many ways to celebrate.
It comes from the idea of protecting the land, the animals and the people that are about to ride into the summer sun, while leaving behind the darker days of Winter, Spring and Fall. It symbolizes the coming of warmth, love, fertility, and abundance with a large fire ceremony that burns away the past negativity and dark feelings, old unhealthy habits, toxic people and the dead weight of the world.
Beltane can be associated with any spring or summer god or goddess and incorporated into any spiritual path; such as Flora for the birth and coming of all that is to bloom and grow..or Sif for the richness and golden wheat fields growing into harvest to nurture the earth...and can just be a time to be grateful or celebrate what you have.
Many different myths and legends come from this sabbat which falls between the equinox and the solstice. The main thing to focus on is the warmth of longer days, the melting of cold nights, the fire of the sun, the blooming of wildflowers and the buds of fruits, vegetables, and the bounty you see on the earth. It is a time to celebrate with friends and family, to dance around the may pole with ribbons and wear flower crowns, to greet the fae in the budding trees and sing to the baby birds learning to fly.
You can decorate your altar with lilacs, roses, violets, daisy, mint, willow branches, ivy, snapdragons, mugwort and daffodil to name a few...while using oils or incense of jasmine, rose, lilac, mint, vanilla, lemon and sandalwood.
Bake honey cakes, eat fresh fruits and veggies like asparagus, make a strawberry drink, pinch lemon on your meats, eat fresh fish or drizzle honey in your tea.
Adorn your space with crystals of rose quartz, jade, carnelian, adventurine, malachite, rhodonite, bloodstone, red jasper and kunzite...or throw branches of herbs into your Beltane fire like rosemary, juniper, lavender, or cypress.
Wherever you may be...the desert, the mountains, the beach, the city, the plains, celebrate in your own special way. Find your own traditions, your own special way of feeling gratitude and welcoming your own summer into your heart. It doesn't have to be traditional, or what is expected...just feel what is right for you and let your joy come from a place of sincere hope and love.
Blessed Beltane Friends.
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