Season of Beltane
April 21 astrologically, May 1 traditionally
Beltane celebrates the mating of the God and the Goddess and the fertilization of the earth by the sun. This mating is represented by the phallic maypole, thrust into the the fertile earth.
As we weave the ribbons of the maypole, we are weaving our futures, the coming season of growing and tending and reaping, it all takes form here and now. We fertilize our wishes aas we braid.
Traditionally white ribbons represent the purity, red ribbons blood or the sun, yellow ribbons the sun, blue ribbons the moon, nighttime, and green ribbons represent the earth. But you can assign whatver meanings make sense to you.
In addition to being used in maypole weaving, ribbons can be enchanted with one’s wishes, then tied to a the limb of a young tree, where the wish is carried by the wind to its fulfillment.
How does one enchant a ribbon with one’s wish? You would cast a knot spell on it.
Holding the results you desire in your mind’s eye, fulfilled and complete, tie knots in a length of ribbon from one end to the other, saying:
Knot of one, the spell’s begun
Knot of two, the spell is true
Knot of three, it comes to me
Knot of four, all this and more
Knot of five, the spell’s alive
Knot of six, the spell is fixed
Knot of seven, loaves do leaven
kKnot of eight, the open gate
Knot of nine, the thing is mine.
One teacher used to make us tie a knot at each end, then one in the middle, then one in between each of those, and so on, to nine. I rather like the build of energy from end to end, though, but whichever way you like.
As you chant, you must be imaginging your goals as if they are real. What do you want your life to look like by the end of this year? Focus on that. What changes would you love to see in your experience? Imagine them done. Feel the feeling of having those goals. That’s the energy we want going into this kind of magic.
Alternatively, you can simply sit, holding a lenght of ribbon and meditating on your desire, exploring it as your new reality inside your imagination.
Either way. If you like, choose a ribbon for each of several wishes or goals. Choose the colors according to what energy matches the energy of the goal. Make sure you use biodegradable, natural ribbons that won’t harm the environment.
After charging each ribbon with the energy of the magical wish or goal, take the ribbons to a young tree. Bring an offering for the tree with you. A bowl of water with a little plant food in it, or a handful of compost, something like that.
Choose a tree tall enough to be exposed to the wind. Touch the tree’s trunk, and tell it what you plan to do. Tell it exactly how long you plan to leave your ribbons tied to its branches, and be true to your word. Tell it you’ve brought it an offering, and pour it at around the ground under the tree to soak into the earth where it’s roots spread.
Then choose high branches and tie your ribbons. AS you tie each one, visualize its specific outcome, as if it is real now. Tie each ribbon to a branch with the words:
Powers of Air and of high spring,
Wishes carry, wishes bring.
It’s important to return and gather up your ribbons. Even though they’re biogradable. It’s disrespectful to leave them to decay, to nature, and to your wishes.
The holiday of fertilization
This has been a very sexy holiday in times gone by, with a heavy focus on sex. Rowdy danciing at bonfires and hooking up afterward were common themes. The energy of this holiday is great for throwing some accellerant onto the fires of your lovelife.
Beltane is the opposite of Samhain, and yet the same. The veils between the world of the living and of the nonphysical are thinner than at any other times of the year. But the focus at Samhain is on the past, the beloved dead, the ancestors, death itself, where the focus at Beltane is on the future, the blessings to come, and the energy and fire of life itself.
Death vs. life. Two sides of the same coin. Beltane is all about life.
Every physical thing has a nonphysical counterpart. You get that. The nonphysical beings in the spotlight at Beltane are the nonphysical counterparts of nature, the gnomes of earth, undines of water, salamanders of fire, sylphs of air, which led over time to tales of fairies and leprechauns. There are real energies behind those tales.
How to celebrate
Spending time in nature is the best way to celebrate Beltane. Feel the energies of nature around you. Listen and feel and communicate. Do kind things for nature where you live, care for your lawn and garden and all who live there, and think before you act. What some think of as “caring for” the space could actually be destroying it. Raking up dead leaves exposes tiny beings who aren’t yet ready to emergy. Pulling weeds can weaken the plants near them. Chemical fertilizers are a huge bane to nature, as are chemical insecticides. Work with nature, not in opposition to her.
Spending time with your lover is also a top notch way to celebrate Beltane. Celebrate your love, your partnership, and feed it with your attention and appreciation. Just as we can nurture nature, we can nurture our love lives, which thrive under our attention.
If you don’t have a lover, this is the perfect time of year to put yourself out there. Wear greens for the earth, yellow for the sun. Wear the solid permanence of the earth and the passionate exuberance of the sun. Let who you are shine through.
Beltane Crossquarter
We’ll have a Beltane ritual here in time for the holiday, traditionally celebrated on May 1st. However, astrologically, the sun reached 15º Taurus yesterday, on *April 21st, a week earlier than traditional celebrations—halfway between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. In-between times are times of great magical power. — *Yeah, no. Turns out my astrological calendar has a typo, and the actual crossquarter is May 4th. That’s okay, I’m celebrating from now through the 7th!
We can, therefore, celebrate Beltane from now until the 7th. A full two-weeks to celebrate the sun reaching its power, the energy of the in-between, the power of transitions, the energy of positive change.
If you think about it, the unfolding of spring into summer is exactly the same as the enrgy of our own growth and evolution. We unfold and unfurl, we expand and improve.
Blessed Beltane!
