Beltane is a holiday celebrated by many Earth-based spiritual traditions. It falls on May 1st and is sometimes referred to as May Eve, Walpurgis Night, or May Day. Beltane was originally celebrated by ancient Celtic and Irish people as a solemn fire festival. The Irish-Celtic would burn bonfires for protection and drive their farm animals around the fires to cleanse, purify, and protect their herds. Beltane and its fires symbolized the beginning of summer for those in the British Isles.
While its origin can be traced back to Irish-Celtic culture, the Beltane celebrated today looks much different than the holiday our ancestors may have honored. Many of the traditions we hold dear now come from May Day celebrations of the English and wider European traditions.
Beltane represents the heights of spring and the promise of summer. It is a seasonal expression of the abundance and fertility the Earth offers us, as well as a time to celebrate and be a part of nature, to play games, to be frivolous, and to enjoy ourselves.
Many modern celebrations include a Maypole with a Maypole dance, fires, feasting, and flowers. A Maypole is a large pole (originally a wooden post but modern celebrants get creative with their supplies) decorated with colored ribbons and usually topped with flowers. Participants are typically divided into two groups, where each take a ribbon and dance around the Maypole in opposing directions, wrapping the ribbon to it as the dance proceeds. Historically, the Maypole was simply an obvious landmark that was easy to find at a festival and made a good place to gather. As time went on, people began to hang out at the Maypole, dancing around it and eventually bringing flowers and ribbons to decorate it.
In our current Beltane celebrations, the Maypole represents the axis mundi, or world tree that connects and supports all planes of existence, as well as the fertility of the Earth. Dancing around the Maypole is a fun, and often silly, activity, but it is also done with the intention of aiding our manifestation work and bringing abundance into our lives. Symbolically, the Maypole and its ribbon dance can also be considered a binding, since we wrap the pole with ribbons or streamers. This act represents tying up the past and looking into the future. You can even write on your Maypole, or attach a note to it, with something you would like to bind into the past and move on from.
By the end of April and the beginning of May, many flowers and trees are blooming, and the Earth is much more green than it was just a couple of months ago. Beltane makes uses of the natural bounty, and flowers play a big role in most traditions. People often wear flower crowns during their celebrations or decorate their home with flowers and greenery to bring nature indoors.
Beltane and spring are considered by some to be the season of the Fae. With nature in bloom again, some think fairies are more active and will leave offerings to appease them or sometimes to try to bargain with them. You may have heard the idea that the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its thinnest around Halloween, and some believe this is also true at Beltane. During Halloween, we use the opportunity to honor our ancestors and loved ones who have passed away from this world. At Beltane, the thinning of the veil means that communicating with fairies and other nature spirits may be easier.
Many see spring as a celebratory time of year, and because of that, Beltane has become a holiday focused on things that are joyous, such as being outdoors after the winter, the green Earth, fertility, games, and fun. If you feel called to do so, I encourage you to embrace the changing of the seasons as we move into May, get outside, and soak up the sun and the energy of life returning. Have a blessed Beltane season!
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.