Celebrating Beltane

Beltane, also known as May Day is celebrated May 1st, which is about halfway between Ostara (Spring Equinox) and Litha, (Summer Solstice). Festivities typically begin the evening before, on the last night of April. It's a time to welcome the abundance of the fertile earth. There are many different ways you can celebrate Beltane, but the focus is nearly always on fertility. It's the time when Mother Earth opens up to the fertility god, and their union brings about healthy livestock, strong crops, and new life all around.

 "Beltane is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Also known as Cétshamhain ("first of summer"), it marked the beginning of summer and it was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle

would walk around or between bonfires, and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the aos sí (the fae). Doors, windows, byres and livestock would be decorated with white or yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush: typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells and rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while

 Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness."  from Wikipedia  

Today, we still honor the tradition of the Beltane fire.  Fire festivals are held throughout much of the UK and Ireland to celebrate as well as in the United States.  Dancing, singing, feasting, jumping the fire, and drumming are all festival activities. May Poles are erected to symbolize the phallus of the fertility god and prayers are sent for abundance and prosperity as dancers weave the ribbons around in joyful merriment.

You will see maidens wearing flower crowns and others with their wrists and ankles adorned in colorful blooms.  Cooking over the open flame is common and encouraged, especially roasted meats. Mead flows
freely and handfasting ceremonies and "jumping the broom" rituals are prevalent. 

 

Many early Beltane practices were designed to appease the fae and prevent them from stealing dairy products. For example, three black coals were placed under a butter churn to ensure the fairies did not steal one's butter.  May poles were hung or erected in or near the barns to ensure the cattle's milk was not stolen. Flowers were also used to decorate the horns of cattle, which was believed to bring good fortune. Food was left or milk poured at the doorstep or places associated with the aos sí, such as 'fairy trees', as an offering. People made the sign of the cross with milk for good luck on Beltane. To protect farm produce and encourage fertility, farmers would lead a procession around the boundaries of their farm. They would "carry with them seeds of grain, implements of husbandry, the first well water, and the herb vervain (or rowan as a substitute). The procession generally stopped at the four cardinal points of the compass, beginning in the east, and rituals were performed in each of the four directions".- Wikipedia 

Keeping our good relations with the fae is another lasting Beltane tradition. Food and milk offerings are left for them.  Honey is a favorite. Some create fairy gardens or altars in their home where offerings can be

given. These offerings might also include shiny objects such as jewelry or stones. Colorful ribbons are tied into "fairy trees".  

If there isn't a Beltane celebration happening near you, don't fret.  There are plenty of ways that you can celebrate the Sabbat in your home or backyard. 

1. Have your own Beltane fire.  If you have a fire pit in your backyard, then fire it up (if there are no fire bans or restrictions, of course).  Dance around the fire and sing songs of Mother Earth.  If you do not have a fire pit, you can use your fireplace inside just as easily.  No fireplace?  Create one in a cauldron or fireproof dish.  Add sand to the bottom and then a clear alcohol (Everclear works best as it burns clean). Light and let the alcohol burn itself out.  *Please never leave a fire or flame unattended.*

2. Cook over an open flame and FEAST!  Fire up the grill and roast meats and spring veggies. Add some wine or mead for the adults. 

3. Make and wear a flower crown.  Daisies and dandelions are common flowers to use but if there is something else that calls to you, then go with that.

4. Fae offerings.  Leave offerings of milk and honey outside for the fair folk. Create a fairy garden in your yard.

5. Make your own May Pole.  This doesn't have to be large. You can simply submerge a stick in a flower pot of dirt, tie on some ribbons and decorate the top with flowers.  Dance around the May Pole and send your prayers for abundance and prosperity.

6. Create a Beltane altar.  This can be indoors or outside. Decorate with spring flowers, god and goddess symbols/ statues, symbols of fertility such as antlers, sticks, cauldron, acorns or seeds, eggs, and rabbits. Use gold and red candles to represent the Beltane fire. Fairy figurines can also be included. 

7. Get outside! Simply getting outside and enjoying the warmer days is a way to celebrate Beltane.  go for a nature walk/ hike. Take in the trees that are leafing out. Listen to the birds sing and watch for other wildlife in the area. Enjoy a picnic. Do some gardening or plant colorful blooms in flower pots.  

8. Jump the broom.  If you want to recommit to your spouse or partner, then jump the broom.  This was viewed as a marriage ceremony, especially to those that had little or no money for a wedding. It can symbolize sweeping away the past, or any thing that needs to go, and jumping into the new- a clean future together. 

Whether you plan to attend a grand Beltane Fire Festival or have a simple day and ritual at home, may you be blessed with abundance and prosperity in the coming months. 

Blessed Be!

CELEBRATING MABON

Cooler temperatures.  Boots, sweaters, and scarves. Football!  Picking apples in the orchard and visiting a pumpkin patch.  Apple cider spiked with Fireball Whiskey (if you haven't tried this, you're missing out. Seriously).  Trees ablaze in colors of yellow, gold, orange, and red.  Halloween!  Pumpkin spice everything.  What's not to love about autumn?  Fall is definitely one of my favorite seasons.  Ok, I like them all for different reasons but for me, fall means the end of the relentlessly cruel summer heat and is the gateway to winter which I absolutely adore.

With today being the Autumnal Equinox/ Mabon, I wanted to share a few ways to celebrate and usher in the new season.  For those of you that don't know, there are two equinoxes, the Autumnal and the Vernal (which is the one in the spring) every year and two solstices.  The Autumnal Equinox's energy is all about balance, gratitude, harvest, and letting go of what no longer serves us.  In Pagan and Wiccan traditions, Mabon is the celebration of the second harvest, the first being in mid-August and celebrated as the Sabbat Lammas or Lughnasadh.  Mabon is often considered the Witch's Thanksgiving. It is a giving of thanks for a bountiful harvest and the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us.  It is also the perfect time to look back on what was planted, metaphysically speaking, in the spring and early summer and take note of what is now being harvested because of our hard work. 

With the Equinox also being about balance, we need to be aware of our light and our dark, masculine and feminine, holding on and letting go, work and play, care for self and care of others.  Are we living in balance? Where can we improve upon this in our lives?  

And just like the trees that lose their leaves, we too need to shed what is no longer serving us.  Mabon's energy and the time following that up until Samhain is a wonderful time for decluttering both mundane and spiritually.  Most people associate springtime with deep cleaning and decluttering but it is just as important to do this in the fall to "ready our nest" for the dark half of the year.  Cutting energetic cords, banishing toxic relationships, releasing negative thought patterns, and working to break bad habits are all ways to energetically declutter. 

Here are some ways that you can celebrate the harvest Sabbat of Mabon.

1. Participate in fall-type activities such as apple picking, hayrides, corn mazes, or visiting a pumpkin patch.

2. Make a meal or dessert from harvested foods.  Think apple pie, pumpkin bread, roasted veggies, apple cider, etc.  

3. Equinoxes are a day of equal light and equal dark- balance.  You can celebrate this aspect by honoring balance in your life through yoga, a thorough house cleaning and/ or decluttering, honoring the Divine Masculine and Feminine, or light a white and a black candle to represent the light and dark within you.

4. We all know that autumn is a time of death.  The leaves change and fall from the trees; fields become barren after the last harvest; all of the summer flowers begin to wither away.  Celebrate this lifecycle by honoring the dark.  Stargazing is a great way to do this as well as sitting on the patio at night with a nice fire going in the firepit while drinking some of that apple cider you spent all day making.  

5. Make a fall craft (see Pinterest for endless ideas).

6. Get out into nature for a fall leaf hike and collect leaves, pinecones, and acorns.

7. Set up an altar honoring all that is Autumn.    

8. Give thanks by making a gratitude list.

Since I mentioned giving thanks, I want to take a few moments to sit in gratitude. I believe that we often get too wrapped up in the things that we don't have or the things that are going wrong instead of focusing on the things that we DO have and the things that ARE going RIGHT.  We are so accustomed to the everyday struggle of "keeping up with the Jones'" that we forget to be grateful on a daily basis.  Sure we practice this at Thanksgiving here in America but what about the other 364 days of the year?  So do me a favor, please.  Sit down and make a list of at least 5 things you are grateful for.  Here are 5 of mine:

* I am grateful for my two amazing children.  They are the lights of my life.  I am so grateful that they are healthy and that they think for themselves instead of just following the crowd.  

* I am grateful for my best friend.  She is my soul sister and fellow badass hiker babe and adventurer.  She has lifted me up when I needed it most, makes me laugh like no other, and has made me believe in friendship again.

*I am grateful for my Clan and my path.  My coven sisters and my High Priestess have become my family.  My path is a continual journey of learning and I love it more every day. 

* I am grateful that I get to call the beautiful state of Colorado home.  This place is an outdoor enthusiast's playground.  Hiking, biking, skiing, fishing, rock climbing.  So much fun to be had here and I am taking advantage of it!

* I am grateful for my health.  My good health allows me to do all of the outdoor things that I love so much.  


Well, witches, I'm headed out to meet my Clan for ritual so I better shut this down.  I guess now that it's officially fall we can expect to see some Christmas lights going up.  Do NOT get me started on that. *Insert angry emoji face here*.  Enjoy this day.  Be grateful for it because there are so many that didn't get that chance.  

Peace, Love, and Light.  Blessed Be.