Kate Braun : Beltane is a Time of Great Magick

May Pole. Image from deviantART.

A time of Great Magick:
Celebrate Beltane on April 30 or May 1

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / April 23, 2013

“All things ripen and grow... Abundance in Eternal Flow/ As one the Lord and Lady...”

Either Tuesday, April 30, or Wednesday, May 1, is a good time to celebrate Beltane, also known as Roodmas, Walpurgisnacht, and May Eve. This is a time of Great Magick, second only to Samhain in power.

The powers of elves and fairies are growing and will reach their peak at Summer Solstice, so be nice to them! One way to do this is to decorate a living tree or bush with bells and ribbons. When these elementals are happy, they will protect your outdoor spaces.

All colors are acceptable to use in your decorations, but be sure to use white, dark green, and red. This is a Fire Festival, a Wedding Feast honoring the union of God and Goddess, a time to take action on the activities and projects planned at the Vernal Equinox. As it is the last of the three springtime fertility festivals, plan to generate energy centered on growth of all kinds: growth in spiritual awareness, growth in the garden, growth in your bank accounts.

Serve your guests dairy foods, sweets of all kinds, red fruits, green salads, and cereals. A menu incorporating these elements would be a buffet of: an assortment of breads, crackers, and cheeses; apple slices; strawberries and yogurt; salad of lettuces, baby spinach, sprouts, and parsley; honey-vinaigrette salad dressing; ice cream and oatmeal cookies; red velvet cake; sweet muffins; sangria; mint-hibiscus tea.

May Pole: Life emerging.

Your decorations should include braiding of some sort. May Poles are a traditional sight at Beltane, the red and white streamers a manifestation of the life emerging in the Planet Earth. A small pole with red and white ribbon woven around it would make an appropriate centerpiece. If your hair is long enough, braid it. The intertwining represents the union of God and Goddess.

You could also provide the materials for you and your guests to each make a May Basket: small woven baskets, greenery (real or artificial) to fill the baskets, flowers and sprigs of herbs (real or artificial) to add to the greenery, red and white ribbons to make bows for the finished basket.

When choosing flowers to use in the May Baskets, keep in mind that roses can represent spirituality as well as the goddess, red carnations will attract fairies who enjoy healing animals, clover is wildly attractive to fairies, lobelia helps attract winged fairies, heliotrope is enjoyed by fire elementals, morning glory repels unwanted night fairies, and rosemary protects from baneful fairies. But do not use mistletoe, as it can attract unpleasant tree fairies and be aware that fairies tend to not like the smell of dill.

Another activity associated with Beltane is to make a joyful noise. Encourage your guests to bring wind instruments and use them at some point in your festivities. Trumpets, recorders, whistles, flutes, and ocarinas fit the category, as do many other breath-powered instruments. Be creative.

Above all, make it a joyful and joyous event. This is a time to celebrate life, love, and vitality!

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Beltane Is About Fertility, Life

Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, 2008. Image from Wikimedia Commons.  2012 spring fertility festival: 
Beltane: Monday, April 30 / Tuesday, May 1

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / April 23, 2012

“A health to the mothers of the Merry Begotten/ A health to the maiden with the fiery eyes/ A health to the crone that smiles beside us/ On the other side of the Beltane fire.”

Whether you choose to celebrate Beltane on Monday, April 30 or Tuesday, May 1, the emphasis is on Fertility and Life. The Goddess is Matron, her Lord is the Green Man, this third spring fertility festival celebrates their union with much festivity, music, and fire.

All colors of the rainbow may be used in your decorations, but be sure to incorporate red, white, and dark green. Red represents the active masculine force; white is for the feminine influences; dark green stands for fertility. Use braids, plaits, knot-work such as macrame in your decorating scheme. Braid your hair, using ribbons and/or flowers in the braids. Wear flowers in your hair, especially roses: they represent the flowering of the spiritual dimension of the human soul.

Honor all the local demi-goddesses and gods. Don’t neglect the fairies. Blow horns; raise your voices in song, build a fire, whether in a cauldron, a Weber grill, or a chiminea. Be sure to toss fragrant healing protective herbs such as rosemary on the fire’s embers and use a feather to waft the smoke around you, your guests, and the family pets. Small pets should be carried through the smoke.

Serve your guests a buffet of dairy foods, red fruits, oat or barley cakes, green salads, plenty of breads and cereals, honey, sweets of all kinds. Toast Goddess and God with with sangria. Celebrate outdoors if at all possible. Dance barefoot on the grass under the waxing moon.

The veil between the worlds is very thin on this night. While this celebration is all about the generation of new life and is focused on pleasant thoughts and fun activities, it would not be amiss to also make intentions for protection from possible malevolent spirits.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : Beltane Fire Festival Celebrates Life

Beltane Fire Festival. Photo from Damn Amazing Pics.
Celebrate life, fertility, passion:
Beltane: Sunday, May 1, 2011

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / April 27, 2011

“Dark of the Moon what we envision will come to be by the full moon’s light”

Sunday is Lord Sun’s day, and Beltane is a festival celebrating life, fertility, vitality, passion, and growth. It is a fire festival, so be sure to include fire in some form as you plan your festivities.

Beltane, like Samhain, is a time when the veil between worlds is thinnest; the Spirit World can easily interact with the Mundane World on this day and especially after dark.

Lore tells us that on this night (also named Walpurgisnacht) spirit light will glow on the site of buried treasure (or so Count Dracula told Jonathan Harker), but this is Lore only; I do not recommend venturing forth with picks and shovels to follow a will-o-the-wisp.

All colors may be used in your decorations, but be sure to include white, dark green, and red. Your menu should include custards, sweets of all kinds, green salads, red or pink wine punch, breads, cereals, all red fruits, and ice cream.

Roses, representing the flowering dimension of the human soul, are insightful additions to your decorations as are mirrors, honeybees, and braided fibers.

Robin Hood and Maid Marian are frequently used as symbols of God and Goddess at this celebration. You may designate two of your guests to personify them by blessing all your guests, leading them in weaving red and white ribbons around a May Pole, and exchanging a kiss to symbolize the union of God and Goddess. Their kiss would be a signal for the blowing of horns and whistles, ringing of bells, and other signs of joy.

In addition, if you are able to celebrate outdoors and can build a fire, Marian may bless any animals present by adding fragrant herbs to the coals and then using a feather or feather fan to wave smoke from the fire over them.

In the Long Ago, two fires were built and cattle, horses, and other farm animals were guided between the fragrant smoke of both fires; now any animals included in this festival are more likely to be pets, led or carried by a family member to receive Marian’s blessing.

Don’t forget the fairies and other nature sprites. Decorating a tree or bush with bells and ribbons will not only please them but also prompt them to care for and protect your gardens and outdoor areas.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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