And so we start the middle third of the year - can we really be this far into 2023 already? Well, we were when I wrote this but the emotions and themes are still applicable now we're in the last part of the year.
Beltane is the origin of the May Day celebrations, though many don't realise that it is steeped in "pagan" traditions. Technically, Beltane starts at sunset on the last day of April and ends at sunset on the first day of May.
Beltane is the old version of May Day, and it marks the beginning of the Celtic summer. It's the second fire festival of the year, with the others being Imbolc, Samhain and Lughnasadh. Beltane used to be the time of year when cattle would be walked between two bonfires because it was believed that the smoke and ash would protect the cattle from diseases etc.
But the fires also served another purpose: home hearths would be lit using pieces of wood and torches from the Beltane fires to bring good luck to those living within the homes and town or village. Within Celtic Ireland, a fire would be lit on the sacred site of the Hill of Tara and then all other fires would be lit from it.
Beltane is a celebration of vitality and youth, with Spring having sprung by this time of year (usually). The earth is full of fertility and sensual energy, with all the new flowers coming up, leaves growing on seemingly barren trees, and young animals being born.
This is the time of year where I am usually filled with wonder at the magick of life because the birds are singing, daffodills and tulips are blooming. There's so much life surrounding us during Spring and this can be celebrated at Beltane. Yes, the weather is very changeable, from freak snowstorms to rain and some sunshine-y days, sometimes resulting in the appearance of rainbows. Temperatures are starting to warm up, bringing warmth to the world again. Butterflies and bees come out of hibernation and caterpillars start to change with the growing heat of the sun.
But Beltane is exactly six months away from Samhain (or Hallowe'en), which could indicate that the veil between this world and the Otherworld is as thin at this time of year as it is at the "witchiest" time of the year. It's definitely a magickal time and I love the idea of having a spring version of Samhain to welcome life back to the world, just as Samhain is about spirits and those who have passed.
So with all this in mind, I attended a ritual hosted by Emily of Wise Woman Witchery and for the first time, I volunteered to do a part of it. The part I asked to do was that of casting the protective circle and I wanted it to reflect the energy of Beltane. To connect with this energy, I used the element of fire for the basis of the circle because of how it has been associated with Beltane for centuries in folklore and traditions.
As part of the main ritual, fire scrying was the first activity. This had three parts: body, mind, and spirit. But when I initially started looking at the flame of my candle, I felt two messages land within me. They were: cleanse and renew, and re-energise. They were really clear and I couldn't do anything else until after I'd noted them down.
So in the first part of the candle/fire scrying, the focus was on the body, specifically what part of my body needed integrating and then what part of my body needed tending to. I feel like the answers I received were related because the part that needed integrating was the sacral and/or solar plexus chakras, and the part that needed tending to was my gut. Both chakras are in the region of the gut and digestive system so I do think this is interesting as I have been more consciously trying to look after my body by fostering a healthier relationship with food.
In the second part of the scrying, the focus shifted to the mind. This was really interesting because the flame of the candle was actually dancing as flames do when the focus was the body but as soon as that moved to the mind, it stopped dancing but was clear and bright. I felt like this was saying in answer to the story of my mindset that I have gone from being the airy-fairy, happy to be distracted at any given opportunity mind has shifted to being able to concentrate on one thing at a time.
But there was a second part to this which asked what is ready to be shifted or tended to and how. I feel like the answer to what was negative self-talk because I'm so used to putting myself down because of the behaviour and mindsets of others and now I want to take my mental power back for myself. I want to be able to feel like I can succeed even when others think, believe or feel that I will fail. When it came to the how, the answer I received was "thank and release" and I believe that this will be a powerful method I can use. Negative self-talk has served its purpose and I am grateful for the lessons it has taught me, namely that I am stronger than I thought I was and that I do believe in myself and what I can do.
In the final part of scrying, the focus moved to the spirit or the soul and this is where it got really interesting. The question asked in this part was: What aspect of Spirit is it time for me to work with? The answer I believe I received was Hekate but I don't know if this was separate to the other signs I had been receiving and realising or whether it was my mind wanting that to be the answer. During this time, the flame of the candle was almost constantly leaning to the left and again I'm unsure of whether this means that I need to follow my heart or whether there is something else I need to research and explore.
The next part of the ritual was another association with Beltane and its traditions that survive to this day: weaving threads together. During a lot of folk traditions to celebrate the May Day, there is some kind of pole that has ribbons or fabric attached to it that people (sometimes children) dance around and weave together. This is done because Beltane is about fertility and the May Pole combines both a masculine symbol (the pole itself) with feminine symbols (flowers and ribbons). But during the ritual I attended, the pole did not have a part to play. Instead, I had three differently coloured threads that I chose before the ritual even started and that I wove together relatively loosely during the final part. When I chose the colours, I had no idea what they would be for but they still seemed to fit with the mind, body and spirit connections. The three colours and what I associated them with were: green for the mind and a keyword of focus, pink for the body and the focal point of the chakras, and purple for spirit which had a key-phrase of "follow the call".
After weaving my threads together, I was invited to do one of the following: bury the weaving in a plant pot with some seeds so that the energies within the weaving could grow and prosper, place it on my Beltane altar as a reminder, bury it in a garden area as an offering to the earth with or without seeds, or hang it on the branch of a tree to allow it to be used by a bird for their nest. I chose to do the first one because I wanted to bring green witchery into my Craft (albeit using Cat Grass) and the future but also because it felt like the right choice for me.
But since I did this, I wanted to know a bit more about Cat Grass and I learned a few things that I hadn't known before: Cat Grass is part of the Oat family and because of this, it is associated with stability, endurance, persistence, spiritual growth, and abundance. I actually used the same pot of seeds with sigils on the outside as I did for the Ostara ritual, which symbolises to me that I am already starting to work in greater connection with the Earth.
I hope this inspires you to consider what you want to do for Beltane in the future and whether you'd like to explore any of the themes or ideas I've shared here.
Peace and love to all!!!
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