Beltane Blessings

Light your fires as Liz Ramos, under the supervision of Mr Darcy the cat, discusses the coming Beltane holiday

Blessings witches! With Beltane approaching, now is the perfect time to get your Sabbat supplies and plan your celebration! Beltane is on May first, and is a celebration marking the center point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. Beltane is a Gaelic festival, and represents the movement of Spring into Summer.

When many think of Beltane, they think of beautiful florals and pastel colors – flower crowns and brightly colored May pole ribbons come to mind. Other imagery includes bonfires, dancing, and nature offerings. In past and current celebrations, maidens danced around the May pole to bring fertility and abundance to their lives. Flower crowns are crafted and shared with friends and family. In current celebrations, many areas have vendors and food trucks in their celebrations.

When celebrating at home, foods that honor Beltane are dairy, fresh fruits and vegetables (particularly red berries like strawberries to honor the fires), oats, and roasted vegetables. Oat cakes and bannock are popular foods made at this time. For me, I would probably make a nice strawberry salad with some arugula, feta, and a lovely raspberry vinaigrette.  Colors to decorate with are red, white, green, yellow, gold, pink, and lavender. These colors are all about fire, power, abundance, love, fertility, energy, and sweetness. If you are looking to renew vows or have a spiritual based wedding ceremony, this is also a great day to do a hand fasting.

As with all celebrations, offerings to deities and spiritual forces are a part of the festivities. These align with the foods you’ll be making, so make an extra portion and offer it. You can also offer flowers and shiny trinkets, especially if you work with the Fae Folk. If you work with them, you will want to leave offerings out on May Eve (April Thirtieth) as well as Beltane. Other offerings can include mini nature wreaths, dandelion honey, and painted eggs. If you work with deities, offerings can be left to Brigid, Pan, Aphrodite, Freya, Belenus, Gaia, and The Green Man. Candles, liquor, tea, or other offerings can also be given, just like other celebrations.

Whether you plan to go to a larger community event or have a quiet celebration at home, I wish you a fruitful and love filled Beltane.

Elizabeth Ramos is a magic practitioner who specializes in nature focused, healing, protective, and ancestral magics. She is a Reiki Master-Teacher and lives with her husband and their several Feline Leukemia Positive kitties in Upstate New York.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.