Let’s Talk Witch – Celebrating Beltane

Let’s Talk Witch – Celebrating Beltane

April 30 (Mayday is celebrated on the first of May) Northern Hemisphere / October 31 (Mayday is celebrated on the first day of November) Southern Hemisphere.

Beltane is one of the Greater Wiccan Sabbats and is usually celebrated on May 1st, but can be on the night of April 30th, depending on your tradition. Beltane is the time of the sacred marriage which honors the fertility of the Earth; it represents the divine union of the Lord and Lady.

This sabbath is primarily a fertility festival with Nature enchantments and offerings to wildlings and Elementals. The powers of elves and fairies are growing and will reach their height at Summer Solstice. A time of great Magic, it is good for all divinations and for establishing a woodland or garden shrine. The house guardians should be honored at this time.

Beltane is the second most important sabbath in the Witches’ calendar after Samhain. Again, it is an intercalary day when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thin. But whereas Samhain is a time for greeting and celebrating those who have gone before, Beltane is a time when more mischievous spirits may take advantage. For this reason the results of divinations performed at Beltane should always be approached cautiously, for the Gods also enjoy a sense of humour! Similarly, be very careful of working Magic at this time, for the phrase ‘Be careful what you wish for’ is even more appropriate around Beltane. Many a Witch has found a wish being granted very literally and has received what they asked for as opposed to what they wanted.

This is the festival of the fire God Bel. Bel has been worshipped under many names in all parts of the world for thousands of years; Bel, Beli, Balar, Balor, Belenus, Baal, and Belial. Traditionally, Beltane would be the night on which the old hearth fires were extinguished and the new were kindled from the Bel fire. These fires were placed on the top of hills and produced a chain of beacons which ran across the land. Cattle would be driven between the fires and people would leap over them to ensure fertility for the coming season. In Britain, the tradition of hilltop fires has seen something of a revival lately, although not necessarily associated with Beltane. Fire beacons were lit at the passing of Princess Diana and to mark the Millennium celebrations