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Beltane 2022

Apr 27, 2022

Beltane 2022
by Shannon Hamilton

Happy Beltane! I’m continuing with my series on little mini rituals that I can do to celebrate and honor the turning of the Wheel of the Year.

What is Beltane?

Beltane is celebrated on May 1st and is the 3rd festival of the Druid year, a time for the celebration of the sun and the fertile land below. It occurs at the midpoint between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. During this time, the warmth of the sunshine is getting stronger (in the northern hemisphere) as well as the growth, vitality, and fertility that it promises. It is sensual, creative, and a fertile time to grow anything you wish. 

It is said that the elemental beings and the fey are active and prancing about. Gnomes are joyous for the seeds they have so protected are growing strong. Elves are thrilled because they now are in charge of the growth. Fey are delighted because they are watching the beauty of soul intent flourish.

Craft your own Beltane Ritual

Here are some ideas that may help spark inspiration within you:

  • Do just one thing that brings you pleasure, with the intention of basking in that pleasure.
  • Offer a blessing to your body with water, scented oil, or lotion. If using water, pour a small amount on the ground as an offering.
  • Create a sacred space for a tiny altar and place something on it that symbolizes Beltane. I have an acorn and flower petals in a small dish next to my monitor on my desk. 
  • Plant seeds, be in the garden or simply walk around the garden center of a local store. Last year I purchased a small grow kit that included a tiny pot, some seeds, and a soil puck for all for a few dollars. 
  • Take a nature walk and notice what is blooming and notice and honor what had to occur, be let go in order for new life to birth and sprout.
  • Create, create, create, make art, sculpt, color, paint, crochet, cook, bake
  • Make flower crowns or simply put a flower behind your ear or tucked into your pocket
  • Make an offering gift for the fey – a bit of milk and honey, a cookie crumble or a shiny bauble of gratitude
  • If you can, safely kindle a fire or light a special candle dedicated to Beltane. Meditate on cleansing and purification and the ways in which your life is blossoming and blooming with the turn of the wheel. 
  • Use the color yellow in your personal space, eat a banana or drink lemonade. Yellow flowers are a symbol of Beltane, and yellow represents radiance, joy, and positivity.
  • Take some time to ask yourself and contemplate the seeds you are planting with your thoughts, emotions and actions. Do you need to shift anything?
  • Put up a maypole and weave the ribbons with a dance or just watch a video performance of The Royal Ballet La Fille mal gardée – The Maypole Dance Act I scene II (The Royal Ballet) 
  • Pull cards for an oracle reading

An oracle reading

Take a sacred pause to feel this energy of spring, not just the blossoming and promise, but the sensation of things breaking and separating. Use the questions that call to you.

  1. How are you growing?
  2. What is changing for you?
  3. What is falling away to reveal a tenderness in need of protection and nourishment?

Or

  1. What is renewing and awakening in you?
  2. Are you open to change? (upright = yes, reversed = no)
  3. What support is available for you?

May bountiful Beltane blessings fill your day! 
Shannon