Beltane (May Day) Festival

Happy May Day!

I hope that everyone had the chance to do something to celebrate this beautiful May 1st whether it be delivering a May basket to a friend/neighbor, dancing around a Maypole, or igniting a Beltane Bonfire.

We just got back from flying kites (an April activity in states located south of MN) and delivered a few homemade May Flowers and treats to neighbors before bedtime. It was a good day!

About eight years ago I was invited to a Beltane Celebration by a woman who was a certified spiritual director. We had a lovely time walking her labrynth and tying prayer ribbons on a prayer tree on a day very similar to today. One of these days I'd like to host a Beltane Bonfire!

Here's articles on Beltane Celebrations from the Wholelistic Healing and Wiccan pages of About.com (a subsideriary of the New York Times)

Beltane Celebrations
Beltane, or May Day is the fertility festival marking the beginning of summer. People often decorate their neighbor's doorsteps with fresh flowers (hence the tradition of May Day Baskets), enjoy picnics with their families, and dance around a maypole to insure fertility for the coming year. This represents the Goddess in ascendancy as the Mother, and the death of the God after the conception of the Divine Child.What is your favorite May Day activity?I haven't received a May basket in years. The last time it happened I opened up the front door to answer the doorbell. Of course no one was there. But I could hear a small child's giggle around the side of the house. Fewer and fewer people celebrate May Day anymore. I wish that wasn't true. One May Day when I was in grade school I remember cutting strips of colored paper (green & pink) and with a little bit too much glue constructed a sorta handsome basket. My mother helped me rummage through her cupboards looking for some special treats. We found some minature marshmellows and some raisins to tuck inside my basket along with a handful of freshly picked violets from along the creek behind our house. I was the the girl with the giggles that year.My lilacs are in bloom here in Iowa. They would fill a basket just fine!I think I"ll go outside for awhile... >>> leaving now to run barefoot in the grass.

Lighting The Beltane Fires"May Day," by Sarah Teasdale.

One of the best-known Celtic traditions for Beltane is the lighting of the Beltane fires. These huge fires were set to welcome back the sun for the light (summer) half of the year. All the hearth fires were extinguished on May Eve, and then they were relit the next day from the Beltane fires.
The fires were started with nine sacred woods, each with various magickal properties. People would gather and dance around the fires through the night, jumping over the flames to ensure a successful and prosperous summer.
Birch - The Goddess, or female energy
Oak - The God, or male energy
Hazel - Knowledge and wisdom
Rowan (Mountain Ash) - Life
Hawthorne - Purity and fairy magick
Willow - Death, sacred to Hecate
Fir - Birth and rebirth
Apple - Love and family
Vine - Joy and happiness

These 9 woods are mentioned in the Wiccan Rede:
"Nine woods in the cauldron go, burn them quick and burn them slow."

Some longer versions of the Rede include lines about all 9 woods:
"Nine woods in the Cauldron go, burn them fast and burn them slow.Birch wood in the fire goes to represent what the Lady knows.Oak in the forest, towers with might in the fire it brings the God's insight.Rowan is a tree of power causing life and magick to flower.Willows at the waterside stand ready to help us to the Summerland.Hawthorn is burned to purify and to draw faerie to your eye.Hazel-the tree of wisdom and learning- adds its strength to the bright fire burning.White are the flowers of Apple tree that brings us fruits of fertility.Grapes grow upon the vine giving us both joy and wine.Fir does mark the evergreen to represent immortality seen.But - Elder is the Lady's tree burn it not or cursed you'll be."