Bonfires: The Beltain fires were fundamental to the ancient celebrations. The Celts built two fires created from the nine sacred woods from nine sacred trees and had to be kindled in special ways. Villagers would traditionally travel into the woods to gather the nine sacred woods needed for the Beltain fires.
The fires celebrated the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth and would protect, heal, and purify anything or anyone that passed by or jumped over. Cattle were driven through them to clean off their ticks and mites, to gain immunity from disease. People also jumped over the fires to symbolize burning off their past. It is said if you leap the Beltain fires with your lover, a child will be born the following year. You can make a small purifying bonfire: build it with special twigs or have each of your friends bring a contribution. If indoors, you can make a fire by putting a candle in a central place. You can use a green candle to represent the cleansing flame of a traditional Beltain fire. By jumping over the fire or candle you will have performed your own purification ritual. You can use a green candle to represent the cleansing flame of a traditional Beltain fire.
Ashes: Use the ashes from your Beltain fire to spread around the perimeter of your home for protection and abundance through out the remainder of Spring and Summer.
Rekindle the Hearth Flame: It is an old tradition to extinguish all the lights and flames in a house to light one community fire and then relight the hearth fires at the end of the night. Turn off all your lights and burn a lone candle through the night, then relight your altar candles in the morning.
Purify with flame and smoke: Cattle were driven between sacred flames that the smoke might purify them and keep disease away. Take a pair of candles and an incense stick, sit between them, and purify yourself for the coming summer,
Maypoles: Maypoles are erected as male magic phallic poles that pounded into the ground, mother nature, and are decorated through ribbon and dance. The pole also represents the movement of energy between the earth and the sky. The ancient Celts used the Maypole as the centerpiece for dancing and fertility rites aimed fostering fecundity in their crops and in their livestock. The earliest records of the ritual describe villagers choosing a birch tree from a local forest, trimming its branches, and then planting the trimmed pole deep in mother earth to fructify her womb.
They would then attach colorful streamers and flower garlands to the pole and weave the streamers around the pole as they danced. Maypoles rise to the heavens lengths of colored ribbon fluttering in the morning sunlight.
Costumed lords and ladies step quick in around weaving love and harmony as the sun goes down. The maypole dance is symbolic of the union of the goddess and the god.
If a pole is not available, a tree in the forest can also be used to substitute.
Wishing Tree: The hawthorn tree is most closely associated with Beltain and with fairies, who sometimes grant wishes. If you believe in fairies, Beltain is a good time to leave our food and other treats for them in your garden. The traditional way to ask for a wish is to leave strips of coloured cloth or ribbon on the tree. Each ribbon represents a wish. You can symbolize the hawthorn tree with a potted plant. Choose cloth of an appropriate color. Leave a gift for the spirit of the tree and, when your wish has been granted, return and leave another gift to say thank you. Examples are blue for protection, pink for romance, purple for knowledge, green for prosperity.
Ribbon Spell: Another way to celebrate would be to tie colored ribbons to your trees with blessings and intentions written on them. This will let them be released by the wind to the universe which will help it come true.
| Red | Love and Passion |
| White | Peace and Harmony |
| Green | Good Fortune and Wealth, Prosperity |
| Purple | Spiritual Growth, Knowledge |
| Yellow | Joy |
| Pink | Friendship, Romance |
| Blue | Wisdom and Healing, Protection |
| Orange | Success |
Ribbon Beltain Wands: Create a Beltain wand as a miniature representation of the Maypole that you can carry.
Beltain Fairy Ribbon: You can either use a plain bracelet you own or a piece of ribbon already tied in a circle. You will attach streamers of color that will hang loosely from the bracelet portion and which can be used to twirl while dancing.
Write your own healing ribbon spell: The most powerful spells are those that you write yourself because they come from your intuition. Create your own magic! You have now reached a stage in your spell casting where you can write your own spells. To do this, first establish your intent. Next, prepare a list of what you will need to cast your spell. Choose the specific time to cast your spell. Is a certain day of the week needed? A certain moon phase? Decide what will be most effective. Draw upon your instincts when writing a spell. If you are creating a spell to heal another, choose your correspondences with special care. Think about the person you are treating when selecting the ingredients, considering their astrological chart and elemental rulers, and use healing colors and lots of light in the spell. 2 of the ribbons might be blue, a good color for general remedies as it resonates with the emotions and the healing element of water. Another ribbon may be green, the color of nature and recuperation. Yellow ribbons draw upon solar power. Herbs and crystals can also be used in healing spells and can be bound to a spell bag, poppet, or healing bundle. You may also invoke a healing goddess such as Brigid, Minerva, or the Virgin Mary to help you empower your spell. On another note, you can invoke your own personal deity for power as well.
Take a walk in field and forest: The Fey are known to travel on Beltain, so greet them in the fields and forests. Take something along to offer to them and just feel yourself in nature. Visit both forest and field to know earth’s balance.
Plant some flowers and burn hawthorn: This is a time of fertility and new beginnings. Starting a garden is a great way to celebrate. Hawthorn, marigold, oak, and rowan are associated with Beltain.
Hawthorn especially is associated with Beltain. Its branches were used orgiastically and in maypole dances. Dublin boys burned a hawthorn bush on May morning. Place hawthorn blossoms on the altar.
Roots of St. John’s Wort were gathered at sunrise on May Day. It brings good luck to the family for its undertakings, especially those begun on that day. Hang the root up in the house on May Day to keep out evil spirits.
You can also braid flowers into your hair to celebrate.
Call up family and/or friends: Beltain is a time for one last get together with those you love before men head to the fields and women to the hills with the herds. Draw those you love near. If you happen to love one of the friends more than others, take the opportunity to give them some hawthorn blooms as well.
Handfastings: Pagan handfastings occur at this time.
Headdresses: For your celebrations, wearing green symbolizes fertility. Make a wreath of flowers to wear on your head to symbolize the Queen of the May and a wreath of green leaves to symbolize the Lord of the Greenwood. Get up before the dawn and then, wearing your celebratory clothes and headdresses, enjoy the Beltaine sunrise and the start of the summer season.
Meditate: Tend to sacred wells and springs, meditating on the healing and life giving properties of sacred places and how these reflect the goddess.
Sacrificial Cakes: At the Beltain fires, cakes were prepared that related to sacrificial burning. One part of the cake was blackened and the cake broken up according to how many people were present. The cakes were ceremonially shared out; the person who received the blackened piece of cake was the Beltain ‘carline’ – they would be devoted or offered up. The company would then make a show of pretending to toss this person onto the fire and others would rescue them. This role represents a symbolic scapegoat, so after the ceremony be extra nice to your carline to thank them for taking on this role for you.
Watch the sunrise and bathe your face in dew- On May morning, watch the sunrise and bathe or wash your face in dew which is magical on May morning and said to confer beauty.
Sing to the sun at noon: Sing when the sun is at its height in the sky, honoring its transit and brightness. Invite its rays upon your brow and remind it of your devotion. It doesn’t matter what song you choose; just make it yours!
Decorate your altar: Place hawthorn flowers on your altar. An orange or green candle can be placed in a cauldron. Light the candle and place floral offerings around it.
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
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