Beltane
May Day/Walpurgisnacht - April 30 - May 1 Beltane is very similar to Ostara, but it also celebrates a more mature love, marriage, and fertility. Many choose to conceive children at this time or otherwise enjoy themselves sexually. Nature is bursting at the seams with energy, beauty, sexuality, and excitement. To match this, Beltane festivals are high energy with a lot of dancing and bonfires. Many will dance and weave a maypole, but if one is not present, it’s perfectly acceptable to link hands and dance around a tree. It’s the peak of Spring, the top of the fertile season, and some may already feel Summer in the air. Popular Symbols for this holiday are flowers, a maypole, beeswax candles, brooms, honey, symbols of genitalia, offerings for faeries, wreaths or flower crowns, bees, bonfires, and a cauldron of flowers. Color Associations - Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Brown, White, Silver Tarot Cards associated with Beltane are The Sun and The Star. Crystals to use on your altar or for spells on this holiday could be Aventurine, Bloodstone, Carnelian, Emerald, Jasper, Malachite, Rose Quartz, Sapphire, Sun Stone Animal energies to channel could include rabbits, goats, cows, swans, swallows, deer. Herbs and Plants - Birch, Bluebell, Crocus, Daisy, Dandelion, Hawthorn, Honeysuckle, Mint, Mugwort, Rose, Rosemary, Tulips, Violets, Wildflowers Spells good to perform on this holiday are those Abundance, Blessings, Fertility, Joy, and Sex Magic. Activities to help get in the Beltane spirit and celebrate are lighting a bonfire, leaving offerings for faeries, dancing (especially around a may pole), handfasting ceremonies, love spells, child conception. You could also decorate cookies and candles with dried herbs and flowers! Having a picnic and taking a ritual bath are two other relaxing things to do to ease your way into the holiday. Take time to really take in everything that’s going on in the moment and really appreciate it. Meditate, braid flowers into your hair, make daisy chains or flower crowns. Make a wish box and filling it with goals and wishes for the summer. Drink some mead, bake a cake, indulge yourself and enjoy the holiday! image source - natureandbeauty.tumblr.com
