Sabbats: Beltane- May 1st
Also known as: Budding Moon(Ojibwe), Dancing Moon(Tunica), Hare Moon, Faery Moon, Flowering Moon(Ojibwe), Flower Moon, Milk Moon, Planting Moon(Dakota, Lakota), Planting Month(Cherokee), Egg Laying Moon(Cree), Sproutkale, Snake Moon(Catawba), Summer Moon(Inupiat), They Plant Moon(Oneida), Thrimilemonath & Winnemanoth
Nature spirts: Elves & faeries
Deities: Aphrodite, Artemis, Bast, Cernunnos, Diana, Flora, Horned God, Kali, Maia, Pan, Priapus & Venus
Animals: Cats, leopard & lynx
Birds: Dove, swallow & swan
Trees:Â Hawthorne & rowan
Herbs: Cinnamon, dittany of Crete, elder, mint, mugwort & thyme
Colors: Brown, green, orange, pink, red & yellow
Flowers: Foxglove, lily of the valley, rose & yarrow
Scents: Rose & sandalwood
Stones:Â Agate, amber, carnelian, emerald, garnet, malachite, rose quartz, ruby, tourmaline & tsavorite
Issues, intentions & powers:Â Divination, enchantment, fertility, love & well-being
Energy: Abundance, creativity, faeries & spirt contact, intuition, love, material gains, money, propagation, relationships & tenacity
May is commonly referred to as the Flower Moon and the name should be no surprise, because flowers spring forth across North America in abundance this month.
âą âFlower Moonâ has been attributed to Algonquin peoples, as confirmed by Christina Ruddy of The Algonquin Way Cultural Centre in Pikwakanagan, Ontario.
Mayâs Moon was also referred to as the âMonth of Flowersâ by Jonathan Carver in his 1798 publication, Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America: 1766, 1767, 1768 (pp. 250-252), as a likely Dakota name. Carver stayed with the Naudowessie (Dakota) over a period of time; his expedition covered the Great Lakes region, including the Wisconsin & Minnesota areas.
Known as: Beltaine, May day, Roodmas & Cethsamhain
Symbols: Eggs, flowers, faeries, faery circle(mushrooms), maypoles, may bush & priapic wands
Colors: Blue, brown, green, light pink, orange, rainbow spectrum, red, white & yellow
Oils/Incense: Frankincense, jasmine, lemon, lilac, mint, passion flower, pine, rose, tuberose, vanilla, woodruff & ylang ylang
Animals: Bee, cattle, frog goat & rabbit
Stones: Bloodstone, emerald, lapis lazuli, orange carnelian, rose quartz & sapphire
Food: Beltane cakes, cherries, dairy foods, green herbal salads, honey, lemonade, meade, May wine(made with white wine, lemon slices & woodruff milk), nuts, oatmeal cakes, oats, strawberries & sweets
Herbs/Plants: Almond, angelica, blackberry, burdock, cinquefoil, damiana, frankincense, gorse, ivy, meadowsweet, mint, mugwort, rosemary, saffron, satyrion root, St John's wort & woodruff
Flowers:Â bluebell, daisy, hibiscus, honeysuckle, lilac, lily of the valley. marigold, primrose, rose, rosehip, violet & yellow cowslips
Trees: Apple, ash, birch, cedar, elder, fir, hawthorn, juniper, linden, mesquite, oak, pine, poplar, rowan & willow
Goddesses: Areil, Aphrodite, Artemis, Astarte, Bona Dea, Chin-Hua-Fu-Jen, Cybele, Danu, Diana, DĂŽn, Eiru, Elen, Eostre, Fand, Flora, Freya, Frigg, Horae, Maia, Niwalen, Rauni, Rhea, Rhiannon, Sarasvati, Var, Venus & Xochiquetzal
Gods: Apollo, Baal, Bacchnalia, Balder, Belenus, Bele, Beltene, Cernunnos, Chung K'uei, Cupid, Eros, Faunus, Freyr, Grannus, The Green Man, Lares, Manawyddan, Odin, Pan,Pluto, Puck, Ra & Taranis
Tarot cards: The Empress, The Emperor, The Hight Priestess & The Magician
Spellwork: Abundance, birth, cooperation, Earth magick, growth, healing, health, love, manifestation, passion, pregnancy, protection, purification & union
Issues, Intentions & Powers: Agriculture, creativity, fertility, lust, marriage, the underworld/otherworld, pleasure, psychic ability, purification, sensuality, sex, visions, warmth & youth
âąDecorate & dance around a Maypole
âą Set up an outdoor altar & leave offerings to faeries
âą Prepare a ritual bath with fresh flowers
âą Light a bonfire or candles & dance around them
âą Set aside time for self care
âą Gather flowers & use them to decorate your home or altar
âą Prepare a feast to celebrate with friends/family
âą Bake bannocks, oat cakes or cookies
âą Hang wreaths decorated with ribbons & flowers
âą Start a wish book/box/journal
âą Participate in handfasting or romantic partnerships
âą Work on/ create a community garden
âą Go on a walk & give thanks to nature
âą Remove litter from outdoor areas like streams & banks
âą Plant flowers in your home, garden or neighborhood(check for non-invasive flowers for your area)
âą Cast fertility spells/ participate in sacred sex
âą Fill small baskets of flowers & small goodies, then leave them on your friends/neighbors doorstep as a gesture of goodwill & friendship
Beltane is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Also known as CĂ©tshamhain (âfirst of summerâ), it marked the beginning of summer & was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people & crops, and to encourage growth. (Today, Witches who observe the Wheel of the Year celebrate Beltane as the height of Spring.)
Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke & ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires & sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused & then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire.
These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food & drink would be offered to the aos sĂ. Doors, windows, byres & livestock would be decorated with yellow May flowers. They possibly did this because the yellow flowers evoked fire.
In parts of Ireland, people would make a May Bush: typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells & rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty & maintain youthfulness.
âą The aos sĂ (often referred to as spirits or faeries) were thought to be especially active at Beltane. Like Samhain, which lies directly opposite from Beltane on the Wheel of the Year, this was seen as a time when the veil between worlds was at its thinnest. At Samhain the veil between the worlds of the living & the dead is thin enough that we can connect & convene with our beloved dead, here at Beltane itâs the veil between the human world, & the world of faeries & nature spirits that has grown thin. Offerings would be left at the ancient faerie forts, the wells & in other sacred places in an effort to appease these nature spirits to ensure a successful growing season.
Rosalia or Rosaria was a festival of roses celebrated on various dates, primarily in May, but scattered through mid-July. The observance is sometimes called a rosatio (ârose-adornmentâ) or the dies rosationis, âday of rose-adornment,â & could be celebrated also with violets. As a commemoration of the dead, the rosatio developed from the custom of placing flowers at burial sites. It was among the extensive private religious practices by means of which the Romans cared for their dead, reflecting the value placed on tradition (mos maiorum, âthe way of the ancestorsâ), family lineage & memorials ranging from simple inscriptions to grand public works. Several dates on the Roman calendar were set aside as public holidays or memorial days devoted to the dead.
Roses had funerary significance in Greece, but were particularly associated with death & entombment among the Romans. In Greece, roses appear on funerary steles & in epitaphs most often of girls. Flowers were traditional symbols of rejuvenation, rebirth &memory, with the red & purple of roses & violets felt to evoke the color of blood as a form of propitiation
Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines
A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs
Llewellyn 2025 magical almanac Practical magic for everyday living
aianta.org/native-american-moon-names
Llewellyn's Sabbat Essentials: Beltane
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