🌸Bealtaine/ Beltane🔥
Irish. 🇮🇪
May eve ~ May 1st. (November 1st in the SouthernHemisphere)Some people celebrate throughout May as it’s the name for the month of May. Others when trees are in full leaf. (Whatever feels right)
Also called in Irish, céitemain, cetshamuin, cétshamhain, céiteamhna, Lá Bealtaine, May eve, May Day, The First. InManx it’s Boaltinn or Boaldyn. In Scottish call it Là Bealltainn
The name Bealtaine, pronounced “Byal- tin- eh or beh-yowl-thin-eh” (depending on dialect) Comes from the proto European bhel - ‘to burn, shine, flash’. And the old Irish ten ‘warm’ (nothing to do with Ba’al or Bel). The other name, Céitmain is from cét ‘ first (1st) and hain ‘summer’
Bealtaine is a liminal time of renewal and the star of summer. It’s also a time when the good folk* are more likely to interact with people so protective measures should be taken. The festival is a good time to renew and /or add protection of everything and anything. Traditionally during this time, cattle herders in the Irish communities would move their herds to summer pasture, called ‘Booley-ing’. Rental agreements are renewed, job fairs hels, fields prepped, and turf cut and processed, and cottage industry honored. (Whatever was considered women’s work like working with dairy and eggs) workers would get a week off starting the 1st Thursday of May, before the job fair.
Baeltane is the start of summer, during the festival anything goes and games held. Some of these games include trying to catch a pig (a game still played at some fairs today) races, foot , horse, donkey and sack, held. Wrestling, other stuff. One of the main rituals were the bonfires. The flames, smoke and ash have protective properties. Livestock would be driven between bonfires and people would go between or jump the fires. The hearth fire would be stuffed and relit with flames of the bonfires.
Holy wells were visited and a May bush is decorated and offerings made to the Good neighbors. Maybush might have evolved into May poles which are used in Germanic celebrations.
Beltane is the name of a Wiccan holiday too. They added the may lord and lady.
General associations
🔥 fire
🌱growth
☀️ light
🐛transformation 🦋
🕸️connection
🔮Divination
🐄 cattle
🧚♂️ Aos Sidhe
🧿Protection
Wells.
🍆Sex
Plants associated with Bealtaine are
Trees
🌿 Rowan,
hawthorn,
hazel,
holly,
sycamore
🌸 Spring flowers. Especially 🌼 yellow and white.
Primrose,
🌼marsh marigolds,
gourse,
mustard(upg)
Any spring flowers.
Foods as do with Bealtaine.🧈🥛🍦🧀
🧈 dairy
🥚 eggs
Folk practices.
🌱in Waterford (Ireland) people left a bowl of water out for a week before May Eve. It’s brought in and used to protect against colds.
🌼fairies try to steal butter Im May 1st so hide cinders under the churn to scare them away.
🌱wash your face in dew to help your complexion.
🌼The first water from the well is blessed, sprinkle it on your crops and food for luck and abundance.
🌱scatter yellow flowers in doorways and windows
Protective measures
Offering to local spirits
Rowan crosses/crosh cuirn (isle of man)
Tie flowers to things
Trivia
Wicca has a similar holiday, also called Beltane. It’s a combo of practices from Europe, like the May Pole from Germanic cultures. They also have the May lord and lady
The May Queen is from the British isle
No body actually knows what May Poles are supposed to be. There’s range from a giant penis to just a fun thing for people to do.
Roman Catholics decorate statues of the Virgin Mary. Alters in the Philippines are decorated with flowers.
Sources.
Irish pagan school. Bealtaine Fire Festival cheat sheet
Bealtaine Traditions of Ireland
Wikipedia . Beltane
