We are nearing the pinnacle of Spring! I long for the day when I can have the most dreamy aromatic sensual Beltane feast and celebration. However creating visual boards is the first step towards that reality.
I did go overboard with some of the selections with this one, like I tried to be more Honest in my Imbolc and Ostara board (like as if I were to actually have a feast and constructed a menu) but this one I did not care about portions or the amount of dishes present, I just threw everything in there.
As I have decided to update my 2016 fantasy feasts Beltane was next after Ostara and Imbolc. These visualization posts have helped me manifest some incredible celebrations and gatherings and as my tastes have gotten more extravagant and complicated its time for an upgrade.
In the read more there are the recipe links and additional explanations on personal symbolism and of course the image credits! I also always plan my feasts to be vegan inclusive for those with dietary restrictions but also aim for all the food to be somewhat local which matters in these seasonal feasts since it's celebrating local nature. Anyway there is something for everyone here.
1: Starters
Since we are in still in Spring of course there will be a crudité board, yet unlike Ostara which was refreshing and green, this would show all the floral extravagance of spring from the zesty radishes, edible flowers (Romanesco broccoli is technically a flower!) to floral seasonal toppings. To make the dip vegan for all to enjoy I would go for an Oatley crème fraiche dipping sauce I would infuse with some olive oil and chive blossoms. Along with this I would love to have the delicacy of chive butter snails with chive flowers. Not everyone would be adventurous for snails but there are a lot of other ideas here for starters such as the Creamy Garlic Scape with Chive Flower Pesto tart. Or the Purple Pansy Salad Rolls which would be a nice addition to the crudité board. Lastly I just love the presentation of the butterfly sandwiches. I'd imagine them to be like the little cucumber or spiced egg sandwiches you'd get at high tea.
If I were to slap all of these dishes into one feast I would mostly have the crudité board with the scape tart and the snails. I am unsure about the rolls and sandwiches because it would just be really filling before the main course! But they deserve to be seen haha.
Floral Crudite Board
Creamy Garlic Scape + Chive Flower Pesto and Asparagus Tart Recipe
Purple Pansy Salad Rolls Recipe
Snails with Chive Flowers
Tea Party Butterfly Sandwiches Source
2: Sides
The bread choice would be chive rolls. To accompany this would be floral compact butter. A lot of flowers are actually more savory and salady then fragrant and sweet. Even some of the more aromatic blooms have a vegetal undertone to their flavor which is why the violet vinaigrette caught my eye. That would definitely accompany the artichoke veggie main where guests would be able to dip each artichoke petal in. Lastly there will definitely be asparagus locally grown as they taste incredible when fresh out the garden. The ones the local garden I volunteer at taste so aromatic yet also slightly meaty? It's hard to describe but incredible sensual like the same way truffles have a somewhat "meaty" or umami flavor to them but are very aromatic.
3: Mains
The Main two dishes would be an aromatic duck served with a side of spring onions sliced into blooms. Duck also has such a fragrant and rich flavor to it that would accompany the floral salads and dishes very well. The vegan option would be roasted artichoke that guests can dip into the floral vinaigrette.
Roasted Beer Duck Recipe
Garlic Butter Charred Artichoke Recipe
Red Onion Flowers with Rosemary Recipe
Roasted Onion Flowers
4: Desserts
Ok this is definitely where I have gone overboard but there were too many dishes to choose from which made the selection difficult so I just included all of them for the visuals.
If I were to host this feast I would realistically just pick 1 or 2 of these things (A cake and a tart) but for each sabbat I have a special dessert, a tart and a simple cake in mind so it would really depend on how many people are attending. For the special dish I would love a floral jelly, a floral panna cotta or floral jello cake like with blossoms or violets. The tart is rhubarb (I know in some regions rhubarb is very summer-y but mid-April is when it's season starts here in the UK) and the pound cake would be rose buttercream or violet sugar. I do love how buttercream can be easily shaped into flowery shapes so I’d be leaning towards that.
I just love the complexity and versatility of floral desserts. You do have to be a little familiar with what you're doing because floral flavors can easily go from sensual and enchanting to soap/perfume getting squirted in your mouth. Some flavors like rose and jasmine are very safe but others like lavender and violet can get edgy. A great way to balance those flavors out is adding honey as it balances it with a nectary undertone which makes you feel like you are eating delicious butterfly food instead of a block of soap.
Lastly the Wondersmith's beautiful cake is very summer solstice vibe I will admit, but I really loved the presentation of butterflies and the elderflower blooms which are starting to bud around this time of year anyway so I thought it was worth adding in. Usually I would not include anything like strawberries in something like this as I feel they peak closer to summer solstice and are more symbolic to summer than spring for me and the region I live in currently.
Rhubarb Rose-twisted Tart
The Wondersmith Elderflower Rhubarb Fairy Cake
Lilac & Violet Panna Cotta Tart
Lavender Lemon Sugar Pound Cake
Rose Buttercream Cupcakes
Cherry Blossom Jelly No bake Cheesecake
Buttercream Pansy Cake
Black Sesame Swirl Cake
5: Drinks
Every beverage of course would be infused with more blooms and nectary flavors. I would love to serve fleurette cocktails upon arrival with fairy floss in them that would melt down upon pouring. Fleurette cocktails are pink prosecco, st germain (or elderflower syrup), rose water and a flower garnish. There would be so many options for non alcoholic drinks such as Lavender lemonade, floral teas and of course I would love to have a blooming tea being served in a glass pot during the main course.
Honorable Mentions:
Rose Tea
Turkish Delight Cocktail
6: Treats
Ok finally last part!! This would probably be omitted from a real feast I would host because we would probably get our sweet-tooths satisfied by dessert, however I always feel like including this part as treats always made holidays more memorable for me as a kid. Each holiday had its specific candy or snacks and they were like memorable tokens you acquired and snacked on days later after the celebration. Especially the candy!! If there were kids present these treats would definitely be given in little goody bags maybe in flower pots or planters as buckets to encourage them to grow something for their garden in them.
Some ideas for treats would be glazed sugar cookies (the butterfly ones), home made pixie sticks with edible glitter, rose pops (I also love the idea of dressing up regular lollipops as flowers), rose Turkish delights, violet candies and gummy worms. The only savory treat I can think of would be like kale chips.
Rose Cake Pops recipe
Butterfly Iced Cookies
Homemade Pixie Sticks
Homemade Rose Turkish Delights
Leone Violets
___________________
Please share your thoughts with me!! Tell me about the recipes you like to have on this day or what you associate with spring. I feel like my approach to Beltane may be different from what most of the community does but its because it's often a reflection of the nature that surrounds me. I grew up this time of the year being bombarded (literally I was surrounded by magnolia trees) with flowers so Beltane has always been a sensual floral flirty fairy festival to me.
_________________
Image Credits:
Beltane Tea by Julia Nikitina
Butterfly Animation Gif
Embracing by: James R Eads
Floral Tablescape
Bigger Floral Tablescape
Rose Lanterns
Misty Forest with Bluebells
Magnolia Tree
Mushroom Lantern
Floral candles and Lilac
Dessert tablescape
This was possibly one of the best celebrations I've had in a while. It was as perfect as it could be especially with the restrictions. I was so glad I got to see friends and celebrate High Spring to the fullest.
On the Eve most of my friends were free. It's nice cause it was more of my chaotic witch friends that love a good party so it was a great vibe for the eve. We met on Primrose Hill (it’s so beautiful in spring and has a fairy mound vibe) and first had a picnic. I made Gin infused with yuzu and honey and to be mixed with 3 mixers (just in case someone wanted nonalcoholic drinks there were options)- Rose and Rhubarb juice, Hawthorne and Violet iced tea and Elderflower Lemonade.
I also made Rose and Violet buttercream edible glitter cookies which my DUMBASS LEFT AT HOME!! I WANTED TO DIE!! but I also bought truffle chips, caterpillar gummy candies, these marshmallow cereal bars (like if rice krispie treats and magic marshmallows combined.) and these bloomed purple tender stem broccolis from the garden I volunteer at with tzatziki sauce.
My friends bought lovely things from foraged fried nettle crisps. (There was so much weed by the way so the endless snacks were amazing) and the nettle would do some sort of crazy hairy prickle dance in your mouth before you chewed it full. It was a maddening sensory experience. There were also these INCREDIBLE powdered homemade fresh donuts from a bakery filled with either white chocolate or jam and one friend cooked jasmine rice with noodles and kimchi which was very sustaining.
When everyone got there and got settled, I revealed I wrote everyone a love poem. Oh my goddd I cannot describe the energy of that moment but there was like so much love and exciting tension it was like being on mdma. After every poem I read (on these lil' cut out flower cards on construction paper) people were like cheering and toasting to the person. We were pouring prosecco with elderflower and toasting to everyone in the group after their poem was read. It was the most emotionally intense but beautiful ceremony (I strongly suggest everyone just write a love poem to their friends.)
After that we danced until the night. The weather spirits were being so kind cause it was supposed to rain all day on Friday and Saturday and there was even a big ominous raincloud over the hill but we did a lot of incense offerings and asked them if we can have some sunlight and they DELIVERED like it was so magical. The rain cloud moved on and the clouds parted and we danced under a deep rose sunset sky with lavender clouds. It even felt like it got warmer. As the sun set we did one last ritual which was burning wishes in my cauldron so I could later add it to the compost to fertilize the soil. I bought some minerals which change the color of the flame so it was like a fairy fire of green purple and blue. (Also I am only going to take the burnt pieces of paper and not the minerals to add to the earth.)
Anyway the Eve was EVERYTHING I wanted. The company, the magic, the food, the music, the dancing, the weed (omg we were dancing in a circle in a forest clearing and every so often a blunt would be passed to you from both sides I was like YES this is the fairy energy I need). We danced until the police kicked us out of the park but honestly it was ok cause it was super late.
On Beltane Day of course I was exhausted but I met up with some witch friends I haven't seen since 2019. We went to green park in an area that was so beautiful and reminded me of Alice in wonderland. There were still so many trees in bloom with white blossoms. When the wind blew we were showered in their confetti. I bought a bouquet of roses to make a protective circle around our picnic and we burned Jasmine and Rose incense.
We just had a great chat and picnic lunch with spring onion tart my friend made and drank this love potion with rose hydrosol she made as well and did tarot. My other friend made these beautiful persian rose and pistachio cookies. We lit a love candle I bought in a magic shop in Amsterdam.
Afterwards I went home and made a small feast of roasted jasmine duck and the rest of the tenderstem broccoli with my floral buttercream cookies and hawthorn and violet iced tea. I burned the rest of the love candles I bought to the ceremonies and charged them with extra energy as they burned down. After I got so high though I just listened to music and forgot to watch Fern Gully which I am doing today lol.
If you have made it this far let me know how was your Beltane?? I ideally wish I could have my own place to have a ceremony then a big feast for everyone and then a dance party after. I feel like if I keep visualizing it it can happen haha.
Beltane draws near and the flowers are in bloom! In honor of the sabbat coming I wanted to make an exchange. If you send an ask my way (it could be anything from witchcraft, spring, Beltane or in general) add a flower emoji in it 🌷🌸🌼 and I will do a floramancy reading for you in exchange.
To gain a favor from the fae, an offering must be made ;) ✨
Floramancy is experimental divination where I use this divining board to channel a message from a flower to you. I cast pressed flowers like runes across the board and I’ve been doing readings for my friends all morning!
I’ll be celebrating the Spring Cross-quarter May 5th! (Technically most of the day of the 6th cause It’ll be a full day off, since my gf works ‘til 5pm Friday).
I already got a whole bunch of Cheese for a cheese platter. Gonna be researching more of the food correspondences to plan out a meal. Going to probably play with my Tarot/Oracle decks. And Make some tea (Finally checked out the local tea shop in my town. And I’m so sad I didn’t go sooner!)
Other than that right now it’s just research.
