In May, Beltane, Bealtaine, Baal’s Fire,
The flaming gorse Casting blossom to granite
May Day Eve, as the moon rises, fires everywhere light up the land. Hawthorn trees are tinkling with bells and resplendent with ribbon, their frothy white flowers accompanied in an aromatic chorus by wildflowers woven into their branches by ardent hands of villagers, hoping their offerings will secure them a fertile and fruitful summer...
For many, May 1st passes innocuously by and leaping over fires, a turn around the maypole and brandishing flaming torches to cries of ‘Fire! Burn the witches!’ don’t feature on many people’s to do lists over the Bank Holiday weekend. Yet, up until the nineteenth century, Britons up and down the land ritually partook in such behaviour to mark the passing of Beltane, an ancient Celtic fertility festival celebrated from moonrise April 29th to May 1st. The pastoral people of Britain depended largely on their livestock and crops, and Beltane was a time when people mustered together and performed rituals to protect their animals and people and to encourage the growth of their crops under the waxing power of the sun.
Many were wary of Beltane as a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld was diminished (much the same as Hallowe’en, or Samhein) and as such, much importance was given to the distribution of charms to ward off any mischievous spirits at large, stealing milk, cursing the cattle and bringing misfortune to all. To prevent this, flowers, including primrose, gorse and hazel, were placed on milking, dairy equipment and even the cows themselves for protection. These flowers were also placed in the doorways and windows of people’s homes. Hawthorn trees (or May trees) decorated with ribbons, flowers and painted shells were uprooted from woods and brought into towns for people to decorate and to enhance the town’s protection from witches and spirits. These precautions were not always enough, however. Beltane also appeared to excite the wrath of earthly folk and May Trees were outlawed during the Victorian era due to a growing trend for green-eyed thieves to steal the trees from neighbouring towns lest they be more handsome than their own.
The lighting of great bonfires, symbolising the sun’s growing energy, was at the heart of Beltane celebrations. All fires of home and hearth were extinguished and great bonfires were lit on nearby mountains and hills, and people from miles around would come and perform rituals around them. These fires were seen as sacred, and burning torches were carried home to reignite the hearth fire, thus blessing the house. Ashes from the bonfire were spread over livestock and crops, and it was common practice to drive herds of cattle around the fire or between two fires to secure them protection for the coming year. People too would leap over the fire to attract its good luck and protection. Primitive kindling methods were often used to start bonfires, created with the friction of two pieces of wood. Such ‘need-fires’ were perhaps deemed more potent for warding off any wayward spirits.
Alas, few of these rituals have lasted into modern times and after a slow decline most villages had abandoned the practice by the end of the nineteenth century. However, Beltane has seen something of a modern revival over the past decades, and Beltane celebrations held by neo-pagan groups, such as modern Druids, are growing in popularity. But of course you don’t have to be a Druid, Wiccan or new-ager to plaudit Beltane’s charms. In May, British countryside is at its most disarming, bluebells carpet the woods, wildflowers lather the hedgerows and banks, and birdsong rings through every woodland glade. As the Earth yawns, stretches and shakes off another long, dark winter, so do we, echoing our ancestors’ sentiments as we welcome the sun and warmth back into our lives.
Merry Mayday and Happy Beltane!
