Honoring our Ancient Rites – Celebrate Beltane

Greetings, everyone! What a fine and glorious spring we are being blessed with here in Virginia. We imagine the same is true for you, wherever you may call home.

We want to encourage you to take some time out this weekend to celebrate May Day, otherwise known as the ancient pagan fertility celebration called Beltane, or Calen Mai.

Should you desire to learn more, there are infinite resources available with just a little research, either through books or the internet or, if you are very fortunate, through word of mouth from a Wise One. However the information finds you, it is a sacred time that has been honored for thousands of years and we here at Backyard Revolution are keeping the fires shining.

The celebration of May 1^st, or Beltane, is one of the most important festivals the year. The word Beltane literally means, “shining fire.” This is one of the most exciting festivals of the Wheel of the year. It is also one of the only holidays that is usually celebrated in the light of day.

The collecting of spring flowers is one of the popular customs of this day. For thousands of years, people would go into the fields to collect the pretty flowers and exchange them. Townspeople would often proceed through the village streets putting flowers on all the houses and buildings. People inside the homes would offer them wonderful food and goodies to eat as sort of a spring version of “trick or treat.”

Another benchmark tradition of this holiday is the Maypole. In tradition, a fir was used. The young, unwed men would go to the forest and return with the tree that would be fashioned into the pole. The pole was brought to the center of the village to be guarded through the night until the first day of May. On that day, the people would come and dance around the maypole clockwise to bring fertility and good luck. Later, brightly colored ribbons were woven around the pole by the dancers as they wove around each other. This symbolizes the balance of masculine and feminine energies and the duality of life. The ribbons would then be removed and kept in a safe place to be burned in the Beltane fires of next year. This action represents the old dying to give birth to the new.

Fertility is a central theme of Beltane. The people lived in close connection with the Earth. To have food to eat, the crops and the beasts of the fields would have to be fertile. In the time of the ancients, this was a life and death matter. For this reason, we have a number of holidays and rituals that are connected with fertility. The maypole is connected to this theme by way of the view point of it being a phallic symbol.
Another fertility representation is the custom of jumping the cauldron. Couples wishing to conceive children will jump the cauldron together. Fertility of all areas of life are invoked during this holiday as well as sexual fertility. This is the day to laugh and banter about having the most joyous of times!

This following passage comes to us through the Earth Path School in Nelson County, Virginia:

Calen Mai (Beltane) is an ancient Welsh holiday signifying the beginning of summer — the beginning of the growing season. At this time of the year the world is ablaze with the vibrant energy of exuberant growth and fertility.

The Solar celebration is held on May 1 and the Lunar celebration is the first full moon when the Sun is in Taurus. Beltane (May 1) celebrates the midpoint between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Calan Mai is a time of the year when the door between the worlds is thin and divination and connection with the spirits is heightened.

As we are entering Summer, the Light Half of the Year gains ascendancy and battles enacting the tension between Summer and Winter were staged. In these mock battles– as in the natural order of things at this time of year — the forces of Summer would prevail and there would be much feasting and joyous celebration.

Maypole Dancing is traditionally linked to Beltane as a fertility rite. The Beltane Fires were lit and couples jumped the fires to assure fertility. As herds were put out to pasture, cattle were driven between two fires to protect and purify them from any disease.

Calen Mai is a celebration of the good health and fertility of humans, animals, and the land. It was a Great Festival as the fertility of the land — the Earth’s Bounty — dictated the ability to survive.

Calen Mai is a time for us to joyously celebrate our good health, good community, and good connections. Transformationally this is a time to bring into our light the wisdom we have gained from the deepest depths of our consciousness. It is a time to not just see our wisdom but to also to make an external manifestation of our inward knowing.

During this Light Half of the year, our work is to make real — bring into external manifestation– the seeds of our intentions. Calen Mai presents us with the fertile energy to act by shifting and changing our outward manifestations. There is wonderful, joyous energy to bring to fruition our inward hopes and dreams.

Here are some other traditional Beltane rituals you might like to try for this special day:

• Maypole dancing — more associated with May Day for most people but a Beltane ritual all the same! The maypole is a large staff of about 20 feet placed in the ground with long ribbons attached. The merry-​makers would then dance with a ribbon in their hand, men going in one direction and women in the other. As they wove in and out of one another the ribbons would cover the pole in an intricate pattern. It’s a ritual related to fertility (which originates from the Germanic tradition) and in the UK it is also associated with Morris dancers, who’s dancing is also associated with fertility rites.

• You can also use your own representation of the may pole such as a branch (fallen not cut) from an Oak or Hazel tree.

• Washing your face in morning dew — tradition has it that it keeps you beautiful all year. So get up early!

• Bonfire or fire of some kind — Beltane is to many a fire festival and one version of the origin of the name is ‘bale fires’ which is due to some of the agricultural work at that time of year. It is also connected to the Celtic God Bel, who was honoured on this day. It is part of many Wiccan practices to jump over a small bonfire or a candle flame. Don’t catch on fire though!

• Flowers, particularly hawthorn — baskets of flowers were made to make the most of the colourful array of nature’s gifts. So as part of your Beltane ritual, make a basket of flowers to give away as a gift.
  Incense and herbs — angelica, frankincense, hawthorn, lilac and rose are associated to Beltane rituals.

• A chalice for fertility — this symbolises the womb. You can also include a dagger for male symbolism. Dip the dagger into the chalice as part of your Beltane ritual or altar work.

• Colours — white, dark green, red are used to symbolise both the fertility rites and also, because of the return of the sun to the earth, both spring and summer seasons are associated.

• Red and white ribbons to braided around a wand to place on your altar.

• Lastly, binding is also symbolically very important as this is a time for marriage. You can also use your Beltane ritual to bind your desires to you but bear in mind you will be stuck with them so choose wisely!

Choose Healthfully AND Frugally!

The harvesting of nature’s bounty has begun as we see fresh fruits and vegetables appearing on our market shelves, our farmer’s markets, AND our own gardens.

When you “grow your own” there is no need to monitor intake – we’ve even come to making a meal out of a visit to the garden…at least while the tomatoes are in abundance. However, if you are buying produce from the grocery, especially crops that aren’t local to your region, then it helps to purchase organically. This is ideal if you can afford it but sometimes the cost difference just doesn’t fit the weekly budget. So, here is a helpful list to keep handy when buying fruits and veggies that can assist you in discerning what items you really want to watch out for, pesticide-​wise, and what items are actually, not so bad to buy conventionally.

The first list is known as the CLEAN FIFTEEN and is a grouping of conventionally grown Fruits and Vegetables with the least pesticide residue. You can save money by not purchasing organic.

The Clean Fifteen

1. Onions
2. Avocados
3. Sweet Corn (although watch out for GM corn!)
4. Pineapples
5. Mangos
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet Peas
8. Kiwis
9. Cabbages
10. Eggplants
11. Papayas
12. Watermelons
13. Broccoli
14. Tomatoes
15. Sweet Potatoes

The Dirty Dozen is another list made up of produce you need to do your best to either purchase organically or locally, whenever possible… Also, try visiting a local pick your own orchard (since travel isn’t an issue, they often use less pesticide) but ideally, you can work towards establishing these crops in your own backyard. In tests, the following fruits and vegetables are shown to contain the highest pesticide load. You can reduce pesticide exposure up to 80% by choosing organic versions of these fruits and vegetables.

The Dirty Dozen

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Imported Grapes
11. Carrots
12. Pears

Tagged as: Beltane, Calen Mai, fertility, festival, May Day, organic, pesticides, spring, tradition, vegetables