Wiccan Holidays: Beltane

Beltane, which is on April 30, and is coming up fast, starts a fertility festival where the Universe is ‘pregnant’ with the coming summer. It is meant to usher in the spring, good planting for those who grow fruits, vegetables and even regular flowers and good births. Rabbits are a great Beltane fertility symbol; “breeding like rabbits,” anyone? Pagan Beltane rituals involving rabbits and eggs (also a fertility symbol) is actually where the modern, Christian Easter came from, and why the date for Easter is so near Beltane.

Beltane is the first of the Wiccan holidays where daytime is longer than nighttime and may mean a brighter rest of the year for those who have had difficulty previously. It can also mean continued good fortune for those who take advantage of the longer daytime hours. For those who prefer the night, you will need to adjust to the new hours in order to take the most advantage of the shortened night.

So now that the history lesson is out of the way, what kind of magic should be done for Beltane? Fertility rites such as increasing the fertility of a couple having trouble conceiving or casting magic for a good birth for a human or an animal who is or will shortly be pregnant. With the energies of spring come abundant sex energy, as well. This sexual energy can be used to excite an old relationship, draw an old flame back or find a new, exhilarating partner - which is great for rebounding from a bad relationship. Magic for these purposes will need to be done very carefully on Beltane to ensure the relationship created are more than lust, unless that’s what you want, of course.

To complete your Beltane celebration, as with many Wiccan holidays, you should end with a feast.

Step 1: Use a fertility symbol such as a rabbit, egg, baby animal or phallic-shaped object. Circle the feasting food around the symbol.

Step 2: Cast any spells you planned for Beltane. If you’re celebrating with others, ach person should be able to cast one spell.

Step 3: Every participant should look at the symbol and imagine a long, glowing phallic-shape forming around the symbol.

Step 4: Everyone should reach out and touch the glowing column with the right hand. Take a few seconds, up to a full minute, for everyone to adjust to the feel of the energy.

Step 5: With hand still out, step back three steps from the symbol and feast food. The energy you took from the column should come with you and connect you to the column with a ribbon-like bit of energy. If someone did not get connected properly, take the time to repeat step 4 and wait a bit longer.

Step 6: Step to the left. The connecting ribbon of energy should begin to wrap the column, like a maypole.

Step 7: When everyone reaches their starting position five times, going faster with each circle, until you are all running on the last go, stop. All of your spells should now be interwoven with the power of the fertility symbol and the ribbons of energy should have passed through all the feasting items.

Step 8: In unison say, “So mote it be.” Release the ribbons of energy and wait for up to five minutes for the column to fade and the energy within everyone to settle.

Step 9: Begin the feast. If the fertility symbol was an animal, make sure it’s well hydrated and offer some appropriate pieces of the feast (carrots for a rabbit, for example).

Step 10: When the feasting is done, the fertility symbol will need to be dealt with. If it is a non-living item it should be carefully buried in an open area where the participants can visit easily if they need reinvigoration, but where others do not regularly go. A field owned by one of the participants would be a good idea, or if someone owns a large backyard that may be an option as well. If the fertility symbol was a living animal it should be kept and cared for by one of the participants; it should be available for others to visit when they need to re-new the sense of invigoration Beltane brought with it. If the animal is okay with traveling, you may consider doing a ‘custody’ situation, where it travels between each household for a certain time. I would recommend a month for each household.

Tips:

At the end of the ritual, people may feel sexually invigorated. No one should be embarrassed to excuse themselves for a short time to relieve themselves before joining the feast.

The same animal should never be used multiple years in a row.