Beltane Eve

Good morning, everyone.  Tis a wonderful day indeed.  It's Beltane Eve, and I am so looking forward to this weekend; even though it is a cooking weekend, I do plan to make it special.  This weekend I'm going to brush all the negativity of this past week aside and become like a little girl again...savoring this special time of the year, this special day which honors the return of the sun.  I've loved this time of for as long as I can remember.  As a little girl, spring and the rebirth of the world around me...brought joy into my life.  Actually, there is something special about each season of the year; I cannot say I don't like the winter...I do.  I enjoy the snow when it first falls.  I enjoy the cold as it stings my face.  I love the fact that winter forces me to slow down and spend time within.  I love the autumn with the falling leaves, crisp winds.  I also love the beginning of summer, but I will admit...I'd be very content to skip those hot humid days of July and August. But Spring? It is my favorite. 

At this time of the  year, the wheel is turning from spring into summer. Beltane is traditionally celebrated from sundown on the last night of April into the first day of May.  Traditionally, it marks the beginning of summer although on our tradition, linear calendars, summer does not begin until June.  As a Celtic festival, Beltane marked the beginning of the bright half of the year. As Samhain is about honoring death, Beltane is about honoring life. The Sun has been released from his bondage of winter to rule over summer and life once again.

  Beltane, like Samhain, is a time of 'no time' when the veils between the worlds was thinnest. 'No time' is when the two worlds intermingle and unite.  It is truly a magical time, a time when the Queen of Fairy rides out on her white horse and roves about, searching for people to entice away into Fairyland.  Legend has it that if you sit under a tree on Beltane night, you might see the beautiful queen; if you hide your face, she will pass you by, but if you look at her, she will choose 'you'.  So beware, my dear friends, as the fairy queen rides again, be tempted, but do not look.



Deities:  Fertility Gods and Goddesses, Flower Goddesses, The Green Man, Pan

Symbols:  May Pole, flowers, handfastings

Incense:  Rose, lilac, florals

Stones:  Rose quartz, emerald, sapphire

Foods:  Fruits, greens, salads

Herbs:  Angelica, ash, bluebells, clover, daisies roses, rowan

Activities:  frolicking through the countryside, dancing around the Maypole, leaping over fires, washing your face in the dew, making flower garlands
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