Beltane is celebrated on May 1 by witches and pagans around the world to honor nature. This day marks the beginning of summer, making it a time to celebrate new beginnings, the fertility of the earth, and all of the natural world.
For the green witch, it’s an opportunity to connect with nature in a profound way as we honor Mother Earth, her creatures, and the changing seasons.
This point on the Wheel of the Year is the perfect time for appreciating the interconnectedness between humans, animals, and nature. We acknowledge what it means to be aligned with Mother Earth and her beings and a express gratitude for all that she provides us with.
(I always infuse my celebrations with these things – interconnectedness, alignment and gratitude).
Get the free one-page guide inside the Free Witchy Things Vault.
Or enroll in the bite-sized Beltane class.
May Day Connections
As a child, I can remember May Day celebrations taking place in my elementary school with a maypole and festivities that included leaving flowers outside each of the classroom doors.
May Day has been celebrated for centuries, rooted in the pagan traditions of honoring the earth.
May Day dates to pre-Christian times when it was used to mark the start of summer and celebrate the beauty and bounty of nature. Today, it’s celebrated around the world in many ways, but there’s always an element of honoring nature in those celebrations.
So it is with the green witch.
Beltane is a time we connect to this change of seasons, embrace our interconnectedness to all that is, express our gratitude for all of Mother Earth’s gifts, and honor the power of this cycle.
Celebrating Beltane
Here are 6 easy ways to celebrate Beltane:
- Plant your garden of vegetables, herbs and/or flowers. If a garden doesn’t fit into your lifestyle, perhaps a pot of herbs or flowers for the porch would be right for you. Create a ritual around planting your item and then, watch it grow as you nurture it.
- Gather with friends and/or family for a May Day Celebration. Include edible flowers in your foods, dance around a may pole, give out small potted plants or cut flower bouquets. Be creative in designing your festivities. Most of all, let it be fun.
- Consider how you can be “greener” at home. What can you do to reuse items? Can you recycle? What about repurpose? Perhaps you can donate your time or money to environmental causes to give back. Mother Earth needs our help at this time.
- Light a balefire – since Beltane is a fire festival, this is the perfect time to celebrate with a balefire (bonfire) if you can do so safely. Since this is a time of year that brush fires are often a concern, safety is a key consideration in deciding whether this will be part of your celebration. If you do opt for one, let the inspiration of the season guide you in creating a ritual around your balefire.
- Create an outdoor altar that you can use throughout the season. Decorate your altar with items that you find in nature – feathers, rocks, twigs, or anything else that can be returned to the earth at the end of the season.
- Decorate your home in the colors of the summer season to infuse your space with summer’s magick.
Summary
This is a special time of the year for the green witch – nature is in full bloom and the energies of love, fertility, and growth are abundant.
You can choose from traditional activities like dancing around a maypole to more modern practices such as creating an altar or making offerings to the earth.
You might also want to choose activities that acknowledge your renewal alongside the renewal of Mother Earth at this sacred time. As always, do what resonates with you and make your Beltane celebration your own.
Bright Beltane Blessings
See you next time.
You might like these too:
The bite-sized Beltane class
The Free Vault of Witchy Things
Ravynwylde – A Sacred Year Journey for the Solitary Green Witch
Love nature? Visit my Instagram, where I share images from the heart of my rural home, like the crabapples above. Find it here.
