BELTANE, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into its two primary seasons, winter (Dark Part) and summer (Light Part). As Samhain is about honouring the dead, Beltane, its opposite, is about honouring life. It is the time when the sun is fully released and able to rule over summer and life once again.
Beltane translated means "fire of Bel" or "bright fire" - the "bale-fire" and is name after the god Belenus. Fires, celebration and rituals were an important part of the Beltane festivities, as to insure that the warmth of the Sun's light would promote the fertility of the earth.
It is the second time of the year that the veil between this world and the next is believed to be at it's thinnest, and a very good time for communication and divination The Bel fire is a sacred fire with healing and purifying powers. The fires further celebrate the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth and the burning away of winter.
The festival begins on Beltane Eve with two bonfires started from nine different woods. Domestic animals and people pass between the bonfires to ensure fertility and good fortune for the coming year. In ancient times, the Beltane fire was used to re-light all the homestead fires of a village. Traditionally the ashes of the Beltane fires were smudged on faces and scattered in the fields. The symbol of fertility is so strong on this night, that it is said that if you jump over the Beltane fire, there will be a baby in the coming year!
Beltane is brimming with the first stirring of the energies at work in nature. It is a time of ripeness and fertility. Also known as May Eve, May Day, and Walpurgis Night, it celebrates the height of Spring and the flowering of life. The Goddess manifests as the May Queen and Flora. The God emerges as the May King and Jack in the Green. The Maypole represents their unity, the pole itself symbolic of the God and the ribbons that encompass it, the womb of the Goddess.
Read about the other Sabbats