Inspired by Bryn

Note: As this post was part of a temporary series on The Busy Witch website, the full text of the essay is below!

May Day occurs May 1st every year and marks the pagan holiday of Beltane and the return of the summer season. Because Beltane and Samhain are exactly half a year apart, some pagans believe that this day is, like Samhain, a day where the veil between worlds is at a thinning point. Traditionally, Beltane is celebrated with lively festivities, dancing, and music. The most well-known tradition of May Day is the maypole, a wooden pole set in the ground around which people dance, each holding a colorful ribbon that gets wrapped around the pole. It is said that the act of weaving the ribbons into complex and beautiful patterns is to help encourage fertility and growth. The element most associated with Beltane is fire, which is used to purify and cleanse as the summer season commences.

Some Beltane celebrations for the busy witch that I suggest are:

1. Hold a gathering (safely) with friends and/or family and have a celebration! You could try to decorate your own maypole. Depending on your area, you could welcome the season of summer with a bonfire that you can put your intentions into to release that good energy into the fertile growing season!
2. Maypole a little too much work and still wanting to be socially distant? Pick up a coloring book and some pencils! Adult coloring books have become pretty widely available and could really help with focus and intention work, using colors to represent different aspects of a spell, etc. Find a pattern that speaks to you and says, “Beltane” or “Summer” or “Celebration” and color it as creatively as you can. Use coloring as a fun and creative way to meditate and focus on the start of summer, a time ripe with abundant opportunities.
3. Get planting! This is the perfect time to plant a seedling or sapling, get your yard work accomplished, tend to your summer gardens! This is the time to hopefully see fruits (or vegetables!) of your labors take root and begin to thrive!

Last but not least, 4. Read a Beltane book! Some books I might suggest are: “Beltane (The Spellworker Chronicles Book One)” by Alys West (fiction), “Beltane: Rituals, Recipes, & Lore for May Day” by Melanie Marquis (nonfiction), or, if you’re looking for something spicy to go with the fertility theme, try “Beltane (Pagan Spirits #1)” by Erin O’Riordan (fiction/erotica).

Merry May Day, blessed Beltane, and until next time!