hi lovelies!! i tried to get this post out much earlier than usual so you can all have some time to plan if you’d like to take some inspiration haha. i hope ya enjoy
we’re now at the peak of spring SO, now is the perfect time to spend some time outside!!
-collect some flowers + wild herbs! (please be careful + become educated beforehand)
-take a nature walk! appreciate the signs of spring all around you.
-take some extra time to tend to your plants/gardens! give them some extra love OR start planting now! especially where i live, it’s tough to garden at the beginning of spring as it’s still a lil chilly outside so now is perfect!
-have a bonfire! bake some yummy goods, invite some friends over and have a grand ol time. this is a lovely opportunity to burn sigils, preform some fire spellwork, and rituals to honor the warmth taking over the cold.
decorate your altar!! beltane is heavily associated with fertility and abundance, so nows the time to represent that! use plenty of green candles for the green earth we’re blessed with this time of year, and red + pink candles for the fertility, passion and love that comes with this holiday! real and fake flowers, decor that represents the sun and crystals like rose quartz, pink tourmaline, pink angel aura quartz and sunstone are lovely choices as well.
make sure the light can reach you!! open some windows, go on a walk, lay outside. or, if the weather won’t permit that, light some candles or a fire (SAFELY!) indoors!
SPRING. CLEANING. sabbats are the times i take to do a FULL cleaning + cleansing of my space. so not only will i fully clean my room, but i’ll cleanse with some sage or incense! this is also a great time to preform protection spellwork to bless your space.
burn the heck outta anything you need to release/berid of!! as i said before, we are at the peak of spring. we’ve had some time to recover from winter. so, now is a wonderful time to create a sigil or write down negative things you’d like to have see their way out of your life onto some bay leaves and (SAFELY!) burn them.
get crafty!! use real or fake flowers to create flower crowns, jewelry, decorative masks, etc. i LOVE to press flowers and put them into frames + resin personally.
celebrate with color!! especially if you’re in the broom closet, this is a fabulous way to sneakily celebrate. wear clothing in these colors, paint your nails, etc. greens, pinks/reds and any bold bright colors are especially lovely this time of year.
do some kitchen witchcraft!! things like dairy, oats, bread, various spicy foods and vanilla are very popular this time of year.
DANCE, WITCHES!! allow the energy of music to fill you up and take over. i adore brining music into my craft as it’s so important to me, and the pure power i feel when doing this is indescribable.
have a.. sensual holiday. wink wink, nudge nudge. whether you practice SAFE and CONSENSUAL sex with a partner or give yourself some pleasure on your own if you catch my drift, this is a wonderful time of year to do so!
like i said above, this is a SENSUAL holiday.. and that doesn’t just mean sex! pleasure your SENSES. go outside and legitimately smell the roses + various flowers, eat the yummy and delicious food(s) you’ve been craving, lay outside on the beach and feel the sunshine on your skin + the sand on your feet.
take a ritual bath!! incorporate things like oranges + orange peels or lemons + lemon peels, various flowers/flower petals, frankincense, rosemary, thyme. even just a colored bath bomb! treat ya self.
plan a picnic with loved ones!! this incorporates so many things associated with beltane, such as dedicating time to the outdoors, eating delicious spring-y foods, and treating yourself with a beautiful day! do it at the beach, a downtown green, or even in your backyard if you don’t feel like travelin. pick up green/pink/red plates, utensils, etc and decorate your space with flowers if you’re feelin like being extra! (the dollar store is the perfect place to go for this kinda stuff, im tellin ya)
make some offerings for nature + the various spirits!! or even the fae if you work with them. this can be anything from a small bouquet of flowers, a bowl of fruits + nuts, (please research things that are SAFE for the wildlife in your area) to saying a simple prayer or just offering your time to the outdoors.
that’s all i got this time around! i hope you’ve all been having a spring full of happiness and growth, and if not i sincerely hope the future starts to bring those things to you. my messages are ALWAYS open if any single one of you needs to chat
In many cultures, there are different legends and lore surrounding the Beltane season–after all, it’s a time that marks fire and fertility, and the return of new life to the earth. look at some of the magical stories about this spring celebration.
Like Samhain, the holiday of Beltane is a time when the veil between the worlds is thin. Some traditions believe that this is a good time to contact the spirits, or to interact with the Fae. Be careful, though—if you visit the Faerie Realm, don’t eat the food, our you’ll be trapped there, much like Thomas the Rhymer was!
Some Irish dairy farmers hang a garland of green boughs over their door at Beltane. This will bring them great milk production from their cows during the coming summer. Also, driving your cattle between two Beltane bonfires helps protect your livestock from disease.
Eating a special oatcake called a bannock or a Beltane cake ensured Scottish farmers abundance of their crops for the year. The cakes were baked the night before, and roasted in embers on a stone.
The pious Puritans were outraged by the debauchery of Beltane celebrations. In fact, they made Maypoles illegal in the mid 1600s, and tried to put a halt to the “greenwood marriages” that frequently took place on May Eve. One pastor wrote that if “tenne maiden went to set (celebrate) May, nine of them came home gotten with childe.”
According to a legend in parts of Wales and England, women who are trying to conceive should go out on May Eve—the last night of April—and find a “birthing stone," which is a large rock formation with a hole in the center. Walk through the hole, and you will conceive a child that night. If there is nothing like this near you, find a small stone with a hole in the center, and drive a branch of oak or other wood through the hole—place this charm under your bed to make you fertile.
Babies conceived at Beltane are considered a gift from the gods. They were sometimes referred to as "merry-begots” because the mothers were impregnated during Beltane’s merrymaking.
If you go out at sunrise on Beltane, take a bowl or jar to gather morning dew. Use the dew to wash your face, and you’re guaranteed a perfect complexion. You can also use the dew in ritual as consecrated water, particularly in rituals related to the moon or the goddess Diana or her counterpart, Artemis.
Irish Culture and Customs
In the Irish “Book of Invasions,” it was on Beltane that Patholan, the first settler, arrived on Ireland’s shores. May Day was also the date of the defeat of the Tuatha de Danaan by Amergin and the Milesians.
Bridget Haggerty of Irish Culture and Customs says,
“In one account, a procession of ‘May Boys,’ dressed in white shirts adorned with colorful ribbons tied in knots, led what was known as a garland procession through the neighborhood. At the head of the parade was an elected May King and Queen. At each stop, they would ask for funds to help defray the cost of the May Day party to be held later. Before 1820, there are records of great May Pole celebrations in Dublin. In addition to dancing and drinking, the pole was often greased and a prize offered to anyone who could climb to the top. Other revelries included a wide assortment of sporting events, including foot races, hopping races, sack races, and wrestling. Dance competitions were also held and very often, the coveted prize was a cake.”
In Cornwall, it’s traditional to decorate your door on May Day with boughs of hawthorn . Ben Johnson of Historic UK writes about the other Cornish custom of the “Obby Oss” :
“May Day traditions in southern England include the Hobby Horses that still rampage through the towns of Dunster and Minehead in Somerset, and Padstow in Cornwall. The horse or the Oss, as it is normally called is a local person dressed in flowing robes wearing a mask with a grotesque, but colourful, caricature of a horse.”
✣ Yesterday was , which marked under the pyramids anniversary. Twelve years of incredibly rich experiences and encounters.
Sadly, for the first time, I didn’t feel like celebrating after having experienced my worst month in over 6 years… I am however extremely grateful for everything I’ve been able to experience until this year.
I am deeply proud and honoured to think of all the people who entrusted me with creating a symbol adapted to their situations or with crafting a unique piece for their special day (birth, anniversary, wedding, handfasting, etc.), to gift to their loved ones or to accompany them or they every day adventures…
And am looking forward to keep on doing so. Thank you all and !
✣ Another example of how blessed I am is these photos I am sharing. “Dreaming of lost Faerie Tales”, the second part of a serie of analogue photographs captured by @helenaaguilarmayans and featuring @sylvainemusic multi-instrumentalist, bandleader and composer, Kathrine.
The complete serie is on the blog (link in profile) and there are two more coming!
Decided to do a “ jar spell” a protection spell lately I’ve been feeling a little off like the outside world Is working against me but I decided it’s not going to succeed!! PSA( I’m not a Christian witch I just felt the need to do this spell and)
A collection of categorized links for your Beltane needs! What is Beltane? [X] Beltane is celebrated between April 30th to May 1st (October 31st to November 1st in the S. Hemisphere) and is also called: May Day, Lá Bealtaine, and Beltaine!
Cuchulain talks with Emer by Stephen Reid 1910. From Eleanor Hull’s “The Boys’ Cuchulainn.” (1910). A mention of Beltaine below:
“‘When I said: ‘Fair is this plain, the plain of the noble yoke,’ it was not the plain of Bray that I praised then, but the shape of the maiden. For I beheld the yoke of her two breasts through the opening of her smock, and it is of that I said ‘plain of the noble yoke’, of the breasts of the maiden.’
‘When she said: ‘No one comes to this plain, who does not kill as many as argat,’ viz. argat in the language of the poets means 'a hundred’; that is the interpretation, and this is what it means, that it is not easy to carry off the maiden, unless I slay a hundred men at each ford from Ailbine to the Boyne, together with Scennmenn the Wily, the sister of her father, who will change herself into every shape there, to destroy my chariot and to bring about my death,’ said Cuchulaind.
‘Geni grainde she said, i.e., she would not come with me, unless I jumped the hero’s salmon-leap across the three ramparts to reach her. For three brothers of hers will be guarding her, viz., Ibur and Scibur and Catt; and a company of nine each of them, and I must deal a blow on each nine from which eight will die, but no stroke will reach any of her brothers among them; and I must carry her and her fostersister with their load of gold and silver out of the dun of Forgall.’
‘Bend Suain, son of Rosc Mele, which she said this is the same thing, viz., that I shall fight without harm to myself from Samuin, i.e., the end of summer. For two divisions were formerly on the year, viz., summer from Beltaine (the first of May), and winter from Samuin to Beltaine. Or sainfuin, viz., suain (sounds), for it is then that gentle voices sound, viz., sám-son 'gentle sound’. To Oimolc, i.e., the beginning of spring, viz., different (ime) is its wet (folc), viz the wet of spring, and the wet of winter. Or, oi-melc, viz., oi, in the language of poetry, is a name for sheep, whence oibá (sheep’s death) is named, ut dicitur coinbá (dog’s death), echbá (horse’s death), duineba (men’s death), as bath is a name for 'death’. Oi-melc, then, is the time in which the sheep come out and are milked, whence oisc (a ewe), i.e., oisc viz., barren sheep. To Beldine, i.e. Beltine, viz., a favouring fire. For the druids used to make two fires with great incantations, and to drive the cattle between them against the plagues, every year. Or to Beldin, viz., Bel the name of an idol. At that time the young of every neat were placed in the possession of Bel. Beldine, then Beltine. To Brón Trogaill, i.e. Lammas-day, viz., the beginning of autumn; for it is then the earth is afflicted, viz., the earth under fruit. Trogam is a name for 'earth.’
’Cuchulaind went driving on his way, and slept that night in Emain Macha. Then their daughters told the lords of land of the youth that had come in his splendid chariot, and of the conversation which he and Emer had held; that they did not know what they had said to one another, and that he had turned from them across the plain of Bray northward. Then the lords of land tell Forgall the Wily that, and that the girl had spoken to him. ‘It is true,’ said Forgall the Wily. ‘The madman from Emain Macha has been here to converse with Emer, and the girl has fallen in love with him, and that is why they talked to one another. But it shall avail them nothing. I shall hinder them from getting what they wish.’”
YULE Altar ideas: Put mistletoe and pine on your altar; put a candle up there to represent the Sun; keep your Yule log on your altar; use symbols of the Sun; decorate with red, green, white, blue, and yellow (red and green for holly, white and blue for snow and wintery colors, yellow for the Sun). Celebration ideas: Kiss a consenting person under the mistletoe for luck; give gifts; have a feast; make magickal wreaths with herbs corresponding to the spell intent (you might use lilac, lavender, and camomile for a wreath that brings peace into your home).
IMBOLC Altar ideas: Use candles to represent the return of spring; make a cute little corn dolly; put a Brigid’s cross on there to honor her; decorate with yellow and green to represent the Sun and return of spring. Celebration ideas: Clean your house; have a self-dedication ritual (to a particular path, deity, philosophy, standard of life, etc.); clean off your working altar and redo it; cleanse and charge any tools or crystals you need to.
OSTARA Altar ideas: Use fake eggs, rabbits, and other symbols of fertility or spring; put some potted plants on the altar; place some packets of seeds you might be planning on growing; decorate with purple, yellow, green, white, and other spring, pastel colors. Celebration ideas: Paint and blow eggs (take proper precautions when handling raw eggs, obviously, especially if you’re putting your mouth on them); if you have a greenhouse, want a potted plant, or it’s warm enough where you live to plant outside, plant some seeds; buy a potted plant; organize your herb shelf.
BELTAINE Altar ideas: Make a mini Maypole for your centerpiece; smack some candles up in there, especially beeswax, if that’s in your budget; put some faery symbols, like little statues or bells or something like that; a jar of honey or some beeswax is always dope; if you’re comfortable with it, some people like to put representations of genatalia on their altar. Celebration ideas: Light an awesome bonfire (also be very cautious with this because fire can quickly turn dangerous); leave offerings to the faeries; have a dance outside; this is a good time to plan to have a handfasting ceremony or wedding; cast any love workings you’ve been meaning to do; if you’re an adult and have a person/people who consent to it, you could choose to have sex during this time (but do be safe!); many people try to conceive children during Beltaine.
LITHA Altar ideas: Symbols of the Sun and the Moon, feminine and masculine symbols if that’s a thing in your tradition; decorate with black and white to symbolize the night and day. Celebration ideas: Get up before the Sun rises and go to sleep after it sets, so you can experience the day and night; have a bonfire (again, safety is important); have a picnic; just spend a lot of time outside.
LUGHNASADH Altar ideas: Put bread and grain on the altar; maybe some apples and other autumn fruits; pinecones and leaves are fall symbols; decorate with red, orange, yellow, brown, and other colors of the season. Celebration ideas: Bake (especially make the cute little bread men); give an offering to the Earth; go to an apple orchard and pick some apples; share a feast with the family or your friends.
MABON Altar ideas: Wine, or grape juice if alcohol is unavailable for any reason; leaves and pinecones; apples; a money jar (see first celebration suggestion below). Celebration ideas: For a week or two before Mabon, put money you can afford to give up in a jar, and donate it to charity or a cause you support on Mabon; have another apple harvest; have another feast; do a ritual to honor the Earth.
SAMHAIN Altar ideas: Pop a few gourds in there, more apples if you want; pictures of the deceased; tools for divination and spirit contact; decorate with black, white, and orange. Celebration ideas: Divination, spirit communication (obviously only if you know what you’re doing); hold a seance or a dumb supper if that’s more comfortable for you; light a candle in the window for spirits (use a fake one if you want it lit all night); leave some milk and honey for the Fair Folk; give offerings to the dead; put up wards and shields if you’re one of the people who would prefer to avoid spirit activity.
may your fire be nurtured and attended, may you experience passion and love, beauty and power, and may the sun bless your season fruitful and prosperous
If you need some pagan Nature music to celebrate please consider my INCANTATION PLAYLIST of witchy music at youtube.com/yidneth or look for “yidneth incantations” on youtube
30th of April, Beltane’s Eve, Walpurgis Nacht, with bonfires to ward off witches like in Summer’s Solstice. It’s the Eve of 8th century Abbess St. Walpurga’s canonization who repelled witchcraft…but do not worry… You have nothing to fear! And tonight we ride! pd. I’m not a witch, more someone connected to Nature
Wand by @ravenwood.inspired Hat by @costureroreal (promo code:yidneth)
s the stark harshness of winter gives way to the gentle unfurling of spring our minds and activities turn toward spending time out of doors. Spring and Fall are two seasons I love in equal measure due to all of the changes big and small that can be both seen and felt. It is a time when the explosion of green buds, grasses and plant life in every direction hails the quickening of the earths energy towards growth, attraction and communion.
The energy of Beltane is abundant in activity, with birds singing, bees drunkenly overwhelmed in pollen and bunnies mad with the chase, while shyer plants and animals take their time. The sun and warm moisture have returned along with a bit of food~browse and nectar aplenty for the animals, whilst we are busy harvesting fall sown carrots, kale and salad greens. During this season we’ve been busy planting seed flats full of herbs, vegetables and flowers. There is nothing more rewarding than heading out to the greenhouse to take in the smell of damp soil and checking out all the little emerging seedlings-there is something new to appreciate every single day.
The returning light at Candlemas started slowly bringing our awareness from within, whereas the verdant lushness of Beltane slowly awakens our bodies and seduces our senses with the softness of new leaves and the intense sweetness of spring blossoms. There is nothing like the fresh life-giving breath of spring to fill our lungs with the fragrant air and bathe our bodies in the brilliant greens surrounding us to heal and engage our heart chakras on a whole new level. It is truly a season of growth and renewal as the burgeoning energy tangibly builds to a climactic burst of life.
During the Rites of Spring, we celebrate fecundity while also giving offerings to our ancestors, land spirits, fey and kin. We decorate our altars to welcome the energy of the season and prepare for the coming celebration by creating our Beltane Bundles of sacred woods, baking bread, infusing May wine with Sweet Woodruff and preparing a feast of seasonal foods.
It is also traditional to collect the first dew of the Bel morning, considered sacred, it is believed to bring healing and physical beauty. I collect the dew in two different ways. The night before I like to lay out a clean tea towel in a bowl on the grass. When I collect the towel the next morning I will run my hands over the cool dew-soaked grass and pat my neck and face. The towel will be rung out into a small vial so that I can add it to the sacred waters for our rite. I also like to collect dew into a little egg cup off of the lady’s mantle leaves. I will use this on my skin or add to a spell working.
Two favorite feast recipes are the May Wine and Beehive Bread with rosehip honey butter. Traditionally May Wine was used to celebrate the sabbat and call in the old gods being symbolic of the union of the God and Goddess.
It is best to plan ahead as this recipe takes about 24 hours to steep so that the herb imparts the essence of the woodruff. My favorite wine to use for this recipe is a homemade apple wine we make in the fall. If you do not have that tasty brew available then my next favorites would be a light Riesling or a Gewurztraminer. You can use dried woodruff for a more vanilla-like flavor, however, I try to use the freshest and newest grown of all I can on my Bel altar. While sweet woodruff is safe to use in small quantities such as in wine or altar cakes, this is not something you are going to want to add to everything as it has been known to cause dizziness and vomiting in large quantities. It also contains small amounts of coumarin and was used to thin the blood.
May Wine 1 bottle of apple or white wine (representative of the maiden goddess and everlasting life) 20 or so springs of Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum) leaves and blossoms (is said to bring about protection and enliven male sexuality) 1 Tb local honey (amazing immune booster and sacred to the Goddess, powerful spellbinding ingredient) 10 Strawberries (adds a maiden’s blush)
Add clean organic blossoms and leaves of Sweet Woodruff to a bottle of wine. Let steep 24 hours. Strain and decant in a bowl, add a few fresh Woodruff flowers and some sliced strawberries.
Bee Hive Bread 6 c flour 4 ½ tsp or 2 pkts yeast 1 ½ tsp salt 1 ¼ c warm water ½ c honey ½ c cold butter grated 2 large eggs
Mix warm water a bit of the honey and yeast, letting stand for 15 minutes or so. Add beaten eggs, remaining honey and salt to water mixture. Add flour and mix then cut in butter. Knead until elastic and let rest until doubled in bulk. Preheat oven. Push down and turn over a couple times in the bowl until a ball forms. Cover large ovenproof glass bowl with a sheet of foil. Make ropes and coil starting at the bottom and work your way to the top in the shape of a beehive. Brush with egg white for a glossy crust. Bake @ 375 for 30 minutes. While bread is baking mix 1 c softened butter, 1/3 c honey and a few drops of vanilla together. Butter is best when whipped with immersion or hand blender. When bread is done remove from oven and let cool before peeling away foil. Serve with honey butter.
This Beltane season gives us much to be thankful for. Regardless of what is taking place in the world at large-we have our faith, our beautiful practice, each other and another turn on the wheel. From our Homestead Coven at Rosethornmanor to our pagan brethren wherever you are lighting your Balefires-we wish for you an abundance of opportunity and prosperity in these trying times.
Happy Bel and Blessed Be!
Beltane Traditions-How we celebrate s the stark harshness of winter gives way to the gentle unfurling of spring our minds and activities turn toward spending time out of doors.
s the stark harshness of winter gives way to the gentle unfurling of spring our minds and activities turn toward spending time out of doors. Spring and Fall are two seasons I love in equal measure due to all of the changes big and small that can be both seen and felt. It is a time when the explosion of green buds, grasses and plant life in every direction hails the quickening of the earths energy towards growth, attraction and communion.
I collect the dew in two different ways. The night before I like to lay out a clean tea towel in a bowl on the grass. When I collect the towel the next morning I will run my hands over the cool dew-soaked grass and pat my neck and face. The towel will be rung out into a small vial so that I can add it to the sacred waters for our rite. I also like to collect dew into a little egg cup off of the lady’s mantle leaves. I will use this on my skin or add to a spell working.
1 bottle of apple or white wine (representative of the maiden goddess and everlasting life)
