Beltane is celebrated as a Sabbat of fertility and renewal. It is a joyful celebration on May First with dancing, feasting and the traditional Maypole.
Beltane: Fire and Solar Sabbat
There are different denominations of Druids and Wiccans as there are in the Judeo-Christian religions.
John King, The Celtic Druid’s Year (A Blandford Book, 1995) writes that Beltane is the last Sabbat celebrated before the wheel of the year turns back to Midsummer and the reign of the Holly God, Bel. It is the festival of the purification by fire. To the ancient Celts, fire was ceremonial purification and healing. During this festival, livestock are driven between two fires for these purposes.
It was not an easy undertaking for the animals to be driven through the fires. Although cattle can be prodded, they can be stubborn when they are scared. Sheep will follow a leader, but usually dogs had to help in herding them. Fire terrifies horses and they will try to run from the flames. After this rite was finished, these animals would be taken to higher pastures where the new grass was growing.
There is the dance around the Maypole, a phallic symbol. People would leave branches of different trees at others’ doors that were symbolic of a characteristic they had. There were May dolls, garlands in the shape of a hoop or cross, May hobby horses and washing in the dew collected on the first day of May.
There is the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession of a huntsman astride a horse or stag accompanied by baying hounds that is related to another Pagan celebration, Walpurgisnacht. According to Celtic tradition, the huntsman is Gwyn ap Nudd, Lord of Annwn, also known as Herne the Hunter and Gabriel, who leads the Wild Hunt on Beltane Eve.
In Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn Publications, 1990), author Raymond Buckland, who is a Wiccan himself, writes that the altar cloth and candles should be dark green and the altar may be decorated with flowers. There is a crown, either silver with crescent moons or flowers, a cauldron with a candle or a burner and a Maypole on the altar.
Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Llewellyn, 1992) also mentions the Maypole and the cauldron. He wrote that people would wake up at dawn to pick flowers that would be used to decorate the Maypole, themselves and their homes.
According to both authors, the cauldron represents the Goddess and the Maypole, the God. Buckland states that Beltane celebrates creativity, the start of the animal mating season and reproduction. He also wrote about the Druid rite of driving cattle through two fires, but, according to him, it was to ensure that milk would be plentiful. Cunningham states that Beltane celebrates the return of vitality, passion and consummated hopes.
After the ceremonial rites, there is a feast which is a blessing of abundance. Traditional foods are dairy items, such as custard and ice cream which symbolized the sweetness of life, greens, strawberries and May wine.
Read more about the following related topics:
German Pagan Roots: Walpurgisnacht and May Day Traditions
