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Beginner to Intermediate Many Pagans and Wiccans celebrate the first of May as Beltane. Those of us who live in cold northern climates are delighted by the end of winter and the prospect of more time outdoors – and the advent of gardening and festival season. Modern Pagans may celebrate the sabbat (holy day) by hosting a ritual to honor the springtime Goddess, dancing around a May pole, and creating floral talismans for home, office or vehicle protection and decoration. In the article below XX (on the articles page?), you'll learn some fun Beltane crafts and traditions.

Semantics: Beltane may also be spelled Beltain, Bealtaine or Bealtane. The name may have come from a sun god called Bal or Beal, Bel, or Bile. Belatucadros, Belenus or Belanos is the British or Gaulish sun god, called Beli Mawr in Welsh. "Bel" is an older Irish and Welsh word for fire or brightness. "Tain" is a word for fire in Welsh, or raid in Irish. Sometimes Beli or Bile is also a god of death. Belisama is a British or Gaulish fire goddess. The Basque god Bel also had his holy day on May 1st. Welsh folks may call the holiday Calan Mai, and Gaelic speakers might say Beltene or pronounce it "Bell-tawn-yah".

Some history: In ancient Ireland and the British Isles, Beltane was one of the four "cross-quarters" when rents and taxes were due. No one is really certain how the Celts celebrated the holiday, but we do know that feasting and bonfires were part of the festivities. Beltane as we know it today has been influenced by the Roman celebration of Floralia, a springtime Goddess of flowers. The Anglo-Saxons contributed their own traditions, including the famous symbol of the May pole.

In Germany, May totems over 700 years old still exist, used in village ceremonies right up to present day. People who follow a Norse, Germanic or Scandinavian tradition celebrate Walpurgia's Nacht or Walpurgisnacht on the night before Beltane. Walpurgistag, the first day of May, may have been named after the saint Walpurgia, or possibly an older Pagan deity. Its rituals are similar to Halloween or Samhain, with the practice of divination and the communication with spirit beings.

In the British Isles, folks participated in street processions, special dances and ritualized theatre, and decorating buildings with flowers and greenery. Hawthorn flowers were brought indoors to garland tabletop or mantle, and the May Queen's crown. Many of these customs are still practiced today, in both a religious and secular context. In some locations, churches and civic groups produce elaborate plaques made of flowers, which may depict a scene from Christian or Pagan legend, or simply be a pleasing design. As these flowery tableaux are sometimes displayed at holy fonts or sacred wellsprings, the custom is often called "Well Dressing". In America, the secular celebration of May Day included giving bouquets to loved ones, or hanging a basket of flowers on a doorknob, knocking and running away. Many towns and schools held a May Day gathering, which featured dancing around a May pole which stayed up all year.

Beltane Rituals: Many good ideas can be found in the book Beltane by Raven Grimassi, published by Llewellyn. If possible, hold your ceremony outdoors, so that you can enjoy the beauty of nature. Bonfire jumping and picking dandelions can be incorporated into your regular Beltane rites. Visit a Rowan, Hawthorne or Elder tree or bush, and leave offerings for spirit beings. Faeries are believed to enjoy donations of milk, honey and berries. You might present your own ritualized street theatre or folk-play, often called a "Mummer's Play". The book Make Merry in Step and Song: A Seasonal Treasury of Music, Mummer's Plays & Celebrations in the English Folk Tradition by Bronwen Forbes, also published by Llewellyn, will show you how. Mummer's Plays are performed throughout the British Isle around this time of year, and also at Christmas or Yule. These performances may have been a pre-Christian ritual which changed over the centuries into the rollicking slapstick comedy enjoyed in present times.

Crafts: Since May Day is about flowers and fun, greenery and natural beauty can be incorporated into your holiday decorations for your home or temple. You might purchase or cut grapevines to make a wreath, and garland it with natural or silk flowers to adorn your altar or front door. Flower crowns can be made for the participants, also using grapevine wreaths, with cloth or real flowers and plenty of ribbons. If you live in a place where you can trim evergreen bushes, cut branches to create miniature "Jack in the Green" figures for your altar. Bend coat hangers or florist's wire into the shape of a man, and use bread ties to attach the evergreen twigs and branches. When Jack dries out, at Leitha or Lammas, he can be burned as a "Wicker Man" to release energy.

Each year, our family cuts a flowering branch from an apple or cherry tree, decorates it with ribbons, cloth and paper flowers, and trinkets. The ornamented bough, called the "May Branch" is present in our regular ceremony, as a focal point for soaking up vibrant protective energy. Participants create flowers from pipe cleaners and colored tissue paper for individual talismans.

We also make a poppet representing "death" out of black cloth. He is attached to the withered, brittle May Branch from the previous year. A young person designated as "Death" carries the poppet around the circle, while participants cast their feelings of negativity or baneful energies from the past year into the "death" poppet. (Note: an adult with some training in banishing harmful energy may wish to assist the young person who is avataring "Death".)

A young person designated at the "May Queen" or "Life" then carries the beautifully decorated May Branch around the ritual circle, offering a flower or ribbon to each participant. These symbols of springtime and life are used as protective talismans for each individuals' home, vehicle or office. The chant goes "We carry Death out of the village, we bring back Life to the Village." Drums and bells can accompany the promenade. This ceremony is a genuine older tradition from the British Isles. A few moments of the rite can be seen within the original movie production of The Wicker Man. A similar custom was also practiced in Eastern Europe, where the branch was hung with colorfully painted eggs, used to decorate the home around Spring Equinox or Easter time. See our YouTube video of the Maybranch and Death poppet here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCCS7jIRcLY

May Pole Traditions: Of course, may folks who practice Nature Spirituality enjoy dancing around the May pole. The symbolism includes the connection of Sky to Earth, polarity between male and female, and the obvious metaphor of the phallic male pole entering the female gateway, the hole in the ground.

Dancing around the May pole may be a symbol for winding of magick, weaving of spells, adoring the male principle, progression of the seasons, and the turning of the Earth. One colored ribbon for each participant is attached to the top of the pole, which can be a light pole in the yard, a tree, or a wooden or metal pole erected for just that purpose. In Anglo-Saxon traditions, the ribbons were red for males and white for females. In some areas of the British Isles, men walked clockwise and women walked counter-clockwise around the pole. The ribbons are wound over and under, in a weaving pattern. Songs can be sung while dancing, or play your favorite lively CD. Don't worry if your May pole isn't perfect, if someone falls out of step or forgets if they're supposed to go under or over… it will still look beautiful. And your group, family or coven will have tremendous fun.

Bonfires Pagan / Wiccan Beginner to Intermediate

Summer is a comin' in, time to make merry. Bonfires can be an integral part of the summer holidays. A Wiccan coven might have a tiny sacred flame, kindled in a metal cauldron, for each Sabbat or Esbat. Many Pagan gatherings feature a central bonfire, with exuberant rites, drumming circles, dancing, fire-gazing, divination, fire-jumping and of course, roasting marshmallows. Some festivals even offer a large Wicker Man, constructed of sticks and other combustible materials, set on fire for the purpose of making an offering – and also because it's incredibly fun. Backyard bonfires are perfect for a holiday outing, full moon ritual, or family get-together. Check with your local fire department to ensure that it is legal. Most municipalities allow a small fire in an appropriate container, such as a grill, hibachi, or portable fireplace, which are often sold in garden supply stores. If public rituals are an option, many state or local parks offer grills or fireplaces where a bonfire can be safely alighted.

Bonfires are a time-honored tradition for Beltane / May Day or Leitha / Summer Solstice. In the British Isles, fires were lighted on hilltops on Beltane Eve / Walpurgisnacht / May Eve, and sometimes the flames lasted all night long. Another Beltane custom is the well-known bonfire jumping by a couple to ensure their fertility. In some localities, hearth fires were extinguished, to be rekindled by a coal from the community "balefire." This word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon languages, and may have the connotation of removing "baleful" or bad influences. Or it might make reference to the God-name Bel, Beal, Beli, or Belicantros. The word bonfire may have come from "bone fire", or fires which were constructed from animal bones. It may also have arisen from the French "bon", or good. It is believed that the Druids built their sacred fires from seven different types of wood. In Scotland, an elaborate ritual was enacted to kindle the fire, as documented by Robert Burn's patron, Lord John Ramsay. Across the UK, cattle were driven between two fires for their spiritual protection. And couples would sometimes lay nearby the fires to enjoy May rites of their own.

The burning of a Wicker Man on the Summer Solstice was recorded both by Claudius Caesar and the Normans. The custom survived until the mid-1880s in Scotland, as observed by folklore scholar James Bonwick. Wicker men were also torched in Russia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the Germanic territories. These traditions may point to a time when criminals were used as a human sacrifice. Later, scarecrows and straw men were burned instead. Some customs, like burning the Guy Fawkes effigy, were actually created during Christian times. Yet burning a scarecrow to promote a bountiful harvest may be an authentically older Pagan rite. To create your own Wicker Man, you might try the older method of weaving sticks and grape vines into a human figure. Let him dry for a few weeks prior to burning. Papers bearing prayers and offerings of food may be placed inside. The Wicker Man may be soaked in tallow or (shudder) kerosene to make him more flammable. Or, you might build a small scarecrow, filled with straw or even shredded office paper. Another option is to purchase a few cheap baskets from a crafts supply store or dollar market to create a wicker container. One year, a group burned a store-bought Wicker Chicken at a Pagan Pride event, for the purpose of blessing the gathering, making offerings, and carrying prayers on smoke to the deities.

Some neo-Pagans have their own unique traditions in regard to lighting the sacred bonfire. It may be kindled from scratch, using flint and steel. Many groups prohibit the use of fossil fuels to start a holy fire. Often the bonfire is fueled by older ritual implements, including last year's May pole, a dried-out Yule tree, paper scraps which have been used for spellwork, and the nubs of candles from rites held over the past year. The priestess or another designated elder may be the one in charge of lighting the fire… or the youngest child able to strike a flame. In some households, starting the fire may be a job set aside for the males of the household, including a youth undergoing his manhood rites.

Some Pagan groups and Wiccan covens make the bonfire the central point of their outdoor holiday celebrations. The flames may be lit during a specific part of the ritual – at the beginning to draw revelers to worship, in the middle of the rite to invoke beneficial conditions, or near the end for a culmination of the ceremony. Incantations may be made with the energy of the fire as fuel to bring will into manifestation. A chant or spell such as "As this flame grows, so grow our community!" can be enhanced by the power of a sacred flame. Fire is sometimes used to transport prayers to the deities or spirits, with offerings of sage or other herbs, incense or sacred oils. Items may be ritually burned, including papers with written prayers or spells. Some Heathens build a Need-fire, at which their desires are spoken aloud and offerings made to ancestors and the Gods. Energy may be raised by all Pagan traditions by dancing around the fire, or individuals might "store" the power of the flames by reaching their hands out to the fire, feeling the warmth in their palms, and drawing the aspect of fire into themselves. Fire elementals, and creatures such as salamanders or dragons, may be seen dancing in the embers. Sometimes figures may be observed in the sparks hovering above a holy fire. These images may have prophetic qualities. Another wonderful custom is saving some charcoal from a ceremonial bonfire, later used to draw sacred symbols or to kindle the next ritual fire.

Fire poi, or spinning fire, is a tradition that comes to us from the Polynesian islands, including Hawaii and the Philippines. Dancers use flaming staffs, fiery swords, or cloth balls soaked in combustible fuel, to spin trails of flame in elaborate designs. The art of poi is thrilling to watch. Some Pagan festivals offer classes in fire poi, including safety precautions and dance techniques. Equipment can be purchased at these events, as well, or poi may be found for sale online. Many Beltane and Solstice gatherings in America have incorporated fire spinning into their ceremonies.

Many gatherings host a bonfire dance as part of their festivities. This rite may be incorporated into the main ritual, or enjoyed after the circle is left "open yet unbroken". A fire dance is a lovely opportunity to honor deity and spirit. Many traditions use the symbolic technique of dancing clockwise, sunwise or Deosil around the fire, to invoke positive conditions and well-being. The circular pattern mimics the path of the Moon around the earth, and Earth around the Sun, as well as the spinning of the planet. Dancers may stop at the four directions to acknowledge the Elementals or Old Ones of each quarter. A festival bonfire may include many dancers and drummers, connecting with deity and with each other. Holding hands and dancing in a chain around the fire creates an atmosphere of community. Drumming also connects participants with the heartbeat of the Earth. The energy raised by dancing in a clockwise motion can be used for a specific purpose, such as "dancing for world peace". Dancing around the bonfire can induce a trancelike state, and is also beneficial to the physical body. Dancers may stare into the flame, which promotes mental clarity and emotional tranquility. Fire-gazing might also bring about visions. Fire jumping can raise power and is a joyful way to celebrate the season. Sacred songs, chants, flutes and rattles can add to the revelry.

Solitary practitioners can also raise energy and attune spirit with a bonfire rite. A roaring festival bonfire is not always necessary – a small candle flame will do. Jack Be Nimble jumped over a candlestick, which likely raised power as much as leaping a bonfire. Dancing around a candle within a cauldron, or a small backyard fireplace gives a sense of communion with deity and the Earth. Many solitaries find that fire gazing and divination is much easier without the distraction of other celebrants. Families can also enjoy a backyard barbecue, employing magick and ritual either before or after dinner is grilled over an open flame.

Pagan, Heathen and Wiccan events and gatherings can be found on our calendar pages. More festivals and groups can be found at The Witches' Voice, www.witchvox.com.

Have a blessed summer… and don't forget the marshmallows!