OCTOBER 31

‘Fertilisation’

Also known as May Eve, May Day (Northern Hemesphere

Festival of Tana

Element: Fire

This is perhaps the most joyful of all the festivals. Ostara celebrated the fertility of Nature, but at Beltaine we revel in human fertility. Beltaine is flagrantly and gleefully sexual. The Goddess and the God have grown to maturity. He has wooed Her, She has taught Him the sensual mysteries and They mate in the greenwood in joyful abandonment.

Everywhere is in bloom and green, warmth and sunlight are still growing and all things seem possible. Fertilisation sets the seal on growth, as the conception of a baby should set the seal upon a relationship. This is a time to celebrate creativity, to revel in the pulse of the blood and the rising of the sap, and to join with the God and Goddess in the dance of love. Remember however, that the power of sexuality is not alway used caringly and the strong emotions raised can put us in touch with our own depths emotionally.

The Lady is with us as bright Maiden, glorious Mother, yet within Her beckons the Crone – and the way to inner knowledge can be hard and shadowy.

Beltaine is the second ‘Spirit Night’ , being the opposite festival to Samhain, the veil to the Fey world is the thinest this night.

Things to do: Build a Maypole and dance around it. Build and light a Bonfire and dance around it (safely!) Decorate your home with flowers.

Correspondences

Goddesses:   Aphrodite, Artemis, Bast, Diana, Faunus, Flora, Maia and Venus.

Gods:the Horned God and Pan.

Colours:Red, green, soft pink, blue, yellow and brown.

Symbols:Maypole, bonfires, flowers, baskets, eggs, butterchurn.

Essence:Fertilisation, consumation, confirmation of love and honour

Purpose:Sexual union and/or marriage of the Goddess and God

Rituals:Fertilize, nurture and boost existing goals, games, activities of pleasure, leaping bonfires, making garlands, May Pole dance, planting seeds, walking one’s property, feasting.

Tools:Fire and the Maypole.

Candles:Dark green.

Animals:Swallow, dove, swan, Cats, lynx and leopard.

Plants:Lily of the valley, elder, foxglove, rowan, sorrel, hawthorn, ivy, marigold, bluebells, daisy, lilac and primrose.

Herbs:Meadowsweet, dandiloins, woodruff, clover, frankincense, honeysuckle, mint, thyme, angelica, st john’s wort and yarrow.

Incense:Rose, lilac, frankincense and all florals.

Stones:Emerald, malachite, amber, orange carnelian, sapphire, rose quartz.

Food:Breads, fresh produce, eggs, oatmeal cakes and green salads.

Drink: Wine.