Also known as Roodmas or May Day, La Baal Tinne, Beltane, Beltaine, all are names for the ritual which was traditionally held on October 31st/November 1st, also known as May Day. The astrological festival occurs when the Sun reaches 15 ° Taurus, which lately has been happening more towards November 4-6th. Either the traditional date or the astrological date can be used to determine when to hold your festival, as both will have significant energies for the season.
Beltaine has long been celebrated with feasts and rituals. Beltaine means fire of Bel; Belinos being one name for the Sun God, whose coronation feast we now celebrate. As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms, an exuberant mood prevails. In old Celtic traditions it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity where marriages of a year and a day could be undertaken but it is rarely observed in that manner in modern times.
In the old Celtic times, young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying," and then dance around the phallic Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings (and the restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a magickal time for wild water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for health.
The Christian religion had only a poor substitute for the life-affirming Maypole -- namely, the death-affirming cross. Hence, in the Christian calendar, this was celebrated as 'Roodmas'. In Germany, it was the feast of Saint Walpurga, or 'Walpurgisnacht'. An alternative date around Nov 5 (Old Beltane), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus, is sometimes employed by Covens. (Both 'Lady Day' and 'Ostara' are names incorrectly assigned to this holiday by some modern traditions of Wicca.)
Think of the May pole as a focal point of the old English village rituals. Many people would rise at the first light of dawn to go outdoors and gather flowers and branches to decorate their homes. Women traditionally would braid flowers into their hair. Men and women alike would decorate their bodies. Beltaine marks the return of vitality, of passion. Ancient Pagan traditions say that Beltaine marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God. To celebrate, a wedding feast, for the God and Goddess must be prepared. Let Them guide you! Breads and cereals are popular. Try oatmeal cakes or cookies sweetened with a dab of honey. Dairy foods are again appropriate...just make a lovely wedding feast and you are sure to enjoy yourself! An early morning walk through a local park or forest could be fun for everyone. Gather up some plants or flowers to display in your home. Mum and daughter could braid their hair, and weave in a few tender blossoms.
And the season is spring! The lusty month of November is called so for a reason! Watch the animals, they are "rutting" now, looking to attract mates to raise their families. Butterflies and insects are pollinating flowers all over, and trees are bursting into blossoms and new green growth. In spring, "the young man's fancy turns to love.." and the young girls fancies turn to young men!
Beltaine named for the Celtic Sun God, Bel, or Bal, or Baal, also means Bale, to banish, as in the bale fires, which are lit on Beltaine to cleanse and purify. Cattle were led between two fires to cleanse them, and I have heard theories that the Druids quite possibly may have put purifying herbs on the fires to physically help the process along, but there is no actual proof of this. Couples would jump the fire to bless their union and to make it fruitful. You can jump the fire to leave behind bad habits or thoughts. Or stand close enough to the fire so that it's heat can "burn out" sickness. You may call upon the flames to burn away whatever you want to be free of by mentally casting it into the fire.
Virgin women would jump the fire to be blessed by a child of the fire, an Immaculate Conception, as it were. The fire symbolises life, passion, love and sex, and can also protect you for the coming year. To gaze into the flames and become "firestruck" is to cause an altered state of consciousness that is useful for divination.
"Nine woods in the Bale fire go, Burn them fast and burn them slow..." (from the Wiccan Rede) Those nine woods were usually:
Now of course if you live in an area where there is a definite lack of some of these woods you can always substitute another wood - as long as this wood is also known for the same properties! So do some research, and make intelligent substitutions.
Probably the most memorable and obvious symbol of Beltaine is the maypole. A phallic symbol, it represents the male regenerative force in nature, and is used to show the Sacred Union between the Goddess and God that takes place at this time. The pole represents the God of course, and the earth represents the Goddess.
Red and white were the traditional colours of the ribbons on the pole, and there are different explanations for them. One being that they represent the male semen and the female menstrual blood, and are a reminder that this is a "game" that only men and women enjoy, and is not for children. The other is that the red and white represent the two fluids that woman safely give, milk and blood, of which men are in awe.
Either way, these can still be seen in the caduceus, the symbol of healing and also the red and white barber's pole. In ancient times, the Doctor was also the Barber, hence the similar symbolism!
Today we choose a ribbon colour, which represents something we wish to "weave" into our lives as we weave it onto the pole, hopefully something that will also benefit the community as a whole, since this is a communal dance.
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