Today, May 1st, is Beltane. Happy Beltane!
Beltane celebrates the transition between Spring and Summer. As the beginning of the Summer months Beltane is one of the four major ancient Gaelic seasonal festivals, alongside Samhain (marking the start of winter), Imbolc (welcoming spring) and Lughnasadh (honoring the harvest season).
Beltane also sometimes goes by the name May Day. Beltane is often associated with the Celtic god Bel; the word Beltane literally means fire of Bel. Beltane rituals include bonfires, often with cattle being driven between them for purification and protection, and dancing around or leaping over the flames.
In some of the ancient myths Beltane marked the shift between the control of the old crone of winter (Cailleach) to the influence of Brigit a wise woman in many areas.
The Cailleach is a powerful figure in Gaelic mythology, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, representing the winter, weather, and the land. She is often depicted as a wise crone or old woman, and her name translates to "hag" or "veil." The Cailleach is believed to control the weather and the landscape.
Brigit was written about as early as the 800s by an Irish Bishop and King of Munster who wrote:
“Brigit, i.e. a poetess, daughter of the Dagda. This is Brigit the female sage, or woman of wisdom, i.e. Brigit the goddess whom poets adored, because very great and very famous was her protecting care. It is therefore they call her goddess of poets by this name. Whose sisters were Brigit the female physician [woman of leechcraft,] Brigit the female smith [woman of smithwork] ; from whose names with all Irishmen a goddess was called Brigit.”
The Dagda is the father of the Irish gods, the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the Irish god of druidism. In Celtic mythology, the Tuatha Dé Danann were a race inhabiting Ireland before the arrival of the Milesians (the ancestors of the modern Irish). The Tuatha Dé Danann were said to have been skilled in magic, and the earliest reference to them relates that, after they were banished from heaven because of their knowledge, they descended on Ireland in a cloud of mist.
They were thought to have disappeared into the burial mounds when overcome by the Milesians. A fictitious history of Ireland from the earliest times treats them as actual people and they were so regarded by native historians up to the 17th century. In popular legend they have become associated with the numerous fairies still supposed to inhabit the Irish landscape.
Their descendants, the Druids, were powerful, intellectual elites who served as the arbiters of truth and justice amongst their Celtic clans. In cases where human lives hung in the balance, druids effectively took on the roles of judge and jury (and perhaps even executioner on occasion). As philosophers and leaders of Celtic spiritual life, druids preached the immortality and transmigration of the soul, i.e, the concept that souls travel to another world — the Otherworld -— after death.
As scientists and astronomers, druids studied the movement of celestial bodies and developed both lunar and solar calendars. Becoming a druid required up to twenty years of study, and druidic knowledge was passed on orally. There were no summaries, no scrolls. Just words and memory.
Beltane is also seen as a time when the veil between the spirit world and the mortal world is thin, making it a good time to contact spirits or interact with the Fae, or fairy folk.
Beltane, or May Day, folklore is rich with traditions and beliefs surrounding the celebration of spring and the return of light. Key aspects include the "bringing in the May," involving gathering wildflowers and green branches, and the Maypole, symbolizing the world tree and fertility. May Day is also linked to the May Queen, representing springtime and the coming growing season.
Beltane is a powerful reminder of our connection to the natural world and the cycles of nature. It's a time to observe the changes in the seasons, to appreciate the abundance of life, and to live in harmony with the earth as Beltane emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things, reminding us that we are all part of a larger web of life.
Compiled from many sources.