Daniel Pharr
Originally only two seasons were recognized by the ancient Celts: winter, beginning on Samhain, and summer, beginning on Beltaine. Samhain also marked the new year. So as darkness came before light and night before day, winter came before summer. Beltaine, the first day of summer, is a lunar holiday occurring on the Full or dark Moon nearest the mid-year lunar cycle. Beltaine has remained the second most prominent high holiday after Samhain, even after adding Imbolc and Lughassadh, and later the solstices and equinoxes. If only two high holidays in a year can be celebrated, rightfully those two holidays would be Samhain and Beltaine.
Like every other sabbat, Beltaine was fixed to a particular day on the calendar in an effort to convert the celebration from a lunar-based holiday to a solar-based holiday. Thus Beltaine landed on May 1, six months after Samhain’s solar date, and since night comes before day, the celebration begins at sundown on April 30 and ends at sundown on May 1.
Beltaine Sun
Beltaine on April 30 will occur under a waxing first quarter Moon in Leo. The first quarter of the lunar cycle can manifest as a period of increased stress brought on by an intense yearning to achieve and be seen. Leo multiplies these desires by furthering the need for attention and being noticed. Trying to accomplish something, anything, to quench the thirst of recognition, can be quite nerve-racking, as mistakes are made and complications increase. However, the Leo need to be the center of attention also provides vibrance and lets shine an inner light of vitality. This is a wonderful time to be on stage, to perform, to be in the public eye. Utilize this energy to act out a Beltaine ritual, lead the singing of the ancient songs around the balefire, dance wildly, or call down the deities and directions for the night’s work. Self-expression in any positive manner is appropriate at this time.
The Leo Moon influence will be around all night on April 30 and until 12:04 p.m. on May 1 when the Moon goes void-of-course and moves into Virgo on May 2 at 1:35 a.m. Before the Moon goes void-of-course, consider making any large purchases, especially a car, truck, motorcycle, or other form of transportation. Leaving on a longer journey is also recommended at this time. Traveling is good for the Celtic soul, as the ancients were always searching for adventure. This Moon will open the door to the inner dragonslayer.
Gardening
The month of May is the height of planting season. The earth has been collecting heat and light from the sun for months and has warmed to the point that naturally sown seeds are popping open and sending forth all manner of May flowers. Plant everything, sow all seeds, transplant from under glass into the earth all day on May 6 and through the night to sunrise. A waxing Moon moves into Scorpio at 3:04 a.m. on the sixth and becomes a Full Scorpio Moon on the seventh just after sunrise. A waxing water Moon nearing fullness in May auspiciously marks the perfect time for planting, transplanting, and sowing. Likewise, planting is advised on the evening of May 24, and all night and day on the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth, under a waxing Cancer Moon.
Beltaine Moon
The more historically correct lunar Beltaine occurs on May 7 under the Full Scorpio Moon at 6:45 a.m. The Beltaine balefire and celebration is most appropriate on the evening of the sixth under a nearly Full Scorpio Moon, and dancing by the Maypole might well happen in the daylight hours of May 6. Although Beltaine does not officially begin until sundown, festivities leading up to Beltaine, like the Maypole, can certainly occur earlier on the warm summer afternoon. The Maypole is usually constructed some days ahead, as time permits, and erected just prior to the dance by the women in the celebration, provocatively holding, carrying, and caressing the pole until it stands on its own fully erect. The men usually dig and prepare the hole in the ground to receive the pole in a similarly provocative manner.
Be sure to make offerings of milk and bread when calling down the deities, and ideally place them into the hole before receiving the shaft. The dance around the pole in opposite directions can be confusing at the start, so a dance conductor of sorts is very helpful in starting folks on the right foot. Music or at minimum a drumbeat are essential to fuel the frolicking interweaving of dancers.
The jubilant festivity on this first night of summer, a warm night around a substantial blaze, can be exhilarating. Light and breezy ritual clothing is best, or choose to enter the circle only partially dressed or skyclad. In many celebrations, Beltaine is synonymous with debauchery. Decorate braided hair with picked flowers. Decorate face and body with henna or charcoal, smear symbols on the body using carbon black from the fire, to aid in energetic flow and spiritual release, self-protection, and proclaiming the future. Decorate the ritual area with ribbons, candles, and hang garlands of flowers. Serve egg dishes, oatmeal, and lamb. Build a great fire. Place boughs of cedar or other sacred trees on the fire and use other boughs to waft the smoke onto the revelers as a blessing and a banishing of evil, evil intent, or malady. Set plenty of drummers to a beat, move and dance around the fire, jump the fire, build the energy to climax in the enactment of the sacred union of the goddess and the god.
Dark Moon
The dark Moon in Gemini occurs at 1:38 p.m. on May 22. This will be a playful time for the esbat. The dark Moon is always in support of divination. In the sign of Gemini, jollity and affability will add some spicy cheer to the work of divining the future. Further lubricate the process with some of the last remaining store of mead, if desired.
Green Man
Have a volunteer become the Green Man for the celebration. The Green Man is a representation of the spirit of the land, emulating the God bringing forth the abundance of the earth. The Green Man’s enduring benevolent presence metaphorically fertilizes minds and bodies with the mischievous lifting of skirts, pinching of posteriors, and other such Scorpio trouble-making.