Beltane (AKA May Day; derived from the Irish Gaelic “Bealtaine” or the Scottish Gaelic “Bealtuinn,” among a variety of other spellings I’ve come across) is the cross-quarter between Ostara (Spring Equinox) and Litha (Summer Solstice).

For Wiccans (including Blue Star Wiccans), it is the time the Lady and Lord come together to create new life, a symbol for the blossming natural life during Spring. Pleiades concerns ourselves with celebating the embodiment of, well, our Selves! And our loved ones, family, and friends. While at Ostara we blessed seeds such that they may root and grow strong, at Beltane we remember that seeds hold all the potential needed to blossom when placed in the right environment.

The ancient Celts celebrated four fire festivals: Beltane, Lammas, Samhain, and Imbolc. Wiccans associate the element of fire with Will (as in, the faculty of the mind). A healthy Will is essential to the ability to practice magic! Beltane invites us to center and celebrate our abilities to create something out of nothing, as the Gods sometimes do. There is magic whenever Like and Unlike come together to create something altogether New and Different. There is magic in the ability to wake up one day and start something new, whether that be a fresh outlook on life or that new project you’ve been sitting on.

In my reading, I also found connections between the ancient Celtic celebration and other Spring rites from the Greco-Roman Hellenistic period. As Mike Nichols writes in his article Beltane: A Celebration of May Day, “Some of these [Celtic] customs seem virtually identical to the old Roman feast of flowers, the Floralia, three days of unrestrained sexuality that began at sundown April 28th and reached a crescendo on May 1st.”

     I traced this connection back even further to its deeper roots in Ancient Greek culture, the Anthesteria/Protomagia flower celebrations. “These festivals and others herald…the apex of spring – a time of merriment, awakening, and bounty; a liminal time when the barriers between our world and the other world are thinned. In many traditions and cultures, it is also a time of divine union and fertility.” (The Wild Hunt “Pagan Community Notes: Beltaine 2025“)

Whichever culture you look to for inspiration, I hope your Beltane is bright and full of love! Next up will be Litha, the Summer Solstice, typically falling on June 20th or 21st.

Blessed Be!
Marrow, 2°