Happy Beltane!

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays, but got a bit behind this weekend, so I'm posting today instead. :)

 

Beltane is coming up next weekend (Sunday 1st May or Sat 30th April if you celebrate from sundown to sundown). I've written a few posts with celebration ideas and inspiration over the past few years and last year I rounded them up, so for Beltane 2022 I'm just going to share some links and ideas, rather than a more in-depth post. :)

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Samhain is coming! Check out my Samhain/Hallowe'en Round-up post here (2021): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/10/samhainhalloween-round-up.html

 

Beltane (also spelt Beltaine) is the 3rd and final spring festival on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Imbolg/Imbolc on 2nd February and Oestara/Ostara aka the Spring Equinox around 21st March. It is a fire festival linked to the Fire God Bel. It is also a cross quarter festival and its other themes include mid-spring, the union of the God and Goddess and fertility, and the start of the shift from spring to summer (although summer is considered to "officially" start on Litha/the Summer Solstice in June). 

Beltane also has links to May Day (1st May) which is still celebrated here in the UK and in quite a few other countries. May Day is not a public holiday here but the first Monday in May is always a bank holiday (2nd May this year). There are usually 2 bank holidays in May, although this year the Spring Bank Holiday (the 2nd one) will be in early June. I think that's because of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

You can read a bit about how the modern May Day is linked to Beltane/old spring festivals here: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/uk/early-may-bank-holiday

 I included some info about May Day and ideas for celebrating in my 2018 Beltane post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html

 

Last year I did a round-up of my previous Beltane posts which you can see here (also a Winter-Spring update): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html

 

And here are some links from other sites:

Beltane info from Otherworldly Oracle: https://otherworldlyoracle.com/beltane/

Celebrating the Beauty of Beltane: https://witchwithme.com/2020/05/01/celebrating-the-beauty-of-beltane/

Crafts, DIY projects and decor ideas from Autumn of Witchcrafted Life: https://witchcraftedlife.com/40-fantastic-beltane-crafts-diy-projects-and-decor-ideas-for-may-1st-may-day/

 

My main celebration for sabbats is having/making food and drink. I normally have salad for Beltane, I make my own guacamole and/or a tomato and onion salad. This year I'm planning to make Kachumbari (a Kenyan tomato and onion salad), which I first made in 2019. Here's the recipe from Precious who runs the site Precious Core: https://www.preciouscore.com/kachumbari/

For Beltane 2020 and 2021 I made Previous' avocado salad which is also nice. Find the recipe here: https://www.preciouscore.com/simple-healthy-avocado-salad 

My favourite guacamole recipe is from the book The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya. You can find a link to a similar recipe in this post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2015/05/beltane-2015.html

 I also made this guacamole recipe from Don't Waste the Crumbs for Beltane 2019):   https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/simple-guacamole-recipe/

I think I'll probably buy some guacamole again like last year though! I like to have the salad with some other food from the shops (chicken, maybe ciabatta bread) and an elderflower or lemonade drink.

I'm also planning to go to the beach at sunset (I like to go for walks and take sunset pics for sabbats in the warmer months) and light a candle in the evening since Beltane is a fire festival (I usually light a white one). 

I'm glad that the weather is warming up, although some days are still colder. I love the beautiful blossom during spring. A lot of it is going now but there are still some on the trees. 

Hope that gave you some ideas for celebrating. :) It seems hard to believe that two years ago we were a few months into lockdown due to the pandemic! Although things are still not easy and also, it's a difficult time for those in Ukraine right now. I hope that things shift for the better in the coming months. :) 

How do you plan to celebrate? Happy Beltane! (Or Samhain!) :) 

Photo: Blossom tree at Hove Park. Moonsparkle 2022.