Beltane at Home

AS the start of summer Beltane/Mayday is kind of one of the two biggest holidays in the pagan calendar (the other being its 6-month opposing marker of the start of winter, Samhain/Halloween) and is normally spent out in the blooming and vibrant majesty of nature, celebrating the light time of the year, life, fertility and …. labour rights?

This year however, we are all stuck inside.

Maypoles will go un-danced. Flower crowns un-bestowed. Fertility rituals… well, you can definitely still do them whilst inside.

So I figured I would give a few ideas of how to celebrate in this trying time.

Bring the nature inside with you.

If you can’t go outside, time to bring it inside. Now is the perfect time to learn to take care of plants or maybe trying to grow your own vegetables. Much of the stuff you need can be picked up at the larger supermarkets when doing necessary food trips or ordered to your door, depending on the lock-down restrictions in your location.

Growing plants from seed, or even taking care of a potted plant you bought already grown can be a surprisingly enriching experience. learning how to nurture a life that has fundamentally different ways of existing brings a lot of lessons.

There is also the benefit that greenery improves our mental health just by being there, which is always a bonus.

Mediate on The symbols of Summer.

Sitting down, closing your eyes and breathing is one of the best things you can do right now. Meditation can be a mental liferaft in tough and uncertain times. Using it to further your connection with the world will also bring great benefit.

make a comfortable space and setting within your home and sit down and breath until you can feel you body relax and slow, and then try to bring iconography of summer into your mind; rich green trees, abundant wildlife, the sun at its hight of power, etc.

Join virtual Gathering

So if you’re not too burnt out on group video calls, now makes a good reason to set one up with those you care about. It could be a small gathering.

If you want to join in something bigger, John Beckett is doing a live Beltane ritual on may the 1st that can be found here https://www.facebook.com/john.beckett.56/posts/3508597145836169

The Beltane Fire Society society, organisers of the biggest Beltane celebration in the UK, are having on online festival April 30th from 7PM GMT. https://beltane.org/bonfire-beltane-online-fire-festival/


There a just a few ideas. I would love to hear what other people are going to be doing to mark Beltane/Mayday in their own way under the circumstances.

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