WW – Beltane blessings

On Friday, that magical bookend to Samhain arrives, amidst the chilly New England version of Spring. There are a bazillion sites out on the interwebz with information on the holiday (one of my personal favorites is The Smart Witch), so I decided to put together a simple graphic, and include a brief blurb from another excellent resource for all things witchy – The Witch’s Voice (aka Witchvox).

First, the blurb –

Beltane — Holiday Details and History

Beltane, like Samhain, is a time of “no time” when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest. No time is when the two worlds intermingle and unite and the magic abounds! It is the time when the Faeries return from their winter respite, carefree and full of faery mischief and faery delight. On the night before Beltane, in times past, folks would place rowan branches at their windows and doors for protection, many otherworldly occurrences could transpire during this time of “no time”. Traditionally on the Isle of Man, the youngest member of the family gathers primroses on the eve before Beltane and throws the flowers at the door of the home for protection. In Ireland it is believed that food left over from May Eve must not be eaten, but rather buried or left as an offering to the faery instead. Much like the tradition of leaving of whatever is not harvested from the fields on Samhain, food on the time of no time is treated with great care.

Now, the graphic –

Bright Beltane blessings to all!

EDITED April 30, 2015 –

One of the lovely admins over at the Smart Witch Facebook Group (*waves hello to Melody*) posted a link to a blog post called, 5 Ways to Celebrate Beltane in 5 Minutes or Less by Tess Whitehurst. I love her suggestions! I’m including the first one below, but I highly recommend clicking the link and reading the rest – if all goes well, I plan to do them all tomorrow!

1. Make a candle bonfire. Beltane bonfires are traditional ways to purify by burning away the last remnants of winter and turning stuck energy into vibrant power and life. To perform the same energetic action in miniature, place a red pillar candle on a plate and arrange naturally shed twigs and fresh blossoms around its base. Light the candle, breathe deeply, and send your consciousness into the center of the flame, feeling/seeing/sensing the fire burn away all old unnecessary conditions and stuck energy into beautiful, radiant light.

EDITED AGAIN May 3, 2015

In the excitement of Beltane, I almost forgot about the Full Flower moon in Scorpio today! I put this together yesterday – granted, the full moon in this shot was taken last month, but I figure next year, I can redo them with the actual moon for each month. Bright full moon blessings to all!

Beltane Blessings! Beltane, like Samhain, is a time when the veil between worlds is thinnest. The two Sabbats are Yin (shady) and Yang (sunny) to each other – Beltane honors life, and Samhain honors death. Colors = Green, White, Yellow, Red. Symbols = May poles, flower wreaths, Bel fires, water wells. Ritual work = fertility, purification by water and fire, creativity, prosperity. May. The Flower Moon. May’s full moon is also called “Dyad” or “Hare.” May 3, 2015, the full moon will be in Scorpio. Magical workings include – career goals, psychic growth, intuition & secrets, energy, power creation, passion, insight, seed growing (literally and figuratively).