Beltane Day 2024 is on Tuesday, April 30, 2024: How did you spend your May Day?

Tuesday, April 30, 2024 is Beltane Day 2024. May Day Events: Maypoles, Morris Men and Marches May Day around the world The

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Beltane/May Day....small ritual with friends, and yes we danced the maypole.

It was Beltane/May Day today (or yesterday to be exact lol)?

It is good to have 'special days' in which to celebrate and reflect on nature. Did you know that the Celts had only 4 holidays, and that these were the Cross-quarter days that are now widely used in the pagan community, especially by Wiccans? These were the days when the changes of the season were in full swing.

I used to do much more celebrating of the days than I do right now, but that is do to my life's circumstances. Still, I acknowledge the day and the Goddess or God or both as appropriate, and ask for guidance until the next festival day. If you have an open pagan group in your community, then I would go to their celebrations when you can in order to fully appreciate the Feasts that these days are supposed to be.

To pagans and wiccans: what is Beltane?

Beltane

Beltane (Pronounced "B'yal-t'n") is an ancient celebration of fertility.

Fertility celebrations have their origins in Ancient Mesopotamia. Orgies took

place along with feasting to encourage the fertility of food animals and the

abundance of crops for the coming year. Beltane is directly opposite Samhain

(Halloween) on the Satanic Calendar as Samhain is the time of reaping. Beltane

is also the celebration of the return of the Sun, the planting of crops, and the

rebirth of spring.

In Ancient Mesopotamia, this fertility rite was known as “Zagmuku,” Zagmuku

was celebrated at the first New Moon after the spring equinox. The Ancients also

celebrated the harvest, directly opposite Zagmuku, which was the original

Samhain.

Because the holiday focused on rebirth, the original creation epic known the

Enuma Elish, was recited on the fourth day of the festival which lasted 12 days.

Originally, the celebration was in honor of the Sumerian God, Enlil (Baal, aka

Beelzebub) and this is where the name “Beltane” originates. In Mesopotamia,

the New Year’s Festival also served to reaffirm the bond between the community

and the Gods, the community was represented by the king in temple ritual, for

the king was the one responsible for the continual tending of earthly harmony

and was held accountable to the Gods. The king joined with the high priestess in

the Inner Sanctum of the ziggurat, and both performed ritual sex.

The Satanic year is based upon the natural cycle. The eight major Sabbats are

the equinoxes and solstices of the Sun’s year (666), and the 4 cross quarter

days that come between them. The four equinoxes and solstices are based upon the

motion of the Sun. The equinoxes are at the center of the Sun’s movement and

the solstices are the endpoints of the movement. These four solar points are

cosmic events based upon the movements of the earth and Sun, symbolizing the

interaction of light and darkness. “This date has long been considered a

'power point' of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Bull, one of the

'tetramorph' figures featured on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of

Fortune. (The other three symbols are the Lion, the Eagle, and the Spirit.)”

¹

These are also seen in the Egyptian Sphinx. “Astrologers know these four

figures as the symbols of the four 'fixed' signs of the Zodiac (Taurus, Leo,

Scorpio, and Aquarius), and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of

Witchcraft.” ²

Beltane is midpoint between the vernal equinox and summer solstice. Due to the

alignment of the earth at this important time, telepathic communication with the

Gods and spirit world is very open. This is an excellent time to communicate

with Demons

Beltane begins at sundown on the evening of, April 30. This custom originates

with the Celts who always figured their days from sundown to sundown. Sundown

was the time when Druid priests lit the Baal-fires on the tops of hills.

Beltane fires symbolized the spark of life and fertility. Traditionally, the

Beltane fires were composed of wood taken from nine different types of trees and

kindled on a specially prepared sacred grid. The grid was created by outlining a

square on the ground and dividing it into eight smaller squares. Turf from the

eight outer squares was dug out and removed, leaving the ninth square in the

center intact. “The Beltane fire symbolized the central hearth of the

community. ‘These local sacred hearths represented the mystic divine fire at

the center of all things, whose spark of life is carried by each of us.” ³

The Eve of Beltane has traditionally been celebrated in the nude with orgiastic

sex. Couples would pair off, jump through the flames of the bonfires, and go

into the woods until dawn, engaging in all night sex after intense feasting.

Wearing clothing or ritual robes was much too dangerous when jumping through the

flames. Frequently, cattle were driven between two such bon-fires (Oak wood was

the favorite fuel for them). The following morning they were taken to their

summer pastures.

Celebrants danced nude around the maypole. The Maypole is derived from the

Egyptian obelisk and represents the erect phallus (penis). It is traditionally

constructed from wood of the birch tree, the tree of purification.

“In the words of Witchcraft writers Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Beltane

celebration was principally a time of '...unashamed human sexuality and

fertility.' Such associations include the obvious phallic symbolism of the

Maypole and riding the hobby horse. Even a seemingly innocent children's nursery

rhyme, 'Ride a cock horse to Banburry Cross...' retains such memories. And the

next line '...to see a fine Lady on a white horse' is a reference to the annual

ride of 'Lady Godiva' though Coventry. Every year for nearly three centuries, a

sky-clad (nude) village maiden (elected Queen of the May) enacted this Pagan

rite, until the puritans banned it.