Creating Altars to Celebrate Beltane

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Beltane is the English name for the very ancient and very pagan Gaelic May Day festival. Beltane is one of the ‘cross-quarter days’, the four central holidays that make up the cycle of the seasons. There are also the ‘quarter days’, which are the beginnings of the seasons — the equinoxes and the solstices. Most commonly it is held on May 1st, or about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. This mid-spring holiday is about birth and rebirth, when plants are coming out of the ground, and young animals are being born. It is the celebration of renewed life after the long winter, as well as a celebration of sexuality, abundance and community. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. So, an altar built on the earth’s surface seems creatively perfect for this celebration, using the earth’s own elements and offerings for its form and structure, to fertilize and enliven all manner of things for the coming season. Read more.