Sabbat Spotlight

OF BONFIRES AND MAYPOLES

Herald the arrival of spring with friendly bonfires and time honored Maypoles.

- By JD Hossman

Beltane, which is celebrated on May 1st and also called Mayday, heralds the arrival of spring. So many things bloom in spring be it flowers, animal babies, or love. One way to celebrate spring is with a handfasting ritual. A handfasting ritual isn ’t just for new love. Even if you ’ ve been married for ten years, it can be a way to renew your spiritual connection with your partner. It can be as simple or as extravagant as you ’d like, with no guests or a gathering of your closest friends. Some things to include in your handfasting ritual could be cakes and mead, a flower procession, and heartwarming words from or to friends and family.

Of course, if you don

’t wish to plan or participate in a full-blown handfasting ceremony, you could always just “jump the broom” . In earlier times, if a couple couldn ’t afford a church wedding they would jump the broom together as a symbol of the threshold of their new life together. Honey mead and cakes would follow with friends and family to honor the couple ’ s journey.

Beltane is synonymous with bonfires. Fire is generally used in rituals for cleansing. In the past, druids would make two large bonfires and drive their cattle between them to protect the animals from disease. Today, bonfires are a symbol of friendly gatherings and laid-back celebrations. A bonfire can be the center of a simple get-together or the focal point of a celebration for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Fond memories bubble forth of a large bonfire as a gathering point for festival participants to meet and socialize after a long day of instruction and shopping, not to mention the samplings from the mead vendor.

The old tradition of going “A-Maying” involved couples wandering off into the woods to participate in ‘ merry making’ and returning with the season ’ s first blooms of hawthorn blossoms to decorate home and hearth. Now that’ s a tradition I think needs reviving!

The Maypole was traditionally made from birch and represented the potency of the God. A ring of flowers placed at the top of the pole represented the fertile Goddess. I’ m sure at this point you can see the symbolism for yourself. Bright and colorful ribbons were hung from the ring of flowers and young maidens, with ribbon in hand, would dance around the pole both deosil (clockwise) and widdershins (counterclockwise) weaving the ribbons by ducking around their oncoming counterparts. What a sight to see! Some ways you may honor Beltane on your altar would be to include; hawthorn blossoms, ribbons or candles of red, green, white, and silver, spring flowers such as daisies, dandelions, tulips, oak leaves, birch bark with a spell written on it, items related to fertility such as decorated eggs, and even your favorite goddess statue. Don ’t forget the mead and cakes! You can add honey to tea if you don ’t partake of any of the mead varieties.

There are many ways to celebrate Beltane. You can customize your ritual festivities in any way that fits into your life and beliefs. Use our free spell/ritual grimoire page template to create your own. Any way you make it, spring is a commemoration of new life blossoming all around us in an explosion of color and activity. Go outside and breathe in the air of creation. What a great time to be alive!