The festival of Beltaine, which literally means "Bel's fire"
(Beal-teinne) marks the beginning of the summer and the light half of
the Celtic year.
Traditionally, all fires were extinguished on the eve of Beltaine, to be
re-lit from the sacred 'needfire' kindled at dawn. The Celts were
predominantly pastoral people and Beltaine was the time when the cattle
were put out to their summer grazing on the higher slopes. The cattle
were driven through the sacred Beltaine fires for purification. The
sacred fire would also, it was believed, bring protection, good fortune
and fertility to the people.

It was also the time when young Celtic warriors would put their fighting
skills to the test in the challenges of the Beltaine Games. With the
hard work of planting accomplished, it was a time when the clans came
together in celebration of the sun and to hope that the crops would grow
and flourish in the months ahead.

At Beltaine it was long believed by Highlanders that the fairies, or
Good People, were abroad. To combat their enchantments (fairies were
prone to stealing milk from cows, or even turning it sour) rowan crosses
were hung in byres, and domestic animals were sprinkled with water from
holy wells. It was particularly important that no fire (kindling) should
be given away at this time - a survival of the Celtic festival when all
hearth fires were extinguished  and could only be re-lit from the sacred
need-fire.  Actually the preparation for Beltane would start a few days
before it, with the gathering of the nine sacred woods used for the
kindling of the fire. At dawn the Bel-fire or Need-fire would be started
and then torches lit from it to be carried home to relight the hearth
fires.

It officially begins at moonrise on May Day Eve (April 30), and marks
the beginning of the second half of the ancient Celtic year. It is the
Beginning of the Mother's rule and is one of the two most important
Sabbats of the year. This festival is the counterpart of Samhain or All
Hollow's Eve. This is the compliment of Samhain, the other time in the
year that the veil between the Earth and the Otherworld is thinnest. At
Samhain the Otherworld visits us, at Beltane we can visit the
Otherworld.

According to Robert Graves the Beltane need fire was kindled by drilling
an oak plank with specific incantations and the fire had special
properties. According to Irish traditions the first Beltane fire was
suppose to be lit by the High King, then all the others were lit. The
fires were lit by the Head Arch Druid and the other "fifths" or kingdoms
were lit in a East, West, South, and North direction, by their Arch
Druids or Lords of the area to form a circle of protection around the
Island.

It is celebrated as an early agricultural festival accompanying the
first turning of the herds out to wild pasture. The rituals were held
to promote fertility. The cattle were driven between the Belfires to
protect them from ills and to ensure fertility. Contact with the
fire was interpreted as symbolic contact with the sun. People also
jumped the fire for fertility and prosperity.

It was a time of fun and games. The time of planting is finished and a
time of waiting has begun. The Beltane Games were a time to test
the young warriors against each other in friendly matches, archery
contests, feasting, dancing, story telling and a chance for people
to get together.

It is also considered as the coming together of the God and Goddess in
fertile union to add new life to the crops and hasten their
growth. "Beltane" means "Fire of Bel", the Sun God who's accession feast
we now celebrate. Bel or Belinos being associated with the
Apollo and Baal. As a Side note Bel, Belinos, Balor or Belenus are
traced back to Baal, they all mean Lord. They are more of a Fire God
than a solar god. Also the Irish and Scottish word for the sun is
"grian", another is "Mor", they are both feminine. So the Irish and
Scots both thought of the Sun as female, a giver of life.

As summer begins, weather becomes warmer, and the plant world blossoms,
an exuberant mood prevails. It is a time of unabashed
sexuality and passion. Young people spend the entire night in the woods
"a-maying", and dance around the phallic Maypole the next
morning. Older married couples may remove their wedding rings (and the
restrictions they imply) for this one night. May morning is a
magical time for "wild" water (dew, flowing streams, and springs) which
is collected and used to bathe in for beauty, or to drink for
health.

Some Beltane traditions are: Make a rope out of the tail hair of Cattle
and drag it in the dew chanting "Milk of this one down, milk of
that one up, into my own big pail" to ensure a good milk supply.
Bannocks cakes made with milk, eggs and oatmeal by hand and not
suppose to come into contact with steel were made up unlit the end of
the 19th century. To stop enchantments from fairies rowan
cross' were hung and people and animals sprinkled with water from sacred
wells. The rowan branch is hung over the house fire on May
Day to preserve the fire itself from bewitchment (the house fire being
symbolic of the luck of the house.

The May Queen (and often King) is chosen from among the young people,
and they go singing from door to door throughout the town
carrying flowers or the May tree, soliciting donations for a merrymaking
in return for the "blessing of May". In some rituals, a King and
Queen May symbolize the male and female principles of productivity. This
is symbolic of bestowing and sharing of the new creative
power that is stirring in the world. As the kids go from door to door,
the May Bride often sings to the effect that those who give will
get of nature's bounty through the year.

In parts of France, some jilted youth will lie in a field on May Day and
pretend to sleep. If any village girl is willing to marry him, she
goes and wakes him with a kiss; the pair then go to the village inn
together and lead the dance which announces their engagement.
The boy is called "the betrothed of May."

Branches and flower were brought back and woven into garlands of
intersecting hoops with two balls dangling within the circle. It
was supposedly made out of rowan and marsh marigolds. This is still done
in some Irish villages today. Also staying up all night and
dancing among the crops was traditional. Some say that is were the
tradition that witches fly on broomstick came from. That the old
pagans use to dance with phallic staffs and jump as high as they could
because that was as high as the crops would grow.

The last known public Beltaine festival was held on Arran was as late as
1895. The Beltaine fires and festivals went on all over the
Scottish Highlands until the mid-nineteenth century. Beltaine rites
still are carried over at several places today. The famous Cloutie Well
(the
Blue Well or Well of youth) on Culloden moor in Inverness-shire is still
visited on the first sunday of May and strips of cloth are still
left there on the trees. Arthur seat in Edinburgh, people still climb to
the top of this summit to watch the May sunrise.

The Christian religion substitute for Beltane was celebrated as
"Roodmas". In Germany, it was the feast of Saint Walpurga, or
"Walpurgisnacht". Later when the Christian church took over the Beltane
observances, a service was held in the church, followed by a
procession to the fields or hills, where the priest kindled the fire and
blessed field and animals.

The astrological date for Beltane is around May 5 when the sun reaches
15 degrees Taurus, this was the original time of the Sabbat. It
is believed that Beltane was not adjusted when the calender was
recalculated and it should be closer to that date. This is a "power
point" in astrology and is shown in the Tarot as the Bull in the cards
World and Wheel of fortune.

Hawthorn, Whitethorn or May is the Goddess tree whose white flowers
indicate the time of Beltane, the Good Fires, which burn away
the evils of winter and signal the start of the Goddess' reign again.
Thorns are protective trees and Whitethorn, Quickthorn and
Hawthorn are all sacred to the Goddess. The Celtic letter name was Uath.
There was a strong taboo on breaking hawthorn branches or
bringing them into the house except on May Day. Then sprigs are cut for
the Goddess. This taboo is still strong for the Irish for they
loath to cut a lone hawthorn, a fairy tree.

Sycamore is a God tree and has a long magical association, for its
leaves are often those shown on foliated heads of the God of Nature,
Jack in the Green, found as a pub sign and in old churches. The wood is
used green for craving and is often used for Welsh "love
spoons" given as tokens of betrothal at around May Day. The phallic May
Pole were put up on many a village green as folk celebrated
the marriage of the WHite Goddess (Marian) to the Green Man or Robin
Hood.

A few of Baltaine's Historical/mythological events are from the ancient
Irish 'Book of Invasions', the first settler of Ireland, Partholan,
arrived on May 1st; and it was on May 1st that the plague came which
destroyed his people. The landing of the Tuatha De Danaan in
Ireland and years later, the Tuatha De Danann were conquered by the
Milesians on May Day. In Welsh myth, the perennial battle
between Gwythur and Gwyn for the love of Creudylad took place each May
Day; and it was on May Eve that Teirnyon lost his colts and
found Pryderi. And Queen Guinevere's 'abduction' by Meliagrance.

May is named in honor of the goddess Maia, originally a Greek mountain
nymph, later identified as the most beautiful of the Seven
Sisters, the Pleiades. By Zeus, she is also the mother of Hermes, god of
magic. Maia's parents were Atlas and Pleione, a sea nymph.