Beltane

So Beltane is coming up and i thought I would take a moment to say I cant wait lol.

Traditionally Beltane or May Day depending on who your talkin to and what beliefs your working off of is a day when the veil between the Faey World and ours are.
This meaning if your like me its ideal time to celebrate with your dragon, talk to the faey and just honor the faey and elfs for all they do and the Faey come out and play.

I chose on this day, since this is my first one I will be celebrating, to make some hand made flower centerpiece  for my alter, crown Freya for my May Queen, and try out some fun traditional holiday games.
Ill make a point to post some pics on here the day or two after :)

I also thought It would be fun to post some traditions and facts that I have found in my research: Hope you enjoy:

1. Beltane is Gaelic for Bright Fire or Goodly Fire, and there for is the festival of fire. Traditionally believers would make two huge bonfires dancing around and in between the two fires and/ or  taking turns jumping over them.

" "This was the Tein-eigen, the need fire. People jumped the fire to purify, cleanse and to bring fertility. Couples jumped the fire together to pledge themselves to each other. Cattle and other animals were driven through the smoke as a protection from disease and to bring fertility. At the end of the evening, the villagers would take some of the Teineigen to start their fires anew." (From Sacred Celebrations by Glennie Kindred)"

2. It is common for pagans to hold handfasting during this time due to this being the time where the goddess and god are married and most passionate. This is also a time where the married get a "hall pass" so to speak and spend the night "a merrymaking" through the forest or party ;)

3. The Maypole is a popular tradition where a pole, representing God, with a ring of flowers at the top, representing the Goddess, and many colorful ribbons hanging from the top to the ground, representing Life and the union of the Goddess and the God (earth and sky). Children take and do the "weave dance" or "ribbon dance", as some call it, and weave the ribbon around the pole.

4. It is common to place around bowls of milk and honey. This is a treat for the faey and are placed all over the house and yard in hopes that the faey would visit.

5. One traditional game during this time is to place a hazel nut into the coals, one for each of your crushes. Seeing as its more modern times take a permanent marker and write their names on the hazel nut. If one busts that person is not your love or is unfaithful, if it glows till its ashes then they are faithful and true. You could do this with just one for your current boyfriend or if your deciding on a crush and doesn't have to be just for Beltane in fact this is just a traditional game done on holidays or celebrations.

6. This is another fun game kinda asken to the Jewish game of   matzah  where the children have to find the Matzah. In this game Salomone hides a thimble, a ring and a penny. The children go in one at a time to find an object, just one, and after they find it they give it to the hider and he/she re-hides it and repeats till all the children have gone. The ideal is that the ones who finds the thimble will be in a state of "single blessedness" growing up, the ring represents the ones who will  be "speedy marred" and the penny are the ones who will be wealthy.

7.Another tradition during this time is dressing up in costumes. Many will dress as faey and make wings and masks and flower crowns or braid flowers into their hair.

8. Collect rain water, dew or water from a spring on this day to use in health and beauty spells.

9. Some of the traditional foods eaten during this time are Oatmeal, honey, breads, cereals and anything dairy.

10. It is also traditional for people to camp our all night and be with nature, gathering flowers and woods to decorate their home and to be one with mother nature.


Well thats all I plan to say for now I might make a couple of more post on the topic and Im planing on posting some pics later but this then

Blessed Be