Beltane

New PTU MEGA Kit: Beltane
Includes 100 + Elements in PNG Format
15+ Papers, 900x900, crated at 300 DPI.

Beltane is a Pagan holiday, and one of the eight Sabbats. It falls about halfway between the spring equinox (Ostara) and the coming summer solstice, Litha. The holiday celebrates spring at its peak, and the coming summer. Beltane also sometimes goes by the name May Day.

Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of Bel' (Bel was a Celtic deity). Celtic festivals often are tied in to Beltane with the needs of the community. Fire festivals celebrates of the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year.

Almost all Pagans celebrate a cycle of eight festivals, which are spaced every six or seven weeks through the year and divide the wheel into eight segments. Four of the festivals have Celtic origins and are known by their Celtic names, Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain

The word ‘Beltane’ roughly translates as ‘bright fire’ and, as such, one of the most important rituals, which survives today in our modern festival, concerns the lighting of the Beltane bonfire. Fire was seen as a purifier and healer and would have been walked around and danced/jumped over by the members of the community.

The festival would also have been a time of courtship rituals and a celebration of our own fertility! ♥

The important point to note when thinking about our own festival is the joy and the revelry that is fostered in the ritual. It is about casting off the darkness and celebrating the light. It is a time for celebrating fertility, both in the context of our biological functions as well as our own creative energies, the fertility of our creative community.