What is Bealtaine?
Bealtaine is one of the four major Irish annual Celtic festivals along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasa. It happens on May 1st and celebrates the return of the light. Its traditions predate Christianity and variations of them are celebrated around Europe.
What’s to celebrate?
Bealtaine is about celebrating the beginning of summer, says Jan Tetteroo of the Druid Grove of Anu in Killarney. Proper summer is beginning now. Bealtaine falls roughly between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and for our Pagan ancestors it was a big deal. “The cattle would normally go out, having been inside all winter. Farmers lit two big fires and would chase their cattle through the fires to purify them from bugs and viruses,” says Tetteroo.
In a belief system mash-up, some farmers will bless their land and farm buildings with holy water on May eve. “The farmers will say, ‘Yes, we are Catholics’, but below this, there is still a lot of pagan left.”
Light my fire
Birds are nesting, the trees are in blossom, nature is waking up and we are seeing the first signs of the harvest coming, says Tetteroo. “Bealtaine is when people traditionally got engaged or married too, so there was also a culture of couples going through the fire as a blessing or a fertility right,” he says. It’s something modern pagans still do. “We will have a small celebration here on Sunday with some friends and we have a recently married couple and they will go through the fires as well,” says Tetteroo. If you’ve got your eye on someone, now’s a great time for love. Send that message.
Try flower power
Bealtaine is joyous, but watch your back, particularly between sunrise on May Eve and sunrise on May Day, when malign forces, such as pishogues [fairy curses], are at their most potent. There are ways to protect yourself. “Don’t pass a fairy fort without honouring the good people first, even if it is just by intention,” says Tetteroo. “Not doing so would bring bad luck.” Spilling butter, milk or salt isn’t great either. And don’t bring those things out of the house or loan them. To do so would be to give away your profit. If you light a fire, to jump over or for any other reason, let it go out naturally. Keep an eye on the kids too. “There was the belief that if you don’t watch out, the fairies would steal your child and put a changeling in its place.”
A good catch-all protection is to put yellow May flowers, such as gorse and primrose, on or over your doorstep to keep bad luck outside, says Tetteroo.
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Get together
Bealtaine should be celebrated as a feast, just like Christmas. “Have a nice meal and sit together,” says Tetteroo. “We will invite some people from our inner circle to get together, to eat and drink. We will make some music and of course we will do a celebration or ceremony. We have a young couple who are just married so we will honour them as the May king and queen,” he says.
“You could also visit a holy well, fairy fort, stone circle or other liminal place and put your intentions out there,” says Tetteroo. Or decorate a bush or tree with ribbons and flowers. “Now is a good time to place your wishes outside and bring luck or prosperity to yourself.”
