Activities to Celebrate Beltane

Beltane has some very well-known traditions: bonfires, maypoles, dancing, flower crafts, faerie magick, the Great Rite, handfasting ceremonies, and more. You can find articles about these in both this issue and previous Beltane issues. But not everyone has the space for a bonfire or maypole. Flower crafts can be costly or exacerbate allergies. The Great Rite isn’t part of everyone’s practice. And weddings can’t just happen because you want something to do for the Sabbat. So, if these common Beltane activities aren’t possible for you (or if they are and you are just looking for more to do), here are some ideas to celebrate Beltane in different ways.

Get Outdoors

There are several ways to celebrate Beltane outside, even if you don’t have your own yard or you can’t attend a bonfire.

Go to a local park and have a picnic or go for a walk. If you have kids, play in the playground or on the grass. Play a game of pickup soccer with friends. Lay in the grass and take a nap or read. Make sure you are taking time to reflect on your gratitude for the elements, especially the Sun. Stand still for a moment and feel the sun on your skin. Put your hands on the earth or in the grass and be grateful for rebirth and growth in nature.

Go for a hike. Pay attention to the different plants you pass, perhaps taking time to stop and sketch a few that strike you. Look for sunny spots to stop and give thanks to the sun. Gently feel the leaves or petals of plants and flowers as you pass, visualizing their energy as you touch, passing your gratitude through your touch.

Go camping. What better way to connect with nature than to spend all of Beltane in it?

Camping is a great way to really experience nature in a multitude of ways. Camping is also a way to get the space you need to incorporate some of the more traditional Beltane elements. Though you likely can’t have a bonfire that towers over you, a campfire is a great substitute and leaves plenty of room for dancing. You can do a make-shift maypole at the campsite as well.

Use the downtime to make flower crowns or do some traditional Beltane weaving (see the 2019 Beltane issue for more on that). You can play outside, hike, and make a Beltane feast.

Volunteer or donate. Get out and do something to help heal nature, such as a litter cleanup. See if a community garden needs help clearing areas for planting. Donate to a charity that focuses on ocean cleanup (some even provide jewelry made from the plastic they remove as an incentive for your donation).

Refresh yourself. Wash your face with fresh morning dew. On Beltane morning, go out, before the sun has completely dried the grass and plants, and pass your hands over the blades of grass or plant leaves to gather some dew. Spread it over your face, feeling the freshness, the crispness, visualizing the renewal and beautification. Legend says washing your face with Beltane morning dew keeps you beautiful all year. It also connects you to nature and the Earth and Water elements.

Celebrate Love

Beltane is a time for love. Frequently celebrated through sex, such as the Great Rite, or marriage, with Beltane being a common date for handfasting in Wicca. But it isn’t just romantic or physical love that can be celebrated at Beltane; love of family, friends, and self should be celebrated as well!

There are many ways to celebrate your friends and family at Beltane, and not all of them require gathering together! While joining together for food and fun is a wonderful way to celebrate the Sabbat, that isn’t always practical or possible. Celebrate your family and friends by sending them flower messages, creating art for them based on their interests, or baking a Beltane treat for them. Even hobbies can be an intention-based practice that brings your Craft into action. It is a way to infuse blessings into what you create.

Beltane is a wonderful time to celebrate self-love as well, so take the time to treat yourself! Splurge on a favorite meal, putting your intentions into each component as you cook. Take a renewing and beautifying bath filled with magickal aromas, oils, and salts. Get a haircut or try new makeup. Go shopping. Do whatever makes you feel good, and remind yourself how amazing, wonderful, and deserving of your own love you are!

Blessings of Abundance

Though the abundance usually celebrated at Beltane is fertility, that isn’t the only thing we are grateful for. We feast to show our gratitude for the abundance of the earth. You can ask for and be grateful for abundance in other areas of your life as well.

Create something together as a couple, family, friend group, and be grateful for the abundance of love you share between you. Do a ritual to celebrate and grow your spiritual and emotional wealth. Make a wish box and plant it, as Beltane is a great time for wishes to grow in abundance along with the fruit of the earth.

Engage in some kind of abundant decadence yourself! Get drunk on a spring wine. Have an extra helping of honey cake. Stay up all night, drinking in the abundant beauty of the universe. Be sure to give your gratitude for the blessing of abundance you are engaging in.

Whether you are celebrating the Sabbat as a solitary witch, with your coven, with others who practice, or with family and friends who don’t practice the Craft but are happy to be included, there are multiple ways to celebrate the Beltane Sabbat that honor tradition and draw on the innate energies and magick of the day. Find the activities that work best for you!