Beltane 2025

Merry Meet and Welcome to you magickal souls!!!!

It's time to think about Beltane, what it represents, and all the energies thatare swirling around at this time.

Beltane occurs around the first of May in the Northern Hemisphere and the same day in November for the Southern Hemisphere. It is believed to be the second fire festival of the Celtic year, with the other three being Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh.

In a lot of countries, Beltane is still celebrated as the May Day, where people dance around the May Pole, and even having a May Court with a Queen and Ladies. Almost every one of these is rooted in non-Christian tradition, and I don't use pagan because that word relates to people who live in the countryside instead of the religious connotation it has now.

It became a tradition that when the cattle were moved to the summer pastures, they would be made to pass between two fires, whose ash and smoke would protect them from disease. This is known from writings in a medieval text called “Cormac's Glossary”.

These same fires would then be used to light all of the fires within the homes of the druids and others of the area so that good luck and protection would be shared by everyone, not just the cows. In Ireland, this was done on the Hill of Tara.

Beltane is a celebration of youth and vitality, and typically occurs when the earth appears to be brimming with fertility and sensual energy. This comes from the new lives being born, the flowers that are blossoming, and the trees that are budding with fresh green leaves after their deep winter sleep.

What a lot of people may not know or even realise is that a lot of the traditions we still have today are based on these old ways and beliefs. Some that stand out are: the May Pole, the May Court and especially having a May Queen.

This is a sensual time and that meant both the divine feminine and the divine masculine would be celebrated because one does not exist without the other. This leads to the May Queen who would have had a King to rule the land together, embodying the God and Goddess. (Please note that this does not mean that there are only two genders or that I believe this.)

The May Pole brings us back to slightly more rustic and rudimentary symbols because it is the most simple version of a phallus. The ribbons that are wound together into a pretty pattern symbolise the creative forces of nature, fertility and the union of the divine – there's a reason why we say newlyweds have “tied the knot” because weddings, or handfastings as they were known, would have included a ritual where the couple had their hands tied together using a ribbon.

So Beltane is all about fertility, new growth, new life, the interconnectedness of it and us all, but how can we use these energies in our own lives? Well, that's what I'm about to share with you through the medium of a collective reading. I used the Mists of Avalon Oracle deck by Rose Inserra in conjunction with my own spread.

What area of our lives needs more sensual pleasure in it?

Morgan le Fay

With this card, I feel like the message is that we aren't taking our own individual brands of magick as needing fun or pleasure. But we do spells and rituals for our own pleasure so why shouldn't they be pleasurable to do?

Why are we so determined to deny ourselves pleasure when we are surrounded by it?

We should allow ourselves to be drawn to our pleasurable fate, through following our intuition and gut feelings.

If this means that we stand out as the only different person in our circles, families etc, then so mote it be because we fully deserve to experience pleasure when doing magick.

How can we share our joy with those we love so that we are unified?

Arianrhod

With this card, we are being told that our autonomy is of the utmost importance. This doesn't just mean what we do and say but also how we are treated by others. If someone sets out to control or manipulate us, then this goes against our autonomy.

Our natural and heartfelt joy will shine through our energies and bring us together with others who feel a similar way or who just want to celebrate us and our accomplishments to help us to feel pleasure.

Following our own life path or direction will bring us pleasure because we should always do that which makes us happy, rather than what makes others happy.

Where are we starting to bud but still need to work to blossom?

The Chalice Well

To many, Cups or Chalices are associated with the emotions so this card could indicate that we are starting to tap into our emotions and how they flow within and around us.

We may not be ready for their creativity, because let's be honest, we can do an awful lot when we feel excited, happy, or even angry.

Our emotions can fuel what we create but they can also be a sanctuary as a place where our emotions just are.

The Chalice Well is where we can dip in and out of our emotions, filling cups or emptying them as we need to. However, we may not always remember to do this with our modern lives.

How can we protect ourselves as we move through this time?

Galahad

With this card, we are being shown that we have the tools to protect and defend ourselves and our beliefs through the times ahead. We hold the spear or wand that holds the intention of protection.

However, if we want to invoke true protection, we need to be pure of heart. We need to be as non-specific as possible about what we are being protected from because we don't know what is behind the hill depicted within this card.

Something else we can use to protect ourselves is the phases of the Moon, particularly the crescent moon that is waxing from New to Full, as this is the perfect time energetically.

So this Beltane will be full of opportunities for us to find protection, have sensual experiences that excite more than just one of our physical senses as we have 5 of them. We will be shown how we can embody Arianrhod to share our joy with those around us when we dip into the Chalice Well.

I know that there is a lot going on at this time but I hope that this has helped you to make sense of it. If you'd like a more personal look at the energies of Beltane, my diary and inbox are open.

Peace and love to all!!!!