May Day History Beltane and the May Pole

Beltane is one of my favorite holidays, but I don't like writing rituals for it. Usually my Beltane rituals tend to revolve around the transition from young person to adult (Maiden to Mother, Goatboy to Horned God) but I wanted to go in a different

Spring is finally, incontrovertibly back after a long and harsh winter, which gives us all a reason to celebrate by attending the 24th annual iteration of the Center for Symbolic Studies (CSS)'s Celtic Beltane festival in Tillson this Saturday

But that didn't stop thousands of people from gathering on Calton Hill to see in the summer, at the Beltane Fire Festival. For some it's a modern interpretation of an ancient pagan tradition. For others it's simply a spectacular show. Whatever meaning

Beltane is not, here, a time of courting your lover in the woods all night and bringing back boughs of May blossom. The hawthorn – the May – will not show its flowers here until June. (And besides, it's usually too cold for naked 

Beltane is not, here, a time of courting your lover in the woods all night and bringing back boughs of May blossom. The hawthorn – the May – will not show its flowers here until June. (And besides, it's usually too cold for naked