This year, 2023, Beltaine falls on Monday, May 1st, and astrological Beltaine falls on Friday, May 5th, which is also a lunar eclipse. This being the middle of an eclipse season, typically we do not want to do a lot of spiritual work. During eclipse season we want to take time to reflect, re-imagine, and review. This is not a doing-time but a being-time. I recommend that you take the whole week to celebrate this holiday. Astrological Beltaine falls on 15 degrees Taurus on the astrological chart. Beltaine is often considered to fall on the fixed date of May 1st, by many pagan practitioners. You have the opportunity to choose which date works for you!
Make each day a special day or honor the season in some small way. Rather than create a large grandiose event, take small steps to move you closer to your spiritual goals. Honoring the season with simple acknowledgements can be very nourishing in our busy lives. People often feel like as their celebratory efforts are invalid if they cannot turn it into a big event. However, I like to think of ways we can incorporate these values into our regular lives without the influences of capitalism and hustle-culture. Weaving seasonal practices with ease and grace can be very satisfying.
Beltaine is opposite on the wheel of the year to Samhain. So we can also think about how this season might interact with Samhain past and Samhain future. Think back to the Samhain of 2022, and remember what you may have started or completed. You can use this reference point to decide what spiritual work might need completing or what might need to begin. I think of Beltaine and Samhain as two sides of the same coin. Samhain is the time of the ancestors, our descent into darkness, and a time to rest and restore. Beltaine is the time of creation, of descendants, expansion, and growth. This May is a great time to start a project, dream a new dream, and put energy into a on-going project.
Here are a few suggestions for the week:
Monday - make heart-shaped cookies, buy fresh flowers, create an altar.
Tuesday - move your body, take a walk outside, and make an offering to the land.
Wednesday - make dinner for family or friends. Create a Beltaine Feast with seasonal foods.
Thursday - Make a homemade body oil with select essential oils that correspond with your intentions. For example, use rose, vetiver and ylang ylang essential oils in avocado oil to increase self-love. Add some non-water soluble crystals to augment your magic. Apply to your body with the mantra, “I love and accept myself completely.”
Friday- Full Moon in Scorpio, Sun in Taurus, Lunar Eclipse. This is the day of the eclipse so be prepared for changes in plans. This is a great day to journal about two important aspects of your life: finances and your love life. What’s not working for you? Into what would you like to invest more energy? How can you get more fulfillment from these aspects of your life?
Whatever you have capacity for this Betaine, let that be enough. Let simple expressions of your practices be nourishing and fulfilling. If you were able to attend a large event this season and were able to celebrate with others, awesome! Let your celebrations continue as the week rolls on.
For more information on the wheel of the year, check out Karin's monthly class Weaving Spirit and Magic through the Seasons at www.moonhillmysteryschool.com.
Karin Olsen is a healer, a seer, and a teacher. She has been studying plants for more than 20 years and owned an herb shop and metaphysical store for 15 years. She has been a massage therapist/healer for over 25 years.
Karin learned her psychic medium skills from her mother and sees clients via Zoom. She teaches classes and is a spiritual coach with a focus on earth-based spirituality through Moonhill Mystery School in the Salish Sea area. In 2021, she earned a Masters of Ecopsychology from Naropa University.