Beltane is an ancient Celtic festival marking the start of Summer, also known as the Festival of Fertility.
It’s a wonderful tradition to get together to celebrate the tree blossoms and wildflowers that come out this time of year, the anticipation of warmth and lengthening days and the unity of people.
It’s a time of fertility, growth, and renewal, often associated with bonfires, dancing, and rituals to honour the sun and encourage agricultural abundance. Traditionally, people would light fires and leap over them for luck and purification, and maypole dancing is a common feature, symbolizing the intertwining of male and female energies.
It’s a joyful celebration of life and the earth’s vitality, focussing on community, love and the beauty of the natural world.
The word Beltane is thought to originate from the Celtic god ‘Bal’ meaning the ‘bright one’ the Gaelic word ‘teine’ means fire. Together they create ‘bright fire’. Fires are lit to honour both sun and Bal because nature is emerging and it’s a time for new life.
Beltane St Ives Community Orchard:
Saturday 2nd May 2026, 2 – 5pm.
There will be a maypole dancing, live music, wand making, flower crown making, drinks, cakes and hot food.
There will be a large selection of seeds so bring your own to swap with others or bring £’s to donate for seeds. Seedling and plant swaps welcome too.
Spring Beltane 2024 / Beltane 2025
Also known as Beltaine, Beltine, Belltaine and Cétamain.
The Gaelic Celts were primarily herdsmen, so their Beltane rituals were designed to protect their herds & encourage their growth. Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season, when livestock were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were held at that time to protect them from harm, both natural and supernatural, and this mainly involved the “symbolic use of fire” with rituals to protect crops, dairy products and people, and to encourage growth.
The nature spirits or fairies were thought to be especially active at Beltane and the goal of many Beltane rituals were to appease them. Offerings would be left at the ancient faerie forts, the wells and in other sacred places in an effort to appease these nature spirits to ensure a successful growing season. Most of all Beltane was a time for great gatherings, for celebrations & for feasting, to come together to celebrate the joy of life.
The marriage of the Oak King and the Earth Goddess is a symbolic and mythological aspect of some Beltane celebrations.
At Beltane, the Oak King is at the height of his power, representing the vitality and strength of the sun as it reaches its peak during the summer months. The Oak King is associated with growth, abundance, and the energy of the expanding light.
The Earth Goddess embodies the fertility of the earth, responsible for the growth and nourishment of all living beings. She serves as a source of inspiration, guidance, and comfort for those who seek to live in harmony with the Earth and honor its sacredness. The Earth Goddess is often referred to as Mother Earth or Mother Gaia and is seen as a nurturing and protective figure, caring for all life forms on Earth like a mother cares for her children. She provides sustenance, shelter, and support to all creatures and embodies the qualities of compassion, empathy, and unconditional love.
This marriage ritual symbolizes the union of masculine and feminine energies, as well as the harmony between humanity and the natural world.
The marriage of the Oak King may take various forms depending on the tradition and the specific ritual being performed. It can involve ceremonial gestures, spoken vows, or the exchange of symbolic items to represent the union between the divine masculine and feminine.
This ritual is not meant to be taken literally but rather as a symbolic representation of the cyclical nature of the seasons and the eternal dance of life, death, and rebirth. It serves to honor the balance and interconnectedness of all things and to celebrate the abundance and vitality of the natural world during the season of Beltane.
- Decorate your house or a special place with flower wreaths, candles & garlands
- Meditate whilst sitting in a place special to you
- Go out walking and enjoy seeing all the wild flowers
- Make a flower crown and a mini maypole
- Make fairy cakes and give to friends and neighbours
- Plant seeds
- Walk a labyrinth
- Thank all of nature, especially the trees for all their gifts to humankind
- Make a small fire and jump over it, making a pledge as you jump ‘I pledge myself to…. & leave behind ….’
- Meet up with friends, sit, chat & drum around a fire
- Dance around a maypole or a tree
- Wash your face in morning dew
- Join in with organised events in your town
Mayday in St Ives Town on the harbour
//stivestowncouncil-cornwall.gov.uk/civic_events/may-day/
There is a wonderful festival in St Ives held every year at this time.
At midday at the Guildhall the Grand Bard and Mayor choose the May Queen and King and their attending Prince and Princess, in a ceremony known bizarrely as the “pee whip”
Horn blowers herald the start of spring and there’ll be May sticks and a parade to the harbour where you can watch Maypole Dances by Nancledra School children accompanied by Bagas an Norvys.
Wherever you are on this day, we wish you a beautiful Beltane and a bountiful year.
A blessing of the wild and free! Make hay while the sun shines!
Here’s some photos of some previous Beltanes
