Blessed Beltane - Celebrations for Sea & Water Witches

We are coming to the end of April, and Beltane is nearly upon us. Halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice, Beltane is now generally recognised as being celebrated on the first of May each year.

With it's roots firmly in ancient Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, Beltane was originally seen as the beginning of summer (and Samhain the beginning of winter) - the time when livestock would be turned out to their summer pastures. Some early sources note that bonfires would be built and the livestock driven between them in order to protect them from disease and other maladies in their summer grounds.

People, too, would allow the cleansing smoke from these fires to wash over them, and they would anoint themselves with ash from the fire. Beltane was also one of the "holy" days where visits to sacred wells were made, and garlands of flowers, thorn boughs, and other greenery was put up in the home or strewn at the threshold to welcome in a fertile season and to keep the fae folk at bay.

So now, at the end of April, we turn our minds and spirits to the seasonal spring seas we wrote about two weeks ago. Forests and woodland along the coasts are bursting with new life, the trees and flowers sprouting bright green leaves and multicoloured blooms. It's time to turn our minds to the rising tide of life, and also to fertility - whatever that may mean to you. For some, it's pretty straightforward - having a baby. For others though, it may be tending to metaphorical fertile ground planted with the seeds of new ideas, dreams, and desires.

Our sacred spaces may not be holy wells but instead, they're local streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, and of course, the ocean. With that in mind, if local ordnances permit, one way for a sea witch to honour Beltane is, of course, with a bonfire on the beach (or in an open area by your body of water). Bless the fires and allow the cleansing smoke to wash over you, anointing yourself with the ash as it burns out.

We do understand that many places no longer allow beach bonfires without special permits (or at all), but you can bring the beach home and light a fire there too. Gather May Day water from your sacred place and, if permissible, take a few shells, flowers, or other natural remnants with you to build an altar at home - indoors or out. Light a fire there - whether you can build a bonfire in your yard, have a firepit (gas or wood is fine), or even a candle.

Before you leave your sacred place, leave offerings for your deities, to keep the fae content and away from mischief making in your own home, or just to say thank you to the water elemental that is everywhere around you. Take some time to clean up litter or other traces of human activity before you go, and ensure that your offerings are all natural, biodegradable, and will not, otherwise, upset the ecosystem in your area.

If none of these are options for you but you have a bath tub, draw a bath and add flowers petals or sea vegetation (we have an amazing seaweed bath tea for sacred, sea witch bathing that is perfect for a ritual, Beltane bath). Surround yourself with candles - being fire safe and conscientious please! - and immerse yourself in the cleansing waters. Float in that liminal space where fire and water hold equal sway and envision your bath as the sacred waters they've become.

No tub? Not a problem. Scatter flower petals along your shower floor, place candles wherever you can that is both firesafe and feasible, and allow the shower to wash over you, imagining that it's a sacred waterfall.

However you celebrate this Beltane, may it be a blessed one and may the fertile ground in which you've planted your seeds spring forth with new life.