Beltane
Festival of Fertility and Union
End of April/ beginning of May in Northern Hemisphere
End of October/ beginning of November in Southern Hemisphere
Beltane is Chapter 3, Spring Turns to Summer, in the Yoga Through the Year book
"Beltane is the Celtic festival that celebrates outer growth, fertility, new life and the essential energy of manifestation and creation. It is the final stage of the active Yang cycle of the Sun before it reaches its fullness at the Midsummer Solstice. All of life is manifesting now as the rampant growth period and the summer fully begin. Beltane is a celebration of the Life Force, of the abundant fertility of the Earth and of ourselves."
Glennie Kindred Earth Alchemy
Blossom, Fertility, Creativity, Expansion, Fire, Union, Yang, Sun, Light and Love, Active, Sexuality, Joyful Abandon
Spring to summer is a time of blossoming and unfolding. It is the height of the
growing season, a fertile time, when whatever you unite your energy with will expand and
grow. This is the perfect time to grow your yoga practice.
growing season, a fertile time, when whatever you unite your energy with will expand and
grow. This is the perfect time to grow your yoga practice.
Now is the Time to Blossom
Between now and the Summer Solstice the Sun will reach the fullness of its waxing cycle, and then at the solstice the light will begin to wane again. So, we want to make the most of this short-lived fertile energy.
Our focus, between now and the Summer Solstice, is on outward achievements and action. Like a gardener, we decide which seeds to nurture so that they grow into strong and healthy plants. We decide which saplings to weed out to make space for our chosen plants to grow. Now is the time to bring your projects and ventures out into the light and watch them flourish.
This is a time to push, rather than to yield. Do whatever it takes to make your heartfelt visions, dreams and desires manifest in the world. Write emails, make phone calls, have conversations, and connect with those people who can help you to get your ideas out into the world. Ride the rising tide of growing season energy and make it happen. Be clear about what you want and go for it! At the same time the challenge of the season continues to be one of remembering to stay in touch with your inner wisdom whilst taking outward action. Your yoga practice can help you to stay grounded and not to get swept away by the fiery, rampant energy of the season.
Our focus, between now and the Summer Solstice, is on outward achievements and action. Like a gardener, we decide which seeds to nurture so that they grow into strong and healthy plants. We decide which saplings to weed out to make space for our chosen plants to grow. Now is the time to bring your projects and ventures out into the light and watch them flourish.
This is a time to push, rather than to yield. Do whatever it takes to make your heartfelt visions, dreams and desires manifest in the world. Write emails, make phone calls, have conversations, and connect with those people who can help you to get your ideas out into the world. Ride the rising tide of growing season energy and make it happen. Be clear about what you want and go for it! At the same time the challenge of the season continues to be one of remembering to stay in touch with your inner wisdom whilst taking outward action. Your yoga practice can help you to stay grounded and not to get swept away by the fiery, rampant energy of the season.
If I Can't Dance it's Not My Revolution
Dancing around the Maypole is a Beltane tradition. The Maypole is said to symbolise the masculine aspect of god, and the colourful ribbons to symbolise the feminine aspect, and the dance is their blissful union.Beltane is the most overtly sexual of all the Celtic festivals around the Wheel of the Year. According to Pagan myth the young God (sun/son) has reached maturity and he and the Goddess become lovers. This heavenly union was often imitated in Beltane rituals and courting couples would collect blossom in the woods and light fires in the evening. Lovers would leap over the Beltane fires and there were nights of lovemaking in the fields to ensure the fertility and fruitfulness of the land.
Dance is sensual and can be a great way of getting your creative juices flowing. Yoga and dance combine to make great partners. Try using dance as a warm-up for your yoga practice. Put on your favourite dance music and just allow yourself to be danced. Make this into a dancing meditation by focusing your awareness on the sound of the music, the sensations of your body moving, and the dance of your own breath. Feel those happy hormones soar!
Flowing yoga sequences (vinyasas) also have a very dance-like quality. Surya Namaskar the Sun Salutation is a fiery dance to the sun, combining wave-like movements with breath awareness. Natarajasana, the Dancer Pose, is of course the perfect asana to include in your dance inspired vinyasa.
Flowing yoga sequences (vinyasas) also have a very dance-like quality. Surya Namaskar the Sun Salutation is a fiery dance to the sun, combining wave-like movements with breath awareness. Natarajasana, the Dancer Pose, is of course the perfect asana to include in your dance inspired vinyasa.
"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid. Let's go.""
Maya Angelou
"One purpose of ceremonial dance was the same as that of ceremonial sex: to imitate the process of cosmic creation, to renew the world by influencing divine powers to conceive, gestate, and bring forth yet again.
Ancient worshippers of the Goddess attributed the initial creation of the universe to her magic dance over the waters of Chaos, or Great Deep (Hebrew tehom). With rhythmic movements she organized the as-yet-unformed elements, making orderly patterns that the Greeks called diakosmos, the Goddess's ordering. She is still found even in the Bible, as the spirit that "moved" (danced) on the face of the Deep before God came along to talk the universe into being.
Many primitive people thought women could churn or curdle the magical moon-blood in their wombs, by means of rhythmic movements, causing the blood to coagulate and form a foetus. Hence, the dances of primitive women used- and still use- many pelvis and belly motions as baby-making charms.
The rhythm of the primal female dance was the same one continuously heard by every foetus in utero, the basic heartbeat rhythm underlying nearly all human music, which automatically seems the most satisfactory accompaniment to dance. Tantric tradition called this the Nada, the sound of Power or Heartbeat of the Absolute, made manifest in the human heartbeat, perceptible to the yogi when he "plunges deep into himself." "
Barbara G. Walker "The Woman's Dictionary of symbols and Sacred Objects."
The Art of Everyday Ecstasy
At Beltane when summer is approaching and love is in the air, it’s worth reminding ourselves that love begins at home! We are much more likely to form loving and stable relationships if we feel good about ourselves. “Beau dans son peau” is a French phrase which translates as, ‘comfortable in your own skin’. Ruth Barrett in her book “Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries” says that Beltane is an especially appropriate time to do healing work around childhood sexual abuse, body hatred, and misogyny. She says that it is a good time to create a sexual healing ritual for yourself or other women.
Body Shame is common nowadays. Have you ever talked yourself out of joining a yoga class by convincing yourself that you should wait until you are slimmer, fitter or more flexible? Fortunately, Yoga is the perfect antidote to body shame and yoga is suitable for those of all shapes, sizes, ages, and abilities.
The gift of Yoga is that we learn to draw our awareness inwards (pratyahara) and to experience ourselves from the inside out. So rather than obsessing about our outward appearance we learn to get in touch with how we feel on the inside. This is transformational and for the first time in years you may actually feel comfortable in your own skin. Thanks to yoga you have come home to yourself.
Whether you are in a sexual relationship or not, Yoga and Mindfulness will help you to enjoy the everyday ecstasy of day to day life. Ruth Barrett in her book “Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries” suggests that at Beltane we explore the notion that Life is our lover. She exhorts us to make love with our lover, ourselves, our garden, and our life. She calls this “Biophilia” which means: “Loving Life”.
So, during the growing season get sensual and use all of your five senses to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of life. Get out and about and enjoy your neighbourhood. When out walking be aware of the contact your feet make with the earth, and, remember to breathe. As you walk feast your eyes on the riot of colour as flowers open and blossom appears on the trees; smell the flowers; hear the bird song; taste the fruits of nature; touch and be touched by the world around you. This is the art of Everyday Ecstasy!
Body Shame is common nowadays. Have you ever talked yourself out of joining a yoga class by convincing yourself that you should wait until you are slimmer, fitter or more flexible? Fortunately, Yoga is the perfect antidote to body shame and yoga is suitable for those of all shapes, sizes, ages, and abilities.
The gift of Yoga is that we learn to draw our awareness inwards (pratyahara) and to experience ourselves from the inside out. So rather than obsessing about our outward appearance we learn to get in touch with how we feel on the inside. This is transformational and for the first time in years you may actually feel comfortable in your own skin. Thanks to yoga you have come home to yourself.
Whether you are in a sexual relationship or not, Yoga and Mindfulness will help you to enjoy the everyday ecstasy of day to day life. Ruth Barrett in her book “Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries” suggests that at Beltane we explore the notion that Life is our lover. She exhorts us to make love with our lover, ourselves, our garden, and our life. She calls this “Biophilia” which means: “Loving Life”.
So, during the growing season get sensual and use all of your five senses to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of life. Get out and about and enjoy your neighbourhood. When out walking be aware of the contact your feet make with the earth, and, remember to breathe. As you walk feast your eyes on the riot of colour as flowers open and blossom appears on the trees; smell the flowers; hear the bird song; taste the fruits of nature; touch and be touched by the world around you. This is the art of Everyday Ecstasy!
Beltane Meditation Questions
- The Yang cycle of the year is reaching it's peak. Between now and the summer solstice is a good time to plant seeds and whatever you give your attention to will grow and expand. Which seeds will you plant.? What do you wish to focus on to make the most of this fertile and abundant time? What do you need to prune back and let go of?
- Beltane is a good time to celebrate love and friendships. Who do you wish to connect with? How can you celebrate and strengthen your creative connections with others both in love, friendship, work, family and community? How can you show your gratitude to those who support and nurture you? How will you support and nurture others?
- Ask yourself: Are there parts of my life that need to be brought together and healed? Are there parts of my life that are disconnected and fragmented that need to be reunited? How can I become whole again?
- How can I celebrate and enjoy my body? Are there any hurts I need to let go of to restore wholeness and good health?
- How do I help others to celebrate their bodies in healthy and respectful ways? How do I oppose elements of society that denigrate women and encourage them to be dissatisfied with themselves and their bodies?
- Beltane is a time to celebrate youth. How do I support and nurture younger people and help them to realise their potential?
- How do I fully participate in celebrating the beauty of life during the growing season?
Beltane Yoga Practice
If you are already warmed up then go straight in to the practice, below, starting with the sun salutes. Otherwise, to warm up you might like to do five minutes dancing to your favourite beaty music- it will fit in with the exuberant Beltane mood! (although any repetitive rhythmic movements are fine to get you warmed up).
“Yoga is not mechanical, and proper breathing will bring an increasingly creative sense to your practice. It should always feel as though you are learning something new. Be glad you have the time and inclination to practice. Be thankful you have discovered Yoga. Be grateful. Celebrate your realisation that the energy, enthusiasm, and attention you bring to your Yoga now will benefit all other moments of your life as well. Practice with passionate calm.”
Erich Schiffmann from: "Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving in to Stillness"
Beltane is Chapter 3, Spring Turns to Summer, in the Yoga Through the Year book