Author's Note:

Although Beltane is now usually celebrated from sundown April 30th to sundown on the first of May, it should be noted that in earlier times, before the calendar changes of 1752, all dates year-round would have come some days later -- precious extra days, in springtide especially, during which time the hawthorn ("mayflower") and many more trees and flowers would have begun blooming.

In creating this page, I wanted to suggest a soft, chilly late April twilight, a sense of heather and lavender, a between-the-worlds quality of expectation, a quietness before the full glory of summer yet ahead.  Beltane's fires mark the bright half of the year, and although it lies in what we (in the northern hemisphere) consider the spring of the year, it actually marks the start of summer (whose middle point will be celebrated at "Midsummer" in June).........

MAY DAY:
SCIENCE, HISTORY & LORE

  http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2000/alm00may.htm
           [Updated 5/12/00]

[Added 28 April 2000]: From Keith C. Heidorn, PhD, ACM, the erudite "Weather Doctor" (whose pages appear frequently on my site), comes this engrossing, lucidly written essay, complete with a chart, on May Day as the beginning of "solar summer" (which is why summer solstice is still called "midsummer" in many areas, just as winter solstice is "midwinter").  As always, Dr. Heidorn gives a wonderful sense of the science as well as the mystery of each season.  (Here's his home page: http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/doctor.htm -- the site is well worth exploring in depth.)

[Added 11 April 2000]: The educational Clark Foundation in Utah offers this essay by Von Del Chamberlain on Beltane: he gives worldwide, cross-cultural (including Native American) solar/astronomical perspectives as well as folkloric ones.  The data is excellent and written engagingly.

[Annotation expanded 28 April 2002]:  This is a literate and fascinating essay, "A Celebration of May Day," by Mike Nichols.  Like all his other well known writings on paganism, the work is rich, blunt, and filled with a lively sense of history.  Here's an excerpt on other names for May Day:

...Other names for May Day include: Cetsamhain ('opposite Samhain'), Walpurgisnacht (in Germany), and Roodmas (the medieval Church's name). This last came from Church Fathers who were hoping to shift the common people's allegiance from the Maypole (Pagan lingham - symbol of life) to the Holy Rood (the Cross - Roman instrument of death)....

On the date itself:

...This date has long been considered a 'power point' of the Zodiac, and is symbolized by the Bull, one of the 'tetramorph' figures featured on the Tarot cards, the World and the Wheel of Fortune. (The other three symbols are the Lion, the Eagle, and the Spirit.) Astrologers know these four figures as the symbols of the four 'fixed' signs of the Zodiac (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius), and these naturally align with the four Great Sabbats of Witchcraft.  Christians have adopted the same iconography to represent the four gospel-writers....

Written with flair, and with quotes from songs and poetry, Nichols shares with us the celebration's history (including the role of horrified Puritans who put a stop to Maypoles and skyclad May queens).  He mentions an "old" date of around May 5, calculated astrologically (also see Herne's site below). There are many traditions around this high-spirited Beltane season and it's always a pleasure to learn more about them.  This essay is a perfect starting point.

(Note: the site loads from an academic site in Sweden and sometimes takes awhile -- be patient -- it's worth it.  Here's a link to Nichols' own site, but you'll have to disable the annoying Yahoo pop-up ad: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/7280/beltane.html.
Update, 4/17/08: my Links-Elf had a lot of trouble getting through to the Swedish link this year; a day later, it worked just fine. Meanwhile, she offers an alternate:
http://www.paganlibrary.com/reference/beltane_celebration_of_may_day.php)

[Added 11 April 2000]:Waverly Fitzgerald's huge "School of the Seasons" is one my favorite sites -- her wonderfully thorough page on Beltane (with a great opening illustration) will show you why: she covers everything, including ancient celebrations, Queen Gwynevere going a-Maying, Puritan attitudes, and present day ways of honoring the day (including a celebration for those who are celibate).  She quotes from old texts on May Day, May Poles, May Queens, May Dew, and the like, and then adds her own insightful comments -- and she always provides a list of solid sources and references at the end of her pages.  The lore and information are splendid.  Here, for example, is what she shares about children born of May Day matings:

...The children of May marriages were often called Jackson, Hodson or Robinson since they were the children of the Jack in the Green, Hod (a woodland sprite) or Robin Goodfellow (or Robin Hood, another form of the Green Man)....

[Added 27 April 2002]: This about.com page is called The Merrie May: The History of Beltane, May Day, and Everything in Between.  It looks at May Day as a combination of ancient Roman sexual festivals as well as Celtic fertility festivals.  Here's an excerpt:

...With the Roman invasions of Western Europe and Britain, much of the symbolism and rites of the Floralia and Beltane became entwined -- eventually becoming the holiday we now call May Day or Walpurgis.  The custom of going 'a-maying', collecting flowers, greenery and the maypole early on the morning of May 1, survives virtually intact to this day, as do the balefires in Britain, Germany and other countries of Europe.  The sexual aspect of the holiday, however, has become almost extinct in many countries.  The festivities were viewed as sinful by some Christian leaders, and in 1644 the celebration was banned by the Puritan-controlled Parliament in Britain....

There are good hypertext links for those wishing to explore further.

[Added 29 April 2001]:From author Mara Freeman comes this handsome (but too brief!) site on Beltane:

...When the Druids and their successors raised the Beltane fires on hilltops throughout the British Isles on May Eve, they were performing a real act of magic, for the fires were lit in order to bring the sun’s light down to earth. In Scotland, every fire in the household was extinguished, and the great fires were lit from the need-fire which was kindled by 3 times 3 men using wood from the nine sacred trees. When the wood burst into flames, it proclaimed the triumph of the light over the dark half of the year.

     Then the whole hillside came alive as people thrust brands into the newly roaring flames and whirled them about their heads in imitation of the circling of the sun....When the sun rose that dawn, those who had stayed up to watch it might see it whirl three times upon the horizon before leaping up in all its summer glory....

Freeman first looks at old traditions connected with the day and then offers a handful of interesting suggestions for celebrating Beltane today -- for example:

...Beltane is one of the three "spirit-nights" of the year when the faeries can be seen. At dusk, twist a rowan sprig into a ring and look through it, and you may see them....

[This link dates from the beginning of this page in 1999.  Annotation revised, 27 April 2004, to reflect Herne's passing]: From the late Herne, who with his colleague, Akasha, wrote seasonal essays as well as rituals for The Celtic Connection, comes this lively and graceful little essay on the history and traditions surrounding Beltane. He comments:

...The Christian religion had only a poor substitute for the life-affirming Maypole -- namely, the death-affirming cross. Hence, in the Christian calendar, this was celebrated as 'Roodmas'.  In Germany, it was the feast of Saint Walpurga, or 'Walpurgisnacht'. An alternative date around May 5 (Old Beltane), when the sun reaches 15 degrees Taurus, is sometimes employed by Covens....

Although Akasha also writes superb rituals for each pagan celebration, there isn't one yet for Beltane.  If one becomes available, I'll add its link to this page.

[Added 12 April 2000]:  This is a page from the Mystical World Wide Web on the meanings, lore, history, and deities connected with the month of May in general.  Although no sources are given, the information is good.

[Added 27-8 April 2004]:  From Web of Oz comes "Heritage of Beltane" by Lark, a lyrical paean to the many goddesses and celebrations of May.  She concludes with Iris:

...After the rains of April, Iris brings the rainbow. Fleet-footed messenger of the gods, she exceeds Hermes in speed and grace. Daughter of Wonder, sister of the Harpies, mother of Love by the West Wind, she displays the colors of the seven planets. Iris is the Angelos, the messenger who speaks directly to the soul, the bright aspect of Hekate. She prepares Hera's bridal bed. She is the color of your eyes. She is Maya, the source of waters from on high. She is Kore and Shakti and Strength in the Tarot deck, binding the Nemean lion with her girdle of flowers. Swift as thought, she binds earth to sky with ribbons of light.

[Added 29 April 2001]: From the Witches' Voice (one of the best pagan sites out there) comes a wonderful, satisfyingly lengthy essay, "You Call it May Day, We Call it Beltane," by Peg Aloi.  It begins with Aloi's own sweetly youthful memories of May Day and then leisurely explores far older customs.  The style is light, the writing very well-researched (with references at the end).  Here's one passage:

...Just before dawn, villagers would process with their animals up the hillsides to the highest point where fires would be kindled and relit for people to see for miles around. It was also traditional to build these fires out of nine of the sacred woods from Druidic folklore, including oak, ash, thorn, rowan, apple, birch, alder, maple, elm, gorse, holly, hawthorn, and others.

The bonfires were lit so that a narrow passage existed between two fires, so that cattle and other livestock could be led between the fires, to purify them from disease or sterility for the coming year. Torches of dried sedge, gorse or heather were also lit and carried around remaining flocks or stables, to further purify the air....

Her concluding paragraph on Aphrodite is stunning and lyrical -- don't miss it.

[25 April 2002 & 25 March 2003: this site is still focused on 2001.  Regardless, the world's attitude toward animals as "things" has changed little and these insights remain relevant.  Thus, I'm keeping both the link and my annotation.]

[Added 29 April 2001]:The above essay from Peg Aloi touches upon one of the main themes of Beltane: protecting the herds by driving them between two great and sacred bonfires.  This spring of 2001, because of foot and mouth disease, fire itself has been violated by its use in smoldering pyres consuming more than two million corpses of cattle, sheep, and pigs (it takes three days to burn each batch of bodies in the open air; no one knows what toxic dangers lurk in the billowing black smoke).

In Ireland, the Fire-Eye organization hopes to light Beltane bonfires on the ancient hills to invoke larger protection and healing for all the animals.  They ask the rest of us, worldwide, to join in this vigil with candles:

...*Light a Bealtine Candle. From April 27 through May 1, place a light in your window to signify your solidarity with the animals and those who tend them. The soft flame of a candle is a tiny echo of those ancient blazes (for safety reasons you may wish to use an electric light)....

In case plans have to be cancelled in Ireland due to further danger of infection, the site wisely offers this suggestion (see http://web.archive.org/web/20030803111639/http://www.fire-eye.org/11.html):

...In ancient times, the physical light passing from hillside to hillside was a great and potent symbol of a rebirth of hope and life each spring.  We do not need the physical symbol to know that the light of spiritual consciousness throughout this world has been re-lit in our hearts. Every person who has been moved by the image of Ireland unified in a web of light has already participated in the Great Re-Lighting. We hope that the danger to the herds has passed and the physical re-lighting will take place. But if we cannot walk to the top of physical hills, we will celebrate the healing ceremonies in another form....

[Note: for more on issues related to foot and mouth, see my Earth Day 2001 page as well as my Of Cows & Madness essay.]

[Added 30 April 2004]: This is a new and lengthy essay I've written that explores our treatment of animals in light of how they were once honored at Beltane.  A special focus is on factory farms and practices that lead to Mad Cow Disease and create living deaths for dairy cattle confined in large barracks.

[Added 17 April 2008]:  Again from Witches Voice (see above), comes another great essay, this time by the lyrical Christina Aubin, dating from 2000. Here are some excerpts from her lengthy work -- I especially love the Pleiades connection, which I haven't seen elsewhere:

... At Beltane the Pleiades star cluster rises just before sunrise on the morning horizon, whereas winter (Samhain) begins when the Pleiades rises at sunset. The Pleiades is a cluster of seven closely placed stars, the seven sisters, in the constellation of Taurus, near his shoulder. When looking for the Pleiades with the naked eye, remember it looks like a tiny dipper-shaped pattern of six moderately bright stars (the seventh can be seen on very dark nights) in the constellation of Taurus. It stands very low in the east-northeast sky for just a few minutes before sunrise.

Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain, divide the year into its two primary seasons, winter (Dark Part) and summer (Light Part). As Samhain is about honoring Death, Beltane, its counter part, is about honoring Life. It is the time when the sun is fully released from his bondage of winter and able to rule over summer and life once again.

Beltane, like Samhain, is a time of "no time" when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest. No time is when the two worlds intermingle and unite and the magic abounds! It is the time when the Faeries return from their winter respite, carefree and full of faery mischief and faery delight. On the night before Beltane, in times past, folks would place rowan branches at their windows and doors for protection, many otherworldly occurrences could transpire during this time of "no time"....

... When the veils are so thin it is an extremely magical time, it is said that the Queen of the Faeries rides out on her white horse. Roving about on Beltane eve She will try to entice people away to the Faeryland. Legend has it that if you sit beneath a tree on Beltane night, you may see the Faery Queen or hear the sound of Her horse's bells as She rides through the night. Legend says if you hide your face, She will pass you by but if you look at Her, She may choose you. There is a Scottish ballad of this called Thomas the Rhymer, in which Thomas chooses to go the Faeryland with the Queen and has not been seen since....

... The beginning of summer heralds an important time, for the winter is a difficult journey and weariness and disheartenment set in, personally one is tired down to the soul. In times past the food stocks were low; variety was a distant memory. The drab non-color of winter's end perfectly represents the dullness and fatigue that permeates on so many levels to this day. We need Beltane, as the earth needs the sun, for our very Spirit cries out for the renewal of summer jubilation....

... Beltane, however, is still a precarious time, the crops are still very young and tender, susceptible to frost and blight....

[I am deleting a lengthy, fine mythic section, but here is the bottom-line, referring to how vulnerable this season is]:

... This myth illustrates the precariousness of the Beltane season, at the threshold of Summer, the earth awakening, winter can still reach its long arm in and snatch the Sun away (Gwri of the Golden hair). "Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out" (clout: Old English for cloth/clothing). If indeed the return of summer is true than the trouble (winter) is certainly over, however one must be vigilant....

[Here is a fine section on the role of the Maypole]:

... The Maypole dance as an important aspect of encouraging the return of fertility to the earth. The pole itself is not only phallic in symbolism but also is the connector of the three worlds. Dancing the Maypole during Beltane is magical experience as it is a conduit of energy, connecting all three worlds at a time when these gateways are more easily penetrable. As people gaily dance around and around the pole holding the brightly colored ribbons, the energy it raises is sent down into the earth's womb, bringing about Her full awakening and fruitfulness....

[On May weddings]:

... May, however, according to old folklore is not a favorable time for marriages in the legal and permanent sense. There is reference after reference in the old books of this belief, and according to my Irish grandmother, May is not the month to marry, woe is to had by those who do. I can understand the premise of this folklore, May is the Goddess and God's handfasting month, all honor would be Hers and His....

[Her concluding comments]:

... Beltane is rich in vibrant color, lighting the eyes and cheering the Spirit as we leave the dreariness of winter behind....May is the month of sensuality and sexuality revitalized, the reawakening of the earth and Her Children. It is the time when we reawaken to the vivid colors, vibrant scents, tingling summer breezes, and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter. It is a time of extraordinary expression of earth, animal, and person a time of great enchantment and celebration....It is the child's unrestrained expression of bliss and delight that is what Beltane is all about. It is the sheer joy of running through fields, picking flowers, rapturing in the sunlight, delighting in the fragrance of spring, dancing in the fresh dew covered grass. Our children guide us through the natural abandonment of our adult sensibilities and show us how to take grand pleasure, warmth and bliss from the gift of
Beltane.

[Added 17 April 2008]: From the coven of Our Lady of the Woods, a Wiccan group based in New Mexico, comes this strong, sensible, wise, footnoted essay by Merlyn. Here are excerpts:

Beltane is the Sex Sabbat just as Samhain, held six months hence, is the Death Sabbat. All other Beltane (also called May Eve or Walpurgis Night) customs are minor compared with those that explicitly celebrate human sex and fertility. Up to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century, marriage vows were conveniently forgotten at Beltane in many rural European villages. Newly formed 'couples' went into the plowed fields at night to lie down together and copulate in order to ensure the fertility of the coming year's crops. The Catholic Church could not stamp out this ancient pagan tradition. It took the dour Protestants who suppressed May Eve celebrations in England by passing and enforcing laws against public gatherings around Maypoles with their accompanying dances and fertility rites....

... It is worth asking if celebrating Beltane as the ancient Pagans and their Catholic descendants did over a span of several thousand years is an appropriate custom for modern Neo-Pagans. Other ancient pagan customs deemed too crude or at odds with our modern post-Christian Humanist values have been ignored by the Neo-Pagan movement. These include human sacrifice (universally illegal), animal sacrifice, and self-castration by the priests of certain ancient Goddess Cults including those of Attis and Cybele.

Three characteristics of the 1990s provide rational and non-moralistic arguments against having random sex, even for a brief time each year at Beltane. These are widespread personal alienation, the continuing spread of AIDS, and the world's ever increasing population (now doubling roughly once every 30 years).

The problems raised by AIDS and overpopulation can be partly solved by always practicing safe sex (males always wear a condom and no one exchanges body fluids via oral intercourse or other direct contact).

However, the decision to indulge one's sexual passions is not a rational left-brained decision. Current social studies recently reported on National Public Radio show that most young people know that condoms help protect them against AIDS and pregnancy, but there seems to be an informal taboo against planning in advance to use them. If you stuff a condom in your pocket or purse, it means that you expect to have sexual intercourse if the opportunity arises. According to Christian morality, this makes you a more immoral person than someone who spontaneously yields in a moment of sexual passion and thus does not take precautions, because they never really planned to have sex.

Demanding that a new partner either uses a condom or does not touch you requires tremendous resolve for people of all ages. Saying 'no' may mean the immediate end to the budding relationship that you avidly sought. Still the fear of AIDS and pregnancy could be dismissed if most people actually began to practice safe sex or abstained from having sex with recalcitrant partners.

The question of personal alienation raises a much larger objection to random sex at Beltane. Many people are deeply unhappy today, because they are alone. The reason they are alone is that they have systematically destroyed all potentially meaningful relationships with family, friends, and partners. If you use others only to satisfy your desires, i.e. treat them like a bottle of wine to be consumed and discarded, your lovers and friends will respond in kind toward you.

If you are in a relationship and that relationship has any meaning for you, remember that the quickest way to turn your current partner into an ex-partner is to ignore their feelings, while you are lustily satiating your own desires with someone else. Multiple sexual relationships can easily turn into no relationships with anyone as the hurt partners leave you and look for someone better.

However, if at Beltane you find yourself in a place in life where you are free from all commitments and you are in a mood to explore, then having "safe sex" with interesting strangers may be appropriate.

In summary, remember to look before you leap at Beltane. Jumping prematurely into a sexual relationship can have lasting negative consequences just as bad as falling into the Beltane Fire. Make the Spring fertility rites of Beltane work for you. Plan to have sex with your partner as part of your own private Beltane celebration. Soft beds inside are just as good a place to celebrate as is the hard ground outside. One reason the European peasants coupled in the fields was because they lived in huts crowded with other family members. Today we each select those ancient rituals that have meaning for us. We, as individuals and not some religious elders, should decide how we will celebrate the Sabbats. To do otherwise would be to ignore the guidance provided by the Deep Self or immanent divinity residing within each of our Sacred Selves.

[Added 17 April 2008]:  From "Celtic Well" comes another excellent, lengthy, footnoted essay, rich in lore and scholarship, "Bealtaine: Time of Warmth and Growth," by Francine Nicholson. Several sections on the habits and needs of domesticated animals are valuable for the unique way in which they relate to year-long "Wheel of the Year" themes. Here are a few addtitional excerpts from this essay:

...Family Only Allowed

Avoidance of strangers and refusal of requests to share from neighbors were a hallmark of Bealtaine. Although the Celtic community ethic was usually one of generosity and hospitality, on Bealtaine to share was to risk having one’s share of prosperity stolen by an unscrupulous neighbor or Otherworld being. In general, Bealtaine was a time to guard one’s luck and belongings against magical theft.

Omens of the Quarter

In general, it was thought that the fortunes of May Eve and May Day were good indicators for the coming quarter. Generally, this was determined by simple observation, but taking omens for the coming quarter was a Bealtaine custom, too. Like the other feasts, Bealtaine was a border in the fabric of time, a place where the edges gave way and let powerful forces seep through. While it made Bealtaine a time to be careful about assault by Otherworldly powers or by a human attempting to wield them, it also made Bealtaine a good time to seek knowledge from the Otherworld....

...The Lusty Month of May

Much of ancient Celtic magic was sympathetic, meaning that actions were performed to simulate the desired result. May was the time to encourage the untamed forces of nature to expand their power and cause crops, animals, and people to grow and reproduce abundantly. Couplings among unmarried partners, often outdoors or in wooded areas, was one way to encourage this result, but it was considered unlucky to marry at this time of disorder....

...Bealtaine Reconstructed

Underlying the ancient Celtic worldview was an assumption that we moderns are only beginning to acknowledge: the ability of this world to sustain life is limited. Because the daily lives of the ancient and medieval Celts were more directly and obviously affected by natural cycles, they were more aware of a basic fact: it is necessary for some inhabitants of this world to die and return their energy to the source so that others will be able to survive on this world's limited resources.

Usually, Samhain is the time when modern Celtic pagans stop to evaluate our lives, discard what no longer works, and bring closure to the losses we have experienced. Bealtaine is usually when we focus on the new, the fresh, the energetic, the pleasurable. However, new crops grow best when the land is first cleared of the dead vegetation from previous seasons. Indeed, the essential imagery of Bealtaine and its place in the ancient Celtic calendar both acknowledge that winter must precede summer, dark comes before light, cold before warmth, night before day, death before growth. The hearth fires, the ever-burning heart and pulse of traditional Celtic homes, were uniformly extinguished before Bealtaine began at sundown. Time was taken to mark the passing of the old in place of which the new was about to begin, or, as one pop song puts it, "Every new beginning is some other beginning’s end."

Not everything or everyone survives the winter, and a fit way to prepare for the celebrations of Bealtaine may be to pause, evaluate our lives, identify the "dead wood" that keeps us from growing, and attempt to clear it. Then, in the darkness we can come together to kindle the fire, the light, the warmth that will energize and empower both the earth and us to grow under the gaze and protection of the Shining One....

[Added 28 April 2002]: This is "The Origins & Traditions of Mayday"  by Eugene W. Plawiuk -- he looks at many earlier traditions from Europe but his special focus is on how the day became associated with workers and labor unions.  Here's an excerpt:

...Our modern celebration of Mayday as a working class holiday evolved from the struggle for the eight hour day in 1886. May 1, 1886 saw national strikes in the United States and Canada for an eight hour day called by the Knights of Labour. In Chicago police attacked striking workers killing six....

[Added 27-28 April 2004]: From Xeno Music, "Music without Borders," comes a general survey of Beltane practices -- but what is unique to this site are a handful of links to springtime music from a number of ethnic sources.

[Update 17 April 2008:] My Links-Elf, Michaela, could no longer get this link to load. She provides this alternate but could not tell if any of the music was still available because the site loaded soooo slowly:
http://www.xenomusic.com/

I tried her direct link in Netscape 7.2, but it timed out. So I then tried the opening Web Archive link in my Netscape 4.7 and also got nowhere (a site really needs to have pristine coding to pass muster in Netscape 4.7). However, I then tried it in the less demanding Netscape 7.2 -- I had to wait about 5 minutes or more (I have a dial-up modem), but it did load properly. One of the best music links, Tir Na Nog, wouldn't load in one place but did load in another. In case you have trouble with it, here's the link (I didn't try the actual music links but there's enough data here to allow you to search further, if you're interested and determined enough):
http://web.archive.org/web/20040604042113/www.xenomusic.com/mp3.phtml?CModule=Album&CIndex=10000094elebration

MAY DAY RITUALS,
FOODS,
and MAY WINE

http://web.archive.org/web/20040206093414/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/2803/rituals/ritual_beltane.htm:

[4/27/04: original geocities.com link is now dead but I'm keeping my annotation -- fortunately, I have much of the Maypole/Ribbon ritual saved elsewhere and have posted a link to it at: BELTANE/MAY DAY RIBBON RITUAL.  5/1/07: Found!! Web Archive link located & I've added it here, as of 1 May 2007.  So you can ignore this original entry except for the Ribbon Ritual link, which remains valid.  4/17/08: the Web Archive link can be really quirky -- sometimes loads, sometimes not. Please be patient! FYI: as a precaution, both Michaela and I have copied and pasted all the data into separate files. If you really need it, let me know you want the "Rae Beth et al" file. If enough ask for it, I'll upload a new page and link it here.]

[Added 11 April 2000]: This page from Taliesin's Realm offers three well chosen Beltane rituals: the third one by Rae Beth, the other two by unknown authors. [Note: scroll past the obnoxious Yahoo ad and it'll vanish; then you can scroll back up to read what it was covering up.]  The first ritual (author unknown), "Alternative MayPole Celebration For Solitaries," I found especially interesting because of its tree-focus:

...The idea here is that you (your body) symbolically becomes the Maypole/shamanistic tree--that you see yourself as the shaman on the tree (in your body), able to bring forth a variety of things from the Otherworld into manifestation here on Earth....

The ritual involves braiding long ribbons (as long as the length of your own body) in colors chosen to represent what you wish to "bind" to yourself at this time in your life.  I like both the tone and the details of this ritual and will add it to my own May Day celebrations.

[Added 27-28 April 2004]: This is Lady Bridget's "Beltane Introduction," a breezy, interesting explanation of a number of Beltane practices, especially those surrounding the Maypole.  Here's an excerpt:

...To start the dance, have all the people facing deosil raise their ribbons and the people going widdershins will go under them. Then the widdershins group will raise their ribbons and the deosil group will go under them. So it continues, over and under, over and under, as you progress around the pole. Very quickly a beautiful pattern will emerge, as these bright ribbons are woven together. Don't worry if people forget which way they were supposed to go, this often happens when you have first time dancers, or an uneven number of people, someone is bound to go under when they should have gone over, no matter. It is the enjoyment of the dance that matters most, not whether the weave comes out perfect, and no one can tell the difference anyway!....

[Added 27-28 April 2004]:This is "Raise High the Maypole," an essay by Maren M. Ulberg, that takes a leisurely look at Maypoles, wells, sacrifice, and many cross-cultural deities of the season.  Here is one lovely look at Maypoles from near the end of this article:

...As Beltaine falls, the second major dividing point of the Celtic year, opposite from Samhain, it is the other period when "the walls between the worlds are thinnest" and access to the other worlds is known to be easiest. When planted in the earth or sacrificed in wells, as done by the Druids, the Maypole becomes a shaman's path, the World Tree that connects the realms, by which we may travel. The Maypole or May Tree is a root of renewal; when we connect our bodies to it and whirl about, we form a sacred circle and cone of power; we literally become one with the tree and with each other. The Tree becomes our axis mundi, the center of the Great Wheel and time stopper, where other worlds meet....

[Link found on Web Archive and updated 1 May 2007.  Ignore the following entry:25 March 2003: this page no longer exists but I'm keeping the annotation.]

[Added 27 April 2002]: From "Firerose" comes a lovely Beltane ritual.  It is very, very brief and simple, yet eloquent. Here is how it opens:

If possible, celebrate Beltane in a forest or near a living tree. If this is impossible, bring a small tree within the circle, preferably potted; it can be of any type.

Create a small token or charm in honour of the wedding of the Goddess and God to hang upon the tree.  You can make several if you desire. These tokens can be bags filled with fragrant flowers, strings of beads, carvings, flower garlands - whatever your talents an imagination can conjure....

[Added 27-28 April 2004]:This is a tasteful, poetic, but definitely erotic ritual for two or more adults.

From the same Swedish collection as Nichols' essay (see above) come these simple and fast recipes for May Wine, without which no Beltane page would be complete.

Also from this Swedish collection come recipes for traditional Beltane oat cakes.

My complete Site Map will be found on my Home page.  If you have comments or suggestions, my e-mail address is near the bottom of that page.

The "square" on the mini-console below will stop the sound; the "triangle" will start it again; the two lines will pause it; the slider controls the volume.

The Celtic music, which I found by chance after finishing this page, is "Heather's Lullaby," sequenced by Bruce Liberati, from Ireland Now's "Music of Ireland." [May 1, 2007 -- this Irish link is now dead but the same melody, and other worldwide music, can be found at: http://www.alansim.com.]