Beltane annual district festival on April 30th.
8 little rituals to celebrate Walpurgis Night with friends
© jozefklopacka / Adobe Stock
Every year on the night of April 30th to May 1st we celebrate one of the oldest Celtic festivals in the year: Beltane, Beltain or even better known as Walpurgis Night. You can read here how you can celebrate this festival with your friends.
In addition to Samhain in October and Jule in December, there are other important annual festivals, one of which is Beltane. While Samhain in October particularly commemorates our ancestors and the dead and ushers in winter, Beltane represents the counterpart. So with the “Dance into May” we celebrate the festival of spring, the joy of life and fertility. Because Beltane also stands for the holy wedding – the union of the male and female. To this day, May is still a popular wedding month. This fertility festival celebrates the creation of new life, the earth is fertilized because the seed has been planted in it. Just as Samhain ushers in the dark half of the year, Beltane marks the beginning of summer time. Nature has come back to life, the days are already longer and brighter, the temperatures are warmer. Everything is growing, blossoming, thriving and breaking up. Not only does nature feel this, we ourselves also notice how our energy returns. We are in a flirty mood, want to fall in love and perhaps especially long for a partnership.
Beltane is considered the highlight of spring, which is traditionally celebrated on May 1st with bonfires and dancing around the maypole.
What is Walpurgis Night all about?
When we think of Walpurgis Night, most people inevitably imagine dancing witches on the Harz Brocken, allying themselves with the devil. But the festival has little to do with witchcraft. The name of the festival is derived from Walpurgis, a pagan goddess who was later canonized. The witchcraft legends came from the Dark Ages and contributed to Christianity’s demonization of women and natural spirituality.
Beltane: Celebrate the annual festival with friends
This annual festival is all about love, happiness, the connection to nature, oracles and exuberant celebrations and get-togethers. A celebration that you can celebrate wonderfully together with your friends. We have collected some ideas here about what rituals you can use to create your own Walpurgis Night.
Cook and enjoy
Prepare a delicious meal together and treat yourself to good wine or traditional woodruff punch, but made from real woodruff.
Make flower wreaths
Get dressed up, tie beautiful flower wreaths together and decorate your windows and doors. A rose should not be missing. It is considered a power plant on Beltane and is said to have a strong connection to Venus. But various herbs such as marjoram, thyme and parsley are also considered powerful and should not be missing from your flower wreath at Beltane.
Go swimming in the morning dew
Brrrr… that could get pretty cold, but supposedly taking a bath on the morning of May 1st preserves youth and health. But above all, it could be very funny.
Apple love oracle
Oh yes, love… At Beltane, oracles are of course also often consulted – especially in matters of love. For example, the apple peel oracle. To do this, an apple is peeled in a long spiral from the stem to the base of the flower. The shell must not tear off! Then the bowl is thrown over the left shoulder with the wish to know the name of the future spouse. When it falls to the ground, it forms the name or initials of the person you are looking for. The results could be interesting.
To make a fire
Fire played a big role in Beltane. It is said that jumping over the flames will bring good luck. But since this is too dangerous, we recommend writing down wishes and then handing them over to the fire together.
Dancing into May
Walpurgis Night is celebrated in many places and people everywhere dance into May. If you have enough space, you can of course set up a maypole yourself and decorate it with colorful ribbons so that you can dance on it afterwards.
Smoking
Smoking with sensual scents to invite love and happiness into your home is also a beautiful ritual for this celebration. Styrax, rose, sandalwood, musk grains, elecampane root or even saffron can be used here.
Lay cards
Lay the cards together, exchange ideas, reflect. This strengthens your friendship and you can form an even stronger bond.
Sources: hexerey.com, Happinez Magazine