May 1st is the celebration that marks the halfway period between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice! Also known as Mayday, it is generally seen as a welcoming if the springs full swing! April showers have brought the may flowers. And now we frolic! Fertility, continuity, the joy of beginning so many planting projects, the breeding season. This was all relevant to the ancients. They didn't have a supermarket year round to buy those apples or strawberries, if they even had those fruits at all. Whatever the locale grew is mainly what they had outside of trade. And "exotic" fruit I imagine was scarce as it would have to sustain long travel intact! Thinking more deeply about the circumstance our ancestors lived with has to make us appreciate modern travel and shipping. We likely wouldn't know what a kiwi tastes like, or a guava, if we were from America or some other place they simply dont grow! And Beltane is a perfect time to celebrate our own gardens, and also that we have produce to enjoy! Foods for Beltane will be lots of fruit and salad type vegetables! Lots of juices and smoothies, dairy products. Fire cooked meats! Open fire if you can manage it, if not grilled! Also any traditional Scottish dishes like mince pies, haggis might be tough to find, but it's possible, or some savory Cock-a-leekie soup, are excellent for this! Bonfires, campfires, even candles will suffice if that is all you can manage to put some of the fire element in your celebration! Beltane is Gaelic! Wear a kilt or plaid skirt if you have it! If you're Scottish, this celebration goes back to your ancestors! Order a piece of your family clan tartan to commemorate the event! If you have any drums, bring them out and beat them! Oh yes, and bagpipes! If you can't play them, just blast them on your Audio! Clanadonia is a good recommendation! Have some ale, wine or mead! Or of course a dram of whiskey or Scotch! Or if you want to stay sober, get yourself some Birch Beer! It tastes kind of like peppermint soda! You can find Scottish family brews that are non-alcoholic like Rapscallion Soda. Try a recipe for Feragaia, or order up some Talonmore.

Are you a Practicing witch? Then this night is your moment to share with all witches! Originally a German folkloric holiday centered on old stories of witches frolicking on the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz Mountains! This is an over night fun fest! We celebrate all night until after midnight ringing in Beltane! So. Plan to dress in your most witchy clothing, prepare your spells, light your firepits, and dance, dance magic, dance! (Little shout out to "The Labyrinth") If there was ever a better night to do some fertility spells for those hoping to have children, I'd be surprised! In fact, it may be a good night to work that magic on your significant other! Spring has long been a season of fertility and the rebirth of life. This means it is also a prime time for doing any kind of meditations or trance work centered on ancestor work, past lives, and the higher-self awareness. Because the Full Flower Moon comes in just as the day of Beltane is beginning, this is a great time for cyclical spells, home blessings and full moon manifestation! But beware! We are entering Scorpio's impulsive and aggressive energy! So, maybe don't go too too crazy! You might find yourself waking up in some random field, wondering how on earth you got there! Lol Let loose, but don't lose yourself in the process! Have fun witches!

April 30th, the day before Beltane or May Day, is known in some parts of Northern Europe as Walpurgisnacht! This was specifically a Night for Witches! That is right and it pre-dates Christianity! Also known as Hexennacht! This is a tradition we rarely hear about these days. Now, we should understand that even though it pre-dates Christianity, that of course didn't stop the church from branding it with a very Christian name. Saint Walpurga is where this name comes from. Of course like everything else Pagan, they twisted the story from a night for Witches and witchcraft, and turned it into celebrating a Saint who protected AGAINST witchcraft, once again demonizing WOMEN and witches and everything Pagans stand for. While a maddening fact of history, it doesn't stop Pagans and Witches today from reclaiming it and restoring it's original folkloric glory for the sake of all Witches! And that is what we all should strive to do. They rebranded our world with their fear mongering and empirical order, but they can't stop us from removing that deception once and for all and telling the true stories as they were told thousands of years ago! Celebrating the return of the free folk faith.