#the deity of spring

[dionysianivy]

𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞

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What is Beltane?

Beltane is a fire festival celebrated on the night of April 30th into May 1st in the Northern Hemisphere, and around October 31st into November 1st in the Southern Hemisphere. It marks the midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, honoring fertility, passion, and the sacred union between the divine feminine and masculine. Traditionally, it signals the beginning of the light half of the year, a time of growth, abundance, warmth, and blooming life. Beltane celebrates freedom, love, lust, creativity, and the return of life to the natural world, bringing with it new, flourishing beginnings. May 1st is a day of joy and play. After a harsh winter, it becomes a celebration of renewal, of aliveness, and of nature’s wild rebirth.

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The History of Beltane

The name Beltane comes from Old Irish Beltene, meaning "bright fire" or "The fires of Bel". Some people link it to the Celtic god Belenus, a solar and healing deity, while others have drawn comparisons to Baal, a fertility god, though that idea is debated and not widely accepted.

Historically, Beltane was celebrated in Celtic regions, most notably Ireland and Scotland, as a pastoral festival. Bonfires were lit on hilltops, and cattle were driven between two of them to protect them from disease and ensure fertility. People would jump over the flames, not just for luck, but as a way to connect with sacred fire and invoke fertility, health, and courage for the coming summer season.

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Beltane and the Fairy Realm

Beltane is a liminal time, one of the two key points in the year (along with Samhain) when the veil between our world and the Otherworld grows thin. While Samhain leans into the realm of spirits and ancestors, Beltane belongs to the fae.

It is said that on the eve of Beltane, the Fair Folk wander freely, drawn to laughter, music, and offerings left with care. In many old traditions, people avoided disturbing fairy mounds or sacred groves during this time, choosing instead to leave gifts like milk, honey, or sweet bread beneath hawthorn trees. These offerings were meant to honor the fae, invite blessings, and protect against mischief.

Wearing a crown of bluebells on Beltane Eve is said to help one see the faeries, as bluebells are sacred to them. A ring of blooming bluebells is also believed to be a favorite gathering spot for garden faeries.

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Beltane and the Hawthorn Tree

Few trees are more sacred to Beltane than the hawthorn. Often called the “fairy tree” in Irish and Scottish folklore, it is said to guard the entrances to the Otherworld. Blooming right around May 1st, its soft white-pink blossoms carry the energy of protection, love, and the unseen.

In Celtic tradition, hawthorn trees were deeply respected as portals to the realm of the fae. During Beltane, it was common to tie ribbons or small offerings to the branches while making heartfelt wishes, not demands, but gentle hopes whispered like prayers. Damaging or cutting a hawthorn tree, especially during this sacred time, was believed to bring terrible luck or stir the wrath of the Fair Folk.

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The Sacred Fire

Fire is the central symbol of Beltane. The festival’s original name literally refers to Bel’s fires, honoring the sun and invoking purification and fertility.

Traditionally, two large bonfires were lit at Beltane, and people, along with their animals, would walk, dance, or even leap between them for blessings, healing, and protection. In some regions, ashes from the sacred fire were scattered over fields to encourage fertility. Couples, especially newlyweds, often passed hand-in-hand through the smoke as a symbol of unity and renewal.

The fire wasn’t just a ritual, it was a living spirit. Lighting it the old way, through friction rather than matches or lighters, was seen as a sacred act, calling upon the raw elemental force of nature itself.

Even today, many Beltane celebrations honor this ancient custom through bonfires, candle magic, and fire rituals. You don’t need a blaze on a hilltop, even a single flame, lit with intention, can carry the sacred spark of Beltane into your home and heart. :D

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The Maypole

The maypole is one of the most central symbols of modern Beltane celebrations. Though it has roots in English May Day traditions, it’s been beautifully woven into Beltane for its rich symbolism of life, fertility, and union.

The tall, phallic pole rising from the earth represents the God, masculine energy, vitality, and the spark of creation. The colorful ribbons and flowers spiraling around it, often held by dancers weaving in circles, represent the Goddess, the womb, fertility, and abundant life. Together, they form a sacred spiral: a dance of harmony between the masculine and feminine, of earth and sky, movement and stillness.

As dancers move around the maypole, their steps create a living mandala, a spell in motion, tied with laughter and bright ribbons.

The dance itself is a celebration of harmony between forces, of weaving ourselves back into the rhythm of the land.

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Beltane x Handfasting

Beltane is also a favored time for handfasting, a traditional pagan betrothal or wedding ritual where a couple’s hands are bound together with ribbons, cords, or braided threads to symbolize their union. In ancient times, a handfasting ceremony could last for a year and a day, after which the couple had the choice to stay together or part ways. Today, many modern pagans choose Beltane as a powerful and romantic time to make such commitments, drawn to the fertile energy of the season. Handfastings are often held outdoors, in nature, near fire, under blooming trees, or surrounded by loved ones in sacred space. The vows exchanged during these rituals can be traditional or deeply personal, as the magic of the ceremony lies in the heart connection and the intention to walk beside each other, bound by love and commitment.

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Magic Correspondences

Planets: Venus

Season: Midpoint between spring and summer

Element: Fire

Time of the Day: Noon

Tarot Cards: The Strength, The Lovers, The Sun, Three of Cups

Colors: Green, Red, Pink, Yellow, Purple, White, Sky Blue, All Pastel Colors

Herbs: Mint, Rosemary, Thyme, Ivy, Nettle, Sage, Basil, Juniper, Clover, Mugwort

Fruits: Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Bananas, Lemon, Cherries

Vegetables: Cucumbers, Carrots, Garlic, Lettuce, New Potatoes

Crystals: Emerald, Bloodstone, Rose Quartz, Carnelian, Red Jasper, Green Aventurine, Moonstone, Fire Agate

Runes: Kenaz, Wunjo, Ingwaz

Trees: Hawthorn, Elder, Willow, Birch

Goddesses: Artemis, Diana, Brigid, Aphrodite, Flora, Gaia, Hera, Astarte, Venus, Juno, Freyja, Epona, Bastet

Gods: Pan, Cernunnos, Belenus, Dionysus, The Green Man, Bacchus, Priapus, Faunus, Eros, Ra

Dragons: Sairys, Fafnir

Flowers: Lilac, Bluebells, Daisy, Lilies, Foxglove, Lily of the Valley, Marigold, Tulips, Violets, Primrose, Peony, Poppy, Honeysuckle

Animals: Frogs, Swans, Cows, Deer, Squirrels, Sheep, Ducks, Cats, Bees, Rabbits, Swallows, Leopards, Lynx, Hares

Magical Powers: Love, Sex, Fertility, Protection, Cleansing, Transformation

Symbols: Maypole, Ribbons, Phallus, Bonfire, Flowers, Faeries, Sex, Floral Crowns, Frogs, Celtic Knots

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Activities to do:

🌸 Make flower-shaped biscuits

🌸 Do candle magick

🌸 Find a local hawthorn tree and make a wish to the faeries

🌸 Wear flowers in your clothes, hair, or as bracelets

🌸 Leave offerings for faeries, as this is the season when they’re most present, you can leave them honey, milk, or biscuits

🌸 Go out for a walk in nature and feel the arrival of summer

🌸 Make a fire in the yard and dance around it (only in safe circumstances, of course); if you don’t have resources, you can light candles in your room (again, be careful)

🌸 Eat anything with oats, as it’s associated with Beltane, such as oatmeal, oatcakes, or other oat-based foods

🌸 Do a tarot or rune reading in the morning of Beltane

🌸 Take care of the trees in your yard or nearby by watering them

🌸 Honor all deities associated with fertility

🌸 Practice faerie magick

🌸 On the morning of Beltane, open your windows or door to warmly welcome the energy of the sabbat.

🌸 Make a Beltane magick jar

🌸 Water your flowers

🌸 Listen to music and dance :D

🌸 Celebrate life, fertility, love, and union

🌸 Take care of your garden, plant seeds, clean dried leaves, and prepare for summer

🌸 Make special Beltane treats

🌸 Casting your circles with oats around this time of year is also a good idea, as oats are a traditional Beltane grain for good luck

🌸 Have a picnic with your loved ones, or organize a gathering with food and grilling

🌸 Honor your ancestors

🌸 Place decorations in your garden

🌸 Plant a tree with any intention you want and take care of it

🌸 Draw runes and specific symbols on paper and burn them

🌸 Do self-love activities

🌸 Practice sex or love magick

🌸 Look for hawthorns in your area and honor them with water and offerings for faeries

🌸 Make a maypole

🌸 Collect flowers

🌸 On the morning of May 1st, wash your face with May Dew or natural spring water

🌸 Connect with the fire element

🌸 Read about the fair folk

🌸 Have a bonfire with your loved ones

🌸 Place ribbons or colored thread in trees with intentions for each, you can use color magick to attract what you need in your life right now (pink for love,

🌸 Meditate

🌸 Make flower crowns and wreaths

🌸 Perform spells for fertility, purification, and love

🌸 As this is a day of love, if you are of an appropriate age, comfortable, being sexually active is part of the celebration

🌸 Buy seeds and plant them in your garden, welcoming the growth of new life

🌸 Create a Beltane altar

🌸 If you don't have a maypole you can dance around your favorite tree <3

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Food and Drinks:

Oats in all forms (oatmeal, oat cookies, oat bread, oatcakes, bannock), strawberries, blueberries, honey, whipped cream with oats, strawberry biscuits, oat and honey bread, blackberry pie, lavender cake, cheese (including Swiss), seasonal potato dishes, fresh fruit salads, tomato and cucumber salads, dairy or plant-based milks, vanilla-flavoured foods, ice cream, grilled food, BBQ, spicy dishes to honor the fire element, May Day wine, white wine, regular wine (with a strawberry placed at the bottom of the glass if you wish), tarts with cheese, mayonnaise.

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[nikkas-cottage]

Special spring tapers I made in honor of Persephone’s return 🌸

[aleck-le-mec]

“Where are your pagan gods now?”

Gardening

Comforting your abandoned dead

Reclaiming

Rerooting

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Helios rests in the sky, fond eyes gazing upon the mortals below, baking the world to shades of perfect greens and soft browns.

Nyx races overhead, Her starlit body whisking past, with Eos joyfully clinging to Her skirt.

With every storm, Zeus sits in the sky, and hurls down lightning, following it with booming laughs which echo through the lands.

Hera watches weddings go on below, spreading Her blessings among the newlyweds, bringing them peace and prosperity.

Artemis rests in the hollows of mountains, where chilled breezes still blow from streams which have not forgotten the winter's snows. Her skin is dappled with sweat, and Her eyes are greener than the vibrant moss.

Apollon whispers in the ears of mortals, golden sunlight now carrying prophecies in the beams. He takes the hands of mortals and leads them to songwriting and poetry, to painting and music.

Hermes whisks Himself up and down the highways, taking care of the travelers who look for new horizons under the summer's heat.

Messages never seem to still as Iris, bounding up in the aftermath of rain, leaves vibrant rainbow trails behind Her.

Demeter and Persephone slip through Farmer's Markets, carrying more fruits and vegetables and grain than they can reasonably hold. With every fallen fruit, every tomato that squishes a bit, every fallen shaft of wheat, They laugh.

Out on the seashore, Poseidon watches the waves roll in, and the tides go out. The sandcastles left behind by small children are His favorite offerings.

In the mornings, among the waves of birdsong, gentle pipes sound throughout the forests, played by Pan.

And somewhere out in the wilds, both on stony mountain peaks and green riversides, tearing through golden grasses and dancing through firefly-lit forests, is Dionysos. Head thrown back, long hair flowing, teeth bared in joy.

[margaretkart]

Dionysus and Ariadne (through the seasons)

[lodionysus]

Happy Spring, Lord Dionysus 🩷

Blessed Dionysus, great and glorious you are! Oh, young spirit, you who delights in green fields, we honor you today! Cisseus, crowned in vines you help usher in the beginnings of life. You soothe our tears and turn our faces towards the light. With you come ecstasy, joy, new beginnings, freedom, and love. We thank you for the blessings you’ve given us, the gifts you’ve granted us. We will sing of you evermore, Agathos Daimon. Khaîre, Hestius! Khaîre, Limnaios! Khaîre, Soter! Kahore, Phallên! We love you!

[broomsick]

Sit outside in the sun. Do nothing. Close your eyes. Feel yourself breathe.

Listen for birdsong. Listen to the wind.

Watch the clouds. Watch the trees sway.

Look for patterns. Inhabit your body.

The world is vibrant and alive. There, you will meet radiant Yngvi-Frey, the giver of ár ok friðr, "peace and plenty".

[olympian-meditations]

Queen Persephone is back above ground with her mother <3

Happy spring equinox! May they bless you this spring!

[starlight-sage]

Today is the spring equinox for me…welcome back to the surface lady Persephone!!

[adrianecarday]

Print - "Forest Guardian" by adrianecarday on INPRNT

[lavendermoonlove]

Elaphebolia – The honouring of the goddess Artemis and the god Apollon

🦌What is it?🦌 The goddess Artemis and the god Apollon had many festivals held to honour them during ancient Greece, one of which is Elaphebolia. It was held at Athens and Phocis on the 6th and 7th of the month Elaphebolion. On the 6th Artemis was honoured and on the 7th Apollon. This timing is because Artemis and Apollon are born on the 7th day of the 7th month and Leto was 7th months pregnant with them. Making 7 the sacred number of both of them. However, as Artemis was born first, she is honoured a day before Apollon every month, therefore marking the 6th of each Hellenic month as a day where she is worshipped and honoured. This year Elphebolia falls on the 6th and 7th of march, making it a perfect fit.

Elaphebolia gives the month Elaphebolion its name, to honour one of Artemis’ epithets, Artemis Elaphebolios (deer-shooting). Therefore this festival honours Artemis’ hunting aspect. As Artemis and Apollon were often worshipped together, since they are twins, the festival continued for another day to honour Apollon in his archery aspect.

🦌Offerings🦌

Traditionally cakes made from flour, honey and sesame in the shape of stags were offered to the goddess during the festival. This is a tradition you might choose to follow as it’s very easy to make these cakes for her.

There is not much historical information regarding this festival, but modern notions point to a simple rite to Artemis in her role as huntress and protector of wild life. The same can be done to Apollon Hekatos (far-shooter, relation to khtonic Artemis) or Agraios (of the Hunt, Hunter).

You may decide to build an altar for her and Apollon during the month of Elaphebolion or make an additional offering on their altar if you already have one. In the same notion, you may choose to incorporate them in your Ostara altar, as the vernal equinox falls in the month Elaphebolion. Furthermore, Artemis as khtonic Artemis (Hekate) holds relations to Persephone and the Eleusinian mysteries, from which I celebrate the lesser mysteries on the Spring equinox. More information on this will be provided in a next post.

Both Apollon and Artemis are gods of dance and music, so sing and dance in their honour! Festivities often contained singing and dancing as well. Create a playlist for them and go all out.

You may choose to do a group ritual with fellow worshippers of Artemis or Apollon to honour the gods in the afore mentioned aspects.

I hope this post provided some information you can work with💜 The spring and autumn tide are my favourite times in the year and I always look forward to the festivities they bring forth. Be on the look out for more posts regarding springtide festivities. Happy Elaphebolia for those who celebrate!🦌💚

[dionysianivy]

Blessed Ostara and Happy Spring Equinox everyone! 🌸🐇🌿☀️

May this new season bring you only comfort, happiness, light, and so much luck! <3 🌸🕯🌲Today, day and night stand in perfect balance, and from now on, the days will grow longer, blessing us with more and more sunshine. <3 May you be surrounded by joy, warmth, and all the little pleasures that make life beautiful 🐥🌼 And may Goddess Eostre bless us all 🌷

[nikkas-cottage]

First look at the fully finished pillar candles dedicated to Persephone and Demeter 🌸🌷💞

Spring is coming…

[tytangfei]

Love Never Fails (2025) - ep.6

- Why were you sad just now? - I wasn't...it was the moon who bullied me. - Here he is. The moon who bullied you. Lunar Deity. - You've got it wrong! It's a misunderstanding.

[lukewarm-applesaws]

𝔉𝔬𝔯 𝔔𝔲𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔓𝔢𝔯𝔰𝔢𝔭𝔥𝔬𝔫𝔢 𓂃 ࣪˖ ཐིཋྀ

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺🦇༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚༺🦇༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *ੈ✩‧₊˚

[margaretkart]

A moment to relax..