Here’s how you can live your magic this Beltane, without buying anything or leaving your house.
In the Northern Hemisphere, Beltane is May 1st.
This is the point on the Wheel of the Year that is halfway between the Spring Equinox (Ostara) and the Summer Solstice (Midsummer). It’s a time to celebrate the growing light and spring blooms, as well as sexuality, romance, and fun.
Beltane is also the time when the veil between the worlds of human and fairy is at its thinnest. So we can sense the wild, playful, mischievous realm of the fae more fully on this sabbat than at any other time of year.
Needless to say, this is not your average Beltane. This is a Beltane when we want to stay as isolated as possible for the health of ourselves and our fellow humans. Luckily, we can still celebrate Beltane, and even direct the magic of this fairy-related holiday toward manifesting positive conditions and outcomes for ourselves and our planet.
Here are some magical Beltane activities you can do without leaving the house or acquiring anything you don’t already have on hand.
1. Talk to a Flower
As many of you know, I love communing with flowers. When you relax, quiet your mind, and gaze at a blossom that calls to you (especially one that’s basking in sunlight), you will find it has a lot of guidance and wisdom to offer. Communicating with flowers in this way also offers a powerful energy healing, as it works on the subtle level to heal your aura, chakras, and emotions. If you haven’t tried it before, I highly recommend it! And what better time than Beltane? Here’s a video tutorial on how to communicate with a flower.
2. Plant Seeds
If you have any seed packets lying around at home, Beltane would be a great day to plant them! This will attune you to the abundant energy of the earth and align you with the deep magic of germination and new life. Before you plant your seeds, close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and silently invite the fairies to watch over them and bless them.
3. Play Fairy Dress-up
If you’re like me, you have had fairy wings of one variety or another in your closet for literally decades. But if you don’t, here are 3 ways to make fairy wings out of things you may already have at home. Other fairy couture may include a flower crown, sparkles, horns, scarves, a sundress, a wand, and anything else that feels right. Once you’ve assembled your fairy costume and put it on, consider posting a picture of your magical fairy self on social media to wish your friends and loved ones a happy Beltane.
4. Have a Drink with the Fairies
Fairies love to party. Whether or not you’d like to include alcohol in your fairy cocktail party, consider making one fairy-friendly drink for yourself and one for the fairies. The ingredients will depend on what you’ve got on hand: if you have herbs, fruits, or vegetables in your garden, those would be fabulous to include! If you’ve got some beer or champagne in the fridge, the fairies will love it. Even root beer, bubbly water, lemonade, and herbal tea would all work wonderfully. It’s the thought that counts. Once you have your drinks ready, place one in your garden or yard (or right outside your door), lift your beverage, salute the fairies, and smile. Then drink while contemplating the beauty of nature (even if you’re just looking out the window at the clouds). After you’ve finished your drink, pour the fairies’ beverage out upon the earth.
5. Frolic Around a Beltane “Fire”
When it comes to Pagan holidays, bonfires are admittedly pretty popular all year round. But at Beltane? Even more so. Dancing around a Beltane fire is traditional, as is jumping over a Beltane fire as a way of cleansing your energy field and aligning you with the expansive light of the sun. If you happen to have a fire pit in your yard and would like to build your own personal Beltane fire, go for it! But even if you don’t have a fire pit (or even a yard!), you can assemble candles on a plate, place it on a small table or pedestal in a central location in a room or on a balcony, and dance around it, alone or with whomever you’re quarantined with. And if you’re very safe and you don’t have downstairs neighbors, you might even place it on the floor and leap over it! (Again, be SAFE! Beltane is definitely a time for wildness and fun, but maybe don’t go leaping over any candles unless you’re sober.)
6. Make Some Fairy Shoes
Not everyone is going to have old shoes and crafting supplies on hand during the quarantine. But if you do? Fairy shoes. If you have an old pair of shoes you don’t mind using for this Beltane project, pull out your craft supplies and see what fairy magic you can work on them. A hot glue gun would be especially handy, as would craft paint, brushes, sticky jewels, glitter, and faux flowers.
7. Do a Love Spell on Yourself
One thing about the quarantine: it’s giving us a lot of time with ourselves. And the more you love yourself, the more magnetic you are, not only to love in general, but also to wealth, success, happiness, and basically all things wonderful and sweet. So this Beltane, consider performing a love spell on yourself. Here’s how: shower or bathe and dress in something that you love to wear. Then continue to adorn yourself in exactly the ways that will make you feel most treasured and adored. And don’t forget to anoint yourself with your favorite scent. Make a playlist of songs you love to dance to. Then dance. (For yourself and with yourself! No videos. No posting on social media about it later. This is just about you and the music.) As you dance, revel in your own beauty, power, and magic. And if any negative thoughts or feelings come up, allow them and dance them. Then let them go and open up once again to your splendor. Once you’ve danced for at least three full songs (but more if you feel like it), lie on your back and relax for a few minutes, allowing your mind to float as you ground your energy and integrate all the new channels of self-love you’ve opened up through your sacred dance.
8. Spread Joy and Have Fun
Last but not least: fun. No matter what you do this Beltane, let fun be your prime directive and guiding light. Yes, it’s a challenging time, and even a dark one. And I don’t want you to stuff your feelings down or pretend that you’re not experiencing challenges or uncomfortable emotions. At the same time, intentionally searching out fun and making playfulness a primary goal is good medicine for a heavy heart. By the same token, whenever and wherever you can, spread joy. You can do this through things like kindness, laughter, compliments, and bringing more beauty into the world through your thoughts, feelings, words, actions, and creations.
Are you planning to try any of these quarantine-friendly Beltane ideas? Or do you have some ideas of your own? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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I am so happy to have come across these wonderful ideas 🌸 I made some faerie shoes today!! I’m in love with them and can not wait to dance in them along my wings (which are next to decorate) 🧚🏻♂️ 👢 🦋
Yay, Erin! How fun. Thanks for reading and letting me know about the shoes (and wings)!
I just love your celebration ideas — I always end up using at least a couple. I already planted lots of flowers, have been courting faerie vibes all over my property— but the FAERIE SHOES?!? I’ll be rummaging through closets tomorrow! That’s the most exciting craft I’ve been introduced to in a while. I cannot wait to put on my faerie shoes and tromp through my woods feeling more a part of life’s magick than ever. Thank you!! This is the Beltane fun I needed.
Cindy, I’m so happy to hear you’re excited about the fairy shoes! I had lots of fun with mine as you can see. Blessed Beltane to you!
Hi Tess, I love these ideas for a Beltane in Quarantine (or Lockdown as we’re calling it here in the UK). I am definitely going to talk to a flower, plant seeds, have a drink with the Fae and have the fire pit going in the garden. I also really love the idea of the self love spell – this ties in so well with a couple of my New Moon intentions, so I am going to have a nice bath, put on a pretty dress and dance away!
Thank you so much for the ideas and your email updates, I am really enjoying them. Jenny x
Jenny, wonderful! Thanks for reading and for your kind words. Blessed Beltane.