Beltane!

May Day is almost upon us! Soon it will officially be Summer, days of beaches and watermelon and camping and air conditioning! This season Beltane will span from April 30th to May 5th.

Want some ideas for Beltane (Beltaine, Bealtaine, Bealltainn, Boaltinn, Boaldyn, or May Day, whatever you call it)? Here are some non-ceremonial spells, recipes, and craft ideas!

May Bush ideas! Click pic for source.

Decorate a May Bush! If you happen to have some leftover egg shells from Ostara, you can use these. Decorate with ribbon for the intentions you want for the next half of the year. Here is a link for color correspondence. Some suggestions would be colors for protection, fertility, and love.

Scatter plant some flowers! You can get some cheap seeds everywhere, but I highly recommend looking at the native flowers in your area and planting those. Here are sites for the US, the UK, and France (because I get a lot of views from there. Bonjour!). You can use them to "sow the seeds of desire" or whatever it is you want; just focus on what it is you would like to sow out into the Earth/Universe and either chant while you scatter, sing, dance, or whatever you feel like doing.

Go to the Renaissance Festival! The one here in Waxahachie, TX ends on May 27th this year. They might also have a May Pole you can attend!

Sunlight Jars!

Make crafts! Here are some great things to make from my favorite craft blog. Spiral Goddess salt dough plaque, Sea glass heart pendant (which you can also make hanging things with, and I am sure you can make any shape, like a Sun [another cool sun], Moon, or Star [an idea how]), Sea shell ornaments and chimes, fake deer antlers (really cool!), or this REALLY AMAZING Sunlight-In-A-Jar (here is an eBay account that sells the solar panel tops cheaper than anywhere else).


Here is a site that gives some pretty good protection spells and ideas for amulets. I don't really like giving ceremonial spells, especially links to other sites, because of ethical issues. If you choose to search for other ceremonial spells and rituals on the internet, know that they should only really be a template and that the most powerful spells you can do are the ones you make yourself. Perhaps soon I will post some spell bones/templates for y'all.

Host a party. Make crowns of flowers and have contests to see who wins the title of May Queen and May King. One of the games can be a throwing contest. Have music and dance! Have a bonfire if you have the room, or make a small fire in your cauldron using rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and A LID which is important if you need to snuff the flames. Make sure to practice safe fire habits!

Maypole. You can either make an actual Maypole or you can make a smaller one from a paper towel roll or small rod.

Poetry is always good.

How about some Beltane stories for those with children?

Do some divination! Now is a great time, since it is the second time of year that the Veil is at its thinnest.

Food! Here are some awesome recipes for you. Candied Violets with Lemon Poppyseed Cake, more recipes for the Sabbat, and some with pies! A list from A to Z, and more with variety.

Other things I found that are worth reading.

Last but not least, some chants for you!

Bring flowers of the rarest
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

O Goddess we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Witches and Queen of the May.
O Goddess we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Witches and Queen of the May

Do you have any suggestions yourself?

Oh, Ostara!

Ostara has past (it was this past 20th) but due to various circumstances, I will be celebrating on the 26th. This will be the first Ostara that I practice with my brother and I have a lot planned; so exciting!!

Of course there is always the customary egg dying. I would love to do some natural dying one time with these recipes (OH AMAZING!), but it looks like we will have to fall back on regular dying.

How cool would this be??

Another great craft for Ostara is making egg charms. Basically you blow out the inside and then paint or dye the outside, then add herbs or various items inside. I would totally add a string so I could hang them up, perhaps gathering a bunch onto a mobile or inside "wind chime." It would probably be messy, but would be very good for kids!

Another idea would be to  make some ladybug stones. How cute are these? This is a very easy craft with paint that more mature kids could do, and you can populate your house or garden with them. There are also ideas for butterflies and dragonflies. If you like crafting, I recommend this site! From bottle cap coasters to Book of Shadows to pentacle necklaces and recipes for writing ink, it is impressive!

My brother has also taken a liking to making God's Eyes. If you get some multicolored thread or yarn, you can make all sorts of cool designs. Here is a video that shows exactly how to do it, from beginning to end.

How about a wreathe? Or just some other types of decoration? Here are some more pictures of crafts! That Ostara Tree looks interesting and very pretty. Now this has some very good ideas as well, especially the eggshell candles and the Moon/Sun masks. Pintrest, and this blog for children and this one too!

Cool!!!!!

Maybe the simplest activity I will do with my brother is plant flowers or put a plant in a container for him to take care of. Since we can't have a pet at my place (and I wouldn't be able to take care of the poor thing right now anyway), a plant is the next best thing. I would like to start a Witch's Garden with various herbs and flowers of my own, but perhaps we can start off small yet.

That's it for now; have a great Ostara/Easter!