Fire of Bel

“Fill the world, Sacred Light,
Hear — your Word burns within me,
I will sing wordless songs, —
And so it shall be“

Beltane or Beltan (Ir. Bealtaine, Scot. Bealltainn, Eng. Beltane) is a Celtic festival marking the beginning of the light half of the year, traditionally observed on May 1. The root “taine” means “fire”, while “beal” literally means “shining”, though it is also thought to allude to the god Belenus (Bel); thus the name can mean either “shining fire” or “the Fire of Bel.”

On this day people celebrate the transition from spring to summer, the God’s coming of age and his union with the Goddess and her pregnancy. The joining of two parts to produce a third is the central idea of Beltane. It is believed that on this day the spirits and gods are closest to humankind; one need only make proper use of this closeness.
Beltane, as noted, is dedicated to the sun and fertility god Bel, to whom the druids offered sacrifices on this day.

The name Bel (Belenos) means “bright”, “glittering”, “radiant” — a fitting name for a solar deity. This god was known across Celtic Western Europe under the names Belenos, Belenus, Bel.

Naturally, Bel — fulfilling the fertilizing role of the Sun (among the Slavs the same role is performed by Yarilo) — expresses the spirit of the Transition from darkness to light, the onset of the bright season. On the continent Bel was equated with Apollo in regions of Britain and Europe subject to the Roman Empire. The number of inscriptions dedicated to this god recorded by archaeologists is considerably greater than those devoted to any other Celtic deity. In some places he was venerated as a healer, in others as a patron of cities. In Ireland his name survives only in the festival’s title, but it is reasonable to assume that he too was worshipped as a protector of health, happiness, and fertility.

On the continent Bel was ascribed functions appropriate to a solar deity: protection, fertility, healing, rebirth after death. In some places, such as Aquileia, protective functions were especially emphasized; in others attention centered on the god’s healing powers.

There was a belief that on festival days Bel (and other gods) could be seen descending to earth.

It was also believed that all auspicious transitions take place on this day. In particular, it was on May 1 that the tribes of the goddess Danu arrived in Ireland. The first settler of Ireland, Partholón, set foot on its soil on May Day, and the Sons of Mil — the forebears of the modern Irish — seized the land by defeating the tribes of the goddess Danu (Tuatha De Danann) precisely on May 1. Thus from the very beginning Beltane was associated with the opening of new lands, with a change in life, the founding of a new kingdom, and the establishment of a new world order.

Beltane is one of the principal festivals of fire.
It is a festival of bonfires that attract heavenly blessings. A festival of flowers, a day celebrating life on earth.

In ancient times people believed that the Wheel of the Year would not turn without human intervention. Fires and rituals were an essential part of the festival.

Among the ancient Germanic peoples this day also marked the beginning of spring; from the eighth century, according to German folk belief, it became the witches’ festival (“the great sabbath”). Every year on the night of May 1 thousands of European witches were said to fly to the summits of the Brocken (and Blocksberg) in the Harz mountains (from Hart — “wooded mountains”, where firs grow) on brooms, pitchforks, and goats.

On this day all the Celts would extinguish their household hearths so they could bring back sparks from the sacred fires — symbols of the sun — thus signaling a fresh beginning for the household. On Beltane eve the Celts kindled two great bonfires — the Fires of Bel — made from nine sacred trees. The Fires of Bel were sacred; they called Bel to bless the people.
Participants passed between the fires or leapt over them for ritual purification. Cattle were driven between the fires to cleanse them of winter ailments and secure protection for the coming season.

It is no surprise that the principal symbol of Beltane is the Maypole — a phallic emblem of the god’s fertilizing power. After Alban Arthan (21 December — the Winter Solstice) the fir trunk was kept until Beltane, when it served as the Maypole. Alban Arthan symbolized the birth (or rebirth) of the God, while Beltane marked his coming of age, his masculine strength. The reborn God attains maturity, and at that time he and the Goddess give themselves to sensual love, which is intended to bring new life.

Long white and red ribbons tied to the top of the pole streamed in the spring wind; the dancers wove them around the pole to the sounds of lively music, rattles, and drums. Red ribbons were woven clockwise, white ribbons counterclockwise; in this way the celebrants wove stability and prosperity into their personal lives for the coming summer months. When only the last few feet of ribbon remained to be woven, the dancers began to move counterclockwise, sealing the wish for growth and well-being.

Costumes for the day included blue and green. Doorways were to be decorated with hawthorn branches — the tree of hope, pleasure, and protection.
A ritual embodying the idea of prosperity and well-being was the fair, where the Celts customarily exchanged various goods, foodstuffs, and jewelry.

The sacred food of Beltane — sweet foods, heather honey, cakes, pastries, fruits.

There were several other customs — visiting a spring on this day, shooting flaming arrows at the sun, and, of course, the Wild Hunt, the Hunt for Power, conducted by the druids precisely on the night of Beltane.