How to celebrate Beltane like a goddess!

May 1 is Beltane in the Northern Hemisphere and on that day we honor nature’s oldest love story; Beltane means bright fire, and in earth-based traditions, it represents the handfasting or marriage of the god and goddess and their eternal embrace. The two are separated all winter long in ancient lore and their reunion on Beltane is celebrated with food, drink, and multi-colored maypoles that symbolize female energies wrapping themselves around the male form. The world comes alive in color to celebrate their love.

Here are my favorite and easy ways to create your own special Beltane celebration, honoring the Old Ways and ancient wisdom of the holiday:

1. Decorate your sacred space in full living color: Roses and flowers in rainbow colors. Gems and minerals in myriad colors and shapes. Colorful framed art that speaks to you. I create one of these colorful sacred spaces by my front door to symbolically welcome love into my home. The one photographed here is kept in my garden from now until the 2nd of May.

2. Craft your own sacred maypole using found wood, rainbow ribbons, and topped with a quartz point or other beautiful gem from your collection.

3. Build a sacred fire (outside, somewhere safe of course) and if you really want to party like an ancient goddess, dance round it with your partner or friends. In ancient times this was done (ahem) naked after drinking a fair amount of wine. I’ll be honest – it’s more fun that way! But even a tame and fully-clothed fire ceremony can be very sacred and fun.

4. If you’re looking to attract your twin flame, light a purple or green candle on the evening before May 1 and again on May 1 night and visualize that relationship coming into your life, asking that it manifest for your highest good and the highest good of all.

5. Finally, ask yourself (and your guides, in meditation) what it would look like for the garden of your soul to burst fully into bloom, a thousand of your dreams like flowers spreading their glorious multi-colored petals? What would it look like for your soul fire to engulf you in flame? Visualize your fire and your blooming in as much detail as possible and then GET TO WORK making those visualizations come to life.

So it is, so it shall be, and so it has always been. As you celebrate this special day let the colors of nature inspire you to remember that love blooms and time stops to make space for lovers to find each other again. May you find yourself, your spirit, your passion, and your twin spirit in the bale fire, beloveds! It’s never, never too late for you to become what you are intended to be.