Beltane Rituals

Apythia's Beltane Ritual

This ritual is for a solitary woman. Extra items needed: a candle representing the Bel fire, ribbon in appropriate color, new wand, bowl of earth, paper, pen, simple feast items.

Prepare space and cast a circle of your choosing

Corner calls:

Guardians of the east, spirits of air
Open my mind to the promise of summer
Fill my lungs, carry my thoughts
Help me to understand my place in the great circle
Even as I offer to you a place in my circle here

Guardians of the south, spirits of fire
Inspire me to seek out my own rebirth
Warm my blood, excite me to action
Help me to experience the passion of living
As I invite you here to remind me of your place in my life

Guardians of the west, spirits of water
Guide my roots to the source of life
Nurture my compassion, bathe my wounds
Help me to heal the world by my love
As I ask you here to share in the healing of my hearts

Guardians of the north, spirits of earth
Keep me safe in the arms of our Mother
Be firm in my youth, and gentle in my aging
Help me to find the wisdom in nature
As I welcome you to support my steps on the path of the wise

Invoking the Goddess and God

Goddess of the flowering earth
With you, I feel the blooming within us
As the world once more is wrapped in warmth and light
I thank you for new birth
For a world awash in fertility and creation
Come into my circle, as I celebrate you
And greet you in all that lives.

God of the summer sun
With you, I feel the light within us
As the world once more explodes with life
I thank you for your passion
For the glory of the lengthening day
Come into our circle, as I celebrate you
And greet you in all that lives.

Statement of purpose

Blessed be this day of Beltane,
Wedding day of the Goddess and the God.
Holy day of Sacred Marriage,
Holy night of Sacred Union.
The fertile Goddess of Summer walks through the land
With the Great Horned God of the Forest,
And the dark time of Winter is behind me.

The Great Rite

Take your athame in your right hand, and your chalice in your left, and hold them in front of you. See them as the Earthly vessels of deity:

I greet the time of unions and give honor to the Lord and the Lady for Their fruitfulness
Tonight, I witness the marriage of my Goddess and God.
May Their union be fertile and productive

Slowly lower the athame blade into the chalice and feel the union of the deities:

As They are one, They become one.
As They become one, They are one.
And I am also one with Them.

Ritual Magick

Bless ribbons, one for each item you are wishing for. Braid together, thinking of what you want.

Take a new wand and oil it.

I bless this wand in the name of the Lord of the Day, the youthful, ardent one, the Lord of Life, the God of the greenwood.

Wrap the braided ribbon around it. Pass it swiftly through the candle flame or the Bel fire. Place the wand upon the dish of earth; hold it there:

As the wand is to the earth,
so the male is to the female
and the Sun to our blossoming world.
Joined, they bring happiness.
May the God of Life give ___ (what you want)
May the Goddess bring it forth!


Visualize a red rosebud in your womb. Close your eyes and picture the light from the candle/fire streaming into your womb so that the rosebud blooms, unfolds. Hold the image for a while, feeling the silkiness, smelling the scent, the freshness, seeing the color of the fully open rose within you. Feel the strength and power of your own fully blossomed capabilities. Say:

I am woman,
strong to conceive and to create,
to give birth and to tend.
As I am daughter of the Goddess,
and blessed by the God, may I ___ (what you want/need)

Write all the things that are keeping you from obtaining that goal. Shred the paper into bits saying "I am free of these limitations." Burn the bits in the cauldron or your Bel Fire.

Simple feast and drink

Mother goddess, Queen of the night and of the Earth;
O Father God, King of the day and of the forest,
I celebrate Your union as nature rejoices in a riotous
blaze of color and life. Accept my gift, Mother Goddess
and Father god, in honor of Your union.

From Your mating shall spring fourth life anew;
a profusion of living creatures shall cover the lands,
and the winds will blow pure and sweet.
Ancient Ones, I celebrate with You!

Thank Goddess and God, close quarters and open circle.


Houndel-the-Matriarch's Beltane Ritual

The Beltane ritual should start before sunrise or in the evening of April 30th. This is to welcome the sun in and to make effective use of the bonfire. The party or the ritual should finish some time after sunrise.

Incense, Perfumes :- Frankincense, Lilac, Rose

Stones :- Emerald, Orange Carnelion, Sapphire, Rose Quartz

Candles :- Green. Gold, Silver, and the 4 elementel colours, (yellow, red, blue, green.)

Flowers/Herbs - Angelica, Ash, Belladonna, Bluebells, Cinquefoil, Clover, Daisy, Hawthorn, Ivy, Marigold, Rose, Rowan, Sorrel, Woodruff, Yellow Cowslip

Tools :- Wand (preferably Oak), Athame, Cup with wine, Sword, Pentacle, Cauldron, White and/or Green Alter cloth, Fire, Salt, and Water containers. 3 lots of coloured ribbon.

Music :- Celtic, Irish Dance

Altar :- Lay the tools on the altar cloth or near it. The altar can be on the ground, a table, a rock or a stump. The altar should be in the center or in the Eastern quarter of the Circle.

Sigils :- make using the preferred method, Charge the sigils several hours/days before the ritual commences and leave in your sacred place until you require them.

Casting the circle

I raise this circle Weaving a web of Beltane power.
Circle of death, Circle of birth, Circle of the Mother Earth.
Shining, forever Spinning, Ending never.

Drawing down the light. Perform the Tau Cross

The Banishing/Cleansing Ritual.

Facing East. before you, draw the flaming blue Pentacle in the air, walking deosil draw the Pentacle in the South, West and North.

Facing East: Guardian of the watchtower of the East Mighty Raphael assist and attend our Beltane ritual if you will, lend us the protection of all the creatures of the air.

Facing South. Guardian of the watchtower of the South Great Michael assist and attend our Beltane ritual if you will, lend us the protection of all the creatures of the fire.

Facing West, Guardian of the watchtower of the West Mighty Gabriel assist and attend our Beltane ritual if you will, lend us the protection of all the creatures of the water.

Facing North, Guardian of the watchtower of the North Great Urial assist and attend our Beltane ritual if you will, lend us the protection of all the creatures of the earth.

Return to the centre .

For about me flames the Pentacle, and above me the six pointed star.

Light up a candle in each of the four cardinal directions.

By these flames we invoke the powers of Air, Fire, Water, Earth.

light the incense,

By these perfumes we invoke the powers of the ancient ones.

Light the gold and silver candles (representing the feminie and the male aspects of the deities)

(Lighting the Silver Candle)

"Lady of the Night, wake from your winter slumber, I call to you.
Join us in this Beltane Celebration with joy, light and love.

(Lighting the Gold Candle)

"Lord of the Day, hunting through the forest, I call to you.
Join us in this Beltane Celebration with joy, light and love."

start the music and begin the ritual Work.

(Lighting the Green Cauldron Candle)

As we kindle the Beltane fire. "Ancient Ones, Listen to this Beltane call. Bring us the glimmer of wishes, the light of hope and the mystery of magick by your presence."

" Let the Oak King live again.
May the great Mother become fruitful once more".

(Pass the wand through the Green Cauldron Candle's flame)

As the wand is to the earth, so the male is to the female.
Joined they bring happiness.

(Take the athame place it in the cup of wine)

As the Knife is to the cup, so the male is to the female.
As the sun to our blossoming world, joined they bring forth life.

Here do what ever invocation is intended. Bless and charge the sigils etc.

The Priestess holds the ribbons in her hands let each person present hold the other end of a ribbon raising her hands the Priestess calls down the blessings of the God and Goddess.

As the May Queen and the great Horned God bestow their blessings upon us and all of the creatures of the earth, we who are one with them rejoice, and ask that their happy union become the example for all humanity to live in love and harmony.

Closing the circle.

Facing North. I thank you great Urial my love & energy I offer freely to you, in gratitude for your assistance this day, leave now if you will, fare you well and harming none as you go your way.

Facing West, I thank you great Gabrial my love & energy I offer freely to you, in gratitude for your assistance this day, leave now if you will, fare you well and harming none as you go your way.

Facing South I thank you great Michael my love & energy I offer freely to you, in gratitude for your assistance this day, leave now if you will, fare you well and harming none as you go your way.

Facing East, I thank you great Raphael my love & energy I offer freely to you, in gratitude for your assistance this day, leave now if you will, fare you well and harming none as you go your way.

Clap your hands three times. The ritual is ended.

- By Houndel-the-Matriarch, May 1st 2004