Beltaine

Today is Beltaine which can also be spelled Beltane. I add the "i" because I think it's pretty. Both are legit. I swear.
This is one of the two biggest days in the Contemporary Pagan calender, only trumped by the day exactly opposite it on the Wheel of the Year. Traditionally held on the first of May this observance can also be held when Taurus reaches its fifteenth degree. I like setting my observance by a simple month-to-month calender instead of referencing an ephemeris. There are a lot of ways to celebrate this Sacred Day. Bonfires are popular as are Maypoles in the celebrations.
The day can be seen as a celebration of Light and Life. In Western Europe they lit community bonfires so that everyone could bring home a part of the flame to rekindle the hearth fire. The joys and hardships of the community help to light the home just as each home helps in the make-up of that community. In Eastern Europe that dance around the Maypole and have other images symbolic sexuality in a celebration if fertility and life itself.
Beltaine is one of the two most common days for Pagan Festivals to be held for.
As I am getting back on the Pagan Path, I'm not sure how I will be celebrating today. I may take a moment to actually set up a shrine.
~A. Fox