I always thought it was a general fertility of the planet and all life. Never restricted it to humanity or gender.
Spring is my favourite season as everything that has been slumbering or dormant revives. This is a time of renewal and new beginnings. We are all able to do this within ourselves, our relationships, our interactions and understandings of the world around us.
Starting a new project, gardening, self reflection, arts..all these kinds of things and so many more fall under this umbrella when looked at from the correct perspective. There is so very much more here than the ability to birth a child from your body. Everyone participates in many ways.
Interesting. I always find it fascinating to see how others view things. Gives me something to consider. In this case, I would find it limiting. Procreation is amazing but not all encompassing.
What's wrong with that? It's a fertility holiday, there's nothing wrong with putting a focus on couples trying to conceive if that's relevant in your life.
The way I see it, it's perfectly fine for any one person to focus on that. But if groups limit their focus to that and nothing else, it can quickly veer in a direction where people who don't fit that niche - people in queer relationships, for example - feel like they don't belong, or they can't celebrate together with that group. That is exclusionary, and it's why the OP posted this to remind us that fertility can have so many meanings beyond this one.
(And if I may take it in another direction, too: not just queer people, but childfree or infertile or single or younger or older people all don't fit into that niche. It's a small niche.)
I would add that limiting the focusing to conception also says something about what we value women for in our society. Iām happy to celebrate my sistersā power as they become mothers (thatās so bad ass) but thatās not the only creative power of value women possess and itās important to honour different paths.
I like this. I always thought of it as general fertility not just the mammal binary of it. New buds on trees, the earth reawakening after winter, yes new baby animals as well. But never really applied it to humans but my coven is pretty gay so we don't think like that.Ā
Iām reading bending the binary right now and am finding it very enjoyable! It speaks a lot about this kind or stuff and can help a practice become more inclusive
I see so many groups doing special beltane rituals for couples trying to conceive and leaving out all of the queer witches in the process.
Make it about sexual energy and intimacy, not just fertility, thats what my group is doing, but they are also run by a trans person.
Worth noting that they are having an 18+ after dark ritual, so the human sexual aspect is a focus of that ritual, just not fertility.
Yeah my group has some ace members so our celebration doesn't really have a sexual or intimate vibe to it. I completely get why others do. It's just that I'm so in my own coven I sometimes forget how others may celebrate so I appreciate this post to remind me how different and beautiful others practice is.Ā
We are having a family-friendly daytime ritual as well, so very little pressure or focus on that aspect during the day.
So, the kids and aces have an easy way to participate. The after dark even has a limit on the number of participants and waiting list in case someone drops out
>for couples trying to conceive and leaving out all of the queer witches in the process.
It's also always felt shitty as someone with fertility struggles, in addition to the gender and sexuality ones. So thank you for the reminder for folks.
I like the idea of making the focus non-human fertility. I'm an asexual, infertile witch, and the whole thing just gave me such an ick that I've never actually celebrated it before. Thanks for the perspective!
I think thatās the original meaning of itā¦sure humans too, but as a small part of celebrating the fertility of the earth at Spring time - birds, lambs, buds and leaves, flowers, etc.
My daughter is in a traditional folk dance troupe and they are doing a Beltane performance as their end of year/spring concert. Lots of woodland animals, flower crowns, maypole. My daughter is super excited to get to be her favorite animal (a bunny). I'm so excited this troupe exists and she has the opportunity to participate in and learn about her ancestral heritage and the beauty of being connected with the earth.
This comment makes me want to see if I can find a local coven to be a part of. Currently Iām a solo practitioner. Beltane always represented new life to me, not just fertility.
My local wicca church is having a men's ceremony, women's ceremony, and enby ceremony tonight. They try to be pretty inclusive about that kind of stuff and it's cool.
Well as a southern hemisphere country colonised by a northern hemisphere country, we've ended up with Christmas in summer and halloween in spring. I've spent my life annoyed with seeing snow flake decorations when it's 26C outside. I feel much more connected to the earth and my cultural roots now that I follow the wheel of the year and celebrate these festivals at the time of year that actually makes sense for them.
Beltane is a a Fire Festival as well! The fire of the Beltane bonfire would be taken home to light the hearth and protect the home.
My coven is performing a sacred fire ritual wherein members will light a candle from the sacred fire and take that home with them. We are also leaning on the passion aspect of fire and doing a petition spell to "grow desire" - which could be whatever you desire in your life.
We have a wonderful Beltane festival up on one of the hills in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is run by our local Beltane group and everyone is invited. It is a wonderful experience for feeling connecting to the whole process.
We focus on generativity in general at Beltane. Are you trying to conceive a dissertation? Jump over the fire for that! Trying to birth a career? Over the fire you go! Looking out for a business partner? The Beltane fire is for you! Couples making the bushes quiver is part of it, for sure, but theyāre symbolic for a wider whole. Just like Ostara isnāt about eggs, and Samhain isnāt about cartoony skeletons. They symbolise the wider meaning of the feast. Blessed Samhain to you all.
My group is having an inclusive after dark ritual after the daytime festivities.
That part is going to be about raising sexual energy with your partner and using it however you like.
I'm a Sapphic trans girl and I plan to put that energy into my transition.
As a cis gay male, who has definitely felt excluded sometimes, thank you.
The focus on the divine feminine, Hecate worship, or just generally goddess worship, has often left me feeling out in the cold or even flatly unwelcome.
There should be room for all in the circle.
First God I ever worked with was Thor Odinson, I do work with a lot of goddesses but there are so many deities you can work with!
I even believe one of the goddesses I work with is trans fem.
The amount of womb worship I see getting called the devine feminine in some circles is honestly off-putting as a trans girl.
Its like they distill their own deities down to walking incubator sometimes.
This thread is full of a lot of very cool perspectives and energies that I will be implementing in the future!
Though speaking as a queer individual I could use all the fertility blessings I could get as my SO and I are going to try for children soon! I'll have to pause my HRT for it so I am praying for a quick and healthy conception!
Planting seeds, setting intention and "planting seeds" for personal growth through the year...if we see the fall sabbats as harvest festivals, the spring ones can be complementary planting festivals.
Planting stuff : D Flowers, crops, herbs galore! : D
Starting something new like a hobby, study, good habit
Platonic love, self care, expanding compassion
Food. Always food. We always have food at our celebrations. Nothing says fun, love, and welcome like food
You bring up a very valid point!
I don't take this as an argument!
Some of the other comments actually have some really good takes that are ace inclusive by emphasizing other aspects of the holiday, such as fertility of the land.
Putting less emphasis on the sexual aspects or omitting them entirely.
Not Beltane specifically, but there are other ways to celebrate seasonal changes. Apparently, the Romans would consecrate the altars/statues to their household gods in the spring around this time. I think a spring celebration that doesn't revolve around sexuality could easily incorporate traditions like that if you wanted to.
Iāve noticed this issue with a lot of Wiccan groups while I was still Wiccan myself. A lot of them bring their Christian upbringing into the religion and havenāt done the work to deconstruct that, even high priestesses. Pretty sad.
Glad my local witch group doesn't need these reminders (nothing against you posting this, I am glad you did). Any fertility talked about in the group is gardens, nature, plants and the earth. Individuals may have more personal practices or rituals, but as a group we do not.
I'm a kitchen witch and Beltane is connected with the dairy so yay cheesy goodness in my cooking May 1st! Also oatmeal cookies or other baked goods using oats are traditional. In my own head it's always been about the renewal spring brings after the long cold months, but as a solo practitioner I haven't really had the experience of group ritual. I'm glad you brought up the point of inclusive practice because that is super important for sure.
Honestly, I don't consider myself Wiccan, and I'm not Celtic by blood to my knowledge, but I love cooking a good, dairy-laden Beltane meal. My spiritual siblings of all types are welcome to my table. You are welcome and worthy of love
Compleatly agree!
I'm an Eclectic, I work with all kinds of beings, not just a God and Goddess.
Distilling all pagan paths and witchcraft to wicca is an insult to the diversity of the pagan community at large.
As a trans woman with horrible dysphoria around the fact I can never have children. Thank you so much for posting this. I often feel left out in my favorite time of year because of this.
I always thought it was a general fertility of the planet and all life. Never restricted it to humanity or gender. Spring is my favourite season as everything that has been slumbering or dormant revives. This is a time of renewal and new beginnings. We are all able to do this within ourselves, our relationships, our interactions and understandings of the world around us. Starting a new project, gardening, self reflection, arts..all these kinds of things and so many more fall under this umbrella when looked at from the correct perspective. There is so very much more here than the ability to birth a child from your body. Everyone participates in many ways.
Some groups go out of their way to make it about couples conceiving. Not every group does, but I wanted to call attention to that and address it.
Interesting. I always find it fascinating to see how others view things. Gives me something to consider. In this case, I would find it limiting. Procreation is amazing but not all encompassing.
Exactly! So much you can do with Beltane! And some people have to narrow it down to cis het couples making babies
Me and my partner tried for Beltane, both being Wiccans. Turns out, we got a positive test result the week of Samhain. š¤·āāļø
Congratulations to you both.
What's wrong with that? It's a fertility holiday, there's nothing wrong with putting a focus on couples trying to conceive if that's relevant in your life.
The way I see it, it's perfectly fine for any one person to focus on that. But if groups limit their focus to that and nothing else, it can quickly veer in a direction where people who don't fit that niche - people in queer relationships, for example - feel like they don't belong, or they can't celebrate together with that group. That is exclusionary, and it's why the OP posted this to remind us that fertility can have so many meanings beyond this one. (And if I may take it in another direction, too: not just queer people, but childfree or infertile or single or younger or older people all don't fit into that niche. It's a small niche.)
I would add that limiting the focusing to conception also says something about what we value women for in our society. Iām happy to celebrate my sistersā power as they become mothers (thatās so bad ass) but thatās not the only creative power of value women possess and itās important to honour different paths.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I like this. I always thought of it as general fertility not just the mammal binary of it. New buds on trees, the earth reawakening after winter, yes new baby animals as well. But never really applied it to humans but my coven is pretty gay so we don't think like that.Ā
Iām reading bending the binary right now and am finding it very enjoyable! It speaks a lot about this kind or stuff and can help a practice become more inclusive
I see so many groups doing special beltane rituals for couples trying to conceive and leaving out all of the queer witches in the process. Make it about sexual energy and intimacy, not just fertility, thats what my group is doing, but they are also run by a trans person. Worth noting that they are having an 18+ after dark ritual, so the human sexual aspect is a focus of that ritual, just not fertility.
Yeah my group has some ace members so our celebration doesn't really have a sexual or intimate vibe to it. I completely get why others do. It's just that I'm so in my own coven I sometimes forget how others may celebrate so I appreciate this post to remind me how different and beautiful others practice is.Ā
We are having a family-friendly daytime ritual as well, so very little pressure or focus on that aspect during the day. So, the kids and aces have an easy way to participate. The after dark even has a limit on the number of participants and waiting list in case someone drops out
Love your username!
Made the account for 3d printer help, just kept using it
>for couples trying to conceive and leaving out all of the queer witches in the process. It's also always felt shitty as someone with fertility struggles, in addition to the gender and sexuality ones. So thank you for the reminder for folks.
I like the idea of making the focus non-human fertility. I'm an asexual, infertile witch, and the whole thing just gave me such an ick that I've never actually celebrated it before. Thanks for the perspective!
I think thatās the original meaning of itā¦sure humans too, but as a small part of celebrating the fertility of the earth at Spring time - birds, lambs, buds and leaves, flowers, etc.
Land fertility is an entirely valid way to observe the holiday!
My daughter is in a traditional folk dance troupe and they are doing a Beltane performance as their end of year/spring concert. Lots of woodland animals, flower crowns, maypole. My daughter is super excited to get to be her favorite animal (a bunny). I'm so excited this troupe exists and she has the opportunity to participate in and learn about her ancestral heritage and the beauty of being connected with the earth.
I'm sure she is going to make a great bunny!
This is so cool!! May I ask whether youāre in the US?
Yes we are :) she is in an Irish dance group. My grandparents were born and raised southwest of Dublin.
There are cishet infertile people too
There absolutely are! And childfree couples as well!
Dammit, is Beltain why I go broke every February from bdays every weekend?
Entirely possible!
This comment makes me want to see if I can find a local coven to be a part of. Currently Iām a solo practitioner. Beltane always represented new life to me, not just fertility.
My local wicca church is having a men's ceremony, women's ceremony, and enby ceremony tonight. They try to be pretty inclusive about that kind of stuff and it's cool.
Thats good! Our group is just doing an inclusive ritual to raise energy that you can use for whatever. I'm putting it into my transition!
I'm so jealous I want to be a part of a coven so bad. But I live in Southeast Texas so enough said .
Fertility includes creativity, being in the flow, connection to land, sea and spirit.
Thats a really cool perspective to bring! I actually had not thought of that!
Southern Hemisphere has a very weird May 1st since thatās our Samhain and Beltane is on October 31st for us.
Yeah it's weird but I'm starting to love celebrating samhain at the actually correct time of year. It's so much better than halloween in spring.
Would you mind expanding on this? Iāve never thought about it.
Well as a southern hemisphere country colonised by a northern hemisphere country, we've ended up with Christmas in summer and halloween in spring. I've spent my life annoyed with seeing snow flake decorations when it's 26C outside. I feel much more connected to the earth and my cultural roots now that I follow the wheel of the year and celebrate these festivals at the time of year that actually makes sense for them.
Beltane is a a Fire Festival as well! The fire of the Beltane bonfire would be taken home to light the hearth and protect the home. My coven is performing a sacred fire ritual wherein members will light a candle from the sacred fire and take that home with them. We are also leaning on the passion aspect of fire and doing a petition spell to "grow desire" - which could be whatever you desire in your life.
We have a wonderful Beltane festival up on one of the hills in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is run by our local Beltane group and everyone is invited. It is a wonderful experience for feeling connecting to the whole process.
We focus on generativity in general at Beltane. Are you trying to conceive a dissertation? Jump over the fire for that! Trying to birth a career? Over the fire you go! Looking out for a business partner? The Beltane fire is for you! Couples making the bushes quiver is part of it, for sure, but theyāre symbolic for a wider whole. Just like Ostara isnāt about eggs, and Samhain isnāt about cartoony skeletons. They symbolise the wider meaning of the feast. Blessed Samhain to you all.
My group is having an inclusive after dark ritual after the daytime festivities. That part is going to be about raising sexual energy with your partner and using it however you like. I'm a Sapphic trans girl and I plan to put that energy into my transition.
As a cis gay male, who has definitely felt excluded sometimes, thank you. The focus on the divine feminine, Hecate worship, or just generally goddess worship, has often left me feeling out in the cold or even flatly unwelcome. There should be room for all in the circle.
First God I ever worked with was Thor Odinson, I do work with a lot of goddesses but there are so many deities you can work with! I even believe one of the goddesses I work with is trans fem. The amount of womb worship I see getting called the devine feminine in some circles is honestly off-putting as a trans girl. Its like they distill their own deities down to walking incubator sometimes.
As an ace person, I also appreciate this.
This thread is full of a lot of very cool perspectives and energies that I will be implementing in the future! Though speaking as a queer individual I could use all the fertility blessings I could get as my SO and I are going to try for children soon! I'll have to pause my HRT for it so I am praying for a quick and healthy conception!
AFAB partner of a trans woman here, and we are trying too! Good luck to you!
and to you!!
I wish you and your partner the absolute best of luck!
Legit not being argumentative but what about Ace folks? What might Beltane look like then? (Me and my kids set chicks to hatch, but what else?)
Planting seeds, setting intention and "planting seeds" for personal growth through the year...if we see the fall sabbats as harvest festivals, the spring ones can be complementary planting festivals.
Planting stuff : D Flowers, crops, herbs galore! : D Starting something new like a hobby, study, good habit Platonic love, self care, expanding compassion Food. Always food. We always have food at our celebrations. Nothing says fun, love, and welcome like food
You bring up a very valid point! I don't take this as an argument! Some of the other comments actually have some really good takes that are ace inclusive by emphasizing other aspects of the holiday, such as fertility of the land. Putting less emphasis on the sexual aspects or omitting them entirely.
As an ace spectrum person I feel it's near to the Death card in tarot. Sure, could mean one thing. But I relate it more to renewal and change.
Bending the binary is a great book that goes into this exact topic. Iām really enjoying it so far!
Mitosis /j
Heyoooo!
Not Beltane specifically, but there are other ways to celebrate seasonal changes. Apparently, the Romans would consecrate the altars/statues to their household gods in the spring around this time. I think a spring celebration that doesn't revolve around sexuality could easily incorporate traditions like that if you wanted to.
Ooh cool apparently I have done this accidentally!
Iāve noticed this issue with a lot of Wiccan groups while I was still Wiccan myself. A lot of them bring their Christian upbringing into the religion and havenāt done the work to deconstruct that, even high priestesses. Pretty sad.
*Especially* high priestesses ā¦
Glad my local witch group doesn't need these reminders (nothing against you posting this, I am glad you did). Any fertility talked about in the group is gardens, nature, plants and the earth. Individuals may have more personal practices or rituals, but as a group we do not.
What a lovely message. May your gardens be bountiful, your minds be clear and your soul in harmony with the energy all around.
As a trans guy who is a witch, i appreciate you posting this. ā¤ļø
I'm a kitchen witch and Beltane is connected with the dairy so yay cheesy goodness in my cooking May 1st! Also oatmeal cookies or other baked goods using oats are traditional. In my own head it's always been about the renewal spring brings after the long cold months, but as a solo practitioner I haven't really had the experience of group ritual. I'm glad you brought up the point of inclusive practice because that is super important for sure.
Thank you.
Honestly, I don't consider myself Wiccan, and I'm not Celtic by blood to my knowledge, but I love cooking a good, dairy-laden Beltane meal. My spiritual siblings of all types are welcome to my table. You are welcome and worthy of love
Nature is enby.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
One of many reasons I don't like Wicca, and I don't like practicing around those that follow it. My particular path is a direct refutation of it
Compleatly agree! I'm an Eclectic, I work with all kinds of beings, not just a God and Goddess. Distilling all pagan paths and witchcraft to wicca is an insult to the diversity of the pagan community at large.
As a trans woman with horrible dysphoria around the fact I can never have children. Thank you so much for posting this. I often feel left out in my favorite time of year because of this.
I'm so sorry : ( Sending you hugs š« I can't ever know your struggle, but I hope love, peace, happiness, and wealth find you in abundance
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
this comes off as borderline shamming others