How to craft an altar for Beltane : No spend

Beltane is a Pagan celebration of new life and the last of the three Spring fertility festivals, or Sabbats. The name is believed to come from the god Bel, or Belenus, and marks the peak of Spring and the beginning of summer. The Sabbat sits about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It is a day to celebrate the passing of winter; the return and fullness of life; longer days; brighter colours and increased fertility.  

Beltane was once a time of great celebration, purity, and new life. With the increased sunlight, food will soon be in abundance and the natural flora will return. Many say that they find themselves with increased energy and an improved overall mood. 

A Gaelic, or Pagan, festival, Beltane was marked to encourage summer to return with the promise of an increase to the size of domestic herds and abundant harvests. Dancing around the Maypole and leaping over the Beltane fire were traditional activities/rituals that are still performed to this day throughout parts of the UK and the rest of the world. Beltane is now more commonly known as “May Day”.

To celebrate this day some witches, choose to decorate their altars in accordance with the sabbat. In this blog we are going to cover altar decorations you can craft yourself or may already have in your home. 

Mini Maypole 

The maypole is a tall wooden poll with long colour ribbons hanging from the top and is a traditional fertility symbol of Beltane.  Maypoles have historically been erected in the centre of towns on the 1st of May. Dancers will take hold of the ribbons and weave in an out to create a pattern that goes all the way down the pole. 

To honour this tradition and the symbolism of the maypole you can create a mini one for your altar. 

You will need:

• Twig
• Colourful ribbon 
• moss or other greenery
• flat wooden base

Method:

1. Forage for your Maypole in the wild and find a strong straight twig ideally with a fork at the top. 
2. Using hot glue or super glue attach this twig to a flat wooden base (the base can be a thick cardboard if wood in not available). 
3. Cut all of your coloured ribbon to the same length and tie to the top of the maypole. You can decorate the top further with charms or foliage if you desire. 
4. Decorate the base of your maypole with moss or other greenery. It is now ready to go on your Beltane altar. 

Beltane Bells

Witches may choose to have bells on their altar for cleansing or warding off evil. These bells can be customised for each season or sabbat or made by hand from scratch.  

 You will need:

Witches Bells & Beltane charms 

or 

• Twig wreath 
• Bells x 3 
• Twine 
• Foliage 
• Beltane charms 
• Orange & Red ribbon

Method: 

1. Go into nature and collect greenery, make sure to do this respectfully. Push the greenery through any holes in the wreath and cut a long piece of twine. Wrap the twine around the greenery until it is secure. 
2. Take a long piece of twine and attach a bell to the end and tie it in place. Then add your Beltane charms. These can be rabbits, crystals, pentagrams, or the fire element. Once you have done this with all your bells and are happy, attach them to the wreath. 
3. Take lengths of your red and orange twine and add charms to them. Wrap this round around the wreath. You may also want to add in lavender sprigs or additional botanicals to represent new life. 

Beltane Chest

To honour each sabbat witches may like to leave manifestation bowls or boxes of offerings. This is a simple bowl to encourage a blessed Beltane. 

You will need:

Small chest or bowl

Rose quartz (manifest joy and love)

Red candle (red is one of the traditional colours of Beltane)

Bay leaf (to attract abundance and prosperity)

Rose petals (for harmony and love)

Marker pen

Method:

Begin by cleansing your chest or bowl to remove any stale or negative energies. Then add the red candle, rose quartz and rose petals to the vessel. Try and keep clear in your mind the energy you want to bring with you into Beltane. 

Write your intentions on the bay leaf. You can use as many bay leaves as you wish if you have multiple intentions. Place this leaf inside the chest. Finally light the red candle and say your intentions to yourself. 

Keep this chest on your altar throughout Beltane as a reminder of the new energy you are bringing with you. 

Decorated Candles

There is no need to buy new candles for each sabbat your existing candles can be decorated to suit. White candles are a great choose when choosing your candles as they can be used as a substitute for any other colours. 

For Beltane you can decorate your candles with bay leaves, orange / red ribbon, or rosemary. You may also want to carve symbols of the animals associated with Beltane, frogs, bees, rabbits, and butterflies. 

More no spend decorations

In addition to crafting these altar decorations there will be many items you will already in the home that you can get out and display. 

• Books- Many books on witchcraft will have pages dedicated to Beltane. Display these pages on your altar. 
• Flowers - Use fresh wildflowers or dried flowers to bring life to your altar. 
• Cards - Cards within oracle decks may be associated with certain sabbats. For example, you can display a Hawthorn Oracle card as it is believed by some that the blooming of this bush marks the beginning of Beltane. 
• Potted plants - Take any potted house plants you have and use these to add greenery to your altar.

If you use any of these ideas, please share them online so we can see. Have a blessed Beltane.