Beltane Ritual
       Beltane, also known as Mayday, is when the Goddess and God first fall in love.  It is also considered the time when they "wed" so to speak.  In Celtic countries Mayday is a time for fertitlity rituals and the welcoming of Spring.
Alter Decorations: Red, White, Pink, and Dark Green Candles, Flowers, Flower Petals, Ivy, Rosee, and Garnets or Ememralds.

Ritual Soap: Thyme and Rose

Incense: Lilac, Rose, and Gardenia.

Cakes:  Candied Violets, Strawberry Shortcake, and Petit Fours are my favourites.

Ale: Wine, Rose Wine, Woodruff Wine, Rose Petal Tea, Red Clover Tea, or Absinthe

Colours: Red, White, Dark Green, and Yellow.  Sometimes Pink.

Invocation:
Feathered winds come dance with me
Lift me from the ground.
Join my waltz, my spirit, freed
As we're upward bound.

Tounges of flame come jump with me
Ye purifying fires,
Join my joy, my playful glee
As we move yet higher.

Tears from seas, come sing with me
Roll from out the caves,
Join my verse, my body cleansed
In your healing waves.

Mother Earth came laugh with me
Set aside your toils,
Join my chant of forests green
Secure me in rich soil.

Earth and Air, Fire and Sea
I call you all, come dance with me!
Grant me now a sacred space
While working magic in this place.
(invcoation taken from A Victorian Grimoire by Patricia Telesco)

Activies:
- Wash your face in the morning dew
- Dance around a Maypole.
- Elect a May Queen
- Make baskets of May flowers, fruits, and small gifts for neighbour and friends, be careful not to get caught putting them in places to be found!
- Faery Magick is apporitae.
- Braid bracelets of white ribbons and give them as gifts
- Fill the cauldron, or a large bowl, with fresh flowers, wildflowers being best!
- Buy a new mirror for your bedroom and decorate it with ribbons and flowers.
- Have a green salad, red wine, and have a light romatic meal with your lover.  Be sure to have strawberries for dessert!!
- Leave a faery offering.

Traditional Foods: Rabbit, small game animals, eggbreads, berries, marigolds, and herbal wine.

Herbs: Blessed thistle, broom, curry, dargon's blood reed, snapdragon, mushroom, almond, meadowsweet, flax seed, nettle, fire weed, fern, coriander, daffodil, allheal, rose, satyrain root, woodruff, elder leaves, tansy, parprika, radish, rue, hawthron, and dogwood.
Irish Bealtaine Ritual

     To prepare for this ritual, find a nice outdoors local.  Prepare a safe bonfire and make sure all necessary magical equipment are taken to this area along with whatever musical instruments, food, drink, and other materials.  Be sure any new magical tools to be consecrated are there.  You will need robes, four Greater Magical Weapons, four Lesser Magical Weapons, any new Weapons or tools, matches, a large bonfire, a large flat stone, and other things for making merry.  This is best preformed during daylight hours on the first of May usually. 
     All participants should gather with their four Lesser Magical Weapons and in robes.  Once those who are participating are ready, the leader of the ritual should take the large, flat stone (symbolic of the Lia Fail) and place it in the centre of the Working area.  Lay the four Lesser Magical Weapons upon it and any new equipment for consecration.  Then gather around loosely in a circle facing the Lia Fail.  Take the Sword, go to the eastern quarter, and draw out a circle large enough to contain everyone in a clockwise direction.  As this is done the rest of the group should visualise a protective barrier.  Once you have returned to your starting place in the east say:
Mighty Uiscias, teacher of the grea Nuadhu of the Silver Arm in the magical city of Findias, come forth and watch over us and protect us with your mighty Sword this Bealtaine Day.
Thrust the Sword into the earth hard.  Visualise a great warrior carrying a gleaming sword stepping into the circle.  As he approaches the Eastern perimeter of your circle he turns and holds his sword at ready watching anyone who may try to approach you.  Go to Lia Fail, take up the Spear, and go the to the Southern Quarter.  Hold the spear level and point outward to repel any approaching enemies and say:
Mighty Esras, teacher of the powerful Lugh of the Long Arm in the magical city of Gorias, come forth and watch over us and protect us with your might Spear this Bealtaine Day.
Stab the Spear into the earth and visualise another warrior coming toward your circle from the south.  He too turns outwards to protect your circle from harm.  AGain, go to the Lia Fail and take the Cauldron to the Western Quarter and hold it out before as if offering it to someone and say:
Mighty Semias, teacher of the Good God, the Daghdha, in the magical city of Murias, come forth and watch over us and protect us this Bealtaine Day.
Place the Cauldron just inside the line drawn on the ground by the Sword and visualise a great figure stepping toward you through the Otherworld.  He sits next to the Cauldron.  Go back to the Lia Fail, take up the Shield, and go to the Northern Quarter.  Place the shield on your left arm, hold it aloft, and say:
Mighty Morfesa, teacher of us all and instructor to the High King in the magical city of Falias, come forth and watch over us and protect us this Bealtaine Day.