The roots of Beltane
Whilst Samhain has been commercialised, it’s opposite celebration Beltane, largely remains a more localised affair throughout Britain, with Morris Dancers and elaborate processions of people dressed in red and white gathering amongst characters such as the Green Man and the May Day Queen. Dancing around the Maypole is still a widespread village custom and the bank holiday at the beginning of May honours these older traditions.
But what do we know of the roots of Beltane and does the celebration really derive from the time in prehistoric Britain when the people we know as Celts lived on the land? I will leave discussion around what we know of the Celts for another day as it’s possible that Beltane has earlier origins.
Prehistoric Britain
Understanding prehistoric (pre-Roman) Britain isn’t simple because the people who lived at this time didn’t leave us any writing to tell us what they did. Prehistory means the time before history, or prior to the written word. All we have to work with is the physical traces that people left behind; the earthworks and buildings and the things they made that have survived. Prehistory is a detective game of analysing the clues of these remains. There are few, if any, facts. That said, there is a lot these days that we know.
Prehistoric people are popularly presented as backward, living short and miserable lives in a harsh environment. However the evidence from prehistory (or archaeology, which is the practice of gathering the evidence) doesn’t support this.
Far back into the past people travelled by boat on the sea and inland waterways, forming alliances with other people and creating culture, which was most likely elaborate, from interpreting the evidence they left behind.
For instance, they made and exchanged items of wood and stone, with technical skill rivalling the best modern artisan creations. And they had belief systems we can only grasp at but which we know existed because they left a lot of evidence. From beautifully crafted items often unused and deposited in lakes and rivers, to large monumental earthworks with entrances aligned with the seasons and the stars.
These monuments show people had a sophisticated understanding of nature and astronomy all the way back to the early Neolithic (6,000 years ago) or perhaps even in the late Mesolithic (up to 11,000 years ago).
Archaeologists are still trying to understand the waves of migration of people coming into Britain from the continent since Britain became an island 7,000 years ago. But sometime around 6000 years ago people brought domestic animals to the U.K. for the first time and my hunch is that this time, the start of the early Neolithic, is the potential origin for Beltane.
Historical records of Beltane
Turning to the written text (what we call “history” rather than “prehistory”), the earliest documented Beltane ceremonies were recorded in Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Scotland, often known as the Celtic heartland.
These areas of Britain either avoided invasion (in historical times) altogether or managed to retain elements of their cultural traditions following invasion. It is due to this that Beltane is often seen as a Celtic celebration, with a more widespread revival throughout Britain in later times.
The ceremony of Beltane that was documented in these early records described a large gathering of people revelling late into the night, focused on a ritual where cattle were driven in between huge bonfires, to bless and protect them before they were moved on to their summer pastures the next day.
This ritual is an important clue to the origins of Beltane, which revolves around the movement of cattle on the land. In the early Neolithic, people were primarily pastoralists, moving around the land with their herds of animals rather settling in villages. We know from elsewhere in the world today how important animals are to pastoralists, who often hold ceremonies for them at important times of the year.
In the early Neolithic people also built huge circular earthworks, places carved permanently into the land at a time before settlements were built. Evidence from within these monuments showed that many people gathered and feasted there at specific times of year, even burying their dead within the earthworks.
These gatherings drew people from different areas to come together and celebrate. My hunch is that the origins of the later ceremonies we know as Beltane derive from these gatherings, though we will probably never know for sure.
Reviving Ancient Ceremony
The attempt to revive an ancient, indigenous spiritual tradition on the land of Britain involves detective work and making hunches. Going back to what we know of written traditions and sieving through the archaeology. Interpreting and understanding what we find usually always revolves around the seasonal changes in the land.
In prehistory, people lived as part of the natural world, not separate from it. Our modern culture has created such a huge (and false) division between people and nature that we need to have a good awareness of nature if we are to interpret the ceremonies and spiritual traditions of prehistoric people.
To revive the exact ancient ceremony of Beltane is perhaps out of our reach but we can honour the time in ways which our ancestors would have understood. To do this, we need to look at what is happening on the land.
A time of abundance
The calendar as we know it was created by the Romans and, as far as we know, there was no calendar system in prehistoric Britain.
However, it would have been important to mark the changes of the season in some way, from hunter-gatherers who moved around specific areas of the land to catch migrating species and the growth cycles of locally specific plants, to settled farmers dependent on the weather for growing crops.
So what stands out at this time of year – why would it have been noted by prehistoric people?
Irrespective of the calendar date, I always notice the plant life at Beltane. There are blossoms and wildflowers everywhere. Whilst not every tree has come into leaf, most have, and the lush growth is fresh and new and often edible.
I wonder if this too marked the time of year for our prehistoric ancestors. Whether the new growth on the trees attracted herds of animals to clearings where branches hung low. Attracting hunters and communities of people in turn.
It is a time of fertility and abundance in the land. The beginning of the summer season where the sun shines warm and long and plants grow in abundance.
Timing
The celebration of Beltane today, on May 1st, marks the mid-point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice, both of which were important to people in prehistoric Britain, as evidenced by the alignment of many of their monuments. Given their knowledge of astronomy they could probably have calculated the mid-point to some degree of accuracy.
Our prehistoric ancestors would have carefully watched the weather and movement of the stars, the cycle of the plants and movements of the animals to calculate the exact moment of Beltane.
When the time was right, the shamans of the community would have gathered people together to prepare for a ceremony. I suspect that the ceremony itself would have taken place at the closest full or new moon.
My sense is that the new moon would have been their choice for the ceremony of Beltane. Honouring the beginning of a new cycle rather than the mid-point of an older one.
Creating a Beltane Ceremony today
I love the current tradition of elaborate costumes, dancing and processions that occur throughout Britain on Beltane. Some of these traditions are more modern but that doesn’t make them inappropriate. All traditions need to be reworked to flow with the relevance of the time. The emphasis still revolves around fertility – both in the land and in the people.
Importantly Beltane is an old ceremony, important to people who lived here prior to the modern invasions of people and religions. If people in modern Britain want to understand and revive the older spiritual land-based practices of people who were more indigenous to the land, then honouring the ceremony of Beltane is a good way to align with a more indigenous practice.
In terms of the timing, aside from the public ceremonies, you can make your own ceremony around the new (or full) moon, bringing your awareness to the ripening flowers and plants in the land, acknowledging fertility and abundance in your ceremony, perhaps feeling the sap of life rising within you and welcoming in the long days and the warm sun.
There are many modern traditions of celebrating Beltane, such as bathing in the morning dew and wearing garlands of flowers. However you choose to honour Beltane, connecting with and honouring the plant beings seems key and you can do this in a multitude of ways, from planting trees to tending the plants in your garden.
Ceremonies don’t need to be prescribed and, after all, in reviving ancient traditions, there is much to learn. Our teachers are the plants and trees, the birds and animals and the spirits of the land. When you sit and listen, what do you hear? How does the land want to be honoured?
Samara Lewis, Beltane 2024