Happy Walpurgisnacht and Beltane, “The
Other Halloween”
And
hope that everyone is having a great time there out of the Brocken,
dancing with Freya and her cat-drawn chariot. Certainly the photos from this
year’s celebration in Germany
look wonderful…maybe Alpine Village would be into something like this next
year…
In
any case, Walpurgisnacht and Beltane are generally celebrations of the high point of spring,
lots of sexual references and all that, dancing around the Maypole and everyone
who misses Burning Man leaping over the balefires. I lit some bright red
guava/coconut scented candles and even lit one for Ellegua. Lit a stick of
geranium incense. Flowers and fruit and fruitful beings! And that’s as it
should be: as Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic
Park, “Life finds a way…”
But
there’s another side to Walpurgisnacht/Beltane, and that’s what I’d like to
talk about here.
A
little personal stuff first. Last night I woke up screaming. Really. Screaming
at my mom to lock the door so the evil man can’t get in. This was not a normal
dream for me, nor is it indicative of anything that has been happening. Not
that my mom could ever climb the stairs to my place again, and the only man on
site here is the extremely non-evil Rick, who hasn’t had any nightmares lately about
the “skeleton demon” that apparently was hiding out in the bathroom doorway
(wouldn’t surprise me a bit) or the other creature peeking out from under the
eaves in his dream the other night. Bedroom gets a lot of smudging, kids! But
the terrors of my dream weren’t supernatural at all—just a sleazy guy who was
sneaking around and clearly meant to harm my mother and myself. The guy in the
dream was the kind that you look at and say, “I bet he’d slit your throat for a
nickel.” The fact that I dreamt it this time of year makes it seem a bit
prophetic, and so I’m on my guard and am also checking the security at my
parents’ home.
Because
from April 30th through May 3rd the veil is thin between
the worlds—about as thin as my checking account will be when I pay the rent
tomorrow. I am reminded of Shirley Jackson’s line from The Haunting of Hill House: “And whatever walked there, walked
alone.” Whether we call tonight by its German name or the more common name
Beltane, whose Baal-fires once burned in the Celtic lands, it not only sets the
scene for the blossoming of spring but also for the parting of the veil between
the living and the dead. We are now at the opposite point of the year from
October 31st-November 2nd holidays of the spirits, but
the effect is the same.
That’s
why tonight is when I burn not the Beltane incense or the Breath of Spring
incense that I create for the spring season, but rather the Psychic Visions
incense I use when preparing to read tarot or crystal gaze or for psychic
dreams. I will anoint myself tonight with my Psychic Visions oil, and will do
so as well tomorrow in addition to using my Beltane oil.
Divination
goes hand in hand with times in which the veil is thin between this world and
the next, because many people believe that spirits—including our own
ancestors—help us with seeing the future. After all, what’s time to a spirit
who’s moved on? We the living only mark it as linear because that’s how we
perceive our lives. On the other side, perhaps past, present, and future all
occur at once. We already know that nature is a cycle, not a straight line.
Many
people, including those who follow African traditions, keep an ancestor altar
all year. Most of us just do so at the Samhain/Day of the Dead season. But now
would be a good time to set one up as well, or at least light a candle, set out
a glass of water and a portion of what you’re having for dinner, and talk to
your loved dead a little.
And
do a little divination for yourself. Yes, it’s allowed. It might clear some
things up. I’m going to see if it does so for me.
Fox, Selena. “Beltane Lore and
Rites.” Circle Sanctuary. https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/celebrating-the-seasons/beltane-lore-rites
Wagner, Stephen. “Walpurgis
Night—the Other Halloween,” ThoughtCo.,
https://www.thoughtco.com/walpurgis-night-the-other-halloween-2595375
