Beltane is also known as May Day or Roodmas. Beltane means fire of Bel; Belinos ( the Sun God). As summer begins, the weather gets hotter, and the plants become alive with color and fruit. In older Celtic tradition it was a time of unabashed sexuality and promiscuity.


In those times , young people would spend the entire night in the woods "A-Maying" and then dance around the Maypole the next morning. Older married couples were allowed to remove their wedding rings ( and their restrictions)for this one night. May morning water (dew, stream, springs) was magical and was collected for use as a remedy or to bathe in.