Social media might lead you to believe that to engage with paganism or witchcraft, you have to embrace a certain #witchlife aesthetic, which often involves the purchase of a bank-draining amount of crystals, herbs, and ritual tools. However, this could not be further from the truth. No matter how much we all love to see a beautifully arranged altar covered in statuary and handcrafted candles on our Insta feeds, we shouldn’t let that fool us into thinking that a material or financial barrier exists between ourselves and our expression and observance of our spirituality. With that in mind, I’ve crafted a list of beginner- and budget-friendly ways to celebrate Beltane.

Originally one of the four Gaelic fire festivals, Beltane has evolved over the centuries into a celebration of community, abundance, fertility, purification, and of course nature. 

Celebrate Fire

Not many of us can arrange lighting twin bonfires on a hilltop, but that doesn’t mean your Beltane has to pass without a blaze. A backyard fire pit, a lit cauldron, and candles are all excellent substitutes, and even if you find yourself without a tea light to your name, you can always spend part of the day connecting to the most sacred fire of all: the Sun! Just make sure to use proper SPF protection before sun-worship.

Celebrate Community and Abundance

These two aspects of Beltane often go hand in hand. Summer is a time of plenty, and that plenitude is intended to be shared. Gather together with your community or coven and enjoy the first day of summer with a feast of seasonal goods. There’s no need to provide everything yourself; a potluck picnic is perfectly in line with the spirit of the holiday. Afterward, feel free to continue the celebration with dancing and music.

Although Beltane is certainly an auspicious time to work fertility magic if you are considering expanding your family, you shouldn’t feel constrained by this more literal definition of fertility. There are more seeds that can be sown than wild oats. Think about what you would like to grow in your own life and take time to meditate on how you can nurture it into being. Set your intentions for the rest of the year and begin to manifest them.

Celebrate Purification

Purification can be accomplished in many different ways. Smoke-cleansing and fire-cleansing were key components of the first Beltane celebrations. If jumping over an open fire isn’t your style, try burning bundled herbs and using their smoke for purification instead (pine, lavender, and rosemary are all good options for this for most of us; leave the white sage for Indigenous practitioners). Later incarnations of the sabbat also brought us the tradition of visiting holy wells, which can be symbolically recreated at home by drawing a ritual bath for yourself. And of course, cleansing your home itself is an important part of purification, both physically through tidying up and energetically through spiritual cleansing. 

Celebrate Nature

Nature is at the heart of all of the sabbats, and Beltane is no exception. There are countless seasonally appropriate options to honor nature on May Day: Plant a garden. Decorate with flowers and greenery. Make a flower crown out of foraged wildflowers. Leave an offering outside for the fae; they’re especially fond of whisky, honey, and cream, but any seasonal goods are appropriate (as long as they’re safe for local wildlife to consume). And my personal favorite: simply go outside!

However you choose to celebrate Beltane, big or small, as a solitary practitioner or surrounded by others, we at LadyFaire wish you all the bounty the season can bestow. Blessed be!

Becky Courington is an award-winning author and scholar who technically earned three degrees, but SMU insisted you can’t triple major in English no matter how many credit hours you have in different areas of focus, so she officially has only one. Her hobbies include sewing, sculpting, writing, acting, and starting kitchen fires, and she wants to know if you’re registered to vote.