May 1st Magick
Here in the northern hemisphere, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the pagan festivals are here! Here are some of the different pagan festivals and holidays celebrated by pagans and witches on May 1st:
Beltane
Beltane is a Gaelic pagan festival celebrating fire and the return of the sun. The big part of this festival is often bonfires, honoring the Celtic fire/sun god, Bel.
Floralia
Floralia is a multi-day Roman festival that May 1st is usually right in the center of. This holiday honors the goddess of flowers and blooming crops, Flora
Protomagia
Protomagia is a Greek festival with ancient origins that honor the goddess Maia. Tributes to gods and goddesses like Dionysus, Demeter and Persephone is common practice for this holiday too. One tradition is hanging floral wreaths on the door on May 1st and later burning them in large bonfires when they are dry in the late summer.
Walpurgisnacht
Walpurgisnacht is a German holiday that is named after Saint Walpurga. This night of festivities takes place on the night of April 30th into May 1st. Walpurgisnacht has been embraced by modern witches with varying spiritual beliefs, even though it was originally based in Christianity. The original belief was that witches from everywhere would gather on the tallest mountain, Brocken, in Germany on this night to dance around fires (some versions of this story say with “the *devil”) and celebrate the end of winter.
*most (not all, but most) witches/pagans do not believe in “the devil” and it is not a part of our practice other than recognizing the folklore that goes with the reclaimed title “witch”
May Day
Most recognize “May Day” today. May day spread across Europe, and then globally, adopting various traditions - many overlapping the ones listed above. This is now celebrated by a broad spectrum of people and is more universally recognized.
What’s so special about this time?
This is the cross-quarter day - the midpoint - between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice. This marker is seasonally in line with flowers blooming, warmth returning, abundance, fertility and the start of growing season! What you planted around Imbolc, you’ll start to see growth or blooms from now! This could mean both agriculturally and magically!
