Beltane is an old Celtic Fire Ritual which celebrates, at the most fundamental level, the end of winter and the beginning of the warmer, lighter half of the year. It is the counterpart to Samhain, which marks the Pagan New Year and celebrates ancestors and the death of the crops (harvest). Beltane celebrates life. For the Celts, it was a festival that insured fertility and growth.
For almost two thousand years, the major religions of the western world have seen deity as a single god representing the spiritual father. Statements and attitudes attributed to Him are male oriented and reflect the general social attitude of mid-Eastern societies. In the last few decades, a religion that had its start in Europe made it’s way into America. It taught that deity was made of both God and Goddess and that they were equal, neither superior to the other. It taught that mankind was not the owner of the world or the creatures of the world but instead that we were all brothers and sisters of all living beings. This religion is now called Wicca, but it embraces the teachings of many ancient religions.
