Hello, my lovely.
If you’re a green witch like me (or someone who also likes to faceplant a bed of moss from time to time), the Pagan festival of Beltane may also be your favourite time of year.
In the 24 years I’ve been celebrating the Wheel of the Year, the build-up to May Eve has always been my most exciting part of the year. The world is pulsing with green energy, the wildflowers are pushing their way up towards the sometimes-sun, and I feel a sense of renewed hope thrumming through me after months in the cold and dark of winter. I even tried to book my wedding date for 1st May, but only the 7th was available – happy anniversary to me!
This is a huge time to celebrate in the witch’s calendar.
To mark the festival, this year, I:
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Washed my face in the morning dew at 7 am (as per the time-old tradition).
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Held my arms up to the goddess and did a blessing and meditation for the land.
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Took a walk amongst the just-blossomed hawthorns near my house.
You might enjoy the other ways to celebrate I outlined in my Beltane newsletter and in our Beltane episode of The Divine Void podcast.
One week on from the big day, we are still very much in that blossoming Beltane energy. It lingers well into the liminal time before the summer solstice, allowing we witchy folk to luxuriate in that lilac-scented air.
However, this “in-between time” after a major festival is the time when our witchcraft practice can wane.
I’ve spoken a lot on The Green Witch recently about ways to keep magickal when modern life seems to be dragging us ahead much faster than we can handle – read my post, “10 signs you’re craving a slower, more magickal life”. At this time of year, especially, the spring energy can make us feel “go, go, go”, so it is especially important to feel grounded in the natural world and the Wheel of the Year.
I wanted to share with you the ways I’ll be extending my favourite energy of the Pagan year well into June.
Here are five ways to stay connected to the season and your witchcraft practice as we head past spring’s halfway point.
1. Make friends with a hawthorn tree
Hawthorn is the tree of Beltane. Not only is it dripping in faery lore, death symbolism and ancient customs around “the Other World”, but I just love that its blossom exudes an extra-smelly chemical found in dead bodies to attract pollinators. I love a creepy tree.
Lore also says to never bring hawthorn blossom into the home, or face the wrath of the Fae. The tree’s thicket of spikes was said to guard the entrance to the Underworld, which – in some texts – was also the entrance to Elfhame, the dangerous realm of the faeries.
Hawthorn blossom season tends to be over between late May and very early June (sad face), so we are coming towards the end of its bloom. But that doesn’t mean we have to discard the tree just because she no longer has a flowery face.
Connect with hawthorn by:
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sitting quietly next to it and noticing how the energy around the tree feels – can you still feel the thinness of the Beltane veil snagged in its branches? Watch out for any hostile energy she emits.
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leaving a small biodegradable offering at her base, such as spring water, bird seed or a written blessing to the land spirits (see below for an idea on this).
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asking the tree for protection before difficult conversations, travel or emotionally draining situations. Hawthorn has historically been planted as a protective boundary tree around homes and sacred sites, so has plenty of protective energy to give.
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collecting fallen leaves from the ground (never ever pulling directly from the tree) to press inside your journal or Book of Shadows
If hawthorn trees are not native to where you are, or you don’t have any nearby, make friends with a blossoming tree and look into its symbolism. Maybe it will be just as creepy.
2. Record what you see in nature
And weave it into a spell!
I’ve spoken on The Green Witch recently about keeping a nature journal to note down the new wildflowers and birds you see. This small diary will be all the more powerful if you walk daily in nature, as you can see the changes of the month happening right before your eyes. But you can take your nature journal one step further.
I was recently reading Rae Beth’s book, The Hedge Witch’s Way, and love how she writes prayers to the Goddess, the God and to nature. This particular prayer of hers is to the Green God and asks for healing:
“Green Horned God of woodland and of wild places, I call to you – guardian of all the animals! You who guide creatures to find herbs that heal them and to know when to rest or eat and when not to, I ask you to guide [name of a person or animal]. Lead them to the best remedies and to healing. […] And may your blessing be on us all. May all be led to live in ways that are best for our own health and that of all beings.”
Look at the notes in your nature diary or in your journal recently, and create your own particular blessing, spell or prayer out of them. Be as specific as you want, using the symbolism of the plants and animals you have seen – so you can always remember this particular spring.
3. Read books that reflect the season
Surround yourself with writing and rituals that share the joys of falling in love with spring.
I love to keep up with books that reveal strange, old customs related to the Cross Quarter days, as well as the equinoxes and solstices.
My favourite snippets of May lore? Place yarrow under your pillow to dream of your true love, or protect your cattle from the faeries by lighting two fires and walking them between. The cows must stay blessed!
Here are some of my favourite spring reads:
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The Magical Year by Danu Forest (I read this every year)
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Hedge Witch by Rae Beth
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Beltane by
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And, of course, my own book – The Wheel: A Witch’s Path to Healing Through Nature by Jennifer Lane
4. Set spring-focused intentions
This May has not one but two full moons, meaning the new moon falls smack-bang in the middle of the month on Saturday 16th May at 21:03 BST.
New moons are the ideal time to be setting intentions for the month ahead. The simplest way to do this is to write what you wish to manifest/bring to fruition in your life on a piece of paper, then burn the paper while visualising that intention taking root and growing steadily throughout the waxing moon cycle ahead. I have a complete new moon manifestation ritual in my book, The Witch’s Survival Guide: Spells for Healing From Stress and Burnout.
For this point in the year, we can work closely with the symbolism of spring to set our goals and intentions. You might want to think about setting intentions around the following questions:
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Where can I invite more fertility into my life?
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What am I depriving myself of right now that would bring me untold joy?
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What can I “birth” from the portal of my creativity?
Then sit at your window under the moonless sky and visualise your intentions into being until the June moon cycle.
5. Find new ways to work with the Air Element
Within witchcraft, each season corresponds to one of the Four Elements – Earth, Fire, Water and Air – with spring being gently blown along by the Element of Air.
The Air Element is often associated with plants that have a strong scent, such as lavender, sage, mint and meadowsweet. It also relates to the day of the winged god, Mercury – Wednesday, and its favourite time of day is the dawn.
A while back, I shared the below video on all the colour, gemstone, Tarot and planetary symbolism that aligns with the Air Element:
Based on these correspondences, here are my own suggestions for Air-related activities to try this spring:
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cleanse your magickal workspaces with garden sage, then light a stick of lavender incense and say a short chant of your own devising to welcome lavender’s positive traits to the space: reducing anxiety, promoting peace and love, protection, sleep, purification/cleansing, and wellbeing.
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read up on the Tarot suit of Swords – the suit of intellect and reason. They might look sharp and scary, but these cards often allow you to read into the subtext of your thoughts when your mind is too full to see clearly.
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practice breathwork outdoors beneath moving tree branches, visualising the wind carrying stagnant energy away from your body
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keep feathers, pressed blossom or bird symbolism on your altar to honour the movement and freedom associated with Air
I hope this post has given you plenty of ways to connect with that luscious Beltane energy!
Over the past few weeks on The Green Witch, we’ve been exploring how to rebuild a grounded witchcraft practice in the modern world.
Paid members have already received:
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deeper seasonal rituals and spellcraft practices
Next week, we’ll be exploring how to read the energy of your local landscape and build a more intuitive relationship with the land beneath your feet. This is a next-level green witchcraft practice that is vital to your skillset.
If you’d like to continue walking this path with us, you can upgrade your membership below.
I can’t wait to see you then – have a gorgeous weekend!
Jennifer x
Originally published on Substack
