Beltane! I’ve known about this holiday since I was ten years old. In 1999, I received a CD as a gift: The Golden Land by Ceredwen, a Welsh-language New Age band. The fourth track on the album is called “Beltain.” The CD’s detailed liner notes explain: “Each year on the eve of summer, the Beltane fires are lit to welcome back the sun god Bel. After the dancing and merry-making, the bannock bread is passed amongst the tribes. Whoever takes the burnt piece becomes the ‘chosen one’—to be sacrificed to the gods to ensure a bountiful harvest.” Beltane also features prominently in the fantasy novel The Mists of Avalon , which I read for the first time when I was fourteen or so. The novel tells of a different version of Beltane: it is a night of sexual revelry that honors the divine relationship between Goddess and God. Clearly, this is a holiday that sparks creativity and gives birth to artistic expression. But what is its true story? Beltane is an ancient Gaelic festival that was trad
Walking the spiral path in 2023