It’s Beltane — That Means It’s Pagan Sexmas, Right?

It’s not all about sex, but the sexy parts can be fun!

Hey Fleshbot fans! Happy Beltane! Beltane is one of the eight sabbats which are holidays commonly observed by many types of Pagans, which follow the seasons of the year. Beltane, while it occurs in meteorological spring, is actually the beginning of summer on the Wheel Of The Year, which is a fancy way of saying the Pagan calendar. Our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere will be celebrating Samhain, the Pagan sabbat that is closely associated with Halloween, on May 1.

The ancient Celtic festival called Beltane is mostly about fires and warmth and the start of summer. It was about blessing cattle by walking them between two fires to protect from the marauding faeries (hey, the Good Folk like some fresh milk and a nice steak too…). Human couples were encouraged to jump the fire as well to receive blessings of prosperity and fertility.

Here’s a song about this gorgeous holiday and I defy you not have your blood stirred:

Somewhere along the line in history, Beltane crashed into May Day festivities. I’m talking European folk traditions like dancing the Maypole and crowning a May Queen, which are from England, along with scores of other traditions and customs for the first of May, some of which also have Greek and Roman roots. This is to say nothing of International Workers Day, which is also called May Day, and is an important holiday on its own. Throw neopaganism into the mix and that’s how we got to the “sex holiday” thing. The Great Rite, commonly used in Wicca, is a symbolic act performed in rituals where a ritual blade is inserted into a chalice as a symbol of the unity of Goddess and God. And yes, sometimes the Great Rite isn’t so symbolic in some rituals, but, you’re not going to run into a bunch of people ritually screwing down at the community park near the baseball diamonds. Most public Beltane rituals are all-ages friendly and involve Maypoles, flower crowns, potluck picnics, and other such wholesome revelry. There are a number of private adult-only Beltane celebrations in existence, some of which are multi-day clothing-optional affairs, but not everyone chooses to celebrate that way, which is just fine.

Some prominent thinkers in the Pagan community have offered up their thoughts on why it’s no longer “the sex holiday”. John Beckett points out that sexuality is pretty much liberated at this point. You’re reading this article on a whole-ass blog dedicated to adult and sexual topics, accessible to most adults who have Internet access (for now at least).  Also, predatory assholes in Pagan circles (every faith has ‘em) have used “the sex stuff” as an excuse to hurt people, and a lot of Beltane rituals and events really do need some updating and whole Goddess/God Great Rite thing presents a very binary and heteronormative view of sexuality, which is something we all should be working to dismantle in favor of more inclusive rituals rather than trotting out antiquated tropes that not everyone can relate to.

Potentially, every day is a sex holiday for Pagans because we believe in celebrating all forms of enthusiastically consensual adult sexual expression and the pleasure and bonding that sex brings to us as humans. In short, life is short, and the First Of May is indeed a great day for outdoor fucking, but if that’s not your jam, celebrate your own fire, your inner flame that sustains you, during this fire festival. It’s time to start all the things you planned and dreamed off all winter. If you don’t feel you have that passion in your life for anything. Be brave. Go try something new (sexual or not). Shoot your shot with that person (always respect the no, though!). You can also go and dance around the Maypole, drink May Wine, wear a flower crown, and celebrate labor unions, all of which are admirable activities in my opinion. Overall, odds are, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are slowly getting warmer and longer and that’s a fine cause to just celebrate life.