This Sabbat celebrates the union of the Goddess and God by lighting great bonfires, maypole dancing, and feasting. This celebration is done when Spring is in full swing, when crops are already growing, and the lambs have been born.
This is a time of fertility and sexuality, representing the union of man and woman, God and Goddess. Since it is such a sexual time, weddings were not performed at this time because they feared that the marriage would be based on sex rather than love and fall apart shortly after the spring ended.
In some Wiccan traditions, this is one of two times (the other being Samhain) that the veil between the terrestrial world and spirit world is the thinnest and faeries are most likely to commit mischief. So, this is a good time to make offerings to "the little people" and to perform divinations.
Traditional foods: Red friuts, green salads, red/pink punch, "Beltane cakes"
Ritual herbs: almond, angelica, ash tree, bluebells, cinquefoil, daisy, frankincese, hawthorne, ivy, lilac, marigold, meadowsweet, primrose, roses, satyrion root, woodruff, and yellow cowslip
Ritual decorations: maypole or phallic shaped candle, daisy chain, and wildflowers
Incense: frankincese, lilac, and rose
Stones: emerald, orange carnelian, sapphire, and rose quartz
Dieties: Flora, Diana, Artemis, Pan, Faunus, Danu
Candle colors: dark green, and rainbow colors