It is when the goddess in her maiden form still a virgin meets the Horned one Cerrunnos and under the lights of the Beltane fires in her lover’s embrace conceives a child. It is the time for hand fasting or jumping the besom (broom) meaning (marriages). In old pagan/druid times a marriage wasn’t always binding as it’s made legally today. A marriage on Beltane’s eve was like a trail marriage or partnership that normally consisted for about 6 months. Sometimes though rare a couple would marry on Beltane eve and give the vow “In this life and the next.” meaning they bind themselves to each other for all of time in that life and in the next and so on. (In this kind of marriage were there was no divorce! It was a powerful magical oath between two souls said with the blessing of the goddess and binding for eternity.)

Beltane was also known as the celebration of sex. Yes it’s true, not dirty filthy “porno” sex or anything like what you hear about going on today, no it was the celebration of “sex” between two lovers the unity of all things and the fruitfulness it creates and brings to the world it is the celebration of the reproduction of all things given to us from mother earth.

A baby conceived on Beltane also later known as May day was called the Beltane baby in old times and was considered a very magically gifted child.

Often it was ritual for a maiden to be chosen for the Beltane festival and she would wear a white flowing dress (white for purity and virginity) and mayflowers or daisies in her hair, when night came and the great fires were lit she would be taken to a special private spot where she would be prepared to meet the horned one (a male taking on the role and personality of the god Cerrunnos) and she herself would take on the personality and role of the goddess. They would summon or invoke the god and goddess for this ritual and make love in hopes to conceive a special child from the magical union.