4 Crystals For Beltane / Lá Bealtaine / Là Bealltainn / Laa Boaltinn / Calan Mai / Calan Haf

 

Beltane is a time of fertility, fire, fairies and folklore. It is the start of Summer. At this time of year the power of the sun and the fertility abundant in nature is on the rise. Everything is growing, the temperature is becoming warmer and life feels good. Fairies are especially active at Beltane as their favourite flower - the blossom of the hawthorn tree - is in bloom and in Celtic Myth Beltane was an important Spirit Night and a counterbalance to Samhain at the opposite end of the Wheel of the Year.

At Beltane bonfires are traditionally lit on hills for cleansing, protection and as a great excuse for a party, May Poles are erected and danced around, Holy Wells are also visited and dressed with the flowers currently in bloom, May Kings and Queens - the personification of the Summer and the Festival - are crowned. It is a busy time of vibrant energies for all creatures and all of nature.

 

1. Aragonite

 

Blessed Bee Necklace (with Yellow Aragonite) by Cauldron Crafts

Aragonite has a warm yellow through to orange colour, like the Sun in May, and like the primroses, marsh marigolds, broom and other golden flowers that burst forth at this time of year. In years past many of these golden flowers were picked and placed over doorways, windows or strewn with rushes on the floor to bring Nature's blessings and bounty and to protect the household and dairy from mischievous Fairies. These golden flowers were likely chosen for their hue is both the colour of the Sun and the colour of fire which played such an important part at Beltane. In Ireland it is aid that all fires were extinguished, then special bonfires were lit and livestock were driven between the bonfires to cleanse and protect them from harm - especially from those active fairies and other supernatural beings. People would also run between the bonfires, jump over them and light burning torches from them to take home to re-light their hearth fire.

Aragonite has that cleansing energy of fire, but in a far gentler form. It can be used in cleansing magic, to cleanse negativity from a home or from our auras. Aragonite helps us to tune in to the natural energies of the earth beneath us via our lower chakras. If you are feeling run down, sluggish or at odds with the bouncing, bountiful energies of Beltane, spending some time with Aragonite can bring you more in harmony with the season and its magic, but conversely it can also calm you if you are getting too energetic or are experiencing problems with insomnia or hyperactivity.

Aragonite is also the golden hue of the Bee who works so hard pollinating plants and making delicious golden honey. For centuries the Queen Bee epitomised the Great Goddess surrounded by her loyal and loving followers.

You can find some gorgeous examples of Aragonite here - https://amzn.to/2IWQ1Gt

2. Aventurine

Aventurine & Rose Quartz Flower Goddess Pagan Prayer Beads by Cauldron Crafts

This gorgeously gentle green stone embodies the fresh, fertile, verdant energies of early May when everything is sprouting forth, growing and reaching for the increasing warmth of the Sun. Aventurine has long been considered a stone of good fortune and has been nicknamed 'The Gambler's Stone' as gamblers would carry it to bring them luck and abundance.  

Aventurine is the green colour of the new leaves of Spring, especially of the Fairy Hawthorn and the Druid's Sacred Oak. If you are looking for a stone with the revitalising, rejuvenating and healing energies of this time of year, then Aventurine is a great choice. It is the gem of the archetypal Green Man and Green Lady who embody the growth all around us and who still gaze down at us from the greenery of the woodland canopy and from their vantage points high inside Christian Churches. Aventurine's strong links to Nature and Mother Nature make it a great stone for Druids, Green Witches, Garden Witches, Herbal Practitioners, Gardeners and all who love Nature. It doesn't just help our plants and trees to grow, we can work with Aventurine to grow ourselves or parts of ourselves too, to bring about personal growth, to grow new ideas, to grow new skills, grow new friendships and to grow our earnings.

Like Rose Quartz below, Aventurine is also a stone of the heart and heart chakra that encourages us to deeply love the natural world around us and all the creatures we share it with.

You can find some lovely examples of Aventurine stones and jewellery here - https://amzn.to/2JP0JQU

3. Red Jasper

 

Red Dragon Pagan Prayer Beads or Witch's Ladder by Cauldron Crafts

If the pure passion and power of Beltane and its fires are your thing, if you feel that energy powering through your red-blooded veins, then Red Jasper is an ideal companion. Traditionally this is a stone of blood and fertility, it was believed by the ancient Egyptians to epitomise the blood of the Mother Goddess Isis and has been used to promote fertility in mothers and fathers to be. Red Jasper embodies the powerful passionate energies that are surging through us and the earth in Summer, celebrating and bringing forth life.

This is the energy of the earth dragons and ley lines with whom we can work to balance our energies or to bring them forth. The famous Michael and Mary dragon energy lines that run from St Michael's Mount in Cornwall to Hopton in Norfolk is aligned with the Beltane Sunrise. Red Jasper can awaken our energies on all levels. It causes our Kundalini energy, our own dragon energy, to rise and our chakras to open if they are closed or not turning well enough. Inspiring our creativity in all sorts of ways, Red Jasper is ideal for the artist, the writer, the blogger, the movie maker, the crafter, parents, the imaginative child, and all for whom creativity is important.

Red Jasper is a protective stone on all levels; it protects our energies from those of others and others from our energies when we are having a bad energy day. We can work with Red Jasper as our ancestors worked with the Beltane bonfires for by sitting between two Red Jasper tumblestones or by holding one in each hand we can cleanse and protect ourselves as they did with their livestock.  It is a stone of pure life energy, courage, wisdom, endurance and hope, all of which can be very useful around Beltane.

You can find some great examples of Red Jasper stones, carvings and jewellery here - https://amzn.to/2JLFWNU

4. Rose Quartz

 

Rose Quartz Flower Goddess Necklace by Cauldron Crafts

Rose Quartz is very much in harmony with the energies of Beltane. As the Stone of Love and Romance, it reminds us of the symbolic love of the May King and May Queen who are symbolically crowned and wed to each other at this time of year. As Beltane is a time for love magic, we can work with Rose Quartz to find love, to open ourselves to love or to learn to love ourselves. Rose Quartz opens the heart and the heart chakra gently in a nurturing, loving and compassionate way at a pace we can handle, even if our heart has been badly hurt or broken in the past.

With its pink hue Rose Quartz symbolises the flowering May Tree or Hawthorn, that most sacred of Fairy Trees. Just like the Hawthorn, Rose Quartz is beloved by Fairies, especially those who are involved with flowers and the fertility of nature. If you want to welcome benevolent Fairies into your life, Rose Quartz will assist you and show that you are approaching them in a loving and respectful way.

Rose Quartz is also a stone of beauty and Fairy Glamour, only for us humans what it does is help us to shine forth our inner beauty, the kind that comes forth from our very soul.  Before dawn on Beltane morning women would go out and wash their face in the dew as Beltane dew was reputed to bring beauty and youthfulness, and water in which a tumbled Rose Quartz stone has been placed is also said to have the same properties.

You can find some wonderful examples of Rose Quartz stones, carvings and jewellery here - https://amzn.to/2JLwGJG

If you want to find out more about Crystals, their associated Faeries, Deities and Metaphysical Properties, please check out Faerie Stones