A Little Bit o'Beltain
By Claude Swinburne

Spring is here! As the days get longer and warmer, we witness the rebirth of the earth. Mother Earth’s nurturing growth can be seen all around us. Birds build their nests, tree branches sprout new leaves as we ready ourselves for summer. The Season of the Goddess is now with us.

Create your own shadowbox to capture, and keep alive, the spirit of the Goddess.

Materials and Tools:

Shoebox or store bought shadowbox
Clay
Rocks / Stones from your garden
Crystals / Beads (red and white)
Driftwood
Silk flowers ( yellow)
Round “pole”
Spool of white and red ribbon
Color paper or scrap book paper
Water paint or color markers
Scissors
Glue gun and glue

You will be able to find most of these materials at a craft store, but remember to be creative and recycle. “Borrowing” flowers from your neighbor’s garden is not recommended or encouraged!

First find a shoebox or store bought shadowbox, then use the picture of my shrine and these ideas as a guide. Follow your heart when you create your sacred art!

As a background you can draw, paint or paste a photo from a magazine or scrapbook paper to represent the forest. This can be extended to each side of the box.

You can add branches from the back yard (those on the ground--no tearing limbs from a healthy tree!).

For the grass, you can use fake grass or moss, which can be found in all craft stores. You can also recycle that plastic nesting grass from your Spring Equinox basket.

No Beltane should be without a Maypole. For this, you will need a round stick. Paint it white, then add white and red ribbons around the “pole.” If you can't find a round stick, you can make one from clay. You may want to braid the top of the ribbon and add a star or a wreath on the top.

Here are some suggestions for creating the altar:
You can use driftwood as I have or flat stone from your garden or clay to fashion your altar.

The goblet, bell, athame, mortal and pestle, wand, offering plate and bowls can be created with clay.

To give the effect of salt and water in the bowls, you can paint the inside of each with blue and white paint. To give it texture you can put glue in one of the bowls. Sprinkle real salt over the glue and let it dry.

The pentagram can be fashioned of wood or clay. You can paint or draw the pentagram with paint or marker.

The flowers can be store bought fabric flowers, or you can make them from fabric or paper. The traditional color for flowers at Beltane is yellow.

For the final touches, a small fan made from feathers can be added to your altar. ( if you are using feathers found in your yard, make sure to clean them thoroughly prior to using ). You can add red and white crystals and beads to the plate. Flowers and ferns make colorful additions too.

Use white glue or a glue gun ( with adult supervision !) to secure your items in the shadowbox. Let the glue dry thoroughly before handling it.

The Goddess will be alive in your creation! We would love to see what you've done. Send us a picture of your Beltane shrine--if we post it in the Grove, we'll send you a FREE broomstix T-shirt!

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