Author: Wild Moon

The beautiful May Day festival of Beltane is upon us and we’re here to spread some insight and ways you can spend this magical day. Our Welsh Witch herself, founder Jade, is a Beltane baby herself so knows all about the Celtic and pagan traditions and rituals. The festivities are a time of inviting in warmth, fertility and anchoring in hope for the future ahead.

What is Beltane?

Traditionally, Beltane has been celebrated by Celtics and pagans as a mid-point between the spring and summer solstices for hundreds of years and puts emphasis on the honouring of nature and changing seasons. As an homage to Mother Earth, Beltane is most notably celebrated with fire rituals, bonfires and light. This is traditionally in dedication to the gods to beckon warmer weather and plentiful harvests in the summer months.

Welsh Celebrations of Calan Mai

Also celebrated on the same day is Calan Mai, the Welsh celebration of May Day. This celebration is known for welcoming the beginning of summer and is very much part of our heritage here in Wales. Together they can be enjoyed hand in hand on the first day of May, as many of the traditions of Calan Mai and Beltane overlap and share similar themes. Singing, dancing and feasting are traditional ways of celebrating the May Day, with maypoles and bonfires aplenty. The Welsh tradition is also known as Calan Haf or Cyntefin and is known in Welsh as the first day of summer. It’s a sign sunshine is on the way!

How to Celebrate Beltane

There are many different ways in which you can celebrate, and of course, it is important to engage in rituals that feel authentic to you. Use your intuition and take what resonates if you’re looking for some inspiration this Beltane.

How will you choose to celebrate Beltane this year?

Get Festive with Florals

With flowers and botanicals abundant at this time of year, many blooming due to the coming of spring, what better way to celebrate than harnessing their magic? Many pagans and celebrators of May Day utilise these flowers by creating wreaths, harvesting flowers to dry or press, decorating an altar with their blooms (picked responsibly of course!). Brew some floral tea, bake some recipes that utilise seasonal flowers, get creative and find a way to honour the seasonal produce! This is a way that interweaves mother nature with our every day and connects us deeply to our environment.

Get Together with Friends and Loved Ones

 Times such as Beltane have always traditionally been a time of coming together, honouring nature and one another and celebrating in unity. Finding a community of likeminded individuals, whether that is online through social media, or through local events, is an exciting way to feel a part of something bigger. Organise a women’s or community circle event, get together with your closest friends for an evening of food, drinks, gratitude and crafts, or plan a meal with loved ones. This feeling of togetherness is a long-standing pagan tradition and it’s a perfect way to welcome in a new sabbat of the Wheel of the Year. Talk about what you’re looking forward to this year, what you’re grateful for, or discuss your worries and anxieties with people you feel safe with.

Eat and Drink Your Way Through Beltane

Of course, many of us are very passionate about good food and drink. What better way to celebrate than with delicious dishes and botanical beverages?! Of course, we’re a little biased here at Welsh Witch HQ, but we’re allowed to be, when founder Jade has worked hard to create the Beltane Edition Welsh Witch Gin, perfect for this day and any other! Packed with natural botanicals and a fiery kick of cinnamon to honour the Beltane fire rituals, our Beltane Gin is a perfect excuse to get together with your besties and share a tipple on May Day (plus, it’s a bank holiday – there’s no reason not to!)

Our magical Beltane Gin, brewed with love in North Wales

Practice a Fire Ritual

So many fire ceremonies and rituals are associated with Beltane; why not give your own a go? Join up with friends and light a bonfire; talk about your intentions and maybe release any negative feelings by writing them on paper and burning them in the fire. You could also write down your goals for the rest of the year and burn those too, as a physical act of manifestation and writing your intentions to the universe. For something more low key, get relaxed and cosy, light a candle (our Gin & Tonic Candle is a great shout!) and reflect on what you’d like this year to bring.

Our Welsh Witch with a lovely candle ready for Beltane celebrations

However you practice Beltane, we hope you have a marvellous May Day. Maybe try a new tradition with friends or loved ones, or enjoy a relaxing evening in with food and good times. Use your intuition and celebrate in a way that feels authentic for you. We’re wishing you all the Beltane blessings from Welsh Witch HQ and sending love and light from North Wales.

Today we’re learning how about opening the heart chakra! What better way to celebrate Valentines Day and share the love than with some beautiful and nurturing self-care. Our busy lives often take over and we run away with ourselves, busy doing, planning, rushing onto the next thing. It’s important to take some time, especially within the theme of love, to do some self-loving! We’re going to talk through some beautiful activities you can do alone or with a partner or friends, to open up your heart chakra and spend some quality time with yourself.

What is the heart chakra?

The heart chakra is the fourth of seven chakra points in the body, with the heart chakra positioned at the middle of the spine in line with where your heart is. In itself, the heart chakra is the chakra responsible for unconditional love, for both oneself, for others and the world around you. It’s also the centre of empathy, care and loving compassion, so it’s a very beautiful chakra with a very emotional role in every day. It is a huge part of what makes us human. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that we need to pour love back into ourselves sometimes – that’s why we’re going to look at ways for opening the heart chakra. Perfect for Valentines Day

Now we’ve learned what the heart chakra is, let’s find out how we can unblock and open it!

Self love activities you can try:

1. Show gratitude for loved ones and strangers alike

Gratitude is such as beautiful emotion that is very powerful in itself. Take some time to express thanks, whether verbally and in person, or through a meditation or journaling session, to your loved ones. We are all capable of boundless love; appreciate those warm feelings and extend your gratitude to those around, be thankful for strangers and the beauty of individuality. Spend time alone and send love to those who bring you joy and comfort.

2. Prepare a cacao ceremony

Valentines Day is notorious for chocolate, but did you know that raw cacao has been believed for centuries by the ancient Mayans to open the heart? Cacao ceremonies are important rituals that focus on the process of preparing, enjoying, and being thankful for the cacao. This is not to be confused with the chocolates that you’ll find in the supermarket, high grade cacao is much more potent than regular chocolate, but it is excellent for you and will provide a beautiful experience. Grab some friends and a slab of cacao and have a beautiful evening of gratitude, contemplation and discovery!

3. Eat and drink heart-opening foods

Other things known to open the heart chakra include rosewater, leafy greens, red fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. The colours to eat for the heart chakra is predominantly pink and green; green vegetables are excellent at healing. Our Welsh Witch Beltane Edition Gin was formulated with high quality rosewater, in order to help open the heart chakra when drinking. Pour a glass to enjoy with your partner, friends, or to enjoy for yourself at the end of the day.

4. Practice yoga or simple stretching

Yoga and chakras go hand in hand, don’t they? You very often hear of people chatting about chakras when complicated yoga moves are involved. But, it doesn’t have to be difficult, and you don’t need to be a contortionist to get the heart-opening benefits of yoga. Just sitting cross-legged, breathing, and focusing on your breath is a form of pranayama yoga. It’s all about being mindful. If you are able, try out some simple poses if you like; but remember that it doesn’t need to be perfect. Take some time to feel your body moving and notice how it empowers you, focus on your breath and this will cultivate self-love and self-care, just by simply stretching and breathing.

5. Meditate with light, crystals, or gentle music

If you know anything about crystals, you’ll know that rose quartz is the stone of unconditional love. It comes as no surprise then, that rose quartz is an excellent crystal for opening the heart chakra. Combine some crystal work, with candles or gentle music and there’s a self-care evening worth staying in for! Lighting your space with candles or incense is a great way to make things cosier, more comfortable and invoke feelings of peace, calm and love. Maybe grab a journal or list out all the things in your head that you love about yourself; remember how magical it is to be unique and what it means to be you. Find out Welsh Witch candles on the shop, if you’re in the market for a divine smelling new addition!

Our Welsh Witch candles ready to add some magic to any evening!

However you choose to spend Valentine’s Day, whether you’re spending it with just your beautiful self, perhaps a fur baby, a partner, or with friends, it’s important to remember how loved you are. We all have a special place in this world, and having an open and flowing heart chakra makes that unconditional love pour out even easier. With an open heart chakra, you’ll find yourself filled with compassion and adoration for even simple things, something which we need now more than ever. Make sure you take some time for yourself this Valentine’s with some self-care; no matter how small – because you are worth it too!

Welsh Witch HQ x

This month in Gin-you-ary, we’re celebrating what it means to live authentically as yourself and how to step into your magic. Whether this is spiritual, emotional or physical, showing up as yourself unapologetically is what we encourage here at Wild Moon HQ. Today, we will be discussing empaths; what they are, how to know if you are one and what benefits this entails.

So, what is an empath?

An empath is somebody that is extremely empathic; often described as a sensitive type that feels things deeply. If somebody is feeling sad or going through a hard time, an empath often picks up on this energy from others, whether they have been told these feelings or not. They are very intuitive beings that are sensitive to changes in energy and can often sense the tone or mood of a situation clearer than the average person. Often called a “sensitive soul”, empaths are keen at understanding and relating to others’ pain, happiness, suffering, and so forth. 

Our Welsh Witch, Jade, describes herself as an empath

How do you know if you are an empath?

There are many ways to know if you are an empath! Here are just a few tell-tale signs you might have empathic qualities:

You feel drained after being in social situations. Now, this isn’t always the case, but some situations that are particularly intense or emotional can leave an empath feeling depleted of energy or physically tired. You can sense when someone is sad, angry, or just generally off. Empaths have excellent abilities to detect changes in mood; this means you might pick up on something that other people wouldn’t. You can approach the person and offer support if it’s needed, or just let the person know you’re thinking of them. 

Typically, empaths are also very sensitive to media, such as the news, advertisements, movies and music etc. You really put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re observing, almost as if you are feeling their pain with them. Watching sad movies is draining for you as you feel the characters’ pain and sympathise with them completely. Checking the news or becoming involved in voluntary charity efforts can affect you tremendously as you soak up the pain and trauma that is presenting itself. 

Is being an empath a weakness?

Often, people think that being a empath, or just being “sensitive” is a weakness, but we’re here to tell you differently. Being an empath is a gift, as it allows you to connect deeply with others and your surroundings and understand the full emotional spectrum of events going on around you. Being able to sense someone’s pain may help them to trust you more, as your concern is genuine and you want to unburden them from their tricky situation. Around the world, empathy is what drives humanitarian efforts. It causes people to create animal shelters, fill food banks with food for less fortunate people. The ability to feel and recognise true pain and suffering is what helps us help others.

Here at Welsh Witch HQ, we are a team of empaths, and that is what gives us strength! Emotions are what make us human, and that shouldn’t be seen as a negative. In fact, it’s a strength to embrace those feelings and using your humility to help others, follow your dreams and be a person that others can turn to who they know will listen and understand. 

Learn to set boundaries!

That being said, it’s important as an empath to set boundaries. Sometimes things can be draining and if you let yourself take on too many negative emotions it can weight you down and destroy your own mental health. Setting boundaries and learning when to say no, take time out and decompress is paramount to maintaining your sensitivity without it becoming a weakness.

There will be times that you can’t always help somebody! The age old saying is true: you can’t pour from an empty cup. Nourish yourself and take care of yourself first, then your empathy will be a strength and you can use your abilities to help others and show your loved ones you’re part of a valuable support network for them. Take some time to journal on your own emotions, rest and relax, do something you enjoy, and learn when to step away from a situation if it’s out of your hands. Consider therapy if you have heavy things you’re dealing with an need an outlet for your feelings and emotions, they are absolutely valid. 

Setting boundaries is important to preserving your own mental health

Being an empath is important for humanity

Now, of course, being an empath isn’t all bad! It means that you can enjoy happiness and joy through others. When someone around you is full of good energy, you can bounce off of this too – what a superpower! It swings both ways, so there are of course positives and negatives to being empathic; but we think it’s a strength in itself. 

So, whether you’re a newly discovered empath, a veteran of empathy or you just know somebody sensitive, give yourself some extra love today. The world is a big scary place sometimes! Our emotions sometimes get the better of us. This Gin-you-ary, we’re reminding you that it’s okay to celebrate all your wins, no matter how big or small! 

Don’t forget, you can check out our selection of botanical tipples here, if you are an empath or know an empath that needs some relaxation and unwind time!