In the cycle of the Pagan year, on the first day of May, we reached a very important time in the old calendar. Beltane, or May Day as it is now known, is not only the first substantial Pagan festival of the warmer months but also one of those which is often still celebrated by the general public today. Not only in this country but also all over Europe you can see the signs that Beltane is still important and vital.

The lands are waking up by May. Just take a look outside and see the blossoms, the green shoots getting steadily stronger with each sunny day, the blue and yellow flowers in gardens and in parks. Yep, Old Mother Earth's garden is getting a bit more warmth now, and the seeds planted over the autumn months are now well and truly stirring into glorious life. Birds are coming back again and people are getting out more and more. The whole country seems to be vibrating with the anticipation of Summer ahead.

The Maypole: "Their ribbons plait together, symbolising the union which brings together male and female in the grand dance of life."

And that's what Beltane celebrates: life, vitality and fertility. As our communities wake up again after the long, cold slog of winter, with the light returning to us, a new vigour seems to come. It is a beautiful time of year too. The fields and woodlands are losing that dead and tired look as the bluebells come out. And most importantly, love is once again in the air!

The actual rites and rituals of Beltane all tend to revolve (quite literally) around the May Pole. This, I'm sure I needn't explain, is the symbol of male sexuality - and the pattern made by the ribbons attached to it create a woven spiral twisting up to its summit. Spirals are very common in ancient Pagan art and represent the eternal Universal nature of things.

If you watch May dancers you will see men and women skipping around clockwise (deosil) and anti-clockwise (widdershins) as their ribbons plait together, symbolising the union which brings together male and female in the grand dance of life. Often May Day is still a time for couples to marry and this, too, harkens back to the days of Pagan England.

The Beltane rite is, in fact, the Pagan version of the modern marriage ceremony. We call it 'Hand Fasting'. On Beltane Eve, a very long time ago, the young men of the village would go into the woods and don stag horns and skins in a kind of 'play fight' with the rutting stags to see which was bravest. The man who got the better of the stags (a kind of Old English version of the bullfight) would take on the roll of the Stag Lord for the Beltane revels on May Day. This is still called the 'Stag night'.

Morris Dancers: An echo of Paganism still alive and well today across England

The Goddess, at this time of year is dressed in white, her head wreathed with May blossoms and with a veil hiding her face. This aspect of the Pagan Goddess represents the young maiden who is about to become the Mother. We often still see the May Queen being paraded through village streets as the Morris Dancers wearing antlers dance around her with their bells ringing. And, of course, the white wedding dress festooned with tiny flowers is still very special.

For the Beltane Rite these two young people are ceremonially bound together to represent the coming-together of the male and female aspects of the divine. Ribbons of red, black and gold are wrapped about their hands (fastening their hands- hand fasting) and rings, representing the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth are exchanged. In this ceremony, taken when the May blossoms are falling and the first of the Summer's sun is shining again, the two people are bound together for a year and a day - or until love remains between them. The following year they give their blessings to the couple chosen for the rite and so the tradition continues from generation to generation.