This altar cloth design is inspired by Beltane (or Bealtaine in native Irish), one of the four major Pagan fire festivals in the Wheel of the Year. Beltane takes place on May 1st each year.
Featuring an original illustration by Irene Mudd, this altar cloth consists of printed cotton fabric, backed with a shimmery pink fabric*, and machine stitched with an eye-catching metallic gold thread. Each altar cloth is finished with hand-painted pearlescent details and fabric loops on the back to allow for wall hanging.
Dimensions: 18.5" x 18”
*Irene uses vintage fabric she has on hand to back each altar cloth, so some backing fabric may vary from what is pictured.*
Beltane is a holiday celebrating the return of the sun and the full bloom of Spring. Beltane is also strongly associated with love, and fertility, and it was considered fortuitous for weddings to take place on that day. It is a parallel holiday to Samhain, in the sense that it is the 2nd point of the year where the veil between the world of the living and the spirit realm is at its thinnest. While Samhain invites us to reconnect with the dead, Beltane is a time when faeries and other magical entities are believed to walk the earth right next to us.