Editing Beltane (section)

==== Warding-off harmful spirits ====
Many Beltane practices were designed to ward off harmful spirits or appease the [[Aos Sí|''aos sí'']] (often referred to as the fairies) and prevent them from stealing dairy products, which were thought to be especially at risk.<ref name="Danaher" /><ref name="McNeill2">McNeill (1959) Vol.  2. p.&nbsp;63</ref><ref name="Campbell">[[John Gregorson Campbell|Campbell, John Gregorson]] (1900, 1902, 2005) ''The Gaelic Otherworld''. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. {{ISBN|1-84158-207-7}} pp.&nbsp;552–554</ref> For example, May flowers were tied to milk pails or the tails of cattle to ensure the cattle's milk was not stolen, or three black coals might be placed under a butter churn to ensure the fairies did not steal the butter.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Uachtar Árd {{!}} The Schools' Collection|url=https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4613696/4609617|access-date=12 February 2022|website=dúchas.ie|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" />

On the Isle of Man, small crosses made of [[rowan]] were worn, fastened over doorways, and tied to cattle, as protection against [[witchcraft]] and evil spirits. It was called a {{lang|gv|crosh cuirn}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Crosh cuirn: A Manx tradition for Oie Voaldyn |url=https://culturevannin.im/media//media%20-%20Customs%20and%20traditions/Laa%20Boaldyn/Crosh%20Cuirn%20-%20Notes%20on%20Manx%20history%20and%20customs%20%5B1%5D.pdf |publisher=[[Culture Vannin]] |access-date=1 May 2025}}</ref>

Food was left or milk poured at the doorstep or places associated with the {{lang|ga|aos sí}}, such as 'fairy trees', as an offering.<ref name="Evans, p. 272">Evans, ''Irish Folk Ways'', p.&nbsp;272</ref><ref>Danaher, ''The Year in Ireland'', p.&nbsp;121</ref> However, milk was never given to a neighbour on May Day because it was feared that the milk would be transferred to the neighbour's cow.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Druim an t-Seagail {{!}} The Schools' Collection|url=https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4602710/4597558|access-date=12 February 2022|website=dúchas.ie|language=en}}</ref> 

In Ireland, cattle would be brought to '[[fairy fort]]s', where a small amount of their blood would be collected. The owners would then pour it into the earth with prayers for the herd's safety. Sometimes the blood would be left to dry and then be burnt.<ref name="Evans, p. 272" />  

To protect farm produce and encourage fertility, farmers would lead a procession around the boundaries of their farm. They would "carry with them seeds of grain, implements of husbandry, the first well water, and the herb [[Verbena|vervain]] (or rowan as a substitute). The procession generally stopped at the four cardinal points of the compass, beginning in the east, and rituals were performed in each of the four directions".<ref>Danaher, ''The Year in Ireland'', pp. 116–117</ref> People made the sign of the cross with milk for good luck on Beltane, and the sign of the cross was also made on the backsides of cattle.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Baile an Daingin (C.) {{!}} The Schools' Collection|url=https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4427840/4349345|access-date=12 February 2022|website=dúchas.ie|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Baile an Daingin (C.) {{!}} The Schools' Collection|url=https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4427840/4349346|access-date=12 February 2022|website=dúchas.ie|language=en}}</ref>