It is the celebration of life which is done symbolically with the help of a chalice and Athamé. This is part of the Beltane rituals. Creation of the symbolic version in the union of the virgin goddess with her loving God. Beltane is a celebration of sexuality, purification and fertility. Crop planting has been completed and many crops have given rise to seedlings. Bees are very active in pollinating flowers and many creatures are at the height of their mating season. I wouldn't use this in my practice, it's not something I want to do. I would light the fires and have the joy of the rituals without taking off my clothes. I have no plans to join a coven and they don't all use it for sexual purposes anyway. It is misunderstood by many people in many ways. It is not only a sexual ritual between a man and a woman, it is also a relationship between the chalice and the athame. On the eve of Beltane, all the fires were extinguished and rekindled with the embers of the Beltane fire. The fires celebrated the return of life and fertility to the earth and protected, healed and purified anything that passed or jumped over them. That it is a real sexual act performed by the priest and priestess of a clan after a ritual. But this is not the case in all rituals: in most cases, they are between a chalice and an athame. You have to have sexual activity in these rituals and in fact it's only in certain covens that do it and it's almost not done anymore. Beltane is the sacred marriage and union of the God and Goddess. Beltane is also a celebration of fertility, fruitfulness and the arrival of summer. It is a time when the light half of the year grows and everything grows and becomes full of greenery and flowering. It's the last of the spring fertility festivals, and it's a paperless time......that you wish would come true. All of these things can benefit from celebrating growth and fertility in Beltane. Information, Grand Rite - The Truth in the Matter, Minnie Eerin, http://www.mistresskalpanasrealm.com/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=36&eid=12458&displayformat=dictionary2.]A Book of Shadows of the White Witches, The great rite, Erynn Shea Kelly, http://www.awhitewitchsbookofshadows.com/Great-Rite.html3.] Wiccan Spirituality, Beltane: The Great Rite, Erin Drsgonsong, http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/great- rite .html4.]Internet Book of Shadows at sacred-texts.com, Beltane: Its History and Modern Celebration in Wicca in America, Rowan Moonstone, http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos032.htm