| About Matters To The Soul |
[Oct. 28th, 2007|02:30 pm] |
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I have often wondered, as I live my life, what in the sam people are arguing over. I have found Pagans and Wiccans to be knee deep in the fray as well. I have found many of them accusing of other spiritual beliefs as I have found them accused.
As for my journey, it has come full turn. I am back from where I started, well, almost. In this long journey I have found myself and my spiritual heart. It is where it has always been. The Divine One has sent me on a long journey. I am not sure what exactly the lesson has been, the extent of it, I mean but I do know what it now means to me. I know where I am, what I believe in and I bow to the inevitable.
In this journey I was never under any threat of losing my immortal soul, far from it. What this has been, was a learning journey, the Divine One understanding me far better than anyone else ever could. I have always been one that learns when shown, never just spoken to.
Some, I think, would be amazed by where I am now, I'm not. I am where I have always needed to be, where I was meant to be. It feels right and feels like home. It took me awhile to find the key, but found it I did.
I wish the same for the rest of you.
Be well. |
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| Oh My! |
[Jan. 31st, 2007|07:49 am] |
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I have so neglected this thing. I guess I really should change that since there has been quite a few changes in my life since I last wrote here. I'll see to it....shortly |
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| These Days |
[Nov. 20th, 2005|01:02 pm] |
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| [ | music |
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Well, it certainly has been a long time since I wrote in my LJ. I hope
the new year brings challenges and good things your way. Among the
other blessings in my life, I am ever so grateful for the Lady's Grace.
In Sept. I finally drug my old body to the doctor's for a long overdue
check up and several things emerged. My blood pressure was way out of
control, as in, "you're a walking billboard for a heart attack" oh
yeah, it was something like 200 something over 100 something. Two
months later, the doctor and I have gotten it down but it's still a wee
bit too high. We're on it. She's doing her part and I'm doing mine.
Also discovered was that I am a diabetic. I've been a walking Russian
Roulette game since I was born. Diabetes runs in the maternal side of
my family and only recently was found in my paternal side as well. Again, with
the Lady's Grace, I work every day to control my life. The results so
far are great. My weight has significantly dropped and my blood sugar
is under control. The only time it goes up is when I am experimenting
with foods and portions.
My hubby's mental health issues still continue to be something to
conquer for both him and I. We have a long run of good days and then a
melt down that appears to set us back, but not truly. I firmly believe
we are getting through the things that have haunted him for so long. We
are shedding light on those dark secrets that he has held inside for
years now and as can be imagined, they are painful times. I think he
worries more about me and how they affect me than himself. Funny, I do
the same thing. Sometimes, I am fighting him and sometimes the
memories. At least we are making ground.
The Mister's health issues seem to be working on a sort of even keel. I
say that because the colon cancer is not evident and therefore the
oncologist says we can breathe a bit easier. He even went as far as to
say that he's pretty sure the Mister is cured of it. We'll keep an eye
on it though, thank you very much. He has, in recent months, been
diagnosed with abnormal angina. All we can do is learn to live with it
and keep doing what we're doing. I think when those episodes crop up,
though I don't show it, they are times I stress internally. I am hoping
that with time, I can just handle it with a bit more ease than I do now.
When I look back over the past year, I have a lot to be grateful to
the Lady for. Her Grace is a continued reminder that I must be doing
something right. I use to think, when I was younger, that I was
destined to do big things in Her name. *soft chuckle*. If you were to
ask me to pinpoint it down, you'd be disappointed. I couldn't. I
realize now, I am destined to do just what I am doing, that I make
differences in lives other than my own just by living each day as it
comes. To understand just how I make a difference, well, I have a
feeling that isn't something I'll truly understand. The old saying of
not realizing what you have until you don't have it any more? Well,
something like that. I don't think we can truly understand how much a
person affects our lives until they are gone.
The Mister and I just came back from a ten day cruise in the Mexican
Rivera. We enjoyed it. I love going to Mexico. I learn something more
about people and about myself each time. I grow so much more each time
as well.
Even though it is fall here, the weather is exceptionally warm and so
as I sit on my back stoop, cradling a mug of hot tea, I take some time
to reflect on the things and events I am so thankful for. I encourage
you to do the same. It's one time a year we really should examine
our lives and reassert our place in the Greater Universal plane.
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| Her Net Casts Wider Circles |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:32 pm] |
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| | calm | ] |
You know, I was pretty much raised in this town some *cough* years ago. This town is still considered small even though every day I see more and more growth. However, the people here have, for now, been able to put their foot down and draw very visible lines as to where the city grows and where it stays argicultural. I often wonder for how long before the pressure to bring in more money, create more jobs arises.
Back when I was growing up and trying to find my spiritual place in this world, Wicca was something that very few heard of. I grew up under the fear of being vocal because back then, you still could lose your job over it. Oh sure, it would be disguised as something else, but you knew how lame that was. There was that fear of being taunted and bothered by people whose intellect was smaller than a pea rolling down the highway.
Now days, there is more freedom, more acceptance to be who you are. We've still got a lot of peas but we're making progress. The reason I bring this up is because I am amused. I pretty much keep to myself. I don't make it a habit of going out of my way to make known what I believe or how I practice. However, sometimes, the Lady has a way of bringing it to my doorstep and sometimes, I get the feeling I've disappointed her. Oh well, knowing Mom, she'll just find another way to smack me up the side of my head.
The other day I was in the local Veteran's Health Clinic to get into the system so I can get some routine healthcare without any co-pay and the lady that put me into the computer asked for my religious preference. I told her, "Wiccan". She struggled for a moment and then asked me if I minded if she could ask me something. I told her to go ahead. That's when she went on to tell me that her mother was Wiccan (she wasn't) and had recently passed on. Her mother apparently had a whole slew of books and the daughter didn't know what to do with them. She also asked me if there was anything special she could do for her mom, by way of showing her mother's passing with respect to her mother's spiritual beliefs. I thought about that for a moment. Her daughter wasn't sure if her mother had a coven, but I suspect so or at least a group of friends of like mind from what I could gather. I told the daughter, no there wasn't anything special. There re rituals that can be done, prayers said, et al, but I also figured her daughter had already done that, in her own way. Perhaps her mother's group did something for her as well.
It doesn't matter how the respect is given or the prayers said. What is in the heart, the love felt, that is what's important. One of these days, the Universal consciousness is finally going to get it. We're all the same. There is no label, no box for Divine worship. It feels all the same. Funny how Love is like that, isn't it?
I saw an exercise on a program once and it made damn fine sense to me. Take a poster board, color half of it white and the other half black. Now take a brush dipped in white paint and write across both colors. Do the same using black right under it. What do you find? You can only see half of the words. Now use a grey color. The result? You can see everything written across the white and the black. Hello!
Everyone needs to quit fighting amonst themselves, looking and searching out reasons to prove themselves right. Even among Wiccans I find people who are quick to point out what someone else is doing wrong, what books are wrong to read. I get physically ill. Like so many others, Wiccans know what it is to be judged, yet there is so much anger in some that they just have to spew it at anyone they can, including those who are like them. They're so busy fighting some righteous cause that they can't see the harm they themselves are doing. What does that make them? Any different than those who they claim are ignorant, unbendable of their ways? When will the universal consciousness realize that a personal truth is found wherever it may lie and that if something doesn't agree with you, merely discard it from your own personal use. It may have meaning for someone else. What isn't right for you, doesn't mean it's wrong for everyone.
Maybe that's why I stay in my little corner of the world. I'm too damn tired, too damn old to stand up and tell the world that we just need to worry for ourselves in the personal journeys. My energy is better expended in other ways and Lady only knows, I need all the energy I can get. And just sometimes... Mom casts her net wider abroad and knocks on my door. Of course I answer it, it's Mom. |
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| Something Else to Share |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:18 pm] |
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Summer Invocation
by Trish Telesco
Fireflies and summer sun
in circles round
we become as one.
Singing songs at magick's hour
we bring the winds
and timeless powers.
Turning inward, hand in hand
we dance the hearth
to heal the land.
Standing silent, beneath the sky
we catch the fire
from out God's eye.
Swaying breathless, beside the sea
we call the Goddess
so mote it be!
(This can be used as a chant, part of a spiral dance, or to invoke quarters.) |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:16 pm] |
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Wisdom from Lynn Andrews
(excerpt)
Grandmother also told me,
"I must tell you that the source of all power is hidden in our
mother, the land. To live we must partake of our mother's body. To
engage in sacred study completes the circle. The beings of the earth
live in a give and take, a flow of light that becomes life force and
then becomes love. It is law."
"Each time you see the beauty of your spirit, the beauty
of yourself reflected back to you in nature, take time to breathe in
the essence of that beauty and become one with it. And always take
time to honor the Earth Mother for the beautiful teachings she is
giving you."
"Mother Earth has a lot to do with dreaming. Your connection to her
is important, how you have honored and given away to her. Many of
our people think when you travel above the clouds and you look down
and everything is white, they think everything is the same, you
know? People of the spirit understand each other around the world.
The gods live in the sky. They speak the same language. Power is in
the rocks and the earth. That means that when we take something from
the earth, our mother, we must return that energy in a ceremony, with
honor. Then the power stays happy and never leaves. Power only
leaves when you take and never give back. Power knows me, she helps
me. She's beginning to recognize you, too. You're living close to
her now." |
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| Imagine A Woman |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:14 pm] |
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IMAGINE A WOMAN
Patricia Lynn Reilly
Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman. A woman
who honors her experience and tells her stories. Who refuses to carry the
sins of others within her body and life.
Imagine a woman who believes she is good. A woman who trusts and respects
herself. Who listens to her needs and desires, and meets them with
tenderness and grace.
Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence on the present. A
woman who has walked through her past. Who has healed into the present.
Imagine a woman who authors her own life. A woman who exerts, initiates, and
moves on her own behalf. Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self
and to her wisest voice.
Imagine a woman who names her own gods. A woman who imagines the divine in
her image and likeness. Who designs her own spirituality and allows it to
inform her daily life.
Imagine a woman in love with her own body. A woman who believes her body is
enough, just as it is. Who celebrates her body and its rhythms and cycles as
an exquisite resource.
Imagine a woman who honors the face of the Goddess in her changing face. A
woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom. Who
refuses to use precious energy disguising the changes in
her body and life.
Imagine a woman who values the women in her life. A woman who sits in
circles of women. Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she
forgets.
Imagine yourself as this woman. |
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| Faerie Flowers |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:12 pm] |
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Faerie Flowers
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxslips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and the eglantine.
There sleeps Titania sometimes of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight...
~Shakespeare ~
BLUEBELLS - Fairies are beckoned to their midnight dances just by ringing these little bells. Represents kindness and most potent of all faery flowers.They are also called "warning bells" because to travel into bluebell glade is to find yourself in a place of concencrated faery magick and enchantment.
BUTTERCUP - The buttercup and it's faery bring most healing energies. Give your self-esteem a boost.
CARNATION - One of my favorites! Healing body energies, an aura makeover.
CHICORY - Chicory can bring good luck or make you invisible if you carry it with you. It is said to be able to open any lock.
CLOVER - The clover faeries will help find love.
CROCUS - Have the power to inspire love but may drain your strength if while collecting them.
DAISY - Dryad flower. Helps to boost creativity. The Daisy is a favorite flower of the wood nymphs. Relax among these flowers and to help contact them.
FORGET-ME-NOT - A symbol of love and devotion. If you place these flowers on the side of a mountain where fairy treasure is hidden, secret cavern walls will open up for you.
FOXGLOVE - The foxglove flowers are worn by fairies as gloves and hats and the little flecks found on the flowers are surely fairy fingerprints. Poor luck will follow those who pick these flowers and bring them in their home.
GARDENIA - These faeries are child protective and will help to increase your telepathic abilities with all the nature spirits. As well as, to help bring peace within yourself.
HAREBELLS - Inspire honesty and these days I could think of a number of ways these flowers could be used The person wearing them can't lie.
HEATHER - The fae of this flower are attracted to shy humans. Fairies that live among the heather undisturbed are said to feast on the heather stalks. A flower of peace and solitude.
JASMINE - These faeries will help to bring on peaceful dreams and clarity of the mind.
LILY - These fae help in nuture purity and humility.
MARIGOLD - If made into a jam and eaten in the morning it you should be seeing fairies soon.
PANSY - These flowers are used by the fairies for love potions.
PERIWINKLE - Has the ability to inspire love. Rekindle love by eating periwinkle leaves.
PRIMROSE - Has the power to reveal the invisible. If you eat them you should see fairies. The pathway to the faery realm can be opened by touching a faery rock with the right number of primroses. BEWARE! if the number is wrong you may open the door to where you don't want to be.
ROSE - As we are all aware... These faeries will bring love, love, love.
SNAPDRAGON - These fae bring protection for all from deceit and curses! Hold these flowers secretly in your hand and others will see you as gracious and fascinating.
THYME - Ever want to bring the fae into your home? Hang sprigs of Thyme in a window.
VIOLET - The violet is sacred to all fairies. Gathering violets in the spring will bring good luck and a wish come true courtesy of the faery realm.
WHITE LOTUS - Some believe that the white lotus flowers are nymphs in disguise. A woman can carry this flower to counter the effect of unwanted love spells.
~Source Unknown~ |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:08 pm] |
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| | cheerful | ] |
*Like everything else in our lives, it doesn't hurt to read and sift through the information to see if there is anything that holds some meaning for each of us and to simply discard the rest.*
MIDSUMMER
By Anna Franklin
Every culture has, at some point in its history, marked the time of the
summer solstice and held it to be enchanted. The Celts, the Norse and the
Slavs believed that there were three `spirit nights' in the year when magic
abounded and the Otherworld was close. The first was Halloween, the second
was May Eve and the third was Midsummer Eve. On this night, of all nights,
fairies are most active. On this night the future can be uncovered. As the
solstice sun rises on its day of greatest power it draws up with it the
power of herbs, standing stones and crystals. In the shimmering heat haze on
the horizon its magical energies are almost visible. And as the mist gate
forms in the warm air rising beneath the dolmen arch the entrance to the
Otherworld opens.
The cold, dark days of winter and blight are far away, the time of light and
warmth, summer and growth are here. We naturally feel more joyful and want
to spend more time in the open air. The crops are planted and growing away
nicely, and young animals have been born. It is a natural time of
celebration.
THE ZENITH OF THE SUN
We experience changing seasons because the axis of the Earth- an imaginary
line between the north and south poles- is tilted from true by 23.5 degrees.
As our planet revolves around the sun this means that part of the earth
tilts towards the sun, then away again. Between June and September the
Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun and gets more light,
experiencing the season of summer. At the same time the Southern Hemisphere
experiences winter. Just how much sunlight you experience depends on the
latitude you occupy. By June 21st there are twenty-four hours of daylight
above the Arctic Circle, while below the Antarctic Circle there are
twenty-four hours of darkness.
The word solstice is derived from Latin and means `sun stands still'. A
little before and during the winter and summer solstices, the sun appears to
rise and set at almost exactly the same place.
A PAN GLOBAL FESTIVAL
In ancient China the summer solstice was accounted feminine, predominantly
yin, a summer festival of earth and fertility. Offerings were made to
encourage the fecundity of the earth. In contrast the winter solstice was
accounted male, yang and celestial. The Celtic Druid priesthood celebrated
the marriage of heaven and earth and kindled the sacred Need Fire of oak
wood. They gathered their sacred herbs infused with the sun's power and
dried them ready to use them in magic and healing work. The Saxons began
their year at the midwinter solstice, and the summer solstice marked its
mid-point. They called the month of June Aerra Litha meaning `before Litha',
and July Aeftera Litha meaning `after Litha' leading some to speculate that
the Saxon name for the festival was Litha, which is usually translated as
`light' or perhaps `moon'. J.R.R.Tolkien used the term for a midsummer
festival in the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The Germanic tribes
marked the summer solstice with huge bonfires to salute the victory of the
sun over darkness and death.
In ancient Rome the midsummer solstice was sacred to Juno, the Queen of
Heaven and guardian of the female sex. She was the wife of Jupiter, a sky
and thunder deity, chief of the gods. Juno was the patroness of marriage;
the month of June is named after her and it is still the most popular month
for marriages. The Roman writer Pliny advised farmers to light bonfires in
the fields during the height of summer to ward off disease. The rites of the
goddess Ishtar and her lover Tammuz were celebrated at Midsummer in the
Middle East, though further north they were celebrated at the vernal
equinox. The month of Tammuz corresponds to our June/July.
In Italy and Greece Tammuz became Adonis [`Lord']. In the heat of summer the
women planted small pots of fast growing plants called `gardens of Adonis',
which were allowed to grow and wither in the space of a few days before
being thrown into the sea.
For the ancient Greeks the day was sacred to all high priestesses and heras,
the female guardians of temples and communities. The name is derived from
the goddess Hera, wife of the chief god Zeus [a sky/thunder deity] and the
Greek equivalent of the Latin Juno. The Greek year began on the first new
moon after the solstice with a Panathenaia festival in honour of Athene.
This was celebrated as the birthday of the goddess, and her favours were
sought in bringing rain for the crops. It was at midsummer that the titan
Prometheus [`Sun Wheel'] brought fire from the heavens as a gift for his
creation humankind. He entered Olympus by stealth and lit a torch from the
fiery chariot of the sun, then smuggled the fire to earth secured in a
fennel stalk. Like the Irish sun god Lugh he was a master and teacher of all
arts and skills.
In eastern Europe the day was sacred to the sun goddess. The Bulgarians said
that the sun danced and whirled swords about itself as it rose on Midsummer
Day. The Serbians thought that the sun was aware of its mortality and
decline on Midsummer Day and this made it hesitate and stop three times,
overcome by fear of winter. In Poland it was said to bathe in the river and
dance and frolic in the sky. The Baltic sun goddess was called Saule. Her
daughter is the dawn. On Midsummer Eve people stayed up all night in the
hope of seeing her dance as she came over the horizon at dawn.
In Russia the death of the vegetation spirit was celebrated at midsummer,
when the days begin to decline. On Midsummer Eve a figure of Kupalo was made
of straw and dressed in women's clothes with a necklace and floral crown. A
summer tree, decked with ribbons is set up and given the name of Marena
[`winter' or `death']. A table is set up nearby with food and drink, and the
straw figure of Kupalo placed by it. Then a bonfire is lit and the men and
women in couples leap over it, carrying the figure with them.
The Hopi Indians of Arizona would have masked men wearing bright paint and
feathers who danced their special rituals. They represented the dancing
spirits of rain and fertility called Kachinas. The Kachinas were messengers
between man and the gods. At midsummer the Kachinas leave the Hopi villages
to return to their homes in the mountains. While they are there, for half
the year, they are believed to visit the dead underground and hold
ceremonies for them.
MIDSUMMER BONFIRES
Midsummer fires once blazed all across Europe and North Africa. As far east
as Siberia the Buryat tribe jumped over fires to purify and protect
themselves. Such ritual fires had the power to protect the revelers from
evil spirits, bad fairies and wicked witches. They also warded off the
powers of bane, blight, dark, death and winter. At one time no self
respecting village would be without its midsummer fire, while in towns and
cities the mayor and corporation actually paid for its construction. This is
the season when the sun is at its greatest peak but begins to decline. It
was therefore natural for people to want to protect
themselves, their crops and animals from the powers of decay, winter and
blight that are an inevitable consequence of the decrease of the sun's
warmth and vigour. Fire, the little brother of the sun, naturally gains
greater power when the force of the sun is at its best.
The sacredness of the midsummer fire is truly ancient. It is associated with
oak wood, sky and thunder gods and with fertility. The most venerated type
of fire was one that came from the heavens itself, in the form of
lightening, St. Elmo's fire, or wild-fire and elf-fire made by projecting
the sun's rays through a lens. Otherwise rubbing two sticks together made
the holy fire. At least one of these sticks is always oak, though the other
may be of a wood representing the feminine to the oak's masculine. The
bonfires too contained oak wood.
It can be argued that the midsummer fires are the funeral pyres of the
summer sun. The Celts thought that there were two sun deities, the summer
sun and the winter sun. In The Golden Bough James Frazer speculates that the
sacred Oak King was sacrificed on Midsummer Day by being burned alive, after
which he is taken to Caer Arianrhod the whirling spiral castle located in
the Corona Borealis. The solar hero Herakles asked that his midsummer
funeral pyre should be on the highest peak and consist of oak and male olive
branches.
The customs of Midsummer indicate a ritual ending and new beginning. At the
Baltic midsummer festival all the hearth fires, which were otherwise never
extinguished, were allowed to go out. They were re-lit with ceremony from a
bonfire made on a high hill or a riverbank by rubbing together a stick of
oak [male] and one of linden [female]. A similar practice was carried out in
Ireland. Mediaeval witches burned an oak log in the hearth on Midsummer's
Eve and kept the fire going for a year when the ashes were removed to make
way
for a new log. The ashes were mixed with seed corn and scattered on the
earth.
People leaped the fires to cleanse themselves. Fire is the natural element
of purification and protection, burning away corruption and consuming decay.
The magic of fire is said to break all evil spells. The word `bonfire' has
an unclear etymology. It may be `boon-fire' signifying a time of goodwill.
It may be from the Nordic baun meaning `torch' or `bane-fire' as it was a
fire of purification and dispelled all evil things. Again it could even be
bone-fire, since bones were often added. In the thirteenth century it was
recorded that in Shropshire there were three types of fire, one of bones
only called a bonfire, one of wood only called a wakefire, and a third of
bones and wood called St. John's Fire.
The midsummer fire had particular characteristics. It was constructed in a
round shape on a sacred spot- near a holy well, on a hilltop, or on a border
of some kind. Such liminal sites were sacred to the Celts who counted any
boundary a magical place between places, giving entrance to and from the
Otherworld. The fire was lit at sunset on Midsummer Eve, either with
needfire kindled by the friction of two pieces of oak, or with a twig of
gorse, itself a plant sacred to the sun.
Men and women danced around the fires and often jumped through them for good
luck; to be blackened by the fire was considered very fortuitous indeed. A
branch lit at the fire was passed over the backs of animals to preserve them
from disease. As late as 1900 at least one old farmer in Somerset would pass
a burning branch over and under all his horses and cattle. The Cornish even
passed children over the flames to protect them from disease in the coming
year.
In Germany images of the Winter Witch [the hag goddess of winter] and evil
spirits were burned on the midsummer fire. In Sweden the night of St. John
was celebrated as the most joyous of the year. Bonfires, called Baldur's
Fires, were lit at dusk on hilltops and other eminencies. The fires
consisted of nine different woods and fungi were thrown onto the blaze to
counteract the power of trolls. For the mountains open at Midsummer, and all
such fairies and spirits pour forth.
THE BATTLE OF LIGHT AND DARK
In the Craft the solar year is often seen as being ruled over by two
opposing kings. The Oak King rules the waxing year while the Holly King
rules the waning year. At each solstice they battle for the hand of the
Goddess. This idea of two gods, one of summer/light and one of
winter/darkness occurred in many myth systems. These two lords, often twins
or even hero and dragon/snake, fight for rulership at the beginning of
summer and at the beginning of winter. The Greek sun god Apollo killed the
python at Delphi with his sun-ray arrows. The serpent represented the powers
of darkness, underworld and earth womb as opposed to Apollo's gifts of light
and sky. The Egyptian god Ra, as the solar cat, fought the serpent of
darkness Zet or Set. Similar stories are of sky gods fighting serpents, such
as Marduk and Tiamat, Zeus and Typhon, Yahweh and Leviathan. In Irish myth
the Fir Bolgs and Tuatha de Danaan first fought at Midsummer. The monstrous
Fir Bolgs represent the powers of winter, decline and death.
The dark twin or the dragon is not an evil power but merely the other side
of the coin. One is light, the other dark, one summer, one winter, one sky,
and the other underworld. Pagans accept these polarities as a necessary part
of the whole- winter comes but summer
will return.
STONES
Stonehenge has been described as an astronomical observatory. It is
orientated to the sun at the summer solstice, which rises above the heel
stone. Some say this should be `heal stone', as the circle was associated
with healing at Midsummer. In the 12th century Geoffrey of Monmouth recorded
that the stones were washed and the water poured into baths to bathe the
sick. The practice continued until the eighteenth century. Others say that
the word heel may be derived from Helios, Greek God of the sun.
Of course, Stonehenge is not the only circle or site orientated to the
summer solstice. Others include Avebury, Stanton Drew, Randwick Barrow,
Addington Barrow, Bryn Celli Dhu Temple, Mayburgh Henge, Temple Wood
Circles, and Newgrange [which also has midwinter alignments]. Other circles
have midsummer legends- some come alive and dance. According to legend the
Rollright Stones king stone is a real king turned into stone by a witch. On
Midsummer Eve he is said to turn his head, and for hundreds of years
pilgrims would visit the circle to witness it. Nearby is a group of stones
known as The Whispering Knights, and on Midsummer's Eve they will whisper
your future, especially that portion concerning your love life.
This is the time when the earth goddess is fertilised by the life-giving
rain, or by the lightening flash of the thunder god. As we have seen, the
Midsummer Tree thrust into the earth symbolises this. However, another form
of this sacred marriage takes place at the summer solstice: one perhaps more
ancient still. This is the marriage of the sun and earth, of sky father and
earth mother, that makes the earth fruitful.
At the midsummer solstice Neolithic people would gather outside Stonehenge
to witness this hieros gamos. As the sun rises behind the heel stone a
phallic shadow is cast into the circle and touches the so-called `altar'
stone, consummating the marriage. The circle is an ancient symbol of the
Goddess or her womb, and any stone with a hole in it represents the Goddess,
including stone circles. The phallic heel stone stands outside the henge and
for only a few days around the summer solstice does its shadow touch the
altar stone [itself a lozenge shape, another ancient goddess vulva symbol].
Terence Meaden speculates that this stone is an axis mundi, linking the
earth plane to the realms of the gods. The phallic shadow can only enter
through the middle triathlon, another three-fold symbol of the goddess. The
circle constitutes a bounded space, where gods and humankind can interact.
In the Craft the fertilisation of the Goddess by the God takes place when
the wand is plunged into the cauldron, representing the womb of the goddess,
with the words:
"The knife to the cup, the rod to the cauldron, the sun to the earth but the
flesh to the spirit."
A LESSER SABBAT?
The feast of the summer solstice, along with the other solar festivals, is
often referred to a Lesser Sabbat- as opposed to the four `Fire Festivals'
or cross-quarter festivals of Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa and Samhain. This is
a misnomer in many ways. For example Lughnasa was never a fire festival
while both the solstices were.
The controversy in Craft circles dates back to the 1950s and Gerald Gardner,
the father of modern Wicca. His own coven allegedly only celebrated the
four-cross quarter festivals. Gardner put forward the idea, which had some
currency in scholastic circles at the time, that the solstices and equinoxes
were a later import from the Middle East. However, there is a great deal of
evidence to the contrary.
We have seen that the festival is pan-global. We know that the builders of
the megaliths celebrated the solstices and equinoxes. We know that the
Saxons and Norsemen held the summer solstice to be a festival of major
importance; in northern Europe it was generally considered to be the most
important festival of the whole year. Academics are also now challenging the
view that the observation of the summer solstice spread from there into
Celtic areas. I often read that the Celts did not celebrate the summer
solstice, or if they did then the bonfire customs were transferred to it
from Beltane. In fact, the reverse is probably true. Midsummer is a far more
ancient festival, practised throughout Britain, Ireland and Europe prior to
the invasion of the Celts, as evidenced by the megalithic sites orientated
to the summer solstice. The native people intermarried with the invaders,
and were not completely wiped out by them, as some writers seem to assume;
genetic testing of Neolithic burials has revealed descendants still living
in the same areas. It seems likely that the Celtic `invasion' may have been
more a case of the transmission of Celtic culture than a physical invasion
in some places. It is inconceivable that the indigenous people would not
continue to celebrate their most important festivals- the solstices and
equinoxes.
Scholars agree that the Celts absorbed much from the peoples that they
invaded and the evidence is plain that the Druids considered Midsummer an
important festival. In fact, the solstice customs of Celtic, Wales,
Scotland, Cornwall and Brittany are perhaps even more enthusiastic than
those of nearby Saxon and Viking areas. The wealth of solstice customs in
the Celtic lands of Ireland and the Isle of Man also demonstrate the
importance of Midsummer in these areas. The nature of these customs
indicates their antiquity and many of them are peculiar to Midsummer, so the
theory that they are transposed from Beltane is called into grave question.
THE PROBLEM OF THE DATE
While the solstice generally falls around the 21st June Midsummer Eve is
fixed as the 23rd June, St. John's Eve, and Midsummer Day as St. John's Day,
the 24th June. Then again, you may read of Old Midsummer Eve and Old
Midsummer Day in early July.
It is generally accepted that the Christian missionaries persuaded the old
Pagans to move their celebrations of the summer solstice to the Feast of St.
John the Baptist on 24th June, thus pegging a moveable solstice feast to a
definite date. At least part of the confusion results from changes made to
the calendar. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII wiped out ten days from the old
Julian calendar to make it astronomically correct. However, the Gregorian
calendar was not adopted in Britain until 1752 and Ireland until 1782, by
which time eleven days had to be dropped. Some towns refused to move their
holiday, and Whalton in Northumberland still lights its fires on Old
Midsummer Eve, 5th July. From the evidence it seem that the Midsummer
festival was a general holiday held over several days around the solstice.
The solstice marks the height of the sun's power. For many this is the day
to hallow, and to observe it a few days later would be like celebrating the
full moon a few days later than it actually falls- when the energies are
quite different and actually waning. For others the 23rd and 24th have
accrued such magic about them over the centuries that these are accounted
the correct days to hold the festival. Only you know what feels right for
you, and you should work on the day that seems most magical.
Now is the time of brightness, long days and warmth. There is the promise of
the harvest growing in fields and gardens. The earth is pregnant with
goodness, made fertile by the light of the sun. The sun god is in his glory,
strong, virile, the husband and lover of the Goddess. The power of the sun
on this day is protective, healing, empowering, revitalizing, and inspiring.
It imbues a powerful magical charge into spells, crystals, and herbs. It is
a time for fun and joy, for enjoying the light and warmth. |
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[Jul. 5th, 2005|02:06 pm] |
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Litha Celebration Small Children Activities
Litha is a Sabbat honoring the Goddess as the Mother, the God as the Father, and of Their children or the child in all of us. Here are some activities to help Pagan Parents include their small children in the celebration. Head out into the back yard and enjoy the day!
Earth Puppets
Materials:
Use natural items found in the yard, tape, and glue.
The easiest kind of puppets can be made from a twig. Select a twig that forks. You now have 2 arms and a handle to hold the puppet with. Find a fallen flower, and tape the stem to the handle for the head. You can also tape the stem of a fallen leaf to the handle for the head. For clothing, wrap a leaf around the handle, and your puppet has natural summer wear.
Another puppet can be made with a pine cone. Glue the pine cone to the forked twig, for the head. Dried and fresh grass make loads of hair styles, beards, and mustaches. Use seeds or small rocks for eyes, nose, and mouth. Make clothing out of leaves and bonnets out of flower petals or acorn caps.
Use a large box or table for the stage, and enjoy the show.
Vegetable Tray Puppets
Materials:
Large carrots, popsicle sticks, cream cheese, raisins or olives, celery, parsley, green beans, radishes, cauliflower buds, broccoli buds, cucumber spears, any other desired vegetable, and cheese slices.
Having trouble getting the younger children to eat their vegetables? Let them play with their food! Peel several large carrots and cut off both ends. With a paring knife (adults only) cut a slit in the bottom of the larger end. Place several carrots on a plate. On a serving tray, in the middle place a small bowl of cream cheese, and surround with "garnishing vegetables". Cut cheese slices lengthwise to strips of hair.
Insert popsicle stick in the slit in a carrot. Using the cream cheese as glue, attach raisins or olives as eyes, and other assorted vegetables as arms, legs, hair, etc. Let the child(ren) put on a mealtime play before eating the characters. Lots of fun for the whole family!
Treasure Boxes
Materials:
Sturdy cardboard box, natural items for decoration, white glue, med-size paint brush.
This little box is for the youngster to collect "treasured" memories from summer. Start with a large shoe box and lid. Let the child collect some items from the yard, the park, and/or the beach. Glue flat items to the box, and place the non-flat items inside. To give the box a more durable finish, brush on a coat of white glue diluted with water. Encourage the child to tell stories of where the different items came from, or make up stories about the contents.
Wheelbarrow Planter
Materials:
1 plastic detergent scoop, 2 large brightly colored buttons, white glue, 1 cup potting soil, seeds.
Take the plastic detergent scoop and poke a couple of small holes in the bottom (adults only!) with a nail or a needle. Let each child pick out two brightly colored buttons for the wheels. Glue wheels onto the sides of the scoop so that it sits at an angle. Once the glue has dried, let the child pour 1/2 cup of potting soil in the scoop, place in a couple of seeds around the sides of the scoop, and pour in the rest of the soil. Slowly add water to the soil until soaked through. Place on small dish in sunny spot. Watch the new life grow from the seeds and spring forth from the soil just as life springs forth from the Goddess.
Litha Spiral Candles
Materials:
Decorating wax strips or preprinted wax logs, plain ball or short pillar candle(s), craft or butter knife.
Have your child choose a couple of colored wax strip combinations. Cut each strip into 2 pieces 2 3/4" long and on piece that is 2" long. Lay a short length of one color over a longer length of another color and roll them into a tight spiral log, 1/2" in diameter by 11/2" long. When you've got eight logs use the knife (adults or older children) to cut each log into as many slices as you can. Firmly press the wax slices all around the outside of the candle, starting at the base and working up. Continue placing the slices as close together as possible until the whole candle is covered.
Stained Glass Sun Catchers
Materials:
Wax paper, crayon shavings, colored string, yarn, or thread, lace, leaves, flower petals.
To begin, have the child empty crayon shavings from their sharpener, or (adults only!) use a paring knife to create shavings. A cheese grater works great for large crayons. Arrange shavings, and any of the accessory items the child chooses and sandwich between two sheets of wax paper. Iron (adults, of course) the whole package on low setting, just until the shavings melt. Cut the "stained glass" into shapes and hang them with string, in a sunny window.
Fairies' Feathered Friend Feeder
Materials:
An empty milk carton, nontoxic paint, glitter, white glue, popsicle sticks, 10" wooden dowel w/ 1/4" diameter, wire hanger (cut bottom of hanger for inserting into milk carton), birdseed.
Rinse out milk carton thoroughly. Do not completely open top, rather glue open spout back together. Cut 3" wide by 4" long arched openings on "spout" side and opposite side of carton, with base of opening approx. 3" from bottom of carton. Let the child paint the outside of the carton in Litha colors of red, yellow, orange, white, green. Before the paint dries let child sprinkle colored glitter all over the carton, (birds are attracted to shiny objects). Let carton dry. Glue painted or non-painted popsicle stick shingles onto the top of the carton as a roof. For the perches, poke holes in the carton just below the openings, and slip the wooden dowel through the holes. Poke two holes in the top of the carto n just under the roof, insert one end of the cut hanger into each hole. Fill the bottom of the carton with wild birdseed. Hang in a spot that is easy to view, but far enough away from fences or other objects to thwart predators. Tell child how fairies, brownies, and sprites ride on the backs of birds to get from one place to another if it is too far to walk.
Summer Invocation, by Trish Telesco
For the little children to participate in the Litha ritual, have them call quarters!
"Fireflies and summer sun
in circles round
we become as one
Singing songs at magick's hour
we bring the winds
and timeless powers
Turning inward, hand in hand
Chant While Sun is Setting
we dance the hearth
Hail fair Sun
to heal the land
Ruler of the day;
Rise on the morn
Standing silent beneath the sky
To light my way.
We catch the fire
from our God's eye
Chant While Moon Gazing
Hail fair Moon
Swaying breathless, beside the sea
Ruler of the night;
we call the Goddess
Guard me and mine
So mote it be!
Until the light" |
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