http://sacredbirch.org/Rituals/2009/Mid-Summer%202009.pdf
This is a copy of the midsummer ritual written by my friend Terry, for the Sacred Birch Society
The Meaning of MidSummer on a spiritual level
By Onomaris
This is a time to reconnect with the Father and with the masculine within oneself.
Take the time to ask:
* Do I recognize and utilize the Father within myself and my life?
* What does the Father mean to me and why?
Summer solstice is a time when the sun reaches its peak - it "stand still" - and this is a wonderful analogy for the role of the solstice in one's life.
Step outside the flow and take stock of your life.
Are you living within the summer?
That is, not the past (the birth/springof life) and not the future (the death/autumn) and not the start ofthe next cycle (slumber before rebirth/winter) , but the present, the summer of your life?
This is a time when the sun is closest to the earth, and she responds with all her richness and bounty - and so should we.
Let go of the matters you had cleaned out to deal withduring Beltane and move onto enjoying the moment, building memories and living.
Summer is a wonderful time to start things - perfect for new relationships, handfastings and marriages.
Conceptions at this time are also wonderful - and will bring new life into the world in the Spring.
But beyond the traditional interpretation of such words, apply them to your own life.
What personal relationships have you embarked upon?
In what ways have you renewed old relationships?
What vows ofcommitment have you undertaken?
What new beginnings have you initiated?
Take the time to talk to the Gods - and to listen.
Partake of their bounty.
As always, try and stick to seasonal foods so that you aretruely partaking on the earth's bounty.
Drink herbal teas and water to cleanse and refresh yourself.
Light candles, incense, oils to purify and beautify your spaces.
Bring the sun into your home.
Bring the earth inside as well.
Live the days "in the moment" as much as possible.
Celtic Traditions
Druids, the priestly/professional/diplomatic corps in Celtic countries, celebrated Alban Heruin ("Light of the Shore").
It was midway between the spring Equinox (Alban Eiler; "Light of the Earth") and the fall Equinox (Alban Elfed; "Light of the Water").
This midsummer festival celebrates the apex of Light, sometimes symbolized in the crowning of the Oak King, God of the waxing year.
At his crowning, the Oak King falls to his darker aspect, the Holly King, God of the waning year..." The days following Alban Heruin form the waning part of the year because the days become shorter.
Christian Traditions
After the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the feast day of St. John the Baptist was set as JUN-24.
It "is one of the oldest feasts, if not the oldest feast, introduced into both the Greek and Latin liturgies to honor a saint."
Curiously, the feast is held on the alleged date of his birth.
Other Christian saints' days are observed on the anniversary of their death.
The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that St. John was "filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb...[thus his] birth...should be signalized as a day of triumph."
His feast day is offset a few days after the summer solstice, just as Christmas is fixed a few days after the winter solstice.
"Just as John was the forerunner to Jesus, midsummer forecasts the eventual arrival of" the winter solstice circa DEC-21.
Wiccan Traditions:
Midsummer is the time when the sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest.
The Mother Goddess is viewed as heavily pregnant, and the God is at the apex of his manhood and is honored in his guise as the supreme sun.
Symbols of Midsummer
Other Names: Summer Solstice, Litha, Alban Hefin, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, and St. John's Day
Colors: Red, Gold, Green, Blue, Tan
Symbols: Fire, The Sun, Blades, Mistletoe, Oak Trees, Balefire, Sun Wheels, and Faeries
Ritual Meanings: Honoring of Sun/God at His Power, Saying Farewell to the Waxing Year, Preparation for Harvest, Honoring the Pregnant Goddess, and Beginning of the Waning Year
Key Action: Nurture and Love
Ritual Oils: Heliotrope, Cinnamon, Sandalwood, Lavender, Orange, All Mint Oils, Lemon, and Saffron
Stones: Emerald, Jade, Tiger's Eye, Lapis Lazuli, Diamond
Plants: Mugwort, Vervain, Chamomile, Rose, Honeysuckle, Lily, Oak, Lavender, Ivy, Yarrow, Fern, Elder, Wild Thyme, Daisy, Carnation, Mistletoe, Frankincense, Lemon, Sandalwood, Heliotrope, Copal, Saffron, Galangal, Laurel, and Ylang-Ylang.
Activities: Jumping the Balefire, Gathering Herbs, Clan Gatherings, and Dressing Up
Taboos: Giving Away Fire, Sleeping Away from Home, and Neglecting Animals
Animals: Robin/Wren, Summer Birds, Horses, Cattle
Mythical Creatures: Satyrs, Faeries, Firebird, Dragon, Thunderbird, Manticore
Deities: Father Gods, Mother Goddesses, Pregnant Deities, Sun Gods, Aestas, Athena, Bona Dea, Freya, Hathor-Tiamet, Isis, Juno, Nut, Robigus, Aine, Artemis, Banba, Dana, Eos, Eriu, Grian, Sekhmet, Vesta, Baal, Dagda, , Hyperion, Gwydion, Llew, Ra, Thor, Apollo, Balder, Helios, Lugh, Oak/Holly King, Prometheus, Sol, Zeus
Foods: Summer Squash, Lemons, Oranges, Garden fresh fruits and vegetables
Drinks: Wine, Lemonade, Meade, Ales, Herbal Teas.
Hand-Fasting
A marriage ceremony between witches or pagans is known as a Handfasting, from an old custom of formally betrothing couples by binding their hands together with a silken cord.
This is where our current term "giving one's hand in marriage" is derived from.
Handfasting among modern Witches usually marks the beginning of a formal commitment rather than a betrothal, and may be legally binding if performed by a licensed member of the clergy.
Today's Witches and other Pagans still adhere to many of the ancient handfasting customs.
Partners are asked to view their chosen mates as embodiments of the God or Goddess, and often-ritual purification takes place ahead of time so that the couple may align themselves fully with their patron deities.
Brides often carry bouquets of flowers or herbs that contain magical or symbolic energies. These might include myrtle or rue for love, wheat for abundance and fertility, ivy for fidelity, primrose for good luck and to garner the blessings of the fairy folk, and rosemary for health and sexual stamina.
Both men and women might wear circlets of flowers on their heads the way a king or queen would wear a crown to show their connection to a higher power and make clear that-at least for now-they are the representatives of the deities on earth.
Extant legal codes from the late Pagan period in Ireland tell us that a couple came into a marriage as equals, each with their own property, which was returned to its original owner if the couple later separated.
Token items of value were exchanged as a pledge of faith in a way similar to today's wedding ring.
The origins of the simple, round wedding ring are sketchy, but is believed by many to represent the eternity of the union, similar to the Pagan view of the ring as a circle symbolizing, the never-ending cycle of birth, death, and rebirth for the human couple and for the deities in whose image they were wed.
Handfasting were once community events in which the entire clan or village participated.
Tokens from the bride were given to unmarried girls as talismans of love in the same way portions of the wedding cake are taken home today and placed under the pillow to induce prophetic dreams of one's future mate.
The earliest wedding cakes were made of grains, symbolic of fertility and abundance.
Bread was used in some cultures to bless the couple's home by breaking the loaf against the threshold or by burying it near or burning it in the hearth.
A wedding drink popular among the Britons and Celts was mead.
Mead is a rich honey-ale combining masculine and feminine elements, and it further underscored the handfasting as a symbolic union of the deities.
Our modern term "honeymoon" is believed to derive from a combination of these concepts.
The "honey" refers to the principal ingredient of the mead and the "moon" to the approximate period of time that would elapse between Beltane and the time a handfasting could take place.
MIDSUMMER/SUMMER SOLSTICE IN THE GARDEN ~~~Ellen Dugan
"A noise like of a hidden brook In the leafy month of June, That to the sleeping woods all night Singeth a quiet tume." .....Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Midsummer or the summer solstice is on or around June 21, the longest day of the year and the shortest night.
Decorating ideas are seashells and starfish arranged across your altar or mantle.
You could really be subtle and go Americana - use architectural stars and folk art in country colors of blues and reds.
Midsummer is celebrated at my house by barbequing, going to the pool, camping, or the occasional fishing trip.
Some other ideas for celebrating the solstice are midsummer garden parties, going on a picnic, or taking a trip to the lake or beach.
To create an inexpensive midsummer garden party, keep the menu fresh and light.
Decorate a picnic table if you have one, or drag your kitchen table out to the garden.
Use a tablecloth in any pretty pastel shade and either use floral theme paper plates or your good dishes.
I like to mix and match glassware and plates for a more informal look.
You might try picking up some plastic tumblers in bright shades of hot summer colors.
How about creating individual tussie-mussies for your guests or, better yet, have everyone make their own while they are at the party?
Put a pretty book on the table explaining the symbolism of the flowers, set out some supplies and flowers, and turn them loose.
If you are having your magickal friends over, try a solstice/celestial theme: gold suns with blue and gold plates and napkins.
Sprinkle some glittery stars and moon confetti on the tablecloth.
If children are invited, you could make it a faery party.
Let the little ones dress up as faeries - the adults, too, if they wish.
Embellish place cards with glitter pens and floral, faery, or celestial stickers, depending on your theme.
Snip some blooming roses off your bushes and use garden flowers and blooming fragrant herbs for a centerpiece.
For faery lights you can use old glass canning jars with a tealight inside and set them in a row down the center of the table or place them throughout the garden.
After the sun goes down, light up some sparklers for the kids and the adults.
Have an enchanted midsummer's night!
.....from 'Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up'
The Summer Solstice, also called Litha, marks the longest day and shortest night.
The Sun is at the height of its power and is now beginning to decline.
In common with the other Solstice and the Equinoxes the date of this festival will vary from year to year, taking place between the 20 and the 23rd of the month.
Also in common with the other Sabbats it would have been traditional for celebrations to have taken place over several days.
If you have a group of people it can be great fun to enact the battle of the Oak and Holly Kings.
At this time Lord Oak, who presides over the waxing year, gives way to Lord Holly, who will rule until the Winter Solstice.
Select two combatants to wrestle or fight with staves until the one playing the Oak King gives way to the other.
It is a good idea for them to practice in advance so that they do not harm one another.
Litha Activities
Put a ring of flowers around your cauldron or around a bowl of mugwort.
Hang a bundle of fresh herbs out to dry. Use them to cook summer veggies.
Light a white candle and place it in front of a mirror. Say a prayer over, and let it burn out.
Go bird watching. Take a guide book, so you will knowwhat you are looking at.
The birds may bless you with a feather.
**Things to make with *found* bird feathers**:
Witch's Ladders
1. Use feathers in colors that correspond with your need
2. Braid a yard each of white, black, and red cord(for Goddess)
3. Chant while braiding:"Maiden, Mother, Ancient Crone,
Your powers to these cords please loan"
4. Add feathers to chain as it grows.
Make a quill pen to use in your Book of Shadows
1. Remove the barbs from the quill until it is comfortable to hold
2. Scoop out the back of the quill and remove the core
3. Cut a tiny notch on the front of the quill
4. Cut a slit on the front of the quill from the notchdown
5. Cut the tip of the quill to form a point
Endurance ritual
1. Write your birth-sign on a small stone in permanent pen
2. In a large flower pot, place the stone at the bottom.
3. Plant a marigold on top, placing seven stone around the plant.
As you work, chant:
"Sing me the song of seasons
Show me the sun's delight
Open my heart for you radiance
Lead me towards the light"
The marigold is the flower of endurance that always turns its face toward the sun, following its path through the sky.
This ritual will give you endurance.
Midsummer Manifestation Ritual
Make a list of everything you wish to manifest during the next six months.
Be complete -- include things related to career,personal issues, and other factors like clarity,confidence, and fun.
After sunset, light a candle ofyour choice.
Place a vase of flowers you like next tothe candle.
Say aloud:
"I gather in the power of this day of greatest light and call in the guardians of fire, earth, air, and water to bring the last grace of power in light to manifest my desires in the coming harvest. I ask that this be done within the greater good."
{Read aloud your list}
"I affirm that I am able and willing to allow these wishes to manifest and I participate in the miracle of creation and with faith. So mote it be."
Allow the candle to burn until you go to sleep.
Celebrate the energy of the evening in some way --play music, raise a glass, allow yourself some indulgence.
Blessed Litha/ Midsummer/ Summer Solstice! Summer is HERE!
