Midsummer Night’s Fire Ritual

The Summer Solstice, known to some as Litha, Midsummer, or Alban Heruin, is the longest day of the year. It’s the time when the sun is most powerful, and new life has begun to grow within the earth. After today, the nights will once more begin to grow longer, and the sun will move further away in the sky.

If your tradition requires you to cast a circle, consecrate a space, or call the quarters, now is the time to do so. This ritual is a great one to perform outside, so if you have the opportunity to do this without scaring the neighbors, take advantage of it.

Begin this ritual by preparing the wood for a fire, without lighting it yet. While the ideal situation would have you setting a huge bonfire alight, realistically not everyone can do that. If you’re limited, use a table top brazier or fire-safe pot, and light your fire there instead.

Say either to yourself or out loud:

Today, to celebrate Midsummer, I honor the Earth itself. I am surrounded by tall trees. There is a clear sky above me and cool dirt beneath me, and I am connected to all three. I light this fire as the Ancients did so long ago.

At this point, start your fire. Say:

The Wheel of the Year has turned once more
The light has grown for six long months
Until today.

Today is Litha, called Alban Heruin by my ancestors.
A time for celebration.
Tomorrow the light will begin to fade
As the Wheel of the Year
Turns on and ever on.

Turn to the East, and say:

From the east comes the wind,
Cool and clear.
It brings new seeds to the garden
Bees to the pollen
And birds to the trees.

Turn to Face South, and say:

The sun rises high in the summer sky
And lights our way even into the night
Today the sun casts three rays
The light of fire upon the land, the sea, and the heavens

Turn to face West, saying:

From the west, the mist rolls in
Bringing rain and fog
The life-giving water without which
We would cease to be.

Finally, turn to the North, and say:

Beneath my feet is the Earth,
Soil dark and fertile
The womb in which life begins
And will later die, then return anew.

Build up the fire even more, so that you have a good strong blaze going.

If you wish to make an offering to the gods, now is the time to do it. For this sample, we’re including the use of a triple goddess in the invocation, but this is where you should substitute the names of the deities of your personal tradition.

Say:

Alban Heruin is a time of rededication
To the gods. The triple goddess watches over me.
She is known by many names.
She is the Morrighan, Brighid, and Cerridwen.
She is the washer at the ford,
She is the guardian of the hearth,
She is the one who stirs the cauldron of inspiration.

I give honor to You, O mighty ones,
By all your names, known and unknown.
Bless me with Your wisdom
And give life and abundance to me
As the sun gives life and abundance to the Earth.

I make this offering to you
To show my allegiance
To show my honor
To show my dedication
To You.

Cast your offering into fire. Conclude the ritual by saying:

Today, at Litha, I celebrate the life
And love of the gods
And of the Earth and Sun.

Take a few moments to reflect upon what you have offered, and what the gifts of the gods mean to you. When you are ready, if you have cast a circle, dismantle it or dismiss the quarters at this time. Allow your fire to go out on its own.

Author

Patti Wigington,Paganism/Wicca Expert

Article originally published on & owned by About.com

For the Super, Super Superstitious

First Full moon at summer solstice in 70 years TONIGHT ‘could spark madness and lunatics’
A FULL moon TONIGHT as we welcome the summer solstice could bring chaos, delusional behaviour and spark lunacy, an astrologer has warned.

By Jon Austin

Timothy Halloran, who runs the Rasa Lila Healing YouTube astrology channel, filmed a chilling video in woods in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday warning that the events around the Pagan-celebrated solstice may not be a calm and spiritual as people imagine.

It is the first time the full moon, known as a strawberry moon, has coincided with the solstice for 70 years, leading to his fears.

He spoke of fears of an “increased energy” bringing about “madness, hallucinations and delusions of grandeur” among the population.

Mr Halloran, whose facial expressions and mannerisms have been compared to those of Russell Brand, the British comic turned turned revolutionist, prioduced promotional material for the video, called Full Moon in Sagittarius, June 16 2016 – Psychic Warfare and Crusading.

In it he said: “Words such as enlightenment and illumination generally are perceived as being wonderful and pleasant things that we should strive for and desire to achieve.

“Yet the light is piercing, and it is hot, and it can be unbearable at times, particularly for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere during the Summer Solstice, when the Sun scorches down and we have our longest day of the year.

“Coinciding with this celestial event (a day before) we have a Full Moon at the final degree of Sagittarius square to Chiron.

“He said at the time Mercury would activate a ‘mutable grand cross between Saturn, Jupiter and a stationed retrograde Neptune’.

He said: “To Say that this is a stable time to be awake and aware would be a lie.

“The transitioning occurring now is like a giant wave crashing onto the shore of our own perspectives and beliefs, scattering debris everywhere, and in so doing also ripping a hole through the veil; Exposing a reality we never knew existed underneath.”

In a rambling 40-minute video, Mr Halloran said: “We are in the closing square. This is when this s***t starts to fall apart.

“This is what is may going on with this full moon in Sagittarius, the ripping away of veils “This is a critical time energetically. This is a time when people go off the deep end, people lose control.

“People do go on shooting sprees. People do have to run into total insanity.

“This is a potent time. This is time a time when we are going to look back and remember the events – the transformations that are going on these days, as there is a lot of stuff that is lining up to make this moon quite potent.

“It is very easy to go off the deep end kept swept away with paranoia and philosophy

“There is an explosion of energy that will go on with this full moon.”

If anyone does turn psychopath during the solstice, the barmy presenter disputed they should be locked up and urged the most violent of killers to be treated with 24-hour love bombing by the most most “unbelievably loving and attractive people in world”.

And, according to Halloran, who, in a similar stance to Brand, claimed in the video there is no democracy in the world, said there is hope among all the carnage.

He urged people to “bite the bullet” to see the “mechanism beneath the surface” rather than becoming “more delusional, even more crazy and even more in denial”.

After another rocky time of eclipses in September, will come peace through the dwarf planet Ceres.

He said: “What is light at the end of the tunnel is Ceres is saying peace and love

“Things will start to calm down going into the future.

“After all the changes, all the awaking, the electro shock, then comes Cancer nurturing time – back into our beloved ones circles, our tribes and empathy for one another.”

Author: Jon Austin
Article originally published on Express, Home of the Daily and Sunday Express

Magickal Activity for June 20, The Summer Solstice

Floating Candles

Midsummer is a celebration of light and life, symbolized by the flame of a candle and the movement of water. A large glass bowl filled with an assortment of floating candles makes a wonderful point of focus for ritual. Choose bright yellow sunflowers, white lilies, and red tulip-shaped candles. Have each person participating in the ritual inscribe his or her desire, with a pin, on a candle. Have each person come forward, place his or her candle in the bowl and light it as he makes his wish. Following the ritual, the bowl is placed outdoors and the candles are left to burn out.

The Sun Wheel

One of the most popular symbols of Midsummer is the Sun Wheel, the turning of which suggests the turning, or progression, of the seasons. The Wheel is decorated with flowers, fresh herbs, and brightly colored ribbons.

The simplest method for making a Sun Wheel is to buy an already-prepared natural-branch wreath from an arts and crafts store. Affix small branches of rowan to form the spokes of the wheel (four spokes to represent the elements and cross-quarter days or eight to symbolize the eight Wiccan Sabbats). Use floral wire to attach fresh flowers and herbs to the wreath. Embellish with brightly colored ribbons. The wheel can be used as the focal point for your Midsummer rites or hung on the front door of your home for decoration.

20, 21, and 22 June

Midsummer Eve/Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice is celebrated between June 20 and June 22-the longest day and shortest night of the year. The festival of Midsummer venerates the potential of the life-sustaining powers of fire and water, forces that were vital to our ancestors’ survival. It was believed that fire would help keep the sun alive and that the blessing of waterwells would continue their flow to nurture the parched earth. Without sun and water, there would be no crops and all would perish.

One of the most popular customs that grew out of the early fertility rites was that of jumping or leaping over Midsummer bonfires. The idea being, the higher one jumped, the higher the crops would grow.

Another symbol that was popularized at this time was the wheel. The turning of the wheel represented the turning or progression of the seasons. Wheels were decorated with brightly colored ribbons and fresh flowers. Lighted candles were placed on them, and then they were set afloat on the lakes and rivers.

Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Night are genuinely thought to be particularly uncanny times. It was reasoned that certain plants were endowed with magickal properties on this night, that, if gathered before sunrise, could be used for protection against all evil spirits and forces.

With the sun at its zenith, Midsummer was, and still is, a time for marriages, family celebrations, and coming-of-age parties.

Symbolically, Midsummer is the time to nurture those goals you made at the beginning of the year as you reflect on the progress you have made toward bringing them into fruition.

The Witches Magick for Monday, June 20, The Summer Solstice – Sun Spell

A simple sun spell can help you capture the power of this most important time in the sun’s journey across our skies. And who doesn’t need a bit of that potent energy in their everyday lives? This simple sun spell harnesses the energy of the sun into an amulet (token) that you can carry with you. Call on it whenever you need a bit of that brightness.

You will need:
A candle and something to light it with— I like to use a red candle because the sun is a fire element, but use any color you have or that speaks to you
A pinch of dried spice— dried chili flakes, cayenne pepper, or black pepper
A daisy (ruled by the element of fire)
A plate or saucer to work from

Gather your spell materials together and go outside into the sunshine. Sit somewhere green and quiet if you can, and hold your candle, spices, and daisy in one hand. Cup your other hand over the top. Concentrate on focusing your energy into what you are holding. Focus on the creation of something that will bring you brightness when you need it.

When you’re ready, light the candle carefully and drop wax onto the plate or saucer to create a pool of wax. Extinguish the candle and, working swiftly, sprinkle the spice onto the molten wax. Place the daisy onto the wax and spice. Carefully mould the still-warm wax into a ball or penny shape, enclosing the spices and daisy within it. You can always drip more wax onto the top to ensure that the spell is fully enclosed.

When the wax has cooled, hold the amulet in one hand and raise your hand to the sun. Close your eyes and imagine the brightness and warmth of the sun’s energy forming a sphere around your amulet, empowering it with its energy.

Say some simple words like:

Power of the sun, charge this spell till it is done.

When you feel that your amulet has absorbed the sun’s power, thank the sun for lending you its strength. When you return home, relight your candle and burn it in thanks for the success of your spell.

Carry this amulet with you and reach for it whenever you need to lend the sun’s power to whatever you are doing. Use it when a spell needs an extra boost, or on a cold gray day that leaves you feeling down, or when a friend is in need of some brightness at a difficult time. This powerful little spell can also be recharged by holding the amulet up to the sun whenever you need a boost. You can use it as a focus in fire spells as well.
 

Hedgewitch Book of Days: Spells, Rituals, and Recipes for the Magical Year
Mandy Mitchell

Midsummer’s Correspondences

The magickal correspondences for Midsummer are simple and natural ones. Colors are gold and green— gold to celebrate the might of the sun and green to symbolize the leaves on the trees, all of nature, and the Faerie realm, which are all at their peak of influence and magickal power. Some eclectic magickal traditions may choose a celestial theme of deep blue and golden suns and stars. I like to think of those celestial decorations as symbols that represent the best influences of the moon, from the zodiac sign of Cancer, and the strength of the sun at the Solstice.

Also, just to keep things interesting, there is a watery theme to Midsummer as well. People did make journeys to sacred wells for cures at Midsummer. Wells, springs, and the life-giving summer rain are just as important to the crops and your own garden as the sunshine, so keep that in mind.

If you want to try something different for Midsummer, you could play up the beach/ water/ summer theme. I have seen a “magickal mermaid” ocean theme successfully used for Midsummer. It was hauntingly different, ethereal, and gorgeous— think of lots of starfish and sand dollars cleverly arranged on an altar, with iridescent seashells and blue beach glass scattered around the base of off-white candles and crystal-clear bowls of water. Again, these could be links to the zodiac sign of Cancer the crab. However, a beach-inspired Midsummer celebration sounds enchanting, doesn’t it? If you live along the ocean or coast, I imagine that this would be gorgeous Midsummer altar décor and a distinctive theme for any ritual performed on a shore, beach, or in your own back yard.

Animals and insects that are traditionally linked to Midsummer festivals are creatures such as honeybees, eagles, hawks, goldfinches (a favored faerie bird), butterflies, dragonflies— oh, and don’t forget those lightning bugs!

Lightning bugs, or fireflies, have long been associated with the fae and the elemental kingdom. On soft nights in June the lightning bugs are out in force, putting on quite the show for children— and for any magickally minded, young-at-heart adults who care to watch.

Seasons of Witchery: Celebrating the Sabbats with the Garden Witch
Ellen Dugan

The Pagan Way to Celebrate the Summer Solstice

Just as they’ve done for centuries, witches today celebrate the Summer Solstice with feasting, music, dancing, and thanksgiving. Remember to share your bounty with the animals and birds, too, and to return something to Mother Earth as a sign of gratitude.

Midsummer is also a good time to collect herbs, flowers, and other plants to use in magick spells. Some say that if you wish to become invisible, you must wear an amulet that includes seeds from forest ferns gathered on Midsummer’s eve. Spells for success and abundance are best done on the Summer Solstice.

The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book: Rituals, spells, and sacred objects for everyday magick (Everything®)
Skye Alexander

The Significance Of the Summer Solstice

In early agrarian cultures, Midsummer marked a period of plenty when food was abundant and life was easy. Our ancestors celebrated this joyful holiday with feasting and revelry. At this point, however, the sun has reached its pinnacle and begins its descent once again. Celtic pagan mythology depicts this as the end of the Oak King’s reign as he is overthrown by the Holly King, who presides over the waning part of the year.

Folklore says that at Midsummer earth spirits abound—Shakespeare’s delightful play A Midsummer Night’s Dream was inspired by this belief. Apparently, life on every level rejoices in the fullness of the season. If you wish, you can commune with the elementals and faeries at this time.
 

Source

The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book: Rituals, spells, and sacred objects for everyday magick (Everything®)
Skye Alexander

Midsummer

Midsummer, or the longest day of the year, is celebrated on June 21. During this period, the first fruits begin to appear on the trees. Life is easy and good, there is food, and the cold weather is disappearing. The days are warm and long. In myths, this is the time in which the goddess is impregnated by the god, her belly swells, and new life is created in her vicinity. In agrarian societies, this is the time between sowing and reaping – the time in which Mother Earth “swells.”

The accessories used in the rituals include pink roses, oak leaves, and various symbols connected with the sun. The dominant colors are red and green. This is a good festival for personal spells, as well as for those that are done for the sake of society and the universe as a whole.

This time is suitable for festivals. Witches and wizards celebrate with feasts of fruit and vegetables. Even though it is the longest day of the year, it carries with it the awareness that from now on, the days will get shorter, and the winter will ultimately arrive. This is the time of the goddess as a mother, and she is at the peak of her glory.
 

Source

Day-by-Day Wicca: A complete guide to Wicca from Beliefs and Rituals to Magic and Witchcraft
Tabatha Jennings

Midsummer
Summer Solstice
June 20 – 23

Midsummer or Litha, is a celebration of light. This is a solar/ fire festival that marks the astrological day of the summer solstice, which occurs on or around June 21, when the sun enters the sign of Cancer, the crab. Cancer is the only astrological sign that is associated with the moon. If you combine that lunar influence with the ultimate strength of the sun, you have quite the magickal wallop.

The day of the summer solstice has the longest daylight hours and the shortest nighttime hours of the year. As the sun reaches its highest position in the sky, we are at the climax of the sun’s power. This is the greatest day of the sun’s magick, even though it is bittersweet— for as soon as the day after the summer solstice, the sun’s power gradually begins to decline, with nighttime hours slowly and inexorably increasing. After today, we are in the dark half of the Wheel of the Year, which may seem confusing, but truly the daylight hours are decreasing now, and the sun will start to reach its zenith at a lower point in the sky from now until December and the winter solstice.

The sabbat of Midsummer is a potent and magickal date. This is a great time for fire magick, bonfires, garden witchery, herbal and green magicks, and the best night of the year to commune with the elemental kingdom and the faeries.

This is a time of celebration in nature: everything is green and growing. Nature is celebrating her achievement!

Fire festivals and fireworks are complementary; it all goes with that theme of fire magick for summer. At this time of year, your spellworking themes may include asking for the blessing and assistance of the faeries or working green magick with the garden. Prosperity, health, and abundance spells are appropriate at this point in time as well, since the light is at its peak and all of nature is at its most lush, vibrant, and green.

If you like to work with the more traditional fire theme of this sabbat, consider building a small ritual fire in your outdoor fire pit or chiminea. Bonfires on Midsummer have been lit by people from all over the world, from many magickal customs, for centuries. The bonfires were classically lit at sundown on Midsummer’s Eve. So set up your fire and get ready to go! If you like, you can toss a few herbs or oak leaves into the flames as an offering to the Old Gods.

If you are unable to safely have an outdoor fire, then light several bright yellow candles and group them together inside of a cauldron, and enjoy the effect that several flickering flames make inside of that cauldron. Another idea that I started with my coven years ago was to pass out sparklers; after our rituals are complete, we light up the sparklers and dance around the gardens with the lightning bugs. When the sparklers are finished, we drop them into a bucket of water. Celebrate the summer solstice and put your own personal spin on things!
 

Source

Seasons of Witchery: Celebrating the Sabbats with the Garden Witch
Ellen Dugan

The Witches Correspondences for June 20, Litha

Purpose Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God,honoring the pregnant Goddess

Dynamics/Meaning Crowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King,end the ordeal of the Green Man

Tools, Symbols & Decorations

The sun, oak, birch & fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, red/maize/yellow or gold flower, love amulets, seashells, summer fruits & flowers, feather/flower door wreath, sun wheel, fire, circles of stone, sun dials and swords/blades, bird feathers, Witches’ ladder.

Colors Blue, green, gold, yellow and red.

Customs Bonfires, processions, all night vigil, singing, feasting, celebrating with others, cutting divining rods, dowsing rods & wands, herb gathering, handfastings, weddings, Druidic gathering of mistletoe in oak groves, need fires, leaping between two fires, mistletoe (without berries, use as a protection amulet), women walking naked through gardens to ensure continued fertility, enjoying the seasonal fruits & vegetables, honor the Mother’s fullness, richness and abundance, put garlands of St. John’s Wort placed over doors/ windows & a sprig in the car for protection.

Goddesses Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Venus, Aphrodite, Yemaya, Astarte, Freya, Hathor, Ishtar, all Goddesses of love, passion, beauty and the Sea, and Pregnant, lusty Goddesses, Green Forest Mother; Great One of the Stars, Goddess of the Wells

Gods Father Sun/Sky, Oak King, Holly King, Arthur, Gods at peak power and strength.

Animals/Mythical Beings Wren, robin, horses, cattle, satyrs, faeries, firebird, dragon, thunderbird

Gemstones Lapis lazuli, diamond, tiger’s eye, all green gemstones, especially emerald and jade

Herbs Anise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, wild rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender, fennel, elder, mistletoe, hemp, thyme, larkspur, nettle, wisteria, vervain ( verbena), St. John’s wort, heartsease, rue, fern, wormwood, pine, heather, yarrow,oak & holly trees

Incense/Oil Heliotrope, saffron, orange, frankincense & myrrh, wisteria, cinnamon, mint, rose, lemon, lavender, sandalwood, pine

Rituals/Magicks Nature spirit/fey communion, planet healing, divination, love & protection magicks. The battle between Oak King, God of the waxing year & Holly King, God of the waning year (can be a ritual play), or act out scenes from the Bard’s (an incarnation of Merlin)“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, rededication of faith, rites of inspiration.

Foods Honey, fresh vegetables, lemons, oranges, summer fruits, summer squash, pumpernickel bread, ale, carrot drinks, mead.