Tag: Spring Equinox

Litha/Summer Solstice Correspondences

From FlyingTheHedge.com – Litha Correspondences

Symbolism: life, fire, rebirth, transformation, power, purity

Symbols: sun flowers, leaves, sword, spear, sun, God’s eye, sun wheels, bonfire, balefires, fire, sun dials, bird feathers, seashells,

Colors: red, gold, orange, yellow, white, green, blue

Food and Drink: mead, ale, summer fruits and vegetables, strawberries, honey cakes, whipped cream, oranges, lemons, summer squash, honey

Herbs: Saint John’s Wort, lavender, rose, peony, vervain, mugwort, chamomile, chickweed, chicory, sun flower, lily, thyme, hemp, fennel, nettle, wisteria, rue, fern, heather, oak, yarrow, holly

Deities: Ra, Bast, Helios, Oak King, Fotuna, Arinna, and other sun god.

Crystals and Gemstones: Lapis, diamond, tiger’s eye, emerald, jade, and other green stones

Animals: butterflies, wren, horse, stag, robin, cattle, phoenix, dragon, faeries, satyrs

Magic: Litha is the time to celebrate the Sun and all that he provides for us. Protection spells and fire magic are great to perform on this night. Make protective amulets to be empowered in the balefire lit on Midsummer’s eve. Looking to promote a transformation, a new career, or create a new or strengthen an old relationship? Litha is a great night to perform such magic. Collect herbs, especially St. John’s Wort, on the eve of this sabbat to bring luck and enhance the herbs’ power. Renew your wedding vows or just enjoy the time with your friends and family. This is also a great time to communicate with faeries and seek their help if you so wish. Be careful though. Faeries can be tricky.

Please note this is not a complete list but a brief overview of symbols, colors, herbs, deities, and the like. If I have missed something that you feel should make the list, please feel free to contact me via the comments or through email. Willow

Spell for Today – Midsummer’s Day Herb Gathering Spell

Midsummer’s Day is a traditional time for Witches in all parts of the world to gather herbs from their gardens or from the wild to use in potions, dream pillows, and other forms of spellcraft.  They may be dried and burned on a charcoal disc during your magick spell or ritual.  All herbs collected at Litha are considered to have extra magickal and healing properties. 

To be recited on Midsummer’s Day, thrice before and thrice after gathering herbs for magickal workings:

“Herbs of magick, herbs of power,
Root and bark, leaf and flower,
Work for me when charms are spoken,
Potions brewed and curses broken!”

Happy Yule Blessings

Celebrating Litha: Traditions, Herbs, Symbols & More

Pagans who base their practices around western European pre-Christian traditions commonly observe a set of holidays. These are often grouped together as the Wheel of the Year, which is a way of visualizing the progression of seasons and sacred days as a cycle.

Litha is a solar festival that takes place on the longest day of the year — Midsummer.

About Litha

Litha is a name given to the summer solstice. In the northern hemisphere, this takes place around June 21st.

Because of the Earth’s axial tilt, this actually corresponds with the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, so Pagans in the south typically celebrate Litha around December 21st. This is considered to be the time when the sun and solar deities are at the height of their power.

Origins & History

It’s hard to say when summer solstice celebrations really began. As long as humans have relied on plants and grazing animals for food, they’ve tracked the seasons.

The word “solstice” comes from Latin, and roughly translates to “sun stands still.” The solstice, then, is the point when the sun seems to stand still in the sky. In other words, it’s when the daylight hours are at their longest.

Nobody’s really certain where the name “Litha” comes from, either. One source cites a document called The Reckoning of Time (De temporum ratione) written by Saint Bede in 725 CE.

In it, he recorded a lot of Anglo-Saxon Pagan concepts, and the names of the months were among them. This time of year was allegedly named “Līða,” which translated to “gentle” or “easy to navigate.”

It was so named because this time of year marked the best weather for sailing, since the breezes were steady and not too powerful. June was Ǣrra-Līða, or “the first Litha,” while July was “the second Litha.”

Another source, Greer’s New Encyclopedia of the Occult, cites J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy as the actual origin. In it, the Hobbits’ called midsummer Lithe.

It’s possible that we may never find the true name of this holiday. Many of the cultures that inform modern-day European-based Paganism had strong oral traditions, and placed less emphasis on writing. As a result, the only written records left behind stem largely from invaders and other outside observers.

Traditions

Traditionally, Litha was a time to light bonfires, celebrate marriages, feast, sing, and dance. It’s a time when the weather is at its warmest, and all of the crops are at their most fruitful. This is a celebration of plenty, partnership, and community.

In Wicca, it’s customary to use this time to work solar magic, magic for men’s issues, and rituals for community stability, success, environmental healing, and strengthening relationships.

In ancient Rome, people celebrated Vestalia around midsummer. This was to honor Vesta, a virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family. Under normal circumstances, only her devotees, the Vestal virgins, were allowed into the sacred inner areas of her temples.

During Vestalia, the inner sanctums of her temples would be opened for all women to come make offerings and request her aid and protection.

Folklore

In some forms of Wicca and …

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A Very Happy and Blessed Beltane To All

For Your Viewing Pleasure – Beltane

Edinburgh’s Beltane Fire Festival celebrates the rebirth of summer with fire, dance and drumming c. 2017

Celtic festival of Beltane heats up in Scotland c. 2018

Printable Some Beltane Information

Spell – Home Protection Powder: A Simple Spell Recipe

(YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE ANY SPELLS POSTED TO A DOCUMENT TO PRINT AND/OR SAVE ON YOUR COMPUTER)

Home Protection Powder: A Simple Spell Recipe

From spells8.com

Whether you just moved into a new home or you’ve been living in your home for a while, it is always a good idea to cast a protection spell over your space. This process doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated. In fact, it generally involves about two steps: cleansing the space and then protecting it. Any other steps in the process are entirely optional and can add to the potency of your spell. If you are in search of a simple protection spell for your home, be sure to read this post to the very end!

Why bother about the energy of your home?

Believe it or not, the energy of your home can have an effect on your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. This energy usually accumulates over time, but certain factors can play a role in how quickly unpleasant energy settles into your spaces. For example, if you spend a lot of time in emotionally charged situations during the day, you may end up bringing some unpleasant energy home with you. This energy may accumulate faster than if you spent your days in more pleasant or neutral situations. Surrounding yourself with unpleasant energies could lead you to feeling drained, grouchy, and generally not spiritually well in your own home.

Energy can also accumulate due to other people in your life. This includes people you let into your home such as family, friends, and even employees, and people that don’t come into your home but still send their energy in your direction. Putting up a magical protective barrier around your home can help to protect against physical damage such as break-ins, storms, or similar. It can also help protect your home against magical or psychic attacks from others or keep a wandering spirit from making itself too comfortable.

Clearing your home of unpleasant energies and protecting it from external energetic forces is very simple. Keep reading for some tips to get you started.

Make a Connection

Whether you are an animist or not, spend some time in your space. Light some incense if you want, play some nice music, and meditate in the heart of your home. Close your eyes and focus on your surroundings. Your home knows what it needs. If you listen well enough, it will tell you.

Clearing it Out

Once you’ve made the decision to clear out the energy from your home, it’s time to get to work. But what does clearing a space even mean? Well, you are going to be removing all energy from the space. This process clears out the energy, both good, bad, and otherwise, to leave room to call in what you want. If it makes it easier, you can think of this as an energetic cleaning rather than a physical one, though the two may look similar and utilize similar tools. This is step one of a good home protection spell.

One of the easiest methods of clearing a space is to clear it as you clean it. Charge your cleaning supplies with your magickal intention. You can do this by holding them firmly or holding your hands over them and speaking your words of intention over them. This could sound something like, “As I physically clean my space, so too do my cleaning supplies clear my home of unwanted energies and entities.” Then you use them to physically clean your space. At the same time, the energy you put forward to charge your supplies will also magickally clear the space.

Another method of clearing your space would be through the use of smoke or sound. You can burn special incense or herbs that have cleansing properties. One popular herb to burn for cleansing is rosemary, but any that you find clearing will work just as well. If you can’t use smoke you can cleanse with sound through clapping or bells. You can also use homemade cleansing sprays, too.

Calling it In

Once you’ve cleared your space, you will want to call something in to fill it. This step is optional, but keep in mind that nature doesn’t like a vacuum and nothing is truly empty for long. Use this step to call in the energy you want in your home. This can be done by playing some calming music, burning some relaxing or joyful incense, or decorating your home with pleasant flowers. Again, this can all be customized to suit your needs and desires for your space.

Choose Your Ingredients

Once your space is cleared and you have called in the energy you want, now it’s time to protect that energy. We are going to be making a salt powder to be used at the thresholds of our home. For this step, be sure to have some salt on hand. Salt is a wonderful protective ingredient to use in your powders, and for this recipe, it is the base ingredient. Salt is good for repelling and absorbing negative energy, keeping the energy that crosses your threshold in line with your intentions.

Along with salt, here are some more ideas of protective herbs you can include in your recipe.

Rosemary

Vervain

Bay Leaf

Aloe

Black Salt

Simple Home Protection Spell

Recipe by Francisco Huanaco

This powder is designed to protect your home with good energy and keep it free from problems. Support the magickal maintenance of your home with this protection powder.

INGREDIENTS

  • Salt – absorbs and repels negative energy

  • Rosemary – for protection (can substitute other protective herbs)

  • Jar or Bowl – for mixing the ingredients together

DIRECTIONS

  • Get your Salt

    Salt is protective and also repels negative energy. It is a good foundational ingredient for any witch to have and makes a simple base for our spell.
  • Get your Rosemary

    Rosemary is an herb that is commonly used for protection. In this case, you can use dried rosemary, fresh rosemary, or even substitute with an essential oil or other protective herb.
  • Mix it Together

    In your bowl, mix the salt and your protective herbs together. As you mix them, you can call on your guides, Gods, or other spirit allies to help you if you want. Stir in a clockwise motion to combine the ingredients as you say the following.
  • Sprinkle it Around

    With your mantra or affirmation in mind, sprinkle the salt mixture along every threshold and entry into your home. Include all doors, windows, and walkways. You can even repeat the above incantation if you’d like, drawing on the energy of the salt mixture as you do so.

For Your Listening PLeasure – Samhain

Samhain

Projects to Celebrate Samhain, the Witches’ New Year

As Samhain approaches, you can decorate your home with a number of easy craft projects. Start celebrating a bit early with these fun and simple ideas that honor the final harvest, and the cycle of life and death

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Pagan Treat Bags for Samhain

Do you have Pagan kids coming over for a Samhain event? You can have a kid-friendly celebration by putting together a goodie bag that’s representative of your Pagan spirituality. The key here is to do some creative, outside the box thinking. Sure, there are a ton of Halloween decorations in the store at this time of year, but not all of those are really connected with Pagan religious belief systems. They’re really more about the secular celebration of Halloween, which is fine, unless you’re looking for kid-friendly stuff that honors Pagan spirituality.

Here are a few things to try:

  • Decorate the bags themselves with symbols that are meaningful to you – depending on the pantheon your group honors, you might include designs that are associated with Greek, Roman, Celtic, or Norse mythology.
  • Small herbal sachets: sew herbs into a fabric pouch. Use lavender to help with dreams, or other appropriate plants.
  • Crystals and gemstones: As long as the kids attending your event are beyond the put-everything-in-your-mouth stage, you could include rose quartz for love, hematite for protection, and more.
  • A Portable Altar Kit: Depending on how old the kids are, think about making an altar box that fits in a backpack or pocket. This might not be useful or safe for really young children, but older tweens and teens could use it responsibly.
  • Divination tools: make a simple pendulum with a stone wrapped in wire and attached to the end of a chain. Add a simple divination set by painting symbols on stones or wooden discs.
  • Wands: Make a simple wand with a stick and a crystal wrapped in wire.
  • Deity symbols: Does your tradition honor a particular god or goddess? Consider adding representative symbols – owls for Athena, cats for Bastet, or an antler for Cernunnos. Try printing out a wallet-size image of the deity on heavy cardstock, add a prayer to your god/dess on the reverse side, and laminate it.

Finally, remember, Samhain is the same day as Halloween, so never underestimate the power of a few strategically placed pieces of delicious candy!

Click here for more craft ideas for Samhain from learnreligions.com

Wheel of the Year

 

The Wheel of the Year is a symbol of the eight Sabbats (religious festivals) of Neo-Paganism and the Wicca movement which includes four solar festivals (Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox) and four seasonal festivals (celebrating or marking a significant seasonal change). Contrary to modern-day Wiccan claims, there is no evidence of an ancient Wheel of the Year in its present form but it is clear that the Celts of thousands of years ago celebrated the festivals the wheel highlights, even if these celebrations were known by another name now long lost.

In the ancient Celtic culture, as in many of the past, time was seen as cyclical. The seasons changed, people died, but nothing was ever finally lost because everything returned again – in one way or another – in a repeating natural cycle. Although time in the modern world is usually regarded as linear, the cyclical nature of life continues to be recognized.

The modern-day Wheel of the Year was first suggested by the scholar and mythologist Jacob Grimm (1785-1863 CE) in his 1835 CE work, Teutonic Mythology, and fixed in its present form in the 1950s and early ’60s CE by the Wicca movement. The wheel includes the following holy days (most dates flexible year-to-year): …

Click here to read the rest of this article about the Wheel of the Year

 

A Magickal Rite for Mabon: Honor the Dark Mother

A Magickal Rite for Mabon

Honor the Dark Mother at Mabon

Demeter and Persephone are strongly connected to the time of the Autumn Equinox. When Hades abducted Persephone, it set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the earth falling into darkness each winter. This is the time of the Dark Mother, the Crone aspect of the triple goddess. The goddess is bearing this time not a basket of flowers, but a sickle and scythe. She is prepared to reap what has been sown.

The earth dies a little each day, and we must embrace this slow descent into dark before we can truly appreciate the light that will return in a few months.

This ritual welcomes the archetype of the Dark Mother and celebrates that aspect of the Goddess which we may not always find comforting or appealing, but which we must always be willing to acknowledge. Decorate your altar with symbols of Demeter and her daughter — flowers in red and yellow for Demeter, purple or black for Persephone, stalks of wheat, Indian corn, sickles, baskets. Have a candle on hand to represent each of them — harvest colors for Demeter, black for Persephone. You’ll also need a chalice of wine, or grape juice if you prefer, and a pomegranate.

If you normally cast a circle, or call the quarters, do so now. Turn to the altar, and light the Persephone candle. Say:

The land is beginning to die, and the soil grows cold.
The fertile womb of the earth has gone barren.
As Persephone descended into the Underworld,
So the earth continues its descent into night.
As Demeter mourns the loss of her daughter,
So we mourn the days drawing shorter.
The winter will soon be here.

Light the Demeter candle, and say:

In her anger and sorrow, Demeter roamed the earth,
And the crops died, and life withered and the soil went dormant.
In grief, she traveled looking for her lost child,
Leaving darkness behind in her wake.
We feel the mother’s pain, and our hearts break for her,
As she searches for the child she gave birth to.
We welcome the darkness, in her honor.

Break open the pomegranate (it’s a good idea to have a bowl to catch the drippings), and take out six seeds. Place them on the altar. Say:

Six months of light, and six months of dark.
The earth goes to sleep, and later wakes again.
O dark mother, we honor you this night,
And dance in your shadows.
We embrace that which is the darkness,
And celebrate the life of the Crone. Blessings to the dark goddess on this night, and every other.

As the wine is replaced upon the altar, hold your arms out in the Goddess position, and take a moment to reflect on the darker aspects of the human experience. Think of all the goddesses who evoke the night, and call out:

Demeter, Inanna, Kali, Tiamet, Hecate, Nemesis, Morrighan.
Bringers of destruction and darkness,
I embrace you tonight.
Without rage, we cannot feel love,
Without pain, we cannot feel happiness,
Without the night, there is no day,
Without death, there is no life.
Great goddesses of the night, I thank you.

Take a few moments to meditate on the darker aspects of your own soul. Is there a pain you’ve been longing to get rid of? Is there anger and frustration that you’ve been unable to move past? Is there someone who’s hurt you, but you haven’t told them how you feel? Now is the time to take this energy and turn it to your own purposes. Take any pain inside you, and reverse it so that it becomes a positive experience. If you’re not suffering from anything hurtful, count your blessings, and reflect on a time in your life when you weren’t so fortunate.

When you are ready, end the ritual.

By Patti Wigington,Paganism/Wicca Expert
Article found on & owned by ThoughtCo

Happy and Blessed Ostara Dear Sisters and Brothers – Printable

History of Ostara, The Spring Equinox

History of Ostara, The Spring Equinox

The word Ostara is just one of the names applied to the celebration of the spring equinox on March 21. The Venerable Bede said the origin of the word is actually from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring. Of course, it’s also the same time as the Christian Easter celebration, and in the Jewish faith, Passover takes place as well. For early Pagans in the Germanic countries, this was a time to celebrate planting and the new crop season.

Typically, the Celtic peoples did not celebrate Ostara as a holiday, although they were in tune with the changing of the seasons.

According to History.com,

“At the ruins of Chichen Itza, the ancient Maya city in Mexico, crowds now gather on the spring (and fall) equinox to watch as the afternoon sun creates shadows that resemble a snake moving along the stairs of the 79-foot-tall Pyramid of Kukulkan, also called El Castillo. On the spring equinox, the snake descends the pyramid until it merges with a large, serpent head sculpture at the base of the structure. While the Maya were skilled astronomers, it’s unknown whether they specifically designed the pyramid to align with the equinox and create this visual effect.”

A New Day Begins

A dynasty of Persian kings known as the Achaemenians celebrated the spring equinox with the festival of No Ruz, which means “new day.” It is a celebration of hope and renewal still observed today in many Persian countries, and has its roots in Zoroastrianism.

In Iran, a festival called Chahar-Shanbeh Suri takes place right before No Ruz begins, and people purify their homes and leap over fires to welcome the 13-day celebration of No Ruz.

Mad as a March Hare

Spring equinox is a time for fertility and sowing seeds, and so nature’s fertility goes a little crazy.

In medieval societies in Europe, the March hare was viewed as a major fertility symbol. This is a species of rabbit that is nocturnal most of the year, but in March when mating season begins, there are bunnies everywhere all day long. The female of the species is superfecund and can conceive a second litter while still pregnant with a first. As if that wasn’t enough, the males tend to get frustrated when rebuffed by their mates, and bounce around erratically when discouraged.

The Legends of Mithras

The story of the Roman god, Mithras, is similar to the tale of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. Born at the winter solstice and resurrected in the spring, Mithras helped his followers ascend to the realm of light after death. In one legend, Mithras, who was popular amongst members of the Roman military, was ordered by the Sun to sacrifice a white bull. He reluctantly obeyed, but at the moment when his knife entered the creature’s body, a miracle took place. The bull turned into the moon, and Mithras’ cloak became the night sky. Where the bull’s blood fell flowers grew, and stalks of grain sprouted from its tail.

Spring Celebrations Around the World

In ancient Rome, the followers of Cybele believed that their goddess had a consort who was born via a virgin birth.

His name was Attis, and he died and was resurrected each year during the time of the vernal equinox on the Julian Calendar (between March 22 and March 25).

The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. As the sun sets on the day of the equinox on the great ceremonial pyramid, El Castillo, Mexico, its “western face…is bathed in the late afternoon sunlight. The lengthening shadows appear to run from the top of the pyramid’s northern staircase to the bottom, giving the illusion of a diamond-backed snake in descent.” This has been called “The Return of the Sun Serpent” since ancient times.

According to the Venerable Bede, Eostre was the Saxon version of a Germanic goddess called Ostara. Her feast day was held on the full moon following the vernal equinox–almost the identical calculation as for the Christian Easter in the west.

There is very little documented evidence to prove this, but one popular legend is that Eostre found a bird, wounded, on the ground late in winter. To save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But “the transformation was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but retained the ability to lay eggs…the hare would decorate these eggs and leave them as gifts to Eostre.”
Modern Celebrations

This is a good time of year to start your seedlings. If you grow an herb garden, start getting the soil ready for late spring plantings. Celebrate the balance of light and dark as the sun begins to tip the scales, and the return of new growth is near.

Many modern Pagans mark Ostara as a time of renewal and rebirth. Take some time to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature–walk in a park, lay in the grass, hike through a forest. As you do so, observe all the new things beginning around you–plants, flowers, insects, birds. Meditate upon the ever-moving Wheel of the Year, and celebrate the change of seasons.

Author

Patti Wigington
Published on ThoughtCo.com

OSTARA LORE

 

OSTARA LORE

A traditional Vernal Equinox pastime: go to a field and randomly collect wildflowers [Thank the flowers for their sacrifice before picking them, using a collection formula such as can be found in “An Herbal Grimoire”]. Or buy some from a florist, taking one or two of those that appeal to you. Then bring them home and divine their magickal meanings by the use of books, your own intuition, a pendulum or by other means. The flowers you’ve chosen reveal your inner thoughts and emotions.

It is important at this time of renewed life to plan a walk (or a ride) through gardens, a park, woodlands, forest and other green places. This is not simply exercise, and you should be on no other mission. It isn’t even just an appreciation of nature. Make your walk celebratory, a ritual for nature itself.

Other traditional activities include planting seeds, working on magickal gardens and practicing all forms of herb work – magickal, medicinal, cosmetic, culinary and artistic.

Foods in tune with this day (linking your meals with the seasons is a fine way of attuning with nature) include those made of seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, as well as pine nuts.

Sprouts are equally appropriate, as are leafy, green vegetables. Flower dishes such as stuffed nasturtiums or carnation cupcakes also find their place here. [Find a book of flower cooking or simply make spice cupcakes. Ice with pink frosting and place a fresh carnation petal on each cupcake. Stuff nasturtium blossoms with a mixture made with cream cheese, chopped nuts, chives and watercress.]

Magickal Ideas for Imbolc

Let’s Have Some Fun – Lammas

 

Let’s Have Some Fun – Imbolc

 

Flashback 2000 Imbolc

Daylight hours are gradually lengthening, and the Earth is beginning to stir. Although she is still in the middle of her winter’s rest, our planet subtly begins to plan. It’s appropriate that this period is represented by Aquarius, an air sign, since all change begins first in the mind. Every new thought or idea is full of raw potential as the Earth is now,nailing for the touch of fire to ignite her new growth period. Uranus is the ruler of Aquarius, and the planet best known for its jurisdiction over the future. This electric energy only looks forward, never back. It is during Imbolc, in fact, as the Sun is passing through Aquarius, that many ideas are born. As we prepare for the upcoming Equinox, then, it’s important to be sure that we’re looking ahead, as Uranus does, with all the electric enthusiasm and genius of Aquarius. Honor the potential of the coming spring by uncovering your gift of prophecy. Whether you use a crystal ball, a dream journal, or another type of predictive tool, prepare for the Equinox in your heart, by understanding how much is possible now.

©️ By Kim Rogers-Gallagher Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook 2000 Page 95

Flashback 2000 Lammas

At Lammas, the Sun is at the very peak of Leo, the sign this planet loves above all others. Our star’s warmth is at its most powerful now in the Northern Hemisphere, as it appears directly overhead. At this time, life too, ia at its peak—as are the crops. The ancients celebrated this festival by giving thanks for their first harvest, most especially the grain harvest, even as they accepted the beginning of the God’s descent into the underworld. The myth of the asteroid-Goddess Ceres (Demeter), giver of the grain, also relates to this season. It was now when she would bid her daughter Farwell, since Persephone was obligated to return to the Underworld to rejoin Hades (Pluto). So bereaved was Ceres to see her daughter leave her, she refused to all the Earth to produce grain until her return. At this time,nothing, modern practitioners should be remind of both astrological principles: the fullness of life the Sun brings, and the necessity for rest, as signified by the coming fall.

©️ By Kim Rogers-Gallagher Llewellyn’s Witches’ Datebook 2000 Page 95