18/06/2009

The summer solstice marks the height of summer and the longest day of the year. From this point onwards the days grow shorter and so traditionally, it was a time for pagans to honour this solar festival as the sun rises in the sign of cancer to its greatest height and to give thanks for the bounty of the year at this time of joy and celebration. This year the solstice falls on June 21st and there are many gatherings around the world to celebrate, including celebrations at many ancient sites.

Also known as Alban Heruin (meaning the Light of the Shore), or Litha (meaning Summer).Herbs, such as St. John’s Wort, vervain and mugwort were traditionally gathered and thrown on the fire; bonfires and beacons were lit around the country and still are on Midsummer’s day in Scandinavia.  Midsummer’s Day continues to be an annual holiday in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and in Cornwall, the lighting of the summer celebratory bonfires was revived in the 1920s.

Maypoles are also erected as symbols of fertility both here, in Scandinavia. Croatia, Canada and Brazil where there is plenty of joyful dancing and feasting.

The wheel is a symbol for this time of the year and there are old European traditions of rolling large wheels on fire down hills, usually towards a river or some water. This represents the sun bringing its life giving warmth to the earth.

Celebrated in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream’, it is a time when the doors to the fairie world are opened and offerings are left to the fairy spirits in gardens and in wild places.

Things to do on the Summer Solstice:

•    Leave out tiny offerings of food for the fairies in your garden
•    Create a little fairy garden either outdoors or in a dish indoors
•    Create a shrine indoors to the fairy world and decorate with summer flowers and herbs
•    Decorate a wheel made of willow with ivy and summer flowers
•    Create an offering to the sea with shells and stones in a spiral shape

A summer spell

The summer solstice is a great time for magic that encourages health, wealth, growth, fertility, happiness and success.

Collect some of the midsummer herbs such as St Johns Wort, Vervain and Mugwort. Tie them with a long red thread and as you wind the thread around the herbs, chant; ‘sunwise, sunshine, health, wealth and success be mine’. (alternate the words as you wish)

Wind the thread around 30 times and tie with a knot saying ‘so mote it be’.  Bury the charm in the garden and let the spell do its summer solstice magic!