Whatever your lineage, chances are your ancestors followed the
progression of the sun, using it as a harbinger for when to plant, when to
harvest, and when to set aside stores for the long winter ahead. Ancient stone monuments
such as Stonehenge in Great Britain and The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán
outside Mexico City were oriented to mark the sun’s passage on the summer
solstice, also known as Litha or Midsummer.
Now Midsummer is one of the four fire festivals celebrated
by earth-centric faiths and cultures around the world. On the pagan Wheel of
the Year, summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere with Beltane on May 1st, and
ends with Lammas on August 1st. Litha falls midway between the two, on June 21.
Hence, it is called Midsummer.
Midsummer marks the longest day of the year and the shortest
night. At noon on the summer solstice, the sun is directly over the Tropic of
Cancer, the imaginary line 23.5 ° south of the equator that runs through
Australia, Chile, and southern Brazil. At the solstice, the sun appears to be
stationary to the naked eye. Immediately following the solstice, the sun begins
to wane. The harvest season begins, the days grow shorter and the nights
longer, until we reach the winter solstice.
Midsummer Magic ~
Fairies
During the summer solstice, the veil between our world and
the fairy realm is quite thin. Celebrate and honor the fairies by gathering
bouquets for your home or fashioning flower garlands for your head. Tie
together birch, lavender, marigold, rosemary, and sage to hang over your door
or inside your home for protection and healing. Make a moveable paper doll
fairy, and as you construct and decorate it, concentrate on a Midsummer wish.
Leave an offering for the fairy folk on Midsummer’s Eve: moonstones, crystals,
or anything sparkly.
It’s a good time to read William Shakespeare.
First
Fairy:
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2, Scene 2, lines 9-12)
Ariella Moon surrounded by fairy orbs at St. Nectan's Glen, Cornwall, England.
Copyright 2010 by Ariella Moon.
Fairies
Whatever your lineage, chances are your ancestors followed the
progression of the sun, using it as a harbinger for when to plant, when to
harvest, and when to set aside stores for the long winter ahead. Ancient stone monuments
such as Stonehenge in Great Britain and The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán
outside Mexico City were oriented to mark the sun’s passage on the summer
solstice, also known as Litha or Midsummer.
Now Midsummer is one of the four fire festivals celebrated
by earth-centric faiths and cultures around the world. On the pagan Wheel of
the Year, summer begins in the Northern Hemisphere with Beltane on May 1st, and
ends with Lammas on August 1st. Litha falls midway between the two, on June 21.
Hence, it is called Midsummer.
Midsummer marks the longest day of the year and the shortest
night. At noon on the summer solstice, the sun is directly over the Tropic of
Cancer, the imaginary line 23.5 ° south of the equator that runs through
Australia, Chile, and southern Brazil. At the solstice, the sun appears to be
stationary to the naked eye. Immediately following the solstice, the sun begins
to wane. The harvest season begins, the days grow shorter and the nights
longer, until we reach the winter solstice.
Midsummer Magic ~
Fairies
During the summer solstice, the veil between our world and
the fairy realm is quite thin. Celebrate and honor the fairies by gathering
bouquets for your home or fashioning flower garlands for your head. Tie
together birch, lavender, marigold, rosemary, and sage to hang over your door
or inside your home for protection and healing. Make a moveable paper doll
fairy, and as you construct and decorate it, concentrate on a Midsummer wish.
Leave an offering for the fairy folk on Midsummer’s Eve: moonstones, crystals,
or anything sparkly.
 |
| Ariella Moon surrounded by fairy orbs at St. Nectan's Glen, Cornwall, England. Copyright 2010 by Ariella Moon. |
