The Pagan Heart
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June 2005 Issue
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Summer Solstice
By Anne S.
The Summer Solstice, along with its counterpart in winter, is one of the oldest continuously celebrated festivals. Many ancient monuments charting the course of the sun still stand testimony to our race's ongoing fascination with astronomy and the journey of various bodies across our skies. Paintings and rocks show the precision with which our primitive forebears marked time, the changing seasons, the path of the sun. We know nothing of what they thought, spiritually, about the solstice, but from the carvings and paintings, the jewellry and weapons that depict solar images, we know the sun and its realtionship to the earth and life was of great interest and importance. Legends, whisps of stories - this is all we have to go on in understanding one of the greatest love affairs of humanity. But what legends and traditions! Flaming bonfires that stain the night sky brilliant with their reds and oranges. Chains of fire circling countries as tribes everywhere pay homage to the longest day - the pinnacle of the Sun God's power. Feasts and games, songs and music that throbs in the blood. A rich, if somewhat tattered, collection of legends. The cycle of life and death, of renewal, was observed by our ancestors as they honoured Gods and Goddesses of fertility and rebirth. The Summer Solstice marks the middle of Summer's reign. The King is at the peak of his power, about to begin the journey towards winter, death, and ultimately rebirth. It is a time to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of labour, as the First Harvest is brought in. For many modern Pagans, the solstice is celebrated as an important festival - as it was by the ancients. Despite the diversity of faith within the Pagan religion, there is a unity in celebrating this festival. Except for the Equator, where there is no noticeable difference to the lengths of day and night, the solstices and equinoxes are world-wide observable phenomena that coincide with seasonal change. The longest day and shortest night, the time when the sun stands still, is acknowledged in some fashion by most paths as they honour the Goddess of the Earth and her Consort, the Sun. Throughout Europe there is an amazing similarity in folk custom when it comes to the celebration of Midsummer, whether in Ireland, the Ukraine, Greece, or Greenland. Even with the great differences in religious belief and practice, the children of the Earth unite on this day to honour her with the same customs. Bonfires, ash sprinkling, dew bathing, ritual cleansing, feasting, and stories of Sun-Gods and their (often) pregnant Earth-Goddesses prevail. So, in the manifold names of the King, great in his glory, and his Queen, bountiful and gracious, Solstice Blessings to us all.
A Morning Sun Song & Ritual
This is a ritual to release pain and discomfit from the body. Find a place by the water and spend some time in trancework using a drum, tamborine, maracas, or the like while you focus upon absorbing the sun's golden energy filling your body. See it washing the pain away into the water. When you are ready, chant the following verses (repeat each verse four times):
Morning sun, morning sun
Come my way, come my way
Take my pain, take my pain
Down below, down below
Feel the sun as it soaks into you and washes you clean of pain. Feel the heat and energy fill your body. Visualise the pain washed away and cleansed by the water into pure energy. Throughout the day as you feel the sun, concentrate upon its healing touch.
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Secondary Article - Alban Hefin
Secondary Article - Egypt's Wep-renpet - the New Year
Secondary Article - Ukon Juhla
Secondary Article - Holy Day: Midsummer Reflection
Return to the Index of articles for Seasonal Festivals
