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The
Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, a time of brilliant,
warming, welcoming light. Usually falling between June 20th
and June 22nd, this holiday is celebrated outside, basking in
the warmth of the sun and the greening of the trees and the garden. The
Summer Solstice is particularly associated with cultivated growth, herbs
and vegetables and grains that are planted to provide sustenance to
humankind. It is a time to celebrate the life-providing power of the
sun, as well as to mourn the sun’s demise. In the Northern hemisphere,
from this day, until the Winter Solstice, the sun loses its strength,
symbolically dying, only to be re-born as the Sun/Son at Yule.
To
our ancient ancestors, the sun represented a divine entity. In general,
to the Southern and Eastern peoples of Greece, Rome, the Middle East,
and Egypt, the sun was male. Phoebus, Apollo, Baal, Yahweh, Horus, Ra.
These Gods were strong and forceful in the winter and spring, harsh and
drying in the summer. The sun was commanding, sometimes wrathful, always
mighty and vigorous. To the Northern and Western peoples of Scandinavia,
Ireland, and Great Britain, the sun was typically female. Sunna, Sol,
Aine, Graine, Britomaris, Brigantia. These Goddesses were nurturing and
giving, coaxing seedlings out of the ground with soft warmth. Almost
non-existent in the winter months, they flourished in the spring and
summer, bringing joy and goodness to their worshippers.
Modern
Wiccan mythology typically views the Sun as male, accepting the
viewpoint of the widely recorded Greek and Roman mythologies. However,
unlike the Sun Gods of old, the Wiccan Sun God is a “sacrificial
God,” similar to the vegetation and fertility Gods of the Middle East.
From this mythological viewpoint, the Summer Solstice is a holiday to
celebrate the power of the virile God, who, from this time forward,
pours his life-energy into the earth (the Goddess), in order to sustain
the crops that nurture humanity. He has become the sacrificing God, who
dies for us and is re-born every year. Adonis, Dumuzi, Tamuz, Jesus. And
so the cycle of life turns once again.
But
don’t forget the faeries! Midsummer Eve is a traditional time of
trysting with the travelers from the Otherworld. Dancing around bonfires
is said to attract them so don’t be surprised if you suddenly spot a
freckle-faced leprechaun in the firelight, busily making shoes. Many
locals in Knockainey Ireland claimed to have been visited by the Fair
Folk during and after their Midsummer revels. Up until the early
nineteenth century, bonfires were lit on the Hill of Aine (i.e.
Knockainey). The residents would carry torches lit from the bonfire
through the crop fields in order to ensure a good harvest. Several times
faeries were said to be members of the procession! (Rolleston, Celtic
Myths and Legends) So, in honoring the Sun, don’t forget to leave
a small offering to the faeries. Bread and butter, milk, flowers, wine,
or little sparkly trinkets make excellent gifts to the Good Neighbors.
(The faeries were known to “disturb” the milk production of cows,
hence the abundance of dairy food stuffs. And faeries just love
trinkets! I mean, who doesn’t?!)
Celebrate
the Summer Solstice with vigor, savoring hearty, solid breads, corn on
the cob, honey butter, mead, and elderberry wine. Elderberry wine can be
difficult to find so, if you’ve got your heart set on it, order it in
advance! Some package stores will special order wines, however if yours
doesn’t, I’ve included a list of mail order wineries at the end of
this article. Luckily, mead is easier to find. You may have to search in
several package stores but it can usually be found without too much
difficulty. The only commercial mead that I have found in the area is
Chaucer’s mead, from California. It has a light, spicy flavor and can
be quite potent! Mead can actually be easily brewed at home, as long as
you’ve got a small closet or space to set aside for distillation. If
you haven’t already started it by now, you won’t be able to have
home-made mead by this Summer Solstice. However, you can certainly plan
for next year!
The
Summer Solstice is really about relishing the joy of life, by indulging
all your senses. Be silly! Be creative! Have fun! Live, Live, Live! Find
some of your brightest, showiest clothes and have a picnic outside! Eat
an ice cream cone! Heck, have two and claim that one is for the faeries!
Spend some time in a forest glade or hike to your closest waterfall.
Frolic with your kids (or borrow the neighbor’s kids) or plan an adult
scavenger hunt. Splash in the ocean. Make seashell jewelry! Simply enjoy
the day!
Despite
the frivolity inherent in spending a day outside in the sun, there are
numerous activities that you can do that will boost your spirituality.
Lay out all your sacred objects, ritual tools, and special pieces of
jewelry and allow them to soak up the unhindered, unrivaled power of the
sun. (After all, it’s his/her last Hurrah for the year!) Set aside
some time for serious herb gathering, especially St. John’s Wart,
which is an herb connected to this holiday. You can dry the herbs and
then store them in glass jars through the cold, barren winter months.
Make a talisman that honors the Sun God/Goddess that you can use
throughout the year. I create “God’s Eyes” (see Edain McCoy’s
book The Sabbats for instructions) to protect my car and my husband’s
car for the year. Your talisman doesn’t have to request protection;
you might want to bring fertility or love or peace into your life. Once
it’s made, you can carry it with you or hang it in your house or keep
it on your altar.
No
matter how you decide to celebrate the Summer Solstice, be sure to
listen to your own inner self. Honor the sun in the way that works best
for you and your lifestyle. Read books, listen to advice, but,
ultimately, do what feels right for you. After all, it’s your life; in
reality, you only have to live up to your own standards.
And
now, for the Summer Solstice Resources: (drum
roll please)
For
information on any of the Gods or Goddess mentioned in this article,
please see The Encyclopedia
Mythica, on the web at: www.patheon.org
I
also recommend the following two books for general descriptions of the
Gods. (Remember, nothing can substitute for reading the actual myth!)
-
Lord
of Light and Shadow: The Many Faces of the God, D.J. Conway,
Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, 1997.
-
Encyclopedia
of Gods: Over 2,500 Deities of the World, Michael Jordan, Facts on
File, Inc, New York, NY, 1993.
Books
mentioned and used in the creation of this article:
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Celtic
Myths and Legends, T.W. Rolleston, Dover Publications, New York, NY,
1990 (127-128).
-
The
Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways, Edain McCoy,
Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN, 1996 (150-151).
And
now, as promised, a list of wineries that sell elderberry wine.
I
have only found one winery in Massachusetts that produces Elderberry
wine. I’d be interested in finding out if anyone else knows of
locally-made Elderberry wine. Give Gene the information at the store, if
you do!
Russell
Orchards Winery
143
Argilla Road, Ipswich, MA 01938
Phone:
978-356-5366
www.goodaleorchards.com
(Open
daily from 9am-6pm)
Note:
shipment of alcoholic beverages into and around Massachusetts for
individuals without a liquor license is difficult. Call the wineries as
they will have up-to-date information as to whether they can ship here.
If not, go to your local package store owner and see if he can special
order from one of the companies.
Three
Lakes Winery
6971
Gogebic Street, PO Box 37, Three Lakes, Wisconsin
Phone:
(715) 546-3080,1-800-944-5434, Fax: (715) 546-8148
www.cranberrywine.com
Mount
Bethel Winery
5014
Mount Bethel Altus, AR. 72821
Phone:
479-468-2444
www.mountbethel.com
Wyldewood
Cellars
PO
Box 205, Mulvane, KS 67110
Phone:
(800) 711-9748 or (316) 554-9463 Fax: (316) 686-9463
www.elderberry.net
(Specializing
specifically in elderberry wine. A wonderful selection!)
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