The Sun is at its highest point in the sky around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, 21st December in the Southern Hemisphere, marking the Summer Solstice, which has been a time of Pagan celebrations for millennia.
An Outdoor Celebration
The Summer Solstice is, above all, a celebration to enjoy in the open air and in good company! Feast, dance and enjoy the abundance of nature at this point of the fulfillment of the year, a time when herbs are at their most potent, and when humans can celebrate all their achievement and joys of the year gone by. Drinks to share at Midsummer include honey mead and elderflower wine or cordial.
Decorate the home or outdoor celebration space with blue and red ribbons, holly, oak leaves, reeds, wild roses and cultivated red roses, along with any yellow or red flowers.
Ancient Stones at Midsummer
Many Pagans gather at stone circles, or other megalithic monuments.
Very often these ancient monuments are aligned to give the rays of the sun a dramatic appearance at midsummer, testament to the enduring significance of the summer solstice to Pagan ancestors.
Fulfillment and the Ensuing Darkness
The Summer Solstice is a time of fulfillment when the God and Goddess are fully united, and when humans can manifest great changes in their circumstances in the material world.
Midsummer is a time when magic can be very powerful, for example, when used to further ambitions, to manifest a new home or to increase prosperity.
The Summer Solstice as a Fire Festival
Pagan celebrations of the Summer Solstice very often include the lighting of a bonfire, a tradition that has endured through countless generations. Oak is the wood of choice as the oak tree is associated with strength, stability and the sun.
The ashes of the fire may be spread in the garden to add fertility. Fragrant magical herbs, including vervain, lemon balm and mugwort, may be thrown onto the fire to burn up bad luck for the coming months, and walking through the smoke of the fire was traditionally believed to cure sickness and bring good fortune.
Turning Wheels at Midsummer
A traditional Summer Solstice activity was rolling cartwheels down hillsides. Here, the wheel represents the wheel of life or the wheel of fortune. Modern celebrations may include a Catherine wheel firework display, wholly appropriate for this fire festival!
Sources:
- Sacred Celebrations: A Sourcebook by Glennie Kindred.
- The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer.
- Witchcraft and Practical Magic, by Susan Greenwood and Raje Airey.
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Readers may also enjoy Celtic Festival of Samhain along with Stonehenge and the Druids.
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