| Midsummer (June 22nd) |
| Most cultures in the northern hemisphere recognize Midsummer, also known as Litha or Vestalia in acient Rome; Gathering Day in Wales; Feill-Shethain in Scotland; Alban Heflin in the Anglo-Saxon tradition; All Couple's Day in Greece; and, the Feast of Epona in ancient Gaul. Midsummer celebrates the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. In Wiccan belief, the Goddess is at the height of her pregnancy, which is symbolic of the associated planting and harvesting season as well as the time that domesticated animals are in the middle of their gestation period. It is also a time that fertility rites of Bealtaine and Ostara continue. Our ancestors knew quite basically that "Things Happen", as miscarriage effected pregnancy and blite or flood destroyed crops, Midsummer Rituals focused on New Life. Thus far we've only discussed the female aspect of this Sabbat. This is the Summer Solstice. The sun is at its peak in the sky as the God is at the peak of his life preparing for fatherhood. The sun is a symbol of protection because in ancient times people feared the night and its secrets. Since this Sabbat is a celebration and a glorification of the sun, many pagans construct protective amulets in the week before this Sabbat which are either empowered over the summer balefires or buried on Midsummer's Eve. Rue, Rowan, and Basil tied in a gold or white cloth is one protective amulet which could be carried year round. A few cinnamon sticks tied over the door was a protective charm for the home or you might find a special stone which represented protection for yourself. It could be golden white, like the sun, a phallus symbol, or look like an eye which symbolized the God watching over you. Each of these are symbolic of the God. Other protective amulets that used eye symbolism is the South American God's Eye, which is something eacy of you might have made while in elementary school. It requires two sticks and a length of yarn in varying colors. Another, more natural eye protection, is the buckeye, also called horse chestnuts, which are hard, leathery seed coverings that grow on soapberry trees. Miami Native Americans held them to be sacred and used them as protective amulets. - FIRE SYMBOLISM - Though all the Sabbats are, in some way fire festivals, the fire element is most prevelant at Midsummer. Fire is the most easily seen and felt element of transformation. It burns, consumes, cooks, sheds light and purifies. Because of its heat it is also the most identifiable element with the sun, which because of its role at Midsummer, was a time of fire rituals and magick throughout western Europe and balefires still firgure prominently at Midsummer rites of today. The Celts would lite balefires all over their lands from sunset on Midsummer's Eve to sunset on Midsummer's Day. Around these fires the festivities and rituals would take place. The old Norse word for balefire, Biiken, is still used today when referring to Midsummer fires. In Scotland, the Cauldron, a Celtic symbol of life, death, and rebirth is important to the celebration honoring Cerridween, the Crone Goddess. The cauldron is a reminder to revelers that the sun is not truly dead but will be reborn to the Goddess at Yule. On the night following Misummer, pagans in Greece and Rome would hold mock funerals for the now waning Sun and for celebration of the beginning of the harvest season, another reminder that death is not final. Processions were also a common sight, both to and from the ritual site, at Midsummer. In Norse tradition especially, they would gather with their animals and with torches in hand would parade through the countryside to the ritual site. These torches would then be placed around the ritual circle in lieu of a balefire. There are two Christian holidays that occur on or near Midsummer. One is called St. John's Day which was mandated by Ireland's St. Patrick. Its purpose was to draw attention away from the Sabbat celebration. To also discourage pagan ways the patriarchal leadership began a superstition for that day. In a gross distortion of old folk beliefs, it was said faeries would cart off prized livestock or even unsuspecting people, especially children. the other holiday is called Whitsunday, commonly called Whitsuntide, celebrated on the 50th day after Easter. Bonfires were used as part of both celebrations, the latter has since been replace by candle services in nearly all British churches. Midsummer is also the traditional time for gathering magickal and medicinal plants to be dried and stored for winter use. In Wales, it is called Gathering Day. Celtic Druids also gathered sacred plants at this time, especially mistletoe or the Golden Bough, which they cut with a golden sicle whcih was reserved for this event. Mistletoe was used in healings, divination, magickal spells, and was even believed to open locks, to include a locked mind. Its uses went far beyond Celtic lands as well. You will find it mentioned in the folklore of Italy and France, even as far away as japan. In Rome it was used to decorate hearth fires as part of the celebration of Vestalia and was also added to the "gris gris" or charm bags of the Santeria and Voodoo Cults. Swedes gathered and displayed it on Midsummer's Eve because it was sacred to their Sun God, Balder, and the goddess Grigga. Lavender is another popoular herb of this Sabbat, which figured prominently in many British and Irish folksongs. Its scent was believed to be a stong part of love magick. It is still burned at pagan handfastings and is still sought out as an aphrodisiac. It was also used as an incesne to honor the deities as parents-to-be. Vervain was collected at Midsummer, just before dawn. Pine Cones were also gathered and were considererd powerful amulets for protection, fertility, and virility. Many pagan traditions insist that these and other magickal herbs be cut with a white handled knife called bolleen or with a knife thats sole purpose is to cut the herbs. In the Scottish Highlands, Western Ireland, and Norway, herb gathers usually carried a walking stick called a staff. These were also considered pagan magickal tools that served the same function as a sword, athame, or wand. The Irish shillelagh is the most well known, carried by Irishmen and Leprechauns, made from the wood of the sacred blackthorn tree. In English tradition though, the blackthorn is not sacred but is cursed. They prefer oak or birch. A less commonly used two pronged staff is called a stang. Most commonly, these are found naturally, fallen from an old tree. English Covens use a stang to mark the ritual entry and exit point of the circle. Its origin is in ancient Rome where it represented the two-faced God, Janus, for whom the month of January was named. His two faces look simultaneiously to the past and future. Of all the Sabbats, Midsummer is the only one which is usually celebrated during daylight hours. It is traditional to wake early enough as to greet the morning sun and was done by families or clans in western Ireland and Scotland, who would take a rooster, long sacred to the Sun Gods of Europe. In Lappland, where the sun does not set at Midsummer, entire communities would climb the highest mountain to watch as the sun lowered itself, skimmed the heights of the distant hills, and rose triumphantly again. As I said earlier, Midsummer was also a time to prepare for the upcoming harvest. Eastern Woodland Indians of the United States did the Calument dance, asking their Gods to bless the harvest. In the Southwest, the Navajo held a nine day feast celebrating the sun's return and did the Night Chant Dance, which lasted from dusk to dawn. Its purpose was to produce rain for desert crops. In Korea, fruit trees were blessed with a mixture of earth, cow dung, and figs. Young couples would drink this mixture for fertility and it was also used to annoint the sick at Midsummer festivities. Faery Folk are active at Midsummer, as they are at Bealtaine. There are more taboos concerning faeries at Bealtaine, many protection lores grew up around Midsummer when faeries were thought to be at the height of their power. Protective herbs were also hung on those individuals thought susceptible to being carried away. In England, dancing around the mulberry bush was a potent faery protection and was the source of the nursery rhyme "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush". Faeries, like other beings, require food. It was commonly thought, to appease the "Little People", that an offering of food be left for them. Milk, water, butter, honey, wine, and bread were commonly used for this purpose. In Cornwall and Western Russia it was a folk custom never to scold a child for spilling milk, for this was seen as a gift to the faeries. It is thought that the old axiom "Don't cry over spilled milk" comes from this tradition. Human conception was a big concern to our pagan ancestors. Midsummer was the last Sabbat until spring when obvious fertility imagery was used. Several folk magick grimoires advise a woman to squat naked in her garden on Midsummer night if she wished to conceive, while others suggested that a mentrating woman walk through the fields so that fertiltiy energy might be passed between them. Due to the fact that paganism seeks a balance between the male and female aspects, it was considered fortuitous if the Sabbat occurred during a full moon. In some traditions when this happens, men and women would meet seperately, each emphasizing their own sacred gender mysteries. Couples would also want ot have intercourse on this magickal night in hopes of conception. The sun is now waning and we move toward the culminating of the year - the harvest and death of the God. |
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| OTHER NAMES Summer Solstice Litha Alban Hefin Sun Blessing Gathering Day Feill-Sheathain Whit Sunday Whitsuntide Vestalia Thing-Tide St. John's Day |
| COLORS Gold Green Blue Tan |
| DEITIES Father Gods Mother Goddesses Pregnant Deities Sun Gods |
| TABOOS Giving Away Fire Sleeping Away from Home Neglecting Animals |
| ACTIVITIES Jumping Balefires Gathering Herbs Clan Gatherings Well Dressing |
| SYMBOLS Fire The Sun Blades Mistletoe Oak Trees Balefire Sun Wheels Faeries |
| ANIMALS Robin/Wren Summer Birds Horses/Cattle |
| STONES Emerald Jade Tiger's Eye Lapis Lazoli Diamond |
| PLANTS Oak Mistletoe Frankincense Lemon Sandalwood Heliotrope Copal Saffron Galangal Laurel Ylang-Ylang |
| FOODS Summer Squash Lemons Oranges |
| MEANING Honoring Sun and God at his power. Saying farewell to Waxing Year. Preparing for harvest. Honor Pregnant Goddess. Beginning of Waning Year. |
| ATTUNEMENT TEAS Anise Carrot Drinks Lemon Nettle Orange |
| RITUAL OILS Heliotrope Cinnamon Sandelwood Lavendar Orange All Mint Oils Lemon Saffron |
| MYTHICAL CREATURES Satyrs Faeries Firebird Dragon Thunderbird Manticore |
| KEY ACTIONS Nature and Love |
| DEITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SABBAT (Ostara) |
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| GODDESSES All Pregnant Goddesses Most War Goddesses Aestas (Roman) Athena (Greek) Bona Dea (Roman) Chup-Kamiue (Japanese) Damora (Breta( Dic Grieve (Scottish) Elat (Semitic) Erce (English) Freya (Norse) Gokarmo (Tibetan) Hathor-Trainet (Egyptian) Isis (Egyptian) Juno (Roman) Keca Aba (Russian) Kupulo (Russian) Marici (Tibetian) Nut (Egyptian) Robigus (Roman) Shekinah (Hebraic) Wurusema (Hittite) Zoe (Greek) All Young Mother Goddesses Aine (Irish) Artemis (Greek) Bouba (Irish) Cerd (Iberian) Dag (German) Dana (Irish) Djanggawaul Sisters (Aboriginal) Eos (Greek) Eriu (Irish) Gerd (Teutonic) Grian (Irish) Indra (Aryan) Jord (Teutonic) Kali (India) Kou-Njami (Siberian) Malad/Maeve (Irish) Mitra (Aryan) Olwen (Welsh) Sekhmet (Egyptian) Vesta (Rome) Xatel-Ekwa (Hungarian) |
| GODS All Sun Gods Most Tunder Gods Baal (Phoenician) Bochica (South American) Dagda (Irish) Dharme (Aryan) Hadad (Syrian) Hyperian (Greek) Gwydion (Welsh) Llew (Welsh) Maui (Polynesian) Orunjan (Yourban) Ra (Egyptian) Thor (Norse) Xiuhtecutli (Aztec) Most War Gods Apollo (Greco-Roman) Balder (Norse) Chacol (Mayan) Donnus (Irish) El (Semitic) Helios (Greek) Ganges (Indian) Legba (Voodum) Lugh (Irish) Oak/Holly King (Anglo-Celtic) Prometheus (Greek) Sol/Helios (Greco-Roman) Zeus (Greco-Roman) |
| HERBS: THEIR MEANING AND USES |
| HERBS Agrimony Alfalfa Apple Anise Barley Basil Bay Blackberry Black Cohosh Bonset Catnip Chamomile Cinnamon Clove Clover Confrey Dandelion Damiana Echinacea Garlic Goldenseal Gorse Hibiscus Holly Honeysuckle Hyssop Irish Moss Lilac Marigold Mugwort Nuts Oak Orris Parsley Peppermint Persimmon Pine Ragwort Red Clover Rosemary Rue Sarsparilla Thistle Tobacco Valerian Violet Wheat White Oak Bark Willow Bark Wintergreen Yucca |
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| MEANINGS/USES Protection, Banishing evil forces. Prosperity, Fertility, Strengthens cardiac muscles. Love magick, Divinations, Goddess symbol, Fertility, Helps prevent certain types of cancer. Protection, Natural cough medicine. Protection, Healing, Fertility Protection, Used to purify circles, As a tea for female health, Kills internal parasites Purification, Promotes vitality, Symbol of the Newborn God Sacred to the Goddess Brigid, Prosperity, Eaten for diseases of stomach, Take tea to treat diarrhea. Helps prevent and treat prostrate cancer, Lowers blood pressure, Helps relieve mentrual cramps. Exorcism, As a tea to help heal broken bones, Helps fight off colds and flu Drink the tea to promote sleep, Use to attract a familiar, Love spells, Anti-Spasmodic Drink tea to sooth stomach, Prosperity Protetction, Purification, Helps prevent infection Protection, Pain Killer, Natural antibiotic Fidelity, Prosperity, Carry for success at ay endeavor, A symbol of the Triple Goddess Purification, Healing, Helps heal open wounds, Aids digestion Strength, Making wishes, Past-life work, Helps prevent many types of cancer, Eases PMS symptoms Sexual prowess, Energy Called "Heal All" by Native Americans, Boosts immune system, Purification Protection, Healing, Exorcism, Taken daily it promotes health and vitality, Aids blood circulation, Lowers blood pressure, Natural antibiotic Prosperity, Relief of headaches Protection Love Spells, Lust Protection of children, Symbol of the waning year Prosperity, Employment Protection, Drink tea as a general tonic Sacred to many Eruopean Sea Gods, Prosperity, Luck, Psychicism Past-life work, Exorcism, Psychicism Protection, Psychicism Induces prophetic dreams, Protects travelers, Aids astral projection Fertility, Divination Strength, Symbol of the waxing year, Fertility, Prosperity, Protection, Sacred to the Horned God Aids astral projection, Makes excellent scrying incense Contains natural antihitamine, Reduces fever, Natural diuretic Aids digestion, Purification Exorcism, Prosperity Many matters, Fertility, Protection Seeing Faeries, Astral projection Rich natural source of iron Love, Healing, Purification, Increases mental prowess Spiritual cleansing Prosperity, Healing Protection, Used in banishing spells Purification, To honor deities in Native American traditions Psychicism, Astral projection, Past-life work Healing Fertility, Prosperity Use as a douche to treat vaginal infections Pain killer, Anti-inflammatory, Reduces fever Healing, Protection, Stomach soother Protection |