Midsummer 2017 Newsletter

6/19/2017

Midsummer - Summer Solstice
Estival Solstice
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 @ 9:24 PM PT

The Solstice is a celestial event that occurs when our planet's rotational axis, in either the northern or southern hemisphere, is most inclined towards the sun. The Earth is actually farthest from the Sun during this time of the year. The exact instant of time when the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer marks the exact day and time of the solstice in June.

Isn't the Summer Solstice
the 'Beginning' of Summer?

When you look at your modern calendar, the Estival solstice is labeled as the beginning of Summer, so why do we call it Midsummer?

If we were to actually begin the seasons with the cross-quarter days of

Imbolg, the very beginning of spring,
Bealtaine, the very beginning of Summer.
Lughnasadh, the very beginning of the Autumn harvesting season, and
Samhain, the early beginning of Winter

then it's easy to see why the Summer Solstice is known as "Midsummer". (and why Yule is oft called "Midwinter".)

LITHA

Venerable Bede

Litha is a name often heard bandied about as another name for the Summer Solstice. Litha first came into use as a result of research by Aiden Kelly from a treatise called 'The Reckoning of Time' (De temporum ratione) written by a Northumbrian monk, Bede in 725 AD. The scholarly Bede described a variety of ancient calendars, including the Anglo-Saxon calendar that named the month of June (se Ærra Liþa, early Litha month) and July, (Æfterra Liþa, later Litha month). "It may have helped that it had been appropriated, as “Lithe,” for the Midsummer festival in the hobbits’ calendar in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien 1966)." Aiden Kelly also brought the names of Mabon and Ostara into the neopagan vernacular so that all the sabbats could have traditional names.

Ancient Celebrations of the Solstice

Epona - a Vestal Virgin - Kupala See below for links

Celebrations of the Summer solstice occurs in history around the world, much like that of all the quarter days.

"In ancient China, the summer solstice was observed by a ceremony to celebrate the Earth, femininity, and the “yin” forces."
"In ancient Gaul, the Midsummer celebration was called Feast of Epona.
"Some Native American tribes held ritual dances to honor the Sun.
"For the Greeks, it would, according to some calendars, mark the start of the new year and the month-long countdown toward the Olympics.
"For the Romans, the solstice was the occasion for another unique exception to everyday life: on the first day of the festival of Vestalia, married women could, for one day only, enter the temples of the vestal virgins to make offerings to Vesta, goddess of the hearth and home.
"Mayas and Aztecs used the day as a marker by which to build many of their central structures, so that the buildings would align perfectly with the shadows of the two solstices, summer and winter.
"In Jewish tradition, it’s known as Tekufat Tammuz, the solstice of the month Tammuz.
"Eastern Europe celebrates the solstice with Kupala, a Slavic holiday with pagan roots. Named for the Slavic goddess Kupala, it was originally conceived as a fertility rite.
"Throughout Austria (and especially in the mountains of the Wilder Kaiser region of Tyrol), fires dot the countryside to celebrate the solstice."

Quoted from The Scientific American

How You Can Celebrate Midsummer

Osterfeuer TK on the beach of Binz, Rügen island, Germany by Tom Küpper - See below for link

Honor the longest day of the year. Wake at dawn. Stay up the entire day & night to greet the next day's sunrise.
Celebrate the power of the sun. Light candles specifically for the Sun when indoors or host a get-together around a bonfire.
Have a Midsummer's Night Bonfire Ritual. Include a barbecue feast to follow. Don't forget the Goddess! Supply a kiddie pool, squirt guns, water balloons and other water features.
Celebrate Fathers: Litha falls near Father's Day, so take some time and honor dads and the sacred masculine.
Use the day to recharge your magical tools by the light of the sun and the glow of the moon.
Attune with the God of the Green. Visit a nearby forest. Hike a trail. Meditate about and ground with your surroundings.
Head to the beach to soak in the heat of the Sun God but remember to cool off with the Ocean Goddess. Spend the evening there as well, with a bonfire to fight the chill coming off the water.
Light your bonfire by drawing down the sun and use a bit of the flame to light a brand new everlasting altar candle or lamp.

The God Face Surreal by Kyle Pearce - See below for link

Midsummer Folklore & Magic

Jumping a bonfire safely would guarantee good luck for the coming year.
Make an amulet of protection from the ashes of your Midsummer bonfire.
Create a stone circle and sit up all night on Midsummer's eve to see the fae. Carry rue in your pocket for protection or turn your jacket inside out to confuse them.
Whisper a wish to a pebble, circle the Midsummer bonfire three times and then toss the stone in to fulfill your wish.
Write your prayer (wish) on a paper boat, fill it with flowers, set it on fire, and let the boat travel down a stream.
Raise a tall, leafy Maypole to dance around.

'Fairy Islands' from the book Elves and Fairies 1916 by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite - See Link Below

Sun Gods

Ra aboard the Atet, his solar barge - See link below

Ra - Horus - Apollo - Helios -
Freyr - Huitzilopochtli - Lugh - Hvar Khshaita -
Inti - Liza - Mithras - Sol Invictus -
Surya - Tonatiuh - Utu (Shamash)

Apollo in his chariot with the hours by John Singer Sargent in the Museum of Fine Arts - See link below

Latest Blog Posts from
Inner Circle Sanctuary

Your Holy Day (Birthday)
Bealtaine 2017
June 2017 Newsletter
Origins of Inner Circle Sanctuary
The Pentagram for Inner Circle Sanctuary

Upcoming Events with
Inner Circle Sanctuary

July 15 - Pagan Bread Making
Aug 19 - What You Need To Know About Tarot
Sep 9 - My So Called Magical Life
Oct 21 - Samhain: Winter Has Come

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Midsummer Information gathered from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/literally-psyched/why-we-celebrate-the-summer-solstice/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reckoning_of_Time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00155870802352178
Photo credits:
Globe Photo from http://www.michaelquinton.org/summer-solstice.html
Epona ~ The Celtic Horse Goddess By Emily Balivet, 2009 http://www.emilybalivet.com/Epona.html
Vestal Virgin by Jean Raoux (1677–1734) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Raoux_-_Vestal_Virgin_-_WGA18999.jpg
Kupala (aka Festivities on Midsummer Night) by Wojciech Gerson (1831–1901) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerson-Kupala.jpg
Osterfeuer TK on the beach of Binz, Rügen island, Germany by Tom Küpper
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Osterfeuer_TK.jpg
The God Face Surreal by Kyle Pearce
https://www.flickr.com/photos/keepitsurreal/1794450683
'Fairy Islands' from the book Elves and Fairies 1916 by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27Fairy_Islands%27_from_the_book_Elves_and_Fairies_1916_by_Ida_Rentoul_Outhwaite.jpg
Ra aboard the Atet, his solar barge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_deity#/media/File:Ra_Barque.jpg
Apollo in his chariot with the hours by John Singer Sargent Museum of Fine Arts
http://www.mfa.org/collections/publications/john-singer-sargent-murals-museum-fine-arts-boston
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