The Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer and Litha, is coming up on Monday June 20th. For those who celebrate, or anyone who could use a boost of positive energy after the last few weeks (and months), I thought I'd share this ritual from the Midsummer book I wrote for Llewellyn' Sabbats series.
Midsummer
As always, you can change any of the elements of this that don't work for you. Happy Summer Solstice!
The Solitary
Midsummer: Drawing Down the Sun
In Wiccan magickal workings, there is a practice
known as “Drawing Down the Moon,” in which a witch (usually, but not always, a
priestess) channels the Goddess by drawing Her essence into herself. Less
common is the practice of “Drawing Down the Sun,” in which a (usually male)
witch channels the God. This is not that kind of drawing down the sun.
Purpose: This ritual’s focus is on pulling in the power of
the sun at its zenith and taking that energy inside yourself, where it will
charge your own spiritual battery in preparation for the darker months to come.
The ritual is fairly simple, with few tools needed, and is perfect for both the
experienced practitioner and one who is new to the path. It can also be
converted relatively easily to a group ritual, if desired.
Setting: This should be done at noon if possible, on the day
of Midsummer. If necessary, it can be done at any point during the day as long
as the sun is still shining overhead. If it is raining on the actual day, the
energy will still be much the same within a couple of days before and after,
although not quite as powerful. As with most other Midsummer rituals, this one
is best done outside, under the sun, preferably in the middle of an open area
like a meadow or a yard. It can also be done on a beach, or anyplace where you
will be sitting where the sun is shining on you. If you can’t be outside, try
to find a spot inside where the sun will fall directly on you while you are
doing the ritual, even if that means performing it before or after noon in
order to have the sun shining in the right place.
Supplies: You need god and goddess candles (gold/silver or
yellow/white or white/white) in fire-safe holders, four quarter candles (one
each green/yellow/red/blue), a pillar candle to represent the sun (yellow or
orange or red). You also need a cast iron cauldron or fire-safe container or
candle holder, salt and water in small containers, a small bowl to mix them in,
incense or a sage smudge stick in a holder or bowl, wide ribbon in a color that
matches your sun candle (if your candle is yellow, use a yellow ribbon, etc.)
long enough to tie around your waist, matches, sun-shaped or round cookies for cakes
and ale (you can make sugar cookies and coat them with yellow frosting if you
want), fruit juice or wine or mead or ale in a chalice or fancy cup.
Optional—sunflowers or daisies as an offering for the gods, candle snuffer,
athame, broom, or wand, decorative altar cloth, table to use as an altar,
blanket or cloth to sit on if you are going to be outside.
Notes: While the instructions call for a full
ritual set-up, if you don’t have everything listed here, don’t worry. The tools
are meant to help you focus, and to heighten the sense of ceremony, and they
will probably make your ritual even more powerful. But if you are not in a
position to do the entire formal ritual (for instance, if you are not out of
the broom closet, and you need something you can do quickly and without being
obvious about it), you can do the core section of the ritual on its own.
Pre-Ritual Preparations: Place the god and goddess candles on your altar or
in the middle of your circle (depending on whether you are using a formal altar
or simply placing things on the ground or floor). Put the pillar candle in its
holder between them, toward the front of the space, so you can sit in front of
it easily, and tie the ribbon in a loose circle around the base of the holder.
Place any offerings or decorations on the altar. Quarter candles can be placed
on the altar in their proper directions, or at the edges of the circle, with
the candle for earth facing north, air facing east, fire to the south and water
to the west. Cakes and ale can be placed to the side, where you can reach them
when the ritual is nearing its end.
The Ritual: Start by cleansing the space and yourself by
smudging it with the sage wand (or incense). Walk around the circle clockwise,
moving the smoke through the air, and visualizing your ritual area being washed
clear of any negativity. Then do the same thing with yourself, starting at your
head and working down to your feet. You can leave the sage/incense smoldering
in its holder, or put it out.
Pour a little bit of salt into the small bowl, and
add a little water. As you mix them together with your finger or an athame,
say:
Salt into water, water into salt. Wash away
all that is negative and impure, leaving only that which is positive and
beneficial.
Dab the salt and water mixture on your forehead
(for thoughts), lips (for speech), and heart (for feelings).
Cast the circle by walking its parameters and
pointing toward the ground (you can use your finger, an athame, a broom, or a
wand—if using a broom, make sweeping motions but keep the broom slightly above
the surface of the ground), saying:
Earth to sky, sky to ground; let sacred
space be all around.
Visualize your circle filling with white light,
enclosing you in a space that is outside of normal time or place.
Call the quarters, starting with the east. Turn to the
east and say:
I call the guardian of the east, the power of
air, to come to this circle bringing refreshing summer breezes and lightness of
spirit.
Light the yellow candle. Turn to the south and say:
I call the guardian of the south, the power
of fire, to come to this circle bringing warm sunlight and a passion for summer
joy.
Light the red candle. Turn to the west and say:
I call the guardian of the west, the power
of water, to come to this circle bringing life-giving rains and a healing flow.
Light the blue candle. Turn to the north and say:
I call the guardian of the north, the power
of earth, to come to this circle bringing energy for growth, and the strength
of the ground below.
Light the green candle. Then, invoke the gods,
using the words here or any of the alternatives in the previous chapter.
Great goddess, I greet you! You who are
known by many names and many faces, shine your divine blessing down on me on
this Midsummer Day, filling me with light and love.
Great god, I greet you! You who are the lord
of the beasts and the fields and the woods, shine your divine blessing down on
me this Midsummer Day, filling me with strength and energy.
Light the god and goddess candles.
Stand (or sit, if necessary) in front of your altar
and light the candle that represents the sun. Close your eyes and lift your
arms up into the air, as if reaching for the sun overhead, palms open and
turned up. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face; feel its life-giving energy
flowing into you through the crown chakra on the top of your head and down to
fill your entire body. See yourself glowing with light and energy. Keep this
image in your mind as strongly as you can, taking as long as you need. Then
open your eyes and look at the candle. The flame in the candle symbolizes the
heat and power of the sun—see that energy moving also into the candle, and from
the candle, into the ribbon that is underneath it. Say:
Today is Midsummer and the sun is at its
zenith. Its power and energy are all around me. Its power and energy are part
of me. I am the fire of the sun.
Pick up the ribbon, hold it up to the sun, and then
tie it around your waist. Feel the strength of the sun inside the ribbon, and
say:
Within this token, I store the power and
energy of the sun, that they may carry me through the darker days ahead.
Cakes and ale (optional): Hold up your “cake” and
say,
I thank the earth for its harvest, and for
the bounty it brings to my life.
Eat the cake. Hold up your cup and say,
I thank the sun for its life-giving rays
that help the harvest to grow, and bring sweetness to this cup and to my life.
Drink the ale.
Thank the god and goddess by saying:
Blessed lady, blessed lord, I thank you for
your presence in my circle here today and in my life always.
Snuff out the god and goddess candles.
Now it is time to dismiss the quarters. Starting at
the north and turning counterclockwise (west, south, east), say in each
direction:
I thank you (insert name of element in
the order of: earth, water, fire, air)
for watching over my circle and my magickal work.
Snuff out the candles after thanking each element.
Open the circle by turning counterclockwise and
pointing as you turn. Visualize a wall of light dropping down until you are
back into your normal life. Take a moment to let it all sink in. You can wear
your ribbon all day, or take it off and put it away someplace safe like a box
or a bag that can be stored on your altar or in a special drawer. Anytime you
feel as though you need an extra boost, you can take it out and either wear it
(under your clothes if you choose) or put it in a pocket.
ADDENDUM:
Check out what I found when I went to Amazon to get the link to the book! It was #1 Best Seller in Paganism!
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| Midsummer! |
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