Solstice A Long preparations

Remember how I said I was all down with sun worship?

Image result for SUN STATUE




 Because the ‘over culture’ for most of us is different in June than it is in December, this doesn’t end up being just a flip-side of the one we do in December.  The most obvious example is a big huge gift-giving holiday, but there’s also the flipping of the mundane calendar to a new year.  So there will be slight differences.

Again, the goal is a wave of druidy energy going around the world, 24 hours a day, for 12 days….
Earrach of Pittsburgh had a tradition I’ve adopted since his passing, and that is to break a stick at the exact moment of the solstice or equinox.  (http://thebookofsassafras.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-breaking-of-stick.html) I did it in his honor for Autumn Equinox and I’m adding it in here.  Check the Internet for the exact time of the Solstice in your area, set an alarm, and break that stick!

As always, there is no mandate to follow this exactly, and feel free to change stuff up as suits your own understanding, inspiration, climate, or even mood. If you miss day, that’s okay, just jump right back in. The directions for each day makes suggestions for things to put on the altar for the season, but really all you need is a candle.  You can light twelve different ones, or use the same candle every night or day. In my experience night time devotionals make more sense for winter and daylight/morning for summer solstice (with the possible exception of Day 1), but that was just my experience so far.  YMMV!

If you are asking yourself if you’re doing it right, the answer is yes!


Basic outline:

6/20 Day 1: Ancestors/vigil (south)
6/21 Day 2: Solstice Day/vigil (north)
6/22 Day 3: Spirit of the season
6/23 Day 4: Purification of self
6/24 Day 5: Animal-Kin
6/25 Day 6: Child of Light OR Hero/Champion
6/26 Day 7: Feast of Fools/Feats of Skill
6/27 Day 8: Celebration of snow/rain
6/28 Day 9: Green-kins
6/29 Day 10: Hearth and Harvest
6/30 Day 11: Return of the Otherworld
7/1: Day 12: Celebration!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"I don't believe in Mercury Retrograde"

Image
Photo by ZCH: https://www.pexels.com/photo/planet-mercury-in-full-shot-photography-12498795/ I know, people say that a lot...so... Okay firstly, retrograde is a real thing, astronomically.  You can find a more technical, but still accessible, explanation  here .  If you think about cars going around in several lanes of traffic, going the same speed and starting out parallel, eventually the the car in the shortest lane (usually the inside track) will get ahead of the car in the longer lane. It can  appear  then that as the first car passes the second, the second is actually going backwards.  If we think about planets in our solar system, they are all doing the same thing, and sometimes they pass each other. When Earth "passes" a planet during its orbit, that other planet is said to be retrograde.  Looking at them in the sky, the planet appears to move backward.    How often a planet becomes retrograde relative to Earth depends on not only its proximity to the Earth, but also
Read more

Imbolc is my favorite

  Okay, you're right. they're all my favorite.  But Imbolc is different! No, I really mean it.  Imbolc holds many memories of awesomeness on my path, as does my relationship with Brigid (or Bridhe or whichever other spelling you want.) When I first embarked on this path, it was because I wanted to be more familiar with the spirituality of my ancestors. my immediate ancestors were varieties of Christian (Evangelical, Catholic, or Methodist) but i wanted to go back further. One branch was Irish and since that was the cool white ethnicity i explored it. The others were varieties of German and English, which in my mind had historical baggage i didn't then want to engage with. So from the beginning, Bridhe was it.  even when I meandered into heathenry later (having made some peace with that ancestry) and even Vodoun for a bit, she was a constant.  I became a  flame keeper  (next shift February 11).  I made sure I had a fire pit at my new home, I have three shrines (two indoors a
Read more

June Solstice-a-Long Day 6: Child of Light (South)/Divine Champion (North)

Image
Good day! And welcome to Day 6 of the Three Cranes Grove Solstice-a-Long! There’s little doubt that the solstices are associated with spirits of great power, whether at their birth or their strength. We take this time to honor both of those. Northern hemisphere :   Honor of the divine hero or champion, defeater of dangerous wild powers of nature (Giants, Titans, for example), or brings about the much-needed skills and items to the folk. Southern hemisphere :   Child of light in many cultures (Angus mac Og, Mabon ap Modron), bringer of hope and light in the darkness. Light the previous candles and then light the sixth, placing the appropriate symbol and offering.
Read more