The word Solstice is made up of two words:
Sol is the sun, and sistere means to stand still.
Twice a year the sun appears to stay in one place
before reversing direction and carrying on.
We revere those time, at winter’s Yule
and at Litha, the Summer Solstice.
I find it much more impressive in the UK than I did in the Middle East - the lengthening of days as we approach Midsummer.
Back in the days when I was new to this country, and jobs were scarce for the girl with the accent, I worked in a shop with no windows, far away from the door. In winter, it would still be somewhat dark when I came in at 9am and I wouldn’t see daylight at all, working 7 days a week, but in summer, I could leave at 9pm and the sun was still up! That was only the case for a few weeks a year, but the impact of sunlight at nighttime is part of why I fell in love with this country.
Midsummer Traditions:
Even though this is the time of the sun ‘standing still’, Midsummer spells, rituals and traditions will be generally very active.
This is the hottest, brightest time of year and people, animals and plants are full of energy and growth.
Fruit ripens on the bough, fertility is everywhere, and people are out until late not wearing much. It’s a happy, excitable time.
Midsummer itself is considered the luckiest time to marry (I married on June 16th) and there was a tradition of the newlyweds drinking mead (fermented honey) every night for a month after the nuptials, which is where the term ‘honeymoon’ might have come from.
Since the sun is at the point of declining and won’t be waxing again for six months, this is a great time to be making sacrifices, giving up things and purging your home from anything superfluous.
It’s a great time for giving things away so if there’s anything you’d like to dedicate to a god or a goddess, use this following rite to strike up a friendship with your main deity or to get to know a new one.
Devotion Rite
This isn’t the easiest of rituals to perform as you’ll need to put some of your own thought and creativity into it rather than follow a prescriptive list. The rewards, however, are as great as the initial investment!
Read up about your chosen deity – or the deity who chooses you.
List the day, colour and symbols associated with this god or goddess.
Prepare a creative gift to offer to the deity – a painting, a poem, an altar decoration, etc.
On an appropriate evening when you won’t be disturbed, prepare an altar with all the symbols and colours associated with the deity. Use your own intuition and ignore the symbols that just don’t ‘feel’ right.
Sit in front of your altar. Hopefully there’ll be sights and smells enticing enough to captivate your attention: incense, candles, maybe a statue. Focus on those and think of your god or goddess. Invite them to join you and make them feel welcome. Make your offering with the gift that you have prepared.
This isn’t a time to ask for anything, so enjoy the trust you’re building between each other and have faith that they know what you need and will help you along your way.
Listen to any messages you may receive (it’s always a good idea to write them down as it’s very common to forget it all afterwards).
When your deity is ready to depart, you will know. Thank them for their presence and their messages. and communicate to them that you’ll be happy to hear from them whenever they choose.
By the way, don’t take this work lightly, as you might be asked for some more offerings from your deity!
I fully believe that anyone in any situation can achieve success in whatever field they like – be it the world of business, charity, even love.
The only thing that has eluded me so far in my life is the privilege of having a child. HighSpirit reader Geeta has written to me, asking for a fertility spell, and I understand the frustration of ‘trying’. Everyone tells you to relax and not think about it, don’t they? And then it’ll work. But only women who experienced the stress of their ovaries not playing along can understand others in the same situation.
Pregnancy Spell for Geeta
I’ll be doing this spell with you, Geeta, and sharing in the energy, wishing for the happy outcome for both you and me. Anyone else joining us, please make a point of thinking of all the other ladies whose fertility has let them down, and see us all grow and go on to have healthy, happy pregnancies with bouncing babies at the end!
This spell is loosely based on the tradition of walking naked at midsummer through your vegetable patch, to encourage fertility of both body and garden.
Plan a picnic, either alone or with friends, and go out to nature on a warm day, as close to midsummer as you can manage.
Pack natural foods for you to consume when you’re out. Consider any fruits, seeds, nuts, fresh salad, natural juices, even wines and traditional lemonade.
Enjoy your picnic and at one point, anytime at all, go for a walk by yourself, with an offering to the Goddess of Nature in hand. An apple is a handy gift, though a lettuce leaf, a bunch of grapes or a glass of juice is just as valid. Walk through the more fertile parts of the park or the garden. The wilder the vegetation, the stronger the vibe of nature will be beneath your feet. Sing to yourself as you walk around and make a point of feeling the strength of nature rising from the ground, between your legs and further.
Wordlessly ask the Goddess for a child and place your offering on the ground where it won’t be found, thanking her for the pregnancy you are about to have.
Happy Midsummer!
If you’d like a spell created especially for you in the magazine, write to Inbaal at inbaal@hotmail.com with HighSpirit in the subject line.
Inbaal can be contacted for readings on 075 0505 7040 or inbaal.com