Friday, June 20, 2014

Summer Solstice 2014

Happy Summer Solstice!

As the sun spirals its longest dance,
Cleanse us
As nature shows bounty and fertility
Bless us
Let all things live with loving intent
And to fulfill their truest destiny
Wiccan blessing for Summer

​ We've arrived at the mid-point of Summer.  Solstice literally means "sun stand still", for at the solstices the sun seems to stop on its course before it reverses itself.  The Celtic pagans call Summer Solstice Litha.

Midsummer is the time when we celebrate the bounty of the earth and the power of the sun. Our fields are flourishing, fruits are blossoming on the trees, herb bushes are fragrant and full of life. The sun is at its highest point in the sky, and it has bathed the earth in its warmth, heating up the soil so that when autumn rolls around, we'll have a rich and bountiful harvest.
Summer Solstice celebrates the marriage and Heaven and Earth, the fruitful time of year when the new life and light that was born at the Winter Solstice is manifest in our lives and in the world. Summer Solstice has been celebrated in practically every culture on Earth, and is a time of joy and celebration of the powers of life. The Sun is at its fullest power, and the darkness of winter is a fading memory. But just at this moment of greatest light, we begin to face death, for now the days begin to shorten and the darkness grows.

Summer Solstice was the most important and widespread festival in Europe. In Celtic countries, it was celebrated on Midsummer's Eve and was a vegetation-fire-water ritual, when all the elements of life were celebrated and honored. It is a time of magic, both good and bad; a time when the faery folk once again come out to dance. Fires are lit to help the Sun in its course, the waters bring blessings, and dreams are potent.

But most of all, Midsummer is a time for lovers, for it is the moment of the marriage of Heaven and Earth. The Sun fertilizes the Earth with His heat, and She becomes pregnant with Life. But there is a cost to all of this, for the Summer King must fight the Winter King for his Flower Bride, and although he overcomes the darkness, yet will the darkness overcome him as well.   


 








The Summer Solstice chart is still carrying the intensity of this April's Grand Cross and Pluto/Uranus square.  Today's Aries Moon squares Pluto in Capricorn, opposes Mars in Libra and joins Uranus in Aries before squaring Jupiter in Cancer.  Our emotions will be supercharged today and tomorrow, so step back and breathe!  We can also eliminate excessive waste, align with allies and spark innovative actions as we open ourselves to new growth at the Solstice fires.​
​    The Saturn/Uranus inconjunct indicates we'll all struggle with our need for freedom vs. our need to face our responsibilities.  The truth is that freely chosen responsibilities are the order of the day.  Pursue whatever unusual interests you have (Moon and Uranus in Aries) and try not to fall back into old emotional patterns of fear and betrayal (Saturn in Scorpio).  This summer is a time to re-discover your own original Self!



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