Wednesday 21 June 2017

Summer Solstice is upon us...

Summer Solstice is upon us...



I thought it would be good to share how I celebrate with my family.

There are 7 of us in our family, 2 teenage boys, 3 girls, myself and my husband. Although the children/ teenagers join me in ritual and celebration I am the only "official" Pagan.

I will wake on Solstice morning at 4.30, I will dress and then wake those who are joining me.
If staying at home for ritual, we will meet in the garden, in our PJs around the fire pit. I will have set up my altar before going to bed, with sunflowers, honeysuckle, candles, fruit & veg that is in season. God & Goddess figurines, wishes and hopes for the summer, planetary, elemental or colour correspondences.

We will gather in circle, entering from the east to the beat of my drum.
I will then call the quarters/ elements and gods or goddesses, although, the children do like to help with this part! I will give a little talk about why we up at this time of day to celebrate the Sun and his power, how our ancestors would have celebrated, and our differences and similarities.

I will go around the circle asking if anyone has anything they would like to add, a story, a poem or just a few words of gratitude. We will then choose our activity, which usually consists of Fimo god/goddess making, making smudge sticks and or a meditation. We will then play music, sing or dance before thanking the gods/ goddesses/ quarters or elements and closing the ritual circle.
After ritual we have a cooked breakfast, of bacon & sausages for the meat eaters and kippers or mackerel and toast for me.

The we spend the day having fun with the children, bike rides, walks trips to the park. In the afternoon, we will prepare food and drink for our family celebrations in the evening, as Summer Solstice falls on my Nana's birthday (she passed 5 years ago, so we spend time as a family to honour her life and remember her) BBQ food, a Jamaican curried lamb, chicken curry, BBQed fish salads, and fruit and of course a little alcohol.

When the sun is getting ready to set, we will light the fire pit and the children will be settled inside in bed with a film whist the adults sit around the fire.

We sometimes meet friends at a local lake before sunrise, around 30 of us, we will all bring instrument to greet the sun with as it comes up. We would then finish with a cooked breakfast, made on our camping stoves in the car park.

However you spend your Summer Solstice, has a blessed day.


Gypsy Willowmoon









Gypsy Willowmoon

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