Hello Everyone
I’ve been sort of ignoring Wicca (modern witchcraft) when I speak of
conjure, because Wicca to many is really a religion with magical workings. And in doing the type of work that I do it's really a practice without any particular religious affiliations except when I call upon the energy of the Saints, although some would say that many of the saints are christian representations of those in voodoo, to me that does not matter because it is an energy, a thinking energy and to call upon them you do have to give respect no matter what.
But I'm not going to talk about that what I am going to talk about is Mid-Summer.
Today is the first day of Summer also
called Mid-Summer and also called Litha.
The word Litha may
come from Saxon tradition -- the opposite of Yule. This longest day of the
year, as well as the shortest night and it seems to be the high of all that is
life affirming, many crops are at their peak getting ready to harvest. In my yard the cherry, plum and apricot trees
are full with fruit, and my family has been and is picking them, much to be eaten, and a lot to preserve.
In Wicca the Goddess is ripe with her fullness and the Green
God sits on his throne. The Christians
adopted this time to assign it to St. John the Baptist, because with his baptizing
of Jesus it was announced spiritually that the Christ was ready to give his
message to the world, in the Bible it is said that a voice came out of the
clouds that said “This is my beloved son whom I am well pleased”. The light of the world at its highest.
The significance of this day between “Pagans” and Christians
is that it Marks the ancient middle of Summer, and the astronomical beginning
of Summer, the Christians adopted it to convert the pagans by making it the
nativity of St. John the Baptist.
The celebration of Midsummer's Eve (St. John's Eve among
Christians) was from ancient times a festival of the summer solstice. Bonfires
were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely
when the sun was turning southward again.
There are so many meanings surrounding this day which really can be from
June 19 to June 25, that it is impossible for me to list.
So I’m going to have Wikipedia explain it with this
link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer
Now among Wiccans there are various ways to celebrate, I’m
going to give you some web sites that speak of what it’s all about and how to
celebrate it:
https://www.goddessandgreenman.co.uk/litha The Goddess and the Green Man
http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_wheel_of_the_year/litha_-_summer_solstice.asp The White Goddess
Either way it is a time of beginning to harvest and put up
and preserve your fruits and vegetables, but mostly to gather your herbs and
start drying them because the herbs have reached their full growth.
In my family it was and is the perfect time to go to the
County Fair and see what is being developed for home use as well as buying
newly hatched chicks to augment the flock that my granny had to prevent
in-breeding.
But it also signaled that it was time to start putting up
our foods to have available during the winter months. One of my Uncles would also make plum wine
and apricot and cherry brandy, good for
what ails you he used to say. So from
this time (if not a little earlier) it was the start of harvesting, and our way
of also celebrating by going to the county fair and here in the United States
the 4th of July for parades and picnics.
My family still does it to this day, because if you are
lucky to own a home with a fair size back yard, if you want shade trees then
plant fruit trees, you get more “bang for the buck.”
Granny had an apple tree that grew to a great
size and she had her chicken yard shaded under that tree, the droppings from the
chicken’s fertilized it and she’d have a moveable chicken run set up to move to
different parts of her yard so she could take advantage of the natural
fertilizer to grow crops.
For those of you who are not into putting up your own take
advantage of the Farmer’s market and stock up,
if you want to celebrate you will find, if you look carefully, all kinds
of celebrations and parades, go to the County Fair and see a lot of old-fashion
ways of doing things, or find a historical home that gives demonstrations on
old-fashioned living by the seasons.
This is a good time to get in tune with the seasons of the
year and set your internal clock by it.
Now if you live in the southern hemisphere it would be
winter down there so you would be doing Yule type celebrations, since the
seasons are reversed, check those web
sites that I have listed for what kind of celebrations to do during your
reversed holidays.
And this is a perfect day to take stock of what you have in your magical cabinet, herbs, oils, powders, dust, and candles, so this would be a perfect time to re-stock your cabinet.
Now I also briefly mention in one of my posts about
collecting water on St. John’s Day (check the Christian Calendar) and I will
repeat it here:
One of Granny's Ladies
in her group was a Mrs. Washington, she lived in Louisiana and learned a lot of
what some people would call Hoodoo from a number of the practitioners who lived
around, some she traveled to, to learn things from and some she discovered were
just down right frauds, but those that she learned from was, as we would say
now a days, "The Real Deal".
She was very big on
collecting River Water on St. John's Day in June (June 24th) she'd collect river water and put it into a glass
bottle, and bring it home, June 24 is
the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
She told me that ST.
JOHN'S WATER is a wonderful extra protection for a person and their home.
She said it was a
tradition, especially in (but not restricted to) the New Orleans area, to
collect St. John's Water every year on St. John's Day. This water is
protective; it wards off evil and keeps the one who collects and keeps it,
secure and safe from harm.
You take a clean dark
colored glass bottle with a lid, this is one of those times when a metal lid or
cap is fine. Be sure to wash it first as you would with any of the bottles
you'd use to hold your collected waters, and then let it dry so that the
washing water will not "contaminate" the river water you collect.
Carrying your bottle,
go to a river in your area. Rivers are
the right body of water to use. We are,
dealing with St. John the Baptist, who baptized in the Jordan River.
You have to recite
prayers, first saying a prayer of contrition asking to be forgiven for your
sins, then say the traditional Lord's Prayer for the blessings for the year to
come.
Then ask St. John the
Baptist for his help and blessings, he who was so intimately aware of the
spiritual power of rivers. Then fill
your bottle, cap it, and take it home with you.
Set this bottle on its
side by the hinge side of your front door, so that it is a bit hidden from
those who come to your door. Make sure
that the neck of the bottle is facing the door.
Keep the bottle in this position throughout the year.
If anyone comes to
your door who you do not wish to deal with, anyone who may make life difficult
for you - or even if you are just
worried that they may come to trouble you - simply roll that bottle with your
foot.
Roll it back and forth on the floor, as you
concentrate on exactly what you want especially what you want to say to the
person to get them to leave. Then when they leave and you close the door roll
the bottle right back into its original position, where it will continue to
guard and defend your home for the remainder of the year.
Remember when
requesting the aid of any saint, including St. John the Baptist be sure to
thank him for his assistance.
Just remember to renew
this bottle of River Water every year on St. John's Day.
So however you want to celebrate or make use of the Summer Soltice or Mid-Summer, it's all up to you, use it to get started in your "workings", putting your magical cabinet together or your book of spells, however you want to do it. Either way it's a good first step.
Bright Blessings,
Ms. Q
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