copyright by MicroMuse Group This hang on to contains 10 wayfarer articles by Mike Nichols. They may be profusely distributed provided that the later conditions are met: (1) No fee is charged for their use and giving out and no multinational use is finished of them; (2) These documents are not diverse or edited in any way in the absence of the author's permission; (3) This attraction is not detached. An article may be distributed as a particularized hang on to, provided that this attraction is visit at the beginning of each such hang on to. These articles are irregularly efficient by the author; this exemplar is trendy as of 9/28/88.
The immature maid scarf knock down the take in admission,
And blushed as she required the Tree-plant of pow'r;--
'Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light,
I prerequisite best choice the mystic St. John's wort tonight,
The wonderful herb, whose side mood indicate
If the coming court shall make me a bride.
In heap to the four vast festivals of the Pagan Celtic court, donate are four inconsequential holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In mythology, these are referred to as the four 'quarter-days' of the court, and modern Witches name them the four inconsequential Sabbats', or the four calm Holidays'. The Summer Solstice is one of them. old meeting place and, at the very least possible, it gives
Strictly, a solstice is an important brainchild and, due to the dossier to the equinox, the meeting place may move away by a few days depending on the court. The summer solstice occurs following the sun reaches the Tropic of Scourge, and we state the chronicle day and the give instructions night of the court. Astrologers know this as the meeting place on which the sun enters the sign of Scourge.
Subdue, when greatest European peasants were not trustworthy at reading an ephemeris or did not subsist strict abundance to Salisbury Coherent to bang from side to side to Stonehenge and standpoint down its substance dike, they complete the situation on a trustworthy calendar meeting place, June 24th. The slight throw dislodgment of the traditional meeting place is the result of innumerable calendrical changes down knock down the ages. It is akin to the winter solstice celebration, which is astronomically on or about December 21st, but is complete on the traditional meeting place of December 25th, Yule, following adopted by the Christians.
Another time, it prerequisite be remembered that the Celts reckoned their days from twilight to twilight, so the June 24th festivities actually begin on the one-time twilight (our June 23rd). This was Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Eve. Which brings up separate point: our modern calendars are quite false in telltale that 'summer begins' on the solstice. According to the old folk calendar, summer BEGINS on May Day and ends on Lammas (Noble 1st), with the summer solstice, midway involving the two, marking MID-summer. This makes supercilious logical site than telltale that summer begins on the day following the sun's power begins to lessen and the days exit shorter. Although our Pagan community it would seem beloved June 24th (and surefire greatest European folk festivals today use this meeting place), the sensibility of modern Witches seems to prefer the actual solstice brainchild, beginning the celebration on its eve, or the sunset hasty onwards the solstice brainchild. Another time, it gives modern Pagans a bulk of dates to family name from with, favorably, a weekend deep-seated in it.
Absolutely as the Pagan mid-winter celebration of Yule was adopted by Christians as Christmas (December 25th), so too the Pagan mid-summer celebration was adopted by them as the ceremonial dinner of John the Baptist (June 24th). Stirring 180 degrees diffident on the go through the roof of the court, the mid-winter celebration commemorates the crude of Jesus, since the mid-summer celebration commemorates the crude of John, the analyst who was born six months up to that time Jesus in order to hum his invasion.
Although modern Witches smoothly transfer to the holiday by the positively generic name of Midsummer's Eve, it is supercilious budding that our Pagan community of a few hundred existence ago actually hand-me-down the Christian name for the holiday, St. John's Eve. This is distinctive from the wealth of mythology that surrounds the summer solstice (i.e. that it is a night in actual fact sacred to the faerie folk) but which is without human intervention qualified to 'St. John's Eve', with no quote of the sun's position. It may possibly equally be argued that a Coven's line of reasoning to antiquity dilution be judged by what name it gives the holidays. (In connection with, the name 'Litha' for the holiday is a modern figure, by chance based on a Saxon word that channel the contrary of Yule. Still, donate is take notes ancient project for its use in this context.) But weren't our Pagan community wounded by the use of the name of a Christian saint for a pre-Christian holiday?
Epileptic fit, to begin with, their theological sensibilities may not contain been as elegantly honed as our own. But secondly and supercilious evocatively, St. John himself was smoothly seen as a positively Pagan figure. He was, after all, called 'the Oak Sovereign. His tie to the wasteland (from whence 'the express cried forwards) was smoothly emphasized by the rural sort out of his shrines. Compound statues test him as a horned figure (as is equally the column with Moses). Christian iconographers murmur uncomfortable explanations about 'horns of fine, since modern Pagans laugh to yourself and for joy transfer to such statues as smash the Baptist'. And to stones matters, abundant depictions of John actually test him with the dishonor shaft of a satyr, cloven hooves and all! Obviously, this account of John the Baptist is supercilious good a Jack in the Green! Also flagrant is that low the medieval compassion of St. John lies a frosty, unheard of Pagan deity, conceivably the develop Mad Man of the Shamble, whose approve of stares down at us knock down the foliate masks that natty so extensively church architecture. Consequently medieval Pagans may contain had a reduced amount of evils adapting than we dilution suppose.
In England, it was the ancient strangeness on St. John's Eve to light terrific bonfires after twilight, which served the reserve employment of providing light to the revelers and warding off evil spirits. This was known as milieu the viewpoint. Residents smoothly jumped knock down the fires for good luck. In heap to these fires, the streets were crumpled with lanterns, and family unit carried cressets (pivoted lanterns atop poles) as they wandered from one sack to separate. These hobo, garland-bedecked bands were called a 'marching viewpoint. Commonly they were attended by morris dancers, and traditional squad clothed as a unicorn, a dragon, and six hobby-horse riders. Absolutely as May Day was a time to pick up the class on one's own wealth, so Midsummer's Eve was a time to borough the class of the urban. Traditions in the region of St. John's Eve are abundant and diverse.
At the very least possible, greatest immature folk make financial arrangements to be situated up in this area the whole of this give instructions night. Particular fearless souls dilution escape the night keeping viewpoint in the staple of a circle of standing stones. To do so would totally result in either death, force, or (favorably) the power of aim to become a vast journalist or bard. (This is, by the way, very same to unchangeable incidents in the initially divide of the 'Mabinogion'.) This was equally the night following the serpents of the island would reach themselves featuring in a derision, writhing bead in order to supply the 'glain', equally called the 'serpent's egg', twist stonework, or 'Druid's egg'. One in residence of this uncertain transom teem would make use of fantastic magical powers. Immobile Merlyn himself (accompanied by his black dog) went in investigate of it, according to one ancient Welsh story.
Snakes were not the purely creatures vibrant on Midsummer's Eve. According to British faery lore, this night was race purely to Halloween for its grade to the wee folk, who in actual fact enjoyed a ridling on such a fine summer's night. In order to see them, you had purely to best choice palm leaf gemstone at the cuddle of midnight and rub it onto your eyelids. But be positive to transmit a take notes bit of rue in your convoy, or you dilution well be 'pixie-led'. Or, flaw the rue, you dilution lone turn your camouflage inside-out, which duty prop you from harm's way. But if even this fails, you prerequisite seek out one of the 'ley gun emplacements, the old ingenuous tracks, and be situated upon it to your destination. This mood prop you resolute from any ruthless power, as mood crossing a rush of busy (sway) water. Previous mores included decking the construction (in actual fact from side to side the character admission) with birch, fennel, St. John's wort, orpin, and white lilies. Five grass were bug to contain special magical properties on this night: rue, roses, St. John's wort, vervain and trefoil. Reliable, Midsummer's Eve in Spain is called the mysterious of the Verbena (Vervain)'. St. John's wort was in actual fact venerated by immature maidens who picked it in the hopes of divining a future fan.
And the glow-worm came
Along with its gray sear,
And sparkled and shone
Throw down the night of St. John,
And in a while has the immature maid her love-knot together.
Submit are equally abundant imaginary family with the summer solstice, not the least possible of which concerns the wayfarer life of the God of the sun. Inasmuch as I regard that I contain exactly open unchangeable family and correspondences not however realized, I contain elected to bring into play this question in some lavishness in separate employ. Suffice it to say dowry, that I disagree with the customarily accurate tang that the Sun-God meets his death at the summer solstice. I regard donate is good language to see the Sun-God at his better -- his peak of power -- on this day, and that his death at the hands of his hostile would not hand out for separate district of a court. Definite unvarying from the Welsh mythos seems to back this paper. In Irish mythology, Midsummer is the gap of the initially argument involving the Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha De Danaan.
Every one, Midsummer is a pet holiday for abundant Witches in that it is so humid to external celebrations. The fair summer night seems to exclaim it. And if the celebrants are not in fact skyclad, next you may be more accurately unchangeable that the ache ritual robes of winter contain yielded place to quick-thinking, tunic-style rub. As with the longer gowns, tradition dictates that one duty wear nothing hitch -- the afterward best thing to skyclad, to be positive. (In connection with, now you know the Real significant to the old Scottish kid, for instance is ragged hitch the kilt?')
The two administrator icons of the holiday are the bayonet (symbol of the Sun-God in his gloat) and the summer cauldron (symbol of the Holy being in her kindness). The pedantic meaning of these two symbols, which I regard I contain exactly open, mood be explored in the employ on the death of Llew. But it is interesting to list dowry that modern Witches smoothly use these identical symbols in the Midsummer rituals. And one intermittently hears the choice religious observance mold, 'As the bayonet is to the male, so the cauldron is to the female...' Along with these mythic family, it is no dispute that Midsummer is such a overjoyed and magical occasion! by Mike Nichols
