Their next sunset followed by 30 minutes of night, will be on September 18, 2021. Today, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska at 70 degrees North latitude and on the shores of the Arctic Ocean will see continuous daylight.
In the farthest northern reaches, for the last few weeks and the next few, the daylight length is over 21 hours. It is a reminder that change is inevitable and normal even if it is sometimes enjoyable and at other times less so.Solstice at Stonehenge The focus is not only on the holiday and what it means immediately in nature and for the participants, but understanding it within the turning wheel of the year. Similarly at Litha, participants are reminded that from this time forward there will be a decrease in the light. Change and natureĪt Yule, the sabbat that celebrates the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter, one is always reminded that from this day forth the light will be growing. Even those who normally practice alone often join with others for the sabbats. These rituals can be performed alone or with others. These can be personal wishes for the participant’s own growth or health or that of someone dear to them, or it can be for the protection of Mother Nature, such as wishing for rain if there were a drought or the end of flooding if there were floods. In midsummer celebrations a bonfire is lit and people jump over it, holding a wish for the summer in their minds. There is then a reading or poetry about the season and what it means in nature and in people’s lives. All participants are asked to imagine a sphere of light over the circle and spirits or divinities associated with each of the directions are invited into it. For example, a crystal, a feather, a lit candle and a shell might be carried around the circle. Representatives of the elements – earth, air, fire, water – respectively associated with the four directions – north, east, south and west – are carried around the circle as well. This is done by those leading the ritual walking around an area, chanting as a form of prayer and sprinkling the area with water and salt, which are believed to be spiritually cleansing.
Creating sacred space during ritualsĪll sabbats begin by creating sacred space, mostly outdoors when the weather permits. The fertility in people’s lives can take several forms, such as the focus on what they have realized in the past year or what is still developing that they hope will come to fruition by the fall harvest. The image celebrates fertility, strength and growth in nature and in the participants’ lives.
BROOM STANDING UP SUMMER SOLSTICE PAGAN FULL
Some Wiccans view the deities as archetypes or symbols while others see them as actual spiritual beings.Īt Litha the Goddess is described as full with child and the God is seen as at his most virile.
The God dies and is reborn, moving from child to lover to dying again each fall, which Wiccans believe ensures the growth of crops. The Goddess is viewed as eternal, but her form changes throughout the year: from a young woman, to a mother, and eventually a crone in fall then back to a young woman the following spring. The growth from youth, to adulthood, to old age, to death and then to the continuing cycle of new birth or rebirth.
For most Wiccans this myth is viewed as symbolic of the ongoing cycle of life and in nature. Each sabbat celebrates a different aspect of the relationship between the Goddess and God.
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