Summer Solstice, June 21, 2014 - "A Kiss of Midsummer Madness"

"If we shadows have offended,

Think but this and all is mended.

That you have but slumbered here

While these vision did appear.

And this weak and idle theme,

No more yielding but a dream..."

                             "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

                              William Shakespeare 

What does the term 'solstice' mean?  The word itself comes

from the Latin word, solstitium, which broken down is sol - the sun, and stitium - to stop.  On June 21st, our sun reaches its northern most point for the planetary year, and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer.  For the three days following Summer Solstice, the sun will appear stationary as it begins the infinitely slow trek south.  The 21st also boasts the maximum amount of daylight possible for the Northern Hemisphere, or as we call it, "The Longest Day of the Year."  It's a great time to jog that extra mile, or spend an additional thirty minutes gardening.  In actuality you only get a second or two of additional daylight, but why not enjoy a lingering twilight in honor of Summer Solstice?  Have a glass of your favorite wine, or mead. 

With the turn of Summer Solstice we begin our personal rituals for the season - that first beer after the last college final, or the first hotdog eaten in front of the season opener for your favorite ball club.  We pick the first of our strawberries and hope we get enough for a shortcake, or we look at a field of hay and hope for a few weeks of sunny weather to bring in the first cut.  The benchmarks for Summer really don't change, even although some of the trappings do.

The Lover's from "Shadowscapes Tarot" ©
by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Midsummer nights hold magic in them.  Fireflies wend their way over a field in twilight, their yellow-green glow recalling the magic of childhood when summer days stretched warm and long across three months.  Time was on our side then and days hung heavy with potential.

June is traditionally the favored month for weddings.  This has less to do with the weather, or terrific sales in bridal departments and more to do with the traditions of Summer Solstice, or Midsummer.  If a couple stayed together for a year and a day (a tradition called handfasting - check Diana Gabaldon's famous book, "Outlander") they were often married on Midsummer.  The Moon that ruled the Midsummer period was called the Mead Moon in Celtic tradition, or Honey Moon.  Meade is make with honey after all. Many of the bridal traditions we enjoy, such as tossing garters and the bridal bouquet come from Midsummer traditions.  Marriages made on Midsummer are said to ensure the happiness of the couple, the fruitfulness of their union as well as their material wealth.

Midsummer, like Beltane, is a fire festival. In ancient tradition, the villager's hearth fires were extinguished on the Summer Solstice. Each household then took embers from the village bonfire lit in celebration of Midsummer to rekindle their own hearths. This act reminded each member of the community how dependent they were on each other and how they were symbolically connected because the same fire was banked nightly in each of their homes. Unity and fraternity.

Where Beltane's bonfires were built from nine different sacred

"Shadowscapes Tarot" carries
fae energy.  Here's a reminder to take
easy on the Midsummer mead

types of wood, Midsummer's fire was ignited by rubbing oak and fir sticks together.  Nine different herbs were burned in the fire.  It is said the Midsummer night is the time for prophetic dreams.  To ensure visions of the future, sleep with nine flowers under your pillow, or mistletoe.   Shakespeare used the setting of magical midsummer for one of his best loved plays, "A Midsummer's Night's Dream." Fairy energy is said to abound at Midsummer and many people still put out cake and cream in their gardens for the wee folk.  (Okay, guilty of this one myself).

To celebrate the Solstice, or Midsummer, surround yourself with yellow, orange and red.  Display oranges and lemons in a bowl on your table, mixing in oak leaves and lavender to add interest.  Plant marigolds, nasturtiums or red poppies.  Wear amber or carnelian jewelry to celebrate the wonder of the sun.   Light candles if you don't have a fire pit, or a barbecue.  Get in touch with the rhythm of the planet and use it to set your own.  Celebrate with time-honored traditions, or make up your own.

LADY ORACLE

Good books to check out:

"Outlander," 

"The Food Fairies of New York"

December 21, 2014, Winter Solstice - “Although It’s Been Said Many Times Many Ways”

Winter Solstice arrives on December 21st at 3:03 p.m. PST.  The word ‘solstice’ comes from the latin words, sol – meaning sun and sisto – stop.  During Solstice the Sun will appear to stop in the sky and then ever so infinitesimally, reverse its direction. From that point until the Summer Solstice in June, our number of daylight hours continues to increase. 

Earth’s orbit causes us to tilt 23.5 degrees away from the Sun at this time of year. Not all at once, of course.  We start leaning this way after the Summer Solstice and arrive at full tilt by December 21st.  Afterwards we start the journey back so that by early summer we are tilting a full 23.5 degrees towards the Sun. At Winter Solstice everything above latitude, 66.5 degrees north (the Arctic Circle) has twenty-four hours of darkness and everything below latitude 66.5 degrees south (Antarctica) receives twenty-four hours of light.  This also gradually reverses after December 21st.

Humans began cultivating crops more than 10,000 years ago.

January through April were known as the ‘famine months.’

Unfortunately, they still are in many parts of the world with strictly agrarian cultures.  Each civilization has had its way to mark the end of the year and all of them centered on Winter Solstice.  Plentiful stores of grain and preserved foods were the only chance you had of surviving the bleak winter months.  Typically, excess animals were slaughtered during Winter Solstice to make certain there would be enough feed for the rest of the herd to last the winter.  The culled animals  were then used to create the medieval feasts that still live on in songs like “Good King Wenceslas.”  

The ancient Egyptians (approximately 4,000 years ago) marked Winter Solstice with a festival celebrating the rebirth of their sun god, Horus.  The festival lasted twelve days – one day for each month of their twelve month year.  The palm fronds used to decorate their homes had twelve leaves as well.  I wonder what the lyrics were to the “Twelve Days of Horusmas?” Each ancient civilization (particularly those enjoying a good party) celebrated solstice – Babylonians, Persians, ancient Greeks and Romans, to name a few.  Each of them also left their imprint on how cultures celebrate Winter Solstice and Christmas today.

The Persians crowned a mock king during their celebrations,

a practice that centuries later, morphed into the European traditions of naming the Lord of Misrule to oversee their celebrations.  The Greeks burned large logs in their homes every year to ward off the kallikantzaroi,monster-like imps who threatened children, giving us the first Yule log. Druidic tradition gave us holly, mistletoe and evergreen boughs to be used as decorations.  

The numerical card for Winter Solstice
12/21/14 is #13, Transformation
seen here from "OSHO Zen Tarot©"
by Deva Padma - The end of one cycle and
the beginning of another - most appropriate

All these festivals share a common theme – the celebration of light.  Ancient solstice festivals were primarily a time for reflecting on your place in the world. They were a time of sharing hope as well as some of what you’d put by for the winter with your friends, family and those less fortunate than yourself.  You took stock of the year gone by, rejoiced in it and made plans for the year to come – what you’d do differently given the chance.  Most importantly, you’d take time to think about the miracle of life and how light, either physical or spiritual, turns cold, dark earth into something rich and fertile.  Each of us carries this genetic memory deep in our DNA.  It is the reason that past all the mall decorations and online hoopla we can still look into a single candle flame and feel the nature, the wonder of the Divine.  

No matter the tenets of your faith, enjoy the light of this special season.  May it bring you hope, peace and resolve for the year ahead. 

With Love and Blessings,

LADY ORACLE

Full Strawberry Moon At Perigee, June 23, 2013 - Super Trooper

The Moon from Corrine Kenner's
"Wizard's Tarot," illustrated by
John J. Blumen

If you’ve been checking out the web for information on this month’s Full Strawberry Moon, you’ve may have heard the term, “Super Moon” bandied about. Although Super Moon may sound more like the title of a cheesy disaster movie, it actually refers to the Moon at perigee, or more commonly, the closest point to Earth during the lunar orbit.  The Moon reaches perigee four to six times per year. On June 23rd at 7:32 a.m., EDT, our Full Strawberry Moon will be at perigee in 2° of Capricorn.  What makes this Full Moon so super is that this will be the closest the Moon will be to Earth until August, 2014.

The Strawberry Moon occurs two days after Summer Solstice while the Sun still appears to be at a standstill over the Tropic of Cancer. (See blog: “Get Ready, Get Set, Get Solstice”) Our Sun is in the sign of Cancer on the 22nd, opposite a Full Moon in Capricorn.  A Capricorn Moon runs a little cooler than some moons, its energy a little more withdrawn and self-contained.  This is not bad with the over-abundance of crab energy out there.  The house of Cancer the Crab is ruled by the Moon and the downside to the crab’s energy is that it can become very touchy, even volatile.  

Full Moons bring fruition both romantically and materially.  June’s Full Moon will be like riding love’s roller-coaster.  Venus is parallel with Mars on June 21st and 22nd, giving us quite a build up for the 23rd.  The romantic highs and lows could be fast and furious under the Strawberry Moon. Even if we’re reasonably certain where our relationships are headed we could find ourselves unexpectedly tossed in the opposite direction.  Luckily, Moon in Capricorn draws power for handling challenges through Saturn, Capricorn’s ruling planet. The Goat naturally strives for success in a variety of areas under the Moon’s influence and this should temper Cancer’s effects on our emotions.  Despite a swiftly changing emotional landscape however, the next couple of weeks can be extremely passionate and romantic.  Just stay grounded and remember June’s recurring theme of creating more authentic communication in your life. 

Speaking of communications, Mercury remains in Cancer until August 8th and the Full Moon intensifies our mission to explore deeper levels of knowledge. This is also the last push to solidify our communications skills before Mercury Retrograde begins at the end of the month, so pay attention.  Saturn in Scorpio helps us remain pragmatic and if we allow it, we’ll be guided to release issues and habits that no longer serve us.

This is an important Full Moon and its effects will be with us for a while. It will be an excellent time for healing, abundance and prosperity work, as well as setting magical intention.  However, it’s very important that both you and your space are grounded and cleared before you attempt working with this powerful Moon’s energy.  A little effort goes a long way.  Ground yourself and enjoy the mystical connection between Earth and sky that is June’s Full Moon in Capricorn.

LADY ORACLE

The amazing "Wizard's Tarot" available for purchase through Lady Oracle Tarot. Click Here!

special thanks to US Games for "The Moon"

An incredible deck that reads clearly and deepens your understanding of tarot
purchase today!

June 21, 2013 - Get Ready, Get Set, Get Solstice

The term 'solstice' comes from the Latin word, solstitium. It literally means 'the Sun's stopping point.' Sol - the Sun, and stitium - to stop.  On June 21st, the Sun reaches its northern most point for the planetary year. The Sun will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer and for the three days following Summer Solstice, it will appear stationary before beginning its south bound journey towards the Autumn Equinox.

In the Northern Hemisphere, this Friday, we'll experience the maximum amount of daylight possible for our global position. We'll have more time for following earth-friendly pursuits as well. Picnic, hike, re-cycle - whatever you wish, but take this opportunity to really think about our life-giving Sun. Sunlight nourishes us and one of the best things you can do for yourself to celebrate the Solstice is to build meals around fresh fruits and vegetables.  Watch sunrises and sunsets this coming weekend and marvel at the mystical precision our Source established to sustain life on this planet.

Astrologically, as well as energetically, we have the mother lode building up for this coming week (You might want to locate your parachute and crash helmet for this one). We not only have the Sun's move to Cancer during the Solstice, but we also have an extremely powerful Full Moon in Capricorn on June 23rd. (More on this Moon later this week) If you'll remember, Mars in Gemini is still delivering drive this month while Venus and Mercury are checking out life within the sign of Cancer.  The need for more evolved and effective communications skills ramps up during this coming week.  Communication is the theme for June.  (see Astrological Trends for June 2013, Part 1 & 2) Jupiter moves into Cancer on the 25th.  Remember the stationary three days after the Solstice?  Jupiter in Cancer is fun-loving and prosperous.  Bask in the rays that promote your goals and give them real growth potential.  

We celebrate life's growing season during the Solstice. We should also celebrate our own chance grow by nourishing ourselves in mind, body and spirit. On the 21st, celebrate your connection to divine Source energy and to each living thing on this planet.  And don't forget your sun screen.  

LADY ORACLE

click here for the latest tarot products for sale at Lady Oracle Tarot