Summer Solstice...help!!
Greetings all...Hope everyone is enjoying the glorious life we've been given!!
I have been invited to a Litha/Summer Solstice ritual (Circle) and everyone is being asked to participate in some way. We can do a spell, offer a blessing, make and bring bread...whatever we would like to offer to the Circle. I have decided that I would like to read some type of short story or poem or something along these lines. I have surfed the net looking for something inspiring but have not been able to find anything that "touches" my soul yet. As i'm not a very creative person, I really would like the assistance of someone else's words or story (full credit to be given of course). So, with all of this being said, does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?? I have 2 weeks to find/create something. I would really appreciate any help you might offer.
Thank you so much and Bright Blessings to all.........
Ezzie
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Seren Haf on -
Sit with a pad and write down key words that are important to you...things you want your piece to express. Id be delighted to help you
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Permalink Reply by Ezzmyrrhelldah on
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It is not a public ritual and is not a coven. Possibly 10 - 12 people. No specific trad. Just a small group. There will be Pagans and "like-minded" people attending. It will be outdoors at a park by the river. No children..ages mid 20's - late 60's. I know of a few people that will be doing spell work, one will be doing a meditation, some blessings...so I wanted to do something different. Thanks so much for the interest in helping me...can't wait to hear what it is!!!!
Blessings!
Antecessus said:
Is it a public ritual, open to any pagan denomination, or is it more specific to a tradition? Oh, and is it all ages? Outdoors? About how many people will attend? :)
Edit: Forgot to add that, I'm asking because I have an idea, but I don't know if it will be appropriate - assuming I find that book...
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Permalink Reply by Ezzmyrrhelldah on
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I love the idea of making the little bags with items from nature. The ritual is taking place at a campground/park so i'm not really sure about the surroundings for laying something like that out, however, every Wednesday night there is a group of "eclectics" for lack of better word, that get together and we always discuss something, meditate, show and tell sort of thing. I think this is something that I might like to present to the group then!! Thank you so much for your time and thought. I really appreciate it.
Blessings,
Ezzie
Antecessus said:Hmm, well, I was going to suggest reading a story relevant to Summer Solstice, but the only ones I can find within my tiny collection are for children! :/ I'm not much of a poet, or story writer, so I couldn't come up with one at this time, nor in time lol. I started trying to come up with ideas while replying to you. I'll jot them down & even if you don't like them, hopefully they may inspire you to come up with something else?
I've been to several public rituals, none of them outdoors mind you, but a couple had some great ideas. One had a spiral dance; there were about 20 people there and the 2-3 leaders knew this dance well enough to pull it off, and it was great fun. It only lasted a couple minutes but it raised a lot of great energy! In another ritual, the leaders guided us on a peaceful meditation, with rain sticks and small drums. After the meditation, she had lifted a cloth in the center of the circle that was covering all kinds of items like various local leaves, stones, colored cloth, and string. She instructed us to take up a piece of cloth we liked, and string, then place in the center of the cloth a few of the items we wanted, and infuse it with the energy of the meditation. The string was then used to close off the cloth in the shape of a bag, after the corners were brought together. She suggested we keep this in the house to encourage peacefulness. If she was on this forum, I would give her full credit lol, but I don't want to put her name here just in case :)
This made me think that you could do something similar, but rather than do a meditation, as you said others are already doing one, you could have a kind of arts and crafts to create something to go on ones altar every Summer Solstice, or jewelry to wear this time of year? Depending on how this was done, it may require the spending of money, so I'm not sure if that is something you could do at this time.
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Permalink Reply by Ezzmyrrhelldah on
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This is GREAT Katarina!! Although I may not use this for this particular ritual, I think i've just found my Yule gifts for this year!!! Thank you soooo much for the idea!!!
Sweet Blessings,
Ezzie
Katarina Ana ( panther woman) said:You could make spirit bags.Cut small squares of material big enough to be stuffed with herbs apropriate to the season and tie them of with rarn leaveing enough to use as a necklas.This is not an orginal idea I stoled it from PSG they do it every year.Then you can give them out as gifts.If the material was yellow and the yarn too it would symbolize the Sun.You could also charge them during circle time using words appropriate to the solstice.
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Permalink Reply by Gabrielle Cleary on -
Here is a Summer Solstice story that I wrote many years ago. I normally tell it from a different perspective - as a seer/storyteller relating what they are seeing. Rather than the first person perspective below. (I usually tell it from memory and don't have a typed copy of that version).
This is the Goddess speaking of her lover - it is definitely not the G-rated version.
Midsummer Story
by Blayze
There is a place that stands outside of time and space... a land far away, yet only an indrawn breath from where we stand. A land that is at once Mighty in breadth, yet small as a mist shrouded isle in the midst of a great sea. A land that reflects our lives as we mirror the Land. It lies where three hazels grow, at the meeting of long roads, at the fording place of a stream. It is under the Hills and above the Waves... it spirals through the sky and is formed of glass that shimmers by the light of Moon and Sun.
The Stones of the Earth remember and renew this Place... the trees draw nutrients from it's soil and our blood flows in its mighty rivers. This is the land of Vision and Magic, the place where our seasons turn and the Wheel of Life is danced in ever returning circles.
High in a topaz blue sky shines the Sun - the power that warms the Land as we bask under the light of the Longest Day.
This is the place I see and I give to you images of its glory and beauty. I have travelled by secret roads and sweet waters... I stand in both worlds and in between.
I am the Goddess who rides the winds of Winter and Spring to sing to you the story of Summer.
I come to you at the time of Light, I come to you as a spinner of the tale of my Beloved, my King, my Lover, my Son... I come to you as She who is both Shadow and Moonglow, Mother, Maiden and Crone. I am she who walks the Hidden Realms.
Will you hear of my journey?
Will you share my Sight?
Then may beauty and terror be one within you!
Hear now the tale of Kings...
My Beloved stands at the crest of a hill that is crowned with a circle of stones. He glows with vigour and the brightness of the Orb which is His Kin.
He is Sun, He is Forest, He is the Green of the Land. He is Hunter and Husbander, Judge and Enforcer. He is my Beloved, My King.
I smell the grass that grows amongst the stones...
I hear the songs of birds on the wing...
I feel the warmth against my skin and breathe the flower scented air...
I see all, yet my gaze lies only upon this one being.
He is in His Prime as is fitting for My consort. His body ripples with muscles that bear the weight of his Mighty Spear. His countenance shines with the power of the Sun, of Fire and Heat and Sex.
Smell the clean sweat of primal man as he dances figures with his Spear. Golden is his armour chased with sunbeams. Leaves of Oak adorn his hair. His tunic is the green of Summer grasslands, hued with Sun colours where his power has marked the cloth. Wild designs of copper, bronze and gold entwine and writhe along hem and yoke. His long hair is blown in a cloud by the wind engendered by the movement of his shining weapon. His legs are as powerful as the trunks of trees, red down furs his thighs.
Do you see Him?
Can you understand why He is my Chosen, my Beloved?
I am immortal yet each year my heart is given to One such as He... He is the spark that renews me throughout my long existence.
Shining One, King of the Summer Lands. King of Forest and Twin Soul of my heart. He is the Son of Kings Past and the Father of Kings yet unborn.
My beloved, my heart. Lord of the Sun!
He dances with his spear as the Sun moves across the sky. Gleaming point of light, rod of power, he draws the Sun's warmth and life giving energies into the Land. His is the Seed and Root that impregnates me with his Power.
His steps awake the passion in Me, flames consume me and lust ignites my Soul.
The Sun has been guided across the sky to its Zenith now. Called to height by the King. The energy has built to the ultimate climax as he plunges the spear deep into the Earth at His feet. The world shakes and ripples with the passion of it. Violated but welcome... life is at its peak.
He sinks down to embrace the earth as his spear stands erect in the ground. In Me!
The stones are suffused with a golden light as power is channeled through the lines connecting the Land. Stone to Stone, Tree to Tree, Man to Woman... the seed awakes. The net of Sun energy is cast and travels to all points.
Feel the Light within you as I feel it within Me!
(PAUSE)
But look at the Spear. It has begun to cast a shadow upon the ground. My Beloved's bright rays have dimmed as they move across the sky. The Shadow gradually lengthens as the Sun moves across the sky. The King lies in the earth's embrace, spent by the act of creation.
The shadow grows thicker upon the ground. Spear shaped, now man shaped. It appears to rise above the earth itself, drawing darkness to it.
The King gradually moves and begins to stand up... as he does so, the Shadow follows him. The glowing King now dimmed, faces the shadow that has awoken in the land. Man shaped and carrying a shadow spear, the dark form lengthens and darkens.
My Beloved... my King, your shadow has entered the Land. Power such as yours cannot be sustained forever. My Beloved draws his Spear from the Earth and the Two Kings, One Bright, One Shadow, cross spears with each other.
They draw back their mighty arms and the spears cross again with a sound that rumbles as the heartbeat of the Earth. They stab and parry and circle each other. But... Oh... they are so evenly matched. Shadow Self and Sun King, the ancient dance continues once more.
Blow for blow they come together in a battle as passionate as the one of Love and Creation lately fought. Spear points spark and wood knocks together with a crash that sends the wildlife scurrying for shelter.
Endlessly they dance... a dance of death and sacrifice... or is it? The Shadow appears to weaken. It is no match for its sunnier Self. It turns and begins to slither away. My Beloved rests his Spear upon the ground... it bears his weight as his breath comes in ragged gasps.
Suddenly the Shadow King turns and hurls his spear at the Sun King. Weakened by his earlier magic and the unexpected battle, the Sun King is slow to block the Shadow Spear's flight. It embeds itself in the King's oak hard thigh and the Sun dims as the King falls to the ground.
The King of Shadows retrieves his Spear from His fallen foe... twins of darkness and light... father and son and the cycle continues.
The Shadow walks away through the stones as the glowing Sun sinks behind the hill. There is one burst of bright rose gold light before the darkness claims the Land...
Dawn brings with it a less vibrant glow than the day before. It illuminates a figure in Golden armour lying in the centre of a stone circle. The King slowly and painfully rises from the ground illuminated by the sunrise that is the colour of his blood which marks the grass.
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Permalink Reply by Ezzmyrrhelldah on
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WOW!!!! That is wonderful Gabrielle! What a writer you are...such talent. Thank you so very much for sharing this. I have copied it to my saved files!Thanks again,
Ezz
Gabrielle Cleary said:Here is a Summer Solstice story that I wrote many years ago. I normally tell it from a different perspective - as a seer/storyteller relating what they are seeing. Rather than the first person perspective below. (I usually tell it from memory and don't have a typed copy of that version).
This is the Goddess speaking of her lover - it is definitely not the G-rated version.
Midsummer Story
by Blayze
There is a place that stands outside of time and space... a land far away, yet only an indrawn breath from where we stand. A land that is at once Mighty in breadth, yet small as a mist shrouded isle in the midst of a great sea. A land that reflects our lives as we mirror the Land. It lies where three hazels grow, at the meeting of long roads, at the fording place of a stream. It is under the Hills and above the Waves... it spirals through the sky and is formed of glass that shimmers by the light of Moon and Sun.
The Stones of the Earth remember and renew this Place... the trees draw nutrients from it's soil and our blood flows in its mighty rivers. This is the land of Vision and Magic, the place where our seasons turn and the Wheel of Life is danced in ever returning circles.
High in a topaz blue sky shines the Sun - the power that warms the Land as we bask under the light of the Longest Day.
This is the place I see and I give to you images of its glory and beauty. I have travelled by secret roads and sweet waters... I stand in both worlds and in between.
I am the Goddess who rides the winds of Winter and Spring to sing to you the story of Summer.
I come to you at the time of Light, I come to you as a spinner of the tale of my Beloved, my King, my Lover, my Son... I come to you as She who is both Shadow and Moonglow, Mother, Maiden and Crone. I am she who walks the Hidden Realms.
Will you hear of my journey?
Will you share my Sight?
Then may beauty and terror be one within you!
Hear now the tale of Kings...
My Beloved stands at the crest of a hill that is crowned with a circle of stones. He glows with vigour and the brightness of the Orb which is His Kin.
He is Sun, He is Forest, He is the Green of the Land. He is Hunter and Husbander, Judge and Enforcer. He is my Beloved, My King.
I smell the grass that grows amongst the stones...
I hear the songs of birds on the wing...
I feel the warmth against my skin and breathe the flower scented air...
I see all, yet my gaze lies only upon this one being.
He is in His Prime as is fitting for My consort. His body ripples with muscles that bear the weight of his Mighty Spear. His countenance shines with the power of the Sun, of Fire and Heat and Sex.
Smell the clean sweat of primal man as he dances figures with his Spear. Golden is his armour chased with sunbeams. Leaves of Oak adorn his hair. His tunic is the green of Summer grasslands, hued with Sun colours where his power has marked the cloth. Wild designs of copper, bronze and gold entwine and writhe along hem and yoke. His long hair is blown in a cloud by the wind engendered by the movement of his shining weapon. His legs are as powerful as the trunks of trees, red down furs his thighs.
Do you see Him?
Can you understand why He is my Chosen, my Beloved?
I am immortal yet each year my heart is given to One such as He... He is the spark that renews me throughout my long existence.
Shining One, King of the Summer Lands. King of Forest and Twin Soul of my heart. He is the Son of Kings Past and the Father of Kings yet unborn.
My beloved, my heart. Lord of the Sun!
He dances with his spear as the Sun moves across the sky. Gleaming point of light, rod of power, he draws the Sun's warmth and life giving energies into the Land. His is the Seed and Root that impregnates me with his Power.
His steps awake the passion in Me, flames consume me and lust ignites my Soul.
The Sun has been guided across the sky to its Zenith now. Called to height by the King. The energy has built to the ultimate climax as he plunges the spear deep into the Earth at His feet. The world shakes and ripples with the passion of it. Violated but welcome... life is at its peak.
He sinks down to embrace the earth as his spear stands erect in the ground. In Me!
The stones are suffused with a golden light as power is channeled through the lines connecting the Land. Stone to Stone, Tree to Tree, Man to Woman... the seed awakes. The net of Sun energy is cast and travels to all points.
Feel the Light within you as I feel it within Me!
(PAUSE)
But look at the Spear. It has begun to cast a shadow upon the ground. My Beloved's bright rays have dimmed as they move across the sky. The Shadow gradually lengthens as the Sun moves across the sky. The King lies in the earth's embrace, spent by the act of creation.
The shadow grows thicker upon the ground. Spear shaped, now man shaped. It appears to rise above the earth itself, drawing darkness to it.
The King gradually moves and begins to stand up... as he does so, the Shadow follows him. The glowing King now dimmed, faces the shadow that has awoken in the land. Man shaped and carrying a shadow spear, the dark form lengthens and darkens.
My Beloved... my King, your shadow has entered the Land. Power such as yours cannot be sustained forever. My Beloved draws his Spear from the Earth and the Two Kings, One Bright, One Shadow, cross spears with each other.
They draw back their mighty arms and the spears cross again with a sound that rumbles as the heartbeat of the Earth. They stab and parry and circle each other. But... Oh... they are so evenly matched. Shadow Self and Sun King, the ancient dance continues once more.
Blow for blow they come together in a battle as passionate as the one of Love and Creation lately fought. Spear points spark and wood knocks together with a crash that sends the wildlife scurrying for shelter.
Endlessly they dance... a dance of death and sacrifice... or is it? The Shadow appears to weaken. It is no match for its sunnier Self. It turns and begins to slither away. My Beloved rests his Spear upon the ground... it bears his weight as his breath comes in ragged gasps.
Suddenly the Shadow King turns and hurls his spear at the Sun King. Weakened by his earlier magic and the unexpected battle, the Sun King is slow to block the Shadow Spear's flight. It embeds itself in the King's oak hard thigh and the Sun dims as the King falls to the ground.
The King of Shadows retrieves his Spear from His fallen foe... twins of darkness and light... father and son and the cycle continues.
The Shadow walks away through the stones as the glowing Sun sinks behind the hill. There is one burst of bright rose gold light before the darkness claims the Land...
Dawn brings with it a less vibrant glow than the day before. It illuminates a figure in Golden armour lying in the centre of a stone circle. The King slowly and painfully rises from the ground illuminated by the sunrise that is the colour of his blood which marks the grass.
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