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In a world of endless light and brightness, it might seem quaint and archaic to pay much attention to solar( sun-related) cycles. After all, electrical lighting has been a way of life for us for a long time, providing us with flip-of-a-switch levels of light that used to be the sole preserve of the sun.
And yet, ancient traditions, symbols and subtle planetary energy shifts continue to play an important, albeit often secret, or hidden role in our modern lives. Look at what happened to the Winter Solstice. Celebrated with great reverence and revelry for thousands of years in the Northern Hemisphere; it has merged— some would say morphed-- into the celebration of the Son( Sun) of God’ s birthday, more popularly known as Christmas. Ask modern retailers how important Christmas is to them.
The Summer Solstice is the time when the sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. This year’ s Summer Solstice will take place on June 21. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year; the day when the sun’ s energy is strongest. Within 24 hours of the Summer Solstice, the sun’ s energy begins to weaken, however, and the days begin to grow shorter and darker until the Winter Solstice around December 20 or December 21, at which time the sun’ s energy is“ reborn” and begins to increase in strength daily as the days lengthen for the next six months.
The cycle of the physical sun’ s birth and death is just one of the cycles and associations that is linked to the solstices. The word solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, derived from sol( sun) and stitium( to stop).
There is a tradition that began early in Christianity and that continues mostly in esoteric philosophies today that depicts Christ as the Spiritual Sun, the illuminator of the soul, the light of God, the source of order, and the giver of life. According to this tradition, the Summer Solstice corresponds to the death of Jesus, just as the Winter Solstice corresponds to the birth of Jesus.
The human life cycle of birth, youth, maturity, old age and death has been correlated with the sun’ s daily cycle. The sun rises in the east( the direction the wise men came from to honor Jesus at his birth) and symbolizes human birth. It moves clockwise to the south, which represents human maturity / adult phase and then proceeds to the west, where it sets, and represents human aging and death. This is the part of the human life cycle that correlates to the Summer Solstice. The north represents the darkness of the womb during the nine months of gestation prior to the physical birth of a human being.
Midsummer is considered to be the time on or around the Summer Solstice( June 21 through June 24) that has a rich European history of customs and celebrations, both Christian and pre-Christian( Pagan). Midsummer is especially important in Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltics, where it is the most important holy day / holiday other than Christmas.
One of the best known of these Midsummer celebrations in the Christian era is the June 24 celebration of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. It is actually a public holiday in Quebec and is a high ranking liturgical feast in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran traditions. St. John’ s day is also one of the two most important days celebrated in the Masonic traditions of Freemasonry. In some parts of the world, St. John’ s Eve fires are burned on June 24. These have obvious links with Pagan Midsummer celebrations.
Summer Solstice and Midsummer folklore and folk traditions abound. I share just one of them in this article. One of the names given to the moon of Midsummer( which always falls in June) is the Honey Moon. This is because at that time of year in Europe, beehives were bursting with honey, which was gathered and fermented to create an alcoholic beverage called mead. Mead was the beverage of choice for wedding parties and was rumored to be an aphrodisiac.
CYNTHIA KITELEY LEE
Certified Spiritual Therapist, Usui Reiki, Angel, Non- Traditional Energy Healer, Psychic and Oracle Card Reader.
Cynthia Kiteley Lee is the founder of the Mystical Order of the White Rose, an online multifaith community of mystics, monastics, artists, and contemplatives. http:// www. mysticalwhiterose. com She has an M. A. in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas, and recently retired from a career in history museum management. She can be contacted at: mysticalwhiterose @ gmail. com
www. cheekyangelsmagazine. webs. com MAY / JUNE 2013 31