Summer Solstice is nearly here! Plus musings about Goddess Aine, and Honeysuckle syrup
Also in this bumper edition: why I missed out on writing to you on the last Full Moon and why the Summer Solstice and Midsummer fall on different dates
Hello dear ones,
It’s been a wee while since I last wrote this newsletter - exactly a month in fact. My intention was to commit to writing this newsletter twice a month but for the first time since Samhain back in October, I missed an edition. My work has changed significantly over the past 2 months and I’ve gone from working almost solely on a laptop to now spending over half of my week tending to the lives of plants and young people. I don’t mean for this statement to sound as pretentious as it does, but the impact of gardening in community, on a young human has astonished me in the space of just 2 months. As a Forest School practitioner I’m not unfamiliar with the tangible benefits that the more-than-human world offers us, but this has always been as an antidote to the structure of traditional schooling or to overcome the isolation experienced by parents who’ve had their first child during a pandemic. Now, I’m seeing just how vital soil, plants, sun and rain are to young people who are experiencing social isolation, mental ill health and unemployment. This trine of circumstance means that there are so many young people in our communities who are struggling, much like the plants have struggled without water over the last few weeks. So, on the last Full Moon, rather than sitting down at my laptop to write a newsletter, instead I splashed in waterfalls, camped under the stars and ran up hills and down dales with friends in the Yorkshire Dales as my own antidote to the stress (as well as delight!) of holding space for a group of young people who are struggling.
That said, I have much to share with you on the themes of: the next Quarter Day in the Wheel of the Year (which is tomorrow!); a Celtic deity who I have recently discovered as well as cooling recipe which harnesses the power of honeysuckle.
Summer Solstice/Midsummer/Feast of St John the Baptist
Tomorrow the Wheel turns once again and we find ourselves exactly halfway away from the last Winter Solstice – and halfway towards the next one. The Summer Solstice, or Litha (a name given to this sabbat by Pagans in the 1970s), is the longest day. A time when, in the Northern Hemisphere, we experience the most hours of daylight. Solstice translates (roughly from Latin) to ‘sun stands still’ making this a liminal time when fairies, piskies and elves really do feel present. Due to the orbit of Earth around the sun, there are only two times of year when the sun appears to pause in our skies – on or around 21 June and 21 December. After the Summer Solstice, the days will sneakily become shorter, and I say sneakily because we will still feel like we’re at the height of summer with warm, sunny days despite the daylight slipping away as we slowly edge into Autumn.
Meteorologists consider the Summer Solstice to mark the beginning of Summer. Astrologers do too, considering Cancer season to begin the second season of the Astrological Calendar. Astronomers however, consider the first day of Summer to fall on Beltane, the last Cross-Quarter festival back on 1 May. So now, we’re at Midsummer. There’s some confusion around the date of Midsummer with some folks celebrating it on 21 June in line with the Solstice, whereas others mark this occasion a few days later on 24 June. This, in truth, has some Christian origins with the feast day of St John the Baptist falling on 24 June – exactly 6 months before the birth of Christ. In Iceland this day is celebrated as ‘Jonsmessa’ – a time when selkies were believed to emerge from the sea. If this sort of folklore makes your ears prick up, I highly recommend reading Sharon Blackie’s ‘Foxifre Wolfskin’ for more tales of shapeshifting women.
The Oak & Holly King and a different Goddess: Aine
In the Celtic Tree Calendar, Oak is the tree of June, right up until 7 July when this calendar (also represented as a wheel) turns and Holly comes to the fore. The battle of the Oak and Holly King is synonymous with the Summer Solstice, a Pagan folktale which tells of the two Kings doing battle, and the Holly King (who represents Winter), defeating the Oak King, giving rise to the lengthening evenings as we edge away from the longest day towards the dark half of the year. A key part of my work involves looking for women in folklore and understanding how we were represented in stories which have long since been lost. In my reading around tomorrow’s Solar Fire Festival I came across a Celtic deity who I’d not read about before: Goddess Aine (pronounced On-ya). She is a Goddess of the sun and sovereignty, reminding us to pause and reflect on all that we’ve accomplished over the last 6 months since the Winter Solstice, and to acknowledge the power we have over our lives. Find out more in my resource below.
Cancer season
Coinciding with the Summer Solstice is the beginning of the second Astrological season of the year as the sun enters the Western Zodiac sign of Cancer. This sign is ruled by the moon and invites us to make a courageous commitment to love – to loving ourselves as much as those who we love. This is also a time to dive deep into our emotional needs – consider just how much we do to nurture ourselves and ask ‘how to I nurture myself’? Call in all that nurtures you – whether this be practices, people or more-than-human beings, to remind you of your sovereignty and the importance of the divine feminine within all of us.
Elderflower Cordial and Honeysuckle Syrup
I made my first batch of Elderflower Cordial last weekend! This is always a time for celebration in my household and a favourite Midsummer ritual. If you go to foxfirelearning.com and leave your email address, a link to my favourite Elderflower Cordial recipe will wing its way to your email inbox (and don’t worry if you’re already a subscriber – you won’t get emailed twice!).
Have you noticed the intense fragrance of Honeysuckle this year?! Every time I walk past some over these past few hot weeks it’s been absolutely sublime. Honeysuckle tends to give off a stronger scent in the evenings to attract the moths which pollinate her. You can capture the sweet aroma of honeysuckle in a recipe that’s very similar to that of elderflower cordial. Simply collect some of the flowers (excluding any green bits); seep overnight in hot water; strain and add sugar until it dissolves. This syrup can be diluted with cold water to make a cooling drink which is particularly beneficial for women experiences hot flushes relating to peri-menopause or menopause.
Retreats
Lastly, after sharing in my last newsletter that I’ll be co-running a pre-Samhain retreat on the North Devon coast with my wonderfully talented friend Ash Bond I’m delighted to let you know that 12 spaces have been filled and we only have 2 left!! Those of you who’ve previously expressed an interest will have heard about this via email already, but if you’d like to be added to this mailing list for information on how to reserve one of the limited spaces, please leave your email via the button below. You can also look back at May’s Full moon newsletter to catch up on all the details.
That’s all from me for now. I wish you a sunny Cancer season ahead and look forward to catching up on the next Full Moon on 3 July.
Thank you for reading and Solstice blessings x