Home

Summer Solstice Also called; Feast of Epona, Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia June 21st (Northern Hemisphere) Midsummers Day has been and in many place still is celebrated much as it has been since before recorded history. This is a time of joy and plenty. This is the longest day of the year, the Sun is at its peak of fullest power. It is a time to celebrate power, strength and abundance. Yet even as we crown the Oak King with the fullness of the year, we begin to think about the waning of the year, days growing shorter. And so, the the wheel turns. Many celebrate this holiday with a great bonfire, making offerings of the fruit and tree twigs of summer. It is traditional for the athletic to make high leaps over the fire.The belief is that the crops will grow as high as the dancers can jump, so it became a ritual competition for the good of the community. Athletic competitions, serious and less so, are still a part of many summer celebrations. Ever been to a 4th of July picnic in the U.S.? Bonfires are not very practical where we live. Many "city" Pagans get around this by holding their celebration and ritual around a candle, or group of candles, inside a home. I cannot resist the urge to get outside, however. And so we celebrate by packing fresh fruit and juices, sketchbook and laptop and books, and spending the day by the river, enjoying the sun and water, wildlife with their young and wildflowers that are madly in bloom by then. The feast traditionally contains apples and fresh fruits, and cheese wheels to symbolize the sun. June is a traditional month for weddings, as well. I have discovered two different theories for this. The first is that as the Goddess and the God wed in May (at Beltane) it was thought to be rude to compete with them with a wedding. The second, is the one I personally believe is more likely. In a simpler time, when most people farmed, the help of children was greatly counted upon. A large family prospered. Many cultures did not allow a wedding until the fertility of the couple was assured. In other words, until the bride was definitely already pregneant. By June, our happily celebrating Beltane couples would be assured of the impending arrival of a child, and so the wedding was ON... The Feast of Epona I have found it especially difficult to find information about this beautiful Goddess symbolized by the white mare and worshipped by the Gauls. Since the Gauls became the French, and part of my heritage is French, I have made a particular effort. (I am also a horse freak - its true) I have found two DIFFERENT dates that are supposed to be the Feast of Epona. One is December 20, the other is the Summer Solstice. So, for myself, I have chosen to celebrate Epona on Summer Solstice. I do have reasons for this. The horses native to the same area as the people of Gaul, do not genetically create a large number of white horses. In fact, I suspect that white mares, while rare, were also most likely greys. True grey horses are born black or bay and become lighter every year. Mature mares would be white or nearly so. In every matriarchal society I know of, one of the most revered abilities of woman, is her ability to create from her own body, a child completely different from herself, a son. A white mare would most likely produce foals of a dark color, completely different from herself in appearance at birth, though possibly destined to be grey/white as their dam. In Midsummer, the white mare would have a dark foal at her side. She, the perfect symbol of the fullness of life, and the foal an irrepressible reminder of the joys of youth, they feast together on luscious, green pastures...at midsummer. The sun stands high, sharing his power with his mother earth. All living things that grow between them enjoy power and abundance. The white mare gallops across deep green pasture, black colt playing at her side. The young people leap and dance, while their elders lean back and soak up the suns rays. The Universe is abundant.

Pagan Holidays Main Samhain/Halloween Winter Solstice Yule Brigid's Day/Imbolc Spring Equinox Ostara May Day/Beltane Summer Solstice & Feast of Epona Lammas/Lughnasad Fall Equinox/Mabon Pagan Holiday eCards You know you want one! Click Here Did this site help? Would you vote for us please? pagan You know you want one! Click Here Did this site help? Would you vote for us please? pagan

© Summer Fey Foovay @ Demented-Pixie.com

Foovay's Cauldron (blog, news)
eMail me

Animal Nerd / A Spring Garden / Top April Fools Pranks / Ask Me Anything / A Demented-Pixie on Books / Color Your Own - coloring pages / My Greyhounds / LeFey / I am Pagan / Pearlie the Psychic Kitty / Vintage British Motorcycle Parts / Fre-ecards.com / Just Horse Crazy / James Moore Stock Photography / Naturalist Notebook / Foovay's Cauldron / Thrifty World Travel / The Trickster / Vegetarian Blog /

Demented-Pixie Clipart

My gallery on Zazzle.com where you can order my art on products from U.S. Postage stamps to t-shirts

Some of my other "homes on the web"
Deviant Art / MySpace / My Squidoo Lenses /

Didn't find what you need? Try a search:

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web demented-pixie.com