#summer solstice
MIDSUMMER’S EVE PRAYER ~
With open arms I embrace warmth and light,
May the magick of Litha shine bright tonight.
With fairies dancing and magick abound,
I see the Summer Solstice all around.
On this Litha eve, as twilight glows,
I welcome transition, of which my soul knows.
I release all ego, to sun, moon and earth,
My spirit rejuvenated, by nature’s hearth.
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Dark dreams of Summer…
Natalie Ina Photography.
A selection from different years.
For all questions, as well as for the purchase of photo prints and about the collaboration, please write to my mail: [email protected]
do NOT edit photos, cut, change colours, do not use as avatars, blog headings and other things like that. If you want to make a post with my photos, please include the authors name or a link to my page.
Summer Solstice- Inka Essenhigh; 2008
Egyptian Religious Calendar
Today 21 June 2019 - XIX day of Khenty-Khety, the tenth month of the Egyptian Lunar Calendar (in the CDXX Great Year of Ra according to the Egyptian Civil Calendar).
Summer Solstice: Glorious and Blessed Summer Solstice to everyone!!!
(quotes from
“Egyptian Religious Calendar: CDXIX-CDXX Great Year of Ra (2019CE)”. The book is available on amazon: http://a.co/d/clZRHoW
By subscribing to “AMENTE NOFRE-MEMBERSHIP COMMUNITY” you will get a complete access to the daily posts of the Ancient Egyptian Religious Calendar and to our online courses in Egyptology, here’s the link with all the infos: https://www.patreon.com/amentenofre)
Religious Prescriptions:
Favorable day
“Do not go out at midday.” [c.c.]
Religious Festivities:
The XIX day of the lunar month is sacred to Imseti. It is the “Feast of Hearing His Words” and Iun-mut-ef is the God of the Feast.
- Offerings by the chief of the singers, the performer of the ritual of the dismembering of Seth (thirty-day festivity, XXV day)
[T. Behdet, c. Hathor]
- Feast of the Conception of Horus son of Isis and Osiris (…) (twenty-seven days, XXII day)
[T. Behdet, c. Hathor]
image: the Leo Zodiac sign represented upon a huge serpent;
detail from the astronomical ceiling (westernmost strip) of the Outer Hypostyle Hall of the Temple of the Goddess Hathor at Nitentóre (Dendera)
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Feed your mind with thoughts that cause it to be peaceful. To have a mind full of peace merely fill it full of peace. It’s as simple as that!
Reject hopelessness and substitute faith. By using intelligent and persevering effort, you can lift yourself out of hopelessness.
We are different at every age, and beautiful too! How boring it is to stay exactly the same for our whole lives.
SUMMER LOVIN’
“Summer loving had me a blast, summer loving happened so fast…”
Oh yeah…you Grease fans will be singing that all day now. So last night at 11:30 EST the summer solstice took place (unless you’re reading this in the southern hemisphere) kicking off Summer!
Porch rocking. Flip flops, shorts and t-shirt. Vacation…lakes & beaches. Ice cream. Laying in the sun or shade. Thunder storms. Flowers. Fireworks. Taking ‘strolls’. Amusement parks. Drive-in movies. Outside church. Picnics. The noise of kids playing. New friends. Sleeping outside. That special “summer song” that comes out of nowhere, plays in your head constantly and defines the fun you’re having. Who doesn’t like summer?
Sure, it’s warm and the days go on forever it seems….but it’s really much more than that. We look forward to summer because it’s a time to slow down and spend time with our friends and family. It’s a time to create new traditions but also conjures up memories of the past and our childhood.
So, get excited and be creative! No more masks and restrictions. It’s okay to constantly be in a good mood. Get crazy with your planning…. adventure, fun, and child-like wonder await!
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Disposing of Spring.
On the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, enjoy daylight a bit longer with this work by Israeli designer Zelig Segal. In Braille characters, the sculpture spells out the iconic Biblical proclamation “let there be light.”
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LITHA
a quick guide to the holiday of the summer solstice
WHAT DAYS IS IT CELEBRATED?
Its celebrated on the longest day of the year. In the NH this is usually from 20-23rd June. Most people celebrate it on the 21st June or across the 3 days. In the SH it’s usually from 20-23rdDecember.
WHAT DOES IT CELEBRATE?
It’s a celebration of the longest day of the year with the shortest night. It also celebrates the peak of summer, the sun being in its fullest,passion,success,ferlitity of the earth and growth.
TRADITIONAL WICCA CELEBRATION?
It traditionally celebrates the pregnancy of the Goddess and the Sun God being at his most powerful and full potential.
WHAT CAN I DO TO DECORATE MY HOME AND ALTER?
• light candles : green, yellow, gold
• light incense: lavender, orange, honeysuckle, floral, sage
• use ribbonsorcloth in the same colours as the candles
• put flowers around your alter or home: sunflowers, daisy, honeysuckles, pink roses, wild flowers
• make summer wreathsorflower crowns and places them around your house
WHAT ACTIVITIES CAN I DO?
•mediate outside with crystals or at sunrise
• do larger rituals that need more power and strength: manifestation, love, relationships, friendships, fertility
• midsummer bonfire/fire ritual
•candlemagic
•love/sex, protection andhomespells
•collect the ashes from the bonfire and use in your work
•recreate or make a wand
• make protection charms and necklaces out of seashellsorsacred wood
• make Gods Eyes for protection and hang around your doors
• go on walksandenjoy nature
• have a picnic in the park and on the beach
•bike rides
•clean the environment around you
•pamperyourself
• if you do, work with the fae or leave them an offering
•wear summer clothes or the colours
IMPORTANT ‘CORRESPONDENCES’ FOR THIS DAY?
•herbs: rosemary, parsley, mint, basil, sage
•colours: green, yellow, gold, orange, silver, pink
•scents: honeysuckle, lavender, flowers, lemon, honey
•crystals: sunstone, amber, citrine, yellow topaz
•flowers: sunflower, daisy, roses, wild flowers
FOODS TO MAKE?
•spicy foods: curry, break, muffins
• fresh fruit and veg : watermelon, blueberry, strawberry, tomatoes
•buttermilk bread
•lavenderorelderflower cake, wine, lemonade, syrup etc
•cake: lemon, honey, blueberry
•ginger beer or fruitybeer
• fresh smoothies
HELLENIC LITHA
•Apollo: Hes the Sun God as well as music, medicine and healing all of which I link to summer
•Hestia: The Goddess of family and home. This is an important part of Litha
•Hera: Goddess of marriage and relationships. This is another important part of Litha
Summer Solstice {Litha} Fantasy Feast
It’s here!! Nearly in the final hour!! Have been wicked busy but still dedicated to fulfilling my self imposed duty this year to upgrade all of my 2016 fantasy feasts. It brings me joy each year seeing people reblog my old feasts especially as those posts did help me to visualize and manifest incredible magical celebrations with friends. However as time goes on my standards unfortunately get higher and my tastes more elaborate so I felt it was time to redo my Summer Solstice vision. I hope this post with included recipes below get you in a hot summery mood!
Here are the previous feasts this year: Winter Crossquarter,Spring Equinox,Spring Crossquarter (And here was Litha 2016)
In the read more there are the recipe links and additional explanations on personal symbolism and of course the image credits! I also always plan my feasts to be vegan inclusive for those with dietary restrictions but also aim for all the food to be somewhat local which matters in these seasonal feasts since it’s celebrating local nature. Anyway there is something for everyone here.
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“Today is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the longest day and the shortest night of the year. Historically, many cultures have celebrated or honored this change in the sun’s cycle around the earth’s sky.
This day marks the start of the Summer season in the North, as the sun is at it’s highest position in the sky now. After this point, the nights will start to lengthen as the days begin to shorten. It’s a time where the seasons are shifting and there’s an opportunity for renewal.
Today is when the amount of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere peaks for the year, the light is intensifying and there may be an increase in energy in the air.
It’s possible that leading up to this moment, things have felt like they were heating up or building up in your life. Now, life is taking a turn. This could be the release of pressure you’ve been waiting for, and things should now start to flow again.
As the midpoint of the year, this is a fruition point - where all your intentions form the winter can blossom. You - or others around you - may notice that the new ideas and fresh perspectives are emerging.
This can be a great opportunity to get started on long-awaited projects or to take on looming issues and see them through. Have confidence that during this time, you can succeed. It’s also a good moment to reset your most ambitious intentions.
During this solstice, emotional sensitivity can be heightened - you may feel a caretaking energy emerging. [This is due to the start of Cancer season!] Make sure to care for your needs before caring for others. This could be a good time to replenish yourself so that you are fully nourished and prepared to take on any tasks.
This energy encourages you to spend time with your family, friends and community. Right now, you might notice that you’re joining in on more collaborations, team projects or that you’re able to accomplish more with your friends.
Not only is this a turning point in the year, but it can also be a turning point in your life. The goals you set now will be carried out over the next 6 months. Go inward to see what you want to accomplish outwardly. During this process, be sure to feel your emotions fully and let them guide you.
At this time it can be helpful to ask yourself
- What are my goals for the near future?
- What were my intentions at the beginning of the year? [Review the intentions you’ve set at the start of this cycle on Winter Solstice or the ‘seeds sown’ during Imbolc]
- Am I feeling fully nourished?
- Am I giving too much without receiving a fair return?
- Am I giving just to get something back?
Now is the time to give yourself so that you can more fully show up for your projects, people and life as a whole.”
-Wanted to share ‘The Pattern’s’ post on Summer Solstice today especially as it has good insight on how the entry into Cancer season and Jupiter’s retrograde in Pisces may affect us this year.
cancer season, summer solstice and jupiter retrograde will all be on june 20! let’s heal, rest & recharge, and restore balance in our lives!
this is the season of self! self-healing, self-care, and self-love! focus on your relationship with self and all other relationships will progress with harmony!! <3
Summer Solstice {Litha} Fantasy Feast
It’s here!! Nearly in the final hour!! Have been wicked busy but still dedicated to fulfilling my self imposed duty this year to upgrade all of my 2016 fantasy feasts. It brings me joy each year seeing people reblog my old feasts especially as those posts did help me to visualize and manifest incredible magical celebrations with friends. However as time goes on my standards unfortunately get higher and my tastes more elaborate so I felt it was time to redo my Summer Solstice vision. I hope this post with included recipes below get you in a hot summery mood!
Here are the previous feasts this year: Winter Crossquarter,Spring Equinox,Spring Crossquarter (And here was Litha 2016)
In the read more there are the recipe links and additional explanations on personal symbolism and of course the image credits! I also always plan my feasts to be vegan inclusive for those with dietary restrictions but also aim for all the food to be somewhat local which matters in these seasonal feasts since it’s celebrating local nature. Anyway there is something for everyone here.
1: Starters
The ideal Summer Solstice feast to me is a mad fiery pagan bonfire bbq. If we are talking about a celebration honoring the fiery sun, summertime and food, my mind goes to a grill. However most BBQs can end up getting heavy quickly. Therefore the starters are a bit light. There will be charred vegetable skewers, steamed seafood, shrimp cocktail and jalapeno poppers. Honorable mention would be blistered padron peppers.
Garlic Herb roasted Shrimp with homemade Cocktail sauce recipe
Balsamic Grilled Veggie Skewers Recipe
Seafood image Source
(I would ideally want to serve just steamed seafood. The image is from a Paella recipe which is very summery but Paella is definitely a main dish and not a starter).
Jalapeno Poppers Recipe
Blistered Padron Peppers Recipe
2: Sides
The bread choice for this feast will be focaccia with sundried tomatoes and garden herbs. Other dishes will be charred bell peppers, and a refreshing cucumber tomato salad.
Chili herb tomato focaccia bread recipe(vegan with olives image source)
Homemade Roasted Bell Peppers Recipe
Cucumber Tomato Salad Recipe
3: Mains
The grill would provide a selection of food, but the main feature would be marinated barbeque ribs. The plant based option would be stuffed grilled bell peppers with smoked paprika.
Stuffed Bell Peppers image source (there’s no vegan recipes online that I find satisfying so I would prepare this with sautéed pinto beans with red onions in tomato sauce, smoked paprika, coriander and topped with a dash of chili flakes and oat crème fraiche).
Marinated Ribs Source(Beer-b-q ribs recipe)
4: Desserts
Summer is the fruity season!! We start to see more fruits in season towards the Summer crossquarter harvest, yet Summer Solstice sees strawberries and in some regions melons start to ripen. Other fruits I associate with this sabbat are light citrus flavors from Lemon, Grapefruit and Lime. Also since I was raised in NJ a regional summery treat we have are orange creamsicles. It’s a dreamy creamy citrus delight and has a special place in my heart so I feel like since it evokes summer so well for me it deserves a spot here.
For each sabbat dessert I have a tart of choice, a cake of choice and a special dish. The tart for Summer Solstice is torn between a fresh strawberry tart and a lemon meringue, but I would ultimately choose a lemon meringue tart with flamed mallow topping. The cake would be strawberry shortcake, and the special dessert would be an icecream cake (could change flavors per year but would mostly be orange creamsicle). Alternatives provided would be ice cream cookies as they are easy to make with vegan options/dietary restrictions and in different variety of flavors to suit peoples pallets. Also if you are in a region where it’s available, definitely a watermelon fruit salad. Watermelon was such a big part of summer in NJ but in England its like out of region so it’s mostly strawberries over here.
Curly Dock and Strawberry Balsamic Tart Wondersmith recipe
Simple Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Lemon Meringue Tart
Icecream Sandwiches source(simple ice cream sandwich recipe)
Icecream Sandwich Bars vegan
Orange Creamsicle Icecream Cake Recipe
Strawberry Shortcake Icecream Cake (I was obsessed with these icecream bars as a kid)
5: Drinks
Fruits really make their way into everything during summertime and the drink selection would reflect this. Only thing not pictured here would be an elderflower fresh mint iced tea which will be cooling and refreshing to counter act all the hot and spicy foods. Other than that of course the main non-alcoholic drink will be lemonade!
For the alcoholic selection I would love Strawberry wine, boozy melon bowls and grapefruit shandies (shoffenhofer tastes like summer on tap it will change your life). The spirit of choice will be tequila. Something about tequila is so fiery, summery and solar. I would make spicy mezcal sunset margaritas and flamed tequila shots.
Dragon Lemonade Holder
Strawberry Wine Recipe
Grapefruit Shandy Recipe(Shoffenhofer)
Boozy melon Bowl (the Recipe is for Subak Hwachae which is a Korean boozy bowl with Soju)
Spicy Sunset Margarita Recipe
6: Treats
Final part!! You can tell I am a very sensory person and one thing that made celebrations and holidays memorable as a kid were always the treats you walked away with. The little candies, snacks and tokens. If I were to have a celebration with a whole community including kids I would include some of these. Summery sweets for me were salt water taffy, fruity gummies (especially shark gummies), sticky sun drops on paper and fruity candies with melon, strawberry and citrus flavors. For savory options I would love spicy and smoky treats from fiery chili chips to smoked paprika crisps.
Salt Water Taffy(Recipe)
Shark Sour Gummies
Fruit Candy Selection
Flaming Hot Party Mix
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If you made it this far thank you so much for reading it all!! Hope I put you on a visual sensory experience for the summer. I would love to hear what dishes and foods you associate with the summer solstice or summer time in general.
You can check my litha tag for more ideas or my correspondence list for why I associate certain things with this time of year.
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Image Credits:
Litha Art by Julia Nikitina
Bonfire Party
Lemon Beeswax Candles
Summer tablescape
Bonfire gif
Grill
Gold and Red tent
Flames
Fire Dancers
Fire Breather Gif - From me actually! It was my first summer solstice party and there were fire breathers. I took this video.
Bilbo Baggins Birthday (Lets be real, the ultimate summer solstice party would be that shire party)
Fruit Bowls
Fireflies gif
Flaming Shots
Grapefruit Cocktail
Beach Sunset
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Had like 4 texts already asking me about my plans for summer solstice but it’s gonna be pouring :(
I feel like when it rains on summer solstice it’s like as if the solstices energy is in retrograde lol. Like I really gotta think what I want to do cause the entire southern coast of the country is going to be heaving so even the alternative of a Cornwall car trip doesn’t sound enticing.
A few simple recipes for the summer solstice!
You can just follow the directions below or work with each ingredient carefully with magic intention to really boost the energies.
Give Me Money! Sun Tea
Ingredients
Sun tea for promoting financial wealth and abundance.
- Mint ice cubes (optional, freeze whole mint leaves into ice)
- 1 part Mint
- 1 part Chamomile
- ½ part Basil
Place your herbs in a jar and then steep in the sun. Add sweetener if desired and strain when you are ready to enjoy! Garnish with lemon.
Magic Psychic Sun Tea
Steep some dandelion and lemongrass for some psychic energy!
Ingredients:
- 1 part Lemongrass
- 1 part Dandelion flowers
- Pineapple juice
Follow the same basic steps for making a sun tea with lemongrass and dandelion flowers. Chill the tea and then add ½ part pineapple juice and garnish with pineapple.
Yummy Sunny Smoothie
- Approx 5 lemon balm tea ice cubes ( if you can’t find this, sub basil)*
- 1.5 cups frozen Strawberry
- 2 cups watermelon
- 1 frozen banana (more banana =thicker smoothie)
- Sweetener, if desired, I personally used 3 small packs of stevia in the raw
*Lemon balm notes:If you have a super fancy blender that will totally blend the lemon balm then you can add a few leaves in with everything else. You could also make lemon balm tea and freeze them into ice cubes for your smoothie.
Add all ingredients to blender and sweeten to taste. Enjoy! You could probably make some yummy popsicles if you mix the smoothie with some coconut milk yogurt.
Red Fire Litha Sun Tea
- Hibiscus flowers (check international markets to buy local)
- Cherry juice
- Orange slices
- Make sun tea with hibiscus. You will know its ready when you have a beautiful deep red color! You could just drink the hibiscus plain, or follow the next steps.
- Chill the hibiscus tea
- Add cherry juice! Use a 2:1 ratio of hibiscus tea to cherry juice, or 2 parts hibiscus to 1 part cherry. You don’t have to follow this ratio exactly!
- Garnish with orange slices
Safety considerations: The herbs in this post (basil, lemonbalm, lemongrass,dandelion, and chamomile are all pretty safe food-grade herbs when used in small, reasonable amounts. Hibiscus is generally safe as well, but avoid it if you are on HRT or pregnant, or with high or low blood pressure. As always consult with your doctor before consuming any herbal medicines.
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Olenko’s Beautiful Summer Sunset Smoothie
This is a great frozen smoothie that you can make on a hot summer day. Great for kids or as a healthy dessert for a summer BBQ or party. It’s so beautiful, healthy and easy to make. To make this smoothie you will freeze each color for about 30 min and then pour the next color on the top in order to make the stripes. You will blend each color in a Vitamix or other high speed blender. You will start with pink color.
Pink:
organic strawberries
organic banana
Beige:
organic banana
organic pear
Orange:
organic mango
organic pineapple
Decorate the smoothie with fresh mint and figs. Enjoy! Happy summer everyone : )
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Olenko’s Vegan Summer Solstice Picnic on Hudson River
On this beautiful summer solstice night I invited my husband and friends for a vegan picnic. I made raw chocolates, chickpeas kale-avocado salad, rainbow quinoa salad, we had fresh strawberries from a local farm and organic, raw, vegan cheese from place in Brooklyn www.dr-cow.com
So healthy and yummy. Here is the recipe formy homemade Chickpea-Kale-Avocado Salad:
Chickpea-Kale-Avocado Salad:
2 cups organic dry chickpeas ( soaked overnight and cooked for 15min)
5-6 leaves of organic curly kale
1 cup organic baby tomatoes
2 organic avocados
1 small purple onion
1 organic lemon juiced
1 organic lime juiced
2 TBS raw coconut vinegar
2 TBS organic hemp seed oil
¼ tsp pink Himalayan salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp nutritional yeast
*recipes for raw chocolate can be found on my blog www.olenkoskitchen.com look under dessert
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Happy Summer Solstice 2014!
Enjoy the sun and it’s healing energy! Celebrate love, peace, good health, compassion and being together on this beautiful Planet Earth. We are here to love, to live in peace, to be happy and to learn from each other. Love is all we need. Choose love, chose life. Choose compassion, choose kindness, choose having a peaceful and tranquil nature. Relax and be at peace with yourself and the world. Breath…
…the time has not beginning,
it has no end.
throughout immeasurable eons,
violence and conflict have abounded,
and body and spirit deeply wounded.
may the time for healing begin now.
may universal peace be ours.
Love and peace to you all. OM
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ℂ , !✨
