No Fate But What We Make

Midsummer, also known as Litha in some traditions, refers to the celebrations that originated in ancient times as a festival for the Summer Solstice, with both Christian and Pagan origins. Midsummer ranges from June 19th to June 24th, and the Summer Solstice falls between June 20th and June 22nd, halfway through Midsummer celebrations. Every year, visitors from around the world gather at Stonehenge to watch the sun rise on the summer solstice.

Mysticism and magic are a common theme in Midsummer folklore around the world. Magic was thought to be strongest during the Summer Solstice, and there are myths of the world turning upside down or the sun standing still at Midsummer. As Professor Ronald Hutton (University of Bristol) wrote, it was seen as “a time when the normal laws of nature or divinity could be suspended, when spirits and fairies could contact humans, when humans could exceed the usual limitations of their world.”

The Catholic church designated June 24th as the feast day of St. John the Baptist, to coincide with Midsummer. Bonfires are often lit on St. John’s Eve or Bonfire Night (as it’s known in Ireland) on June 23rd as a dual celebration of both Christian and Pagan events. Lighting bonfires on Midsummer’s Eve is a Pagan custom that pre-dates Christianity and is thought to bring good luck to lovers and ward off evil spirits.

Midsummer festivals are celebrated throughout Europe and the Summer Solstice is particularly important in Nordic communities, where seasonal changes in sunlight are dramatic. The Vikings used the long days to hunt, settle disputes, and conduct raids. In many Scandinavian countries, the Midsummer festival is a public holiday where it is known as St. Hans Day. In North America, Midsummer celebrations are derived from the cultures of immigrants who arrived from various European countries.

Midsummer is also the inspiration for one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The events unfold in an enchanted forest, a powerful symbol of untamed nature, and explores how love makes us do strange things: “The course of true love never did run smooth.”

Midsummer is an important time of year in many Pagan and earth-based spiritual practices. The specific customs associated with Midsummer vary, depending on the culture but some common Pagan traditions include:

Lighting fires and candles to represent the power of the sun at its peak in Midsummer. People may also jump over the fire or pass through it to symbolize purification and renewal.

Dancing and music are performed around the bonfire or in other outdoor settings to celebrate the abundance of the season.

Midsummer is a time when plants are in full bloom, and many Pagan traditions include the gathering of medicinal or magical herbs for healing, divination, or ritual purposes.

Creating flower wreaths from specific flowers associated with the season or particular deities.

Offerings are made to faeries or other nature spirits to honour their role in the natural world.

Overall, Midsummer is a time of celebration and connection to the natural world in many Pagan traditions. It represents the peak of the sun’s power, the abundance of the growing season, and is often celebrated with joy, music, and dancing. Wishing everyone a lovely summer full of good vibes and sunny moments.

Beltane is a traditional Celtic pagan festival held on May 1st - the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice - that celebrates the coming of summer and invokes fertility for the upcoming year. Beltane means 'fires of Bel', and honours the Celtic deity, Bel, by lighting candles and bonfires. During Beltane, Pagans believe that the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds is thin, making it easier to communicate with spirits and ancestors. It is also the time to honour the abundance of the earth and celebrate the growth and renewal of nature. The month of May in Irish is Bealtaine (byowl-thin-ah) and is named after the festival.

In Celtic times, Beltane marked the beginning of summer when cattle were brought out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops, and people, and to encourage growth. Bonfires were lit and the people and their cattle walked around the bonfires. Household fires were doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. Holy wells were visited, and offerings made. The first water drawn from a holy well on May Day was thought to bring good luck, while washing your face with Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness.

The May Queen is a central figure in Beltane celebrations, representing the fertility of the earth. In many traditions, the May Queen is chosen from the young women of the community and crowned with ribbons and flowers. She is often dressed in white, symbolizing purity and new beginnings. The Green Man is a Pagan deity associated with nature, fertility, and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The Green Man is seen as the embodiment of the spirit of the forest and is closely tied to Beltane, which celebrates the arrival of summer and the fertility of the earth.

The presence of the May Queen and the Green Man at Beltane celebrations symbolizes the union of the earth and sky and represents the renewal of life and the promise of a bountiful harvest. Handfasting rituals sometimes occur at Beltane celebrations, where a couple declare their love and commitment to each other by having their hands tied together with ribbon or cord. Beltane gatherings were accompanied by a feast, and food and drink were offered to the Aos sídhe (the Celtic gods). Doors, windows, and livestock were decorated with white or yellow flowers.

A small tree or bush of hawthorn, rowan, holly, or sycamore is decorated with bright flowers, ribbons, and painted shells to make a May Bush. These customs are a relic of tree worship, and the intention is to invoke blessings from the tree spirit. In Victorian times, the custom of singing and dancing around the May Bush was replaced by the tradition of dancing with ribbons around a May Pole although this custom is more commonly seen in Britain and mainland Europe than in Ireland.

Many Beltane practices appeased the fairies. Black coal placed under butter churns prevented the theft of butter; branches from the May Bush tied to milk pails, and the tails of cattle hung in barns prevented the theft of milk. Cattle were brought to fairy forts and a small amount of their blood was poured on the earth to seek protection for the herd’s safety. Superstitions associated with Beltane include: to keep white horses in a barn, not to hang out clothes, or put fire ashes outdoors, and animals born on May 1st were an ill-fated omen. It was also considered bad luck to marry or give birth on the 1st of May. The hill of Uisneach (ish-nock) in County Westmeath is a traditional gathering place in Ireland for people celebrating Beltane. The “fires of Bel” are still lit annually at dusk after a torchlit procession by costume-clad participants. In 2017, the ceremonial fire was lit by the guest of honour, President Michael D. Higgins.

Ostara is a Celtic tradition that celebrates the Spring Equinox, also known as the Vernal Equinox, and marks the official start of spring. The word Ostara is derived from the Anglo-Saxon goddess, Ēostre, who represents spring and new beginnings. Like spring celebrations in many cultures, Ostara symbolizes fertility, rebirth, and renewal. This time of year marks the beginning of the growing cycle when farmers and gardeners traditionally start to plant seeds.

Ostara is the second of three spring celebrations in the Pagan calendar and is the midpoint between Imbolc and Beltane, during which light and darkness are again in balance. Ostara is a cardinal point on the Wheel of the Year and honours the spring’s warmth, the light from the sun, and the awakening of the earth. Ostara is a time of new beginnings and the emergence of new life after winter and pagan celebrations have themes of balance, renewal, and rebirth.

The hare is a fertility symbol associated with the Spring Equinox as March marks the beginning of the mating season. The usually shy, quiet hare can become quite fanatical and fervent in his attempts to find a mate, hence the expression, “as mad as a March hare”. The hare is also associated with the moon, which dies every morning and is resurrected every evening, and represents the rebirth of nature.

The egg also symbolizes the rebirth of nature, the fertility of the Earth and all creation. In many traditions, the egg is a symbol for the whole universe. The Celts dyed eggs while thinking of their hopes and wishes for the coming year. The eggs were buried alongside a seedling in the ground to sustain and feed the plant during its growing season. As the plant grew, the hope or wish would take root and come to fruition at the end of the year. When Christianity began to take hold, the church disapproved of such Pagan traditions. Children were encouraged to seek out and dig up the eggs and were paid a small token by the clergy for each egg collected and this is one explanation for the origin of the Easter egg hunt tradition.

The colours of Ostara are pastels - yellow, orange, lavender, and green - and other symbols of Ostara include spring flowers, fairies, and butterflies. Another popular tradition is hot cross buns, which have Pagan roots. The equilateral cross symbolizes the four quarters of the moon, the uniformity of the seasonal year, and the equilibrium of the equinox with equal day and equal night, though it is also associated with the symbolism of the Christian cross. 

As with many Pagan traditions, Ostara was adopted by Christianity as the time of year to celebrate Easter although the two festivals rarely coincide. Ostara and the Spring Equinox fall between March 19th and 22nd each year whereas Easter Sunday is determined by the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox and varies each year. For Easter, the Ostara symbols of the hare and egg are represented by the Easter Bunny, who brings chocolate eggs to adults and children alike. A worthwhile tradition indeed!

Bye, John Green, unpaid intern!