WHEN:

Friday 21st June 2019

Socialization starts at 6:00 PM CT

Circle cast at 7:00 PM CT

Please DO NOT enter chat room once circle is cast.

WHERE:

Coven Life’s Chat Room

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Litha- Northern Hemisphere

1 White Taper Candle

1 Small black candle

2 Candle Holders

Matches or Lighter

1 Small glass of Juice or mead or wine – this can be share with everyone attending at your home or a small glass per person

1 Bite size cookie for each person attending in your home

If you have a child that will be joining us you will need

2 Battery Operated Candle ( one should be painted or markers used to make the stick of the candle black. Do not get on the “candle flame” as this may cause to explode.

If you choose to have anyone attend our gathering you and they can decide whether regular or battery operated candles are use.

Please keep a careful with children and the elderly around the open candle flames. Remember it is always SAFETY FIRST with every magickal thing you do.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Yule- Southern Hemisphere

2 White candles- any length- place at either end of your alter

Your wish ready to write on a piece of paper- small note size

Paper and pen to write the wish on

Incense of your choice

Please feel free to bring a yule log if you are able to get one, the choice is yours.

Litha- Northern Hemisphere- Summer Solstice

Midsummer night eve of importance to many people. This is the longest day of the year, a day on which both light and life are plentiful. This is the time that the Sun God is at his strongest and his day is celebrated by burning his sun wheel. This was to ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year.

This is also celebrated for the Goddess, as she is now with Child and reflecting the abundance of nature’s growth.

This is a time of purification

Yule- Southern Hemisphere- Winter Solstice

This is a celebration of rebirth and renewing of the old. The start of a longer, lighter days as the Lord of the sun rises form sojourn with the Goddess. This is a time to welcome back the Sun. A time to celebrate knowing that the warmer days of spring are ahead, and the dormant hearth will come back to life.

Below is a picture of the Solar Cross that will be drawn on your paper with your wish.

SunWheel-595bb4ae3df78c4eb664a133

Ceremony:

INVOCATIONS

Litha- Northern Hemisphere

EVERYONE: Mother Nature, Lady of the firmament, bless thy fruitful womb which I honor.

EVERYONE: God of fertility and fruitfulness. Blessed Lord of the blazing Sun, seed and nurturer of life. May you be blessed.

Yule- Southern Hemisphere

Light your 2 white candles now.

When finished type done.

EVERYONE: I light this fire in your honor Great Mother Goddess, you who have created life from death and warmth form cold. Once the time of the Sun lives. We invite you great mother to our circle, bring us brand new light, that of your glorious Son.

EVERYONE: Ancient God of forest and sky. I welcome you as you return form the shadows. Ow Great Lord the wheel has turned, I welcome you back to warm us. Great Lord I welcome your return and may you shine brightly upon this Great Mother Earth.

So let’s begin our Litha/Yule

Hypatia Casting the circle-

To the Guardians of the East:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

To the Guardians of the South:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

To the Guardians of the West:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

To the Guardians of the North:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

I cast this circle three times three with the assistance of the Great Mother and the Great God.

I call Upon the Guardians of spirit to protect us from above and below. As is above so is below, as is below so is above. May the power of The Great God and The great Goddess join us within this circle now, to protect us and to work with us and allow us to see beyond the veil.

Protect us Great Mother and Great God for all gathered here and those afar who are unable to be with us. Allow no negative energy to touch us, to harm us and that nothing we call upon will harm us and others. We come together in perfect love and perfect trust.

Greeting:

Hypatia – Merry meet brothers and sisters and honored guests.

Everyone – Respond Merry Greet. Please tell us your first name and state or country you are from.

RITUAL- MAIN WORKING

Litha- Northern Hemisphere

EVERYONE: Light your white candle while repeating this spell three times. When done type in “So more it be”

As the Holly King loses his battle and the Oak King is born. We wish the Holly King a restful slumber with our love and thanks for all he has helped us with.

We will meditate for 2 minutes to honor the Holly King.

Now light your black candle while repeating this spell three times. When you are done type in “So mote it be”

We welcome the Oak King as the days get shorter. We ask for your help in preparing for the cold months’

We will meditate for 2 minutes to honor the Oak King.

LADY BELTANE: I bring to each of you a blessing of peace, love, good will, and light on behalf of the Triple Goddess and her consort the Holly King. From myself I wish you positive energy, good cheer and happiness.

EVERYONE: Partake of your beverage and cookie saving a bit of each to place outside as an offering to the Holly King and the Goddess.

Yule- Northern Hemisphere

Using your pen and paper please draw your symbol.

Breathe deeply as you are doing this allowing the breath to come from your ‘Heart Space’. Do this a couple of times until you get the hang of it while you are drawing the symbol.

This will allow your ‘Heart Space’ to be filled with Love.

Allow this energy to build up and be part of your WISH as you begin to write it.

On top of the symbol please start writing your WISH- 1 minute. During this time you will be putting your absolute and full intention from your heart space.

Type done when finished.

EVERYONE: “Lord of the Sun that rides the westerly wild wind. As the seeds flourish and the fall into the waiting earth. I know this to be a time of equals allowing natures scales to come into balance. As the dark winter shadows reveal the wheel-a-turning it unveils life’s glory through a deathly silence.

EVERYONE: O Great Goddess, watcher of sacred magic and long gone myths, show me the way to great wisdom. Show me the way Great Goddess!”

When you are done please meditate for a full 2 minutes on the wish.

Type done when finished

EVERYONE: Let my mind and my hands be dedicated to the service of the God and the Goddess.

For After the Ritual

After the ritual you will give your WISH to the Great Mother Herself. You can bury it in the earth under your favorite tree or tie it on one of it’s grand branches, inside a fae circle, place it in a running stream, river or ocean. The choice is yours. Take your time to find the right place even if it is in a couple of weeks.

When you have the place, as you give it to the Great Mother, recite the WISH 3 times, begin with reverence and end with love and Gratitude, remembering to breathe from your ‘Heart Space’.

FAREWELLS

EVERYONE:

Mother Goddess, Lady of the Waters, I thank you for your presence and your blessings. May there be peace and honor between us now and forever. Hail and farewell.”

“Ancestors of blood and ancestors of spirit, I thank you for your presence and your blessings. May there be peace and honor between us now and forever. Hail and farewell.”
“Spirits of the land, spirits of this place, I thank you for your presence and your blessings. May there be peace and honor between us now and forever. Hail and farewell.”

Thank you bright Lord for the light you have brought to us this night,, may we carry it with us throughout the year that is coming.

Great Lady who is ever so gracious with her nurturing caring ways and infinite wisdom. Live within us throughout the coming year.

So mote it be!

CLOSING

Dismiss the circle:

To the Guardians of the East:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

To the Guardians of the South:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

To the Guardians of the West:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

To the Guardians of the North:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

As you leave here tonight may the Lady and Lord bless you with all that you need and want.

I bid you Blessings and great Joy Brothers and sisters of the Craft

Thank you

A besom blessing for the Summer Solstice

20181222_154714 This year I have decided to finally bless my besom, and what better timing than Litha.

The link below gives you Ideas of how you to can celebrate this beautiful festival including blessing your very own besom.

To continue reading for more craft Idead on Litha……

The Winter Solstice in Ancient Greece

Solstice (from the Latin sol ‘sun’) celebrations honor the sun. At the summer solstice in late June, there is no dearth of the sun, so celebrants just enjoy the extra hours of daylight, but by the winter solstice in late December, the days are much shorter as the sun sets earlier.

To continue reading…..

Setting Up Your Litha Altar

It’s Litha, and that means the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Midsummer is the time when we can celebrate the growing of crops, and take heart in knowing that the seeds we planted in the spring are now in full bloom. It’s a time of celebrating the sun, and spending as much time as you can outdoors. Try to set up your Midsummer altar outside if at all possible. If you can’t, that’s okay — but try to find a spot near a window where the sun will shine in and brighten your altar setup with its rays.

To continue reading…..

A Midsummer’s Celebration

by Mike Nichols

The young maid stole through the cottage door,
And blushed as she sought the Plant of pow’r; —
“Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light,
I must gather the mystic St. John’s wort tonight,
The wonderful herb, whose leaf will decide
If the coming year shall make me a bride.”

In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four “quarter days” of the year, and modern Witches call them the four “Lesser Sabbats”, or the four “Low Holidays”. The summer solstice is one of them.

Technically, a solstice is an astronomical point and, due to the calendar creep of the leap-year cycle, the date may vary by a few days depending on the year. The summer solstice occurs when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer, and we experience the longest day and the shortest night of the year. Astrologers know this as the date on which the sun enters the sign of Cancer.

However, since most European peasants were not accomplished at reading an ephemeris or did not live close enough to Salisbury Plain to trot over to Stonehenge and sight down its main avenue, they celebrated the event on a fixed calendar date, June 24. The slight forward displacement of the traditional date is the result of multitudinous calendrical changes down through the ages. It is analogous to the winter solstice celebration, which is astronomically on or about December 21, but is celebrated on the traditional date of December 25, Yule, later adopted by the Christians.

To continue reading please click on the link below…..

http://spheresoflight.com.au/index.php?page=witches_sabbats#midsummer

Litha in Australia

Midsummer or Litha (21st & 22nd December)

Midsummer, also known as Litha, is the time of the year when the days are longest and the nights shortest. The colors of the season are red and gold, representing heat and ripe fruit, and fruit is eaten in thanks.

In Australia the Sturt Desert Pea is a sacred flower of this time. Litha falls in the dry stifling heat of summer in the southern part of our land, but in the north, Litha falls in the hot, wet season, and represents fruitfulness.

Due to fire restrictions in Australia throughout summer, celebrations for this Sabbat tend to be quite different from those those throughout the rest of the year. No candles can be lit, no cauldrons burned, and no open flames are allowed throughout much of the country.

This means that we seek other ways of marking the quarters. One method is to make staffs for the Quarter Priest/esses to hold and brandish as the Elements are called in. Light sources include battery-operated torches that can be covered in colored cellophane to produce different colored light applicable to the various Elements. The cauldron can be replaced with a glass bowl of water, filled with rosewater and seashells, symbolising the importance of water to Australian Witches at this time. Garlands for our hair, wreaths to carry and use in ritual, and light, casual clothing are all a part of Midsummer celebrations.

To continue reading please click on to the link below…….

https://aussiewytch.wordpress.com/sabbats/litha-summer-solstice/litha-in-australia/

Yule- Northern Hemisphere- Winter Solstice. Litha- Southern Hemisphere- Summer Solstice, Final Esbat for 2018

WHEN:

Friday, December 21, 2018

Socialization starts at 6:00 PM CT

Circle cast at 7:00 PM CT

Please DO NOT enter chat room once circle is cast.

WHERE:

Coven Life’s Chat Room

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Yule- Northern Hemisphere- Winter Solstice

2 White candles- any length- place at either end of your alter
Red candle to represent the God- any length
Green candle to represent the Goddess- any length
Your wish ready to write on a piece of paper- small note size
Paper and pen to write the wish on
Incense of your choice
A cauldron, plate or safe container for burning the small paper

Please feel free to bring a yule log if you are able to get one, the choice is yours.

Litha- Southern Hemisphere- Summer Solstice

2 white candles- any length- place at either end of your alter
Red candle to represent the Sun God-any length
Green candle to represent the Goddess- any length
Your wish ready to write on a piece of paper- small note size
Paper and pen to write the wish on
Incense of your choice
A cauldron, plate or safe container for burning the small paper

RITUAL:

This will be a time to set our wishes for the coming of this new year!

Honoring the Esbat

Our Winter and Summer Solstices have very auspiciously aligned with the coming of the full moon, the last and final for this year of 2018. Please take the time to set your intentions, your wish, your desires, call it what you may, release what is no longer need in order to make room for the new.

All Hail to the Great Selene!

Yule- Northern Hemisphere- Winter Solstice

This is a celebration of rebirth and renewing of the old. The start of a longer, lighter days as the Lord of the Sun rises from sojourn with the Goddess. This is a time to welcome back the Sun. A time to celebrate knowing that the warmer days of spring are ahead, and the dormant hearth will come back to life.

Below is a picture of the Solar Cross that will be drawn on your paper with your wish.

Litha- Southern Hemisphere- Summer Solstice

This is also celebrated for the Goddess, as she is now with Child and reflecting the abundance of nature’s growth. This is a time of purification.

Below is a picture of a Sun Wheel that will be drawn on your paper with your wish.

SunWheel-595bb4ae3df78c4eb664a133

So let’s begin our Yule/ Litha ritual begin

Hypatia Casting the circle-

To the Guardians of the East:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

To the Guardians of the South:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

To the Guardians of the West:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

To the Guardians of the North:

I call you into our Watchtowers to protect us.

I cast this circle three times three with the assistance of the Great Mother and the Great God.

Greeting:

Hypatia – Merry meet brothers and sisters and honoured guests.

Everyone – Respond Merry Greet. Please tell us your first name and state or country you are from.

Please ALL light your white candles

It is the time of the Great Goddess in her full glory beaming her essence down on this Great Earth Mother. May we Honor Her for her gifts of love and kindness. May she bless us with her wisdom and may we have the courage and wisdom to walk our path on this Great Earth.

All Hail to the Great Selene!

INVOCATIONS

Yule- Northern Hemisphere

Please light the Goddess candle (Green) using the 2 white candles

All please say-

I light this fire in your honour Great Mother Goddess, you who have created life from death and warmth form cold. Once the time of the Sun lives. We invite you great mother to our circle, bring us brand new light, that of your glorious Son.

Now we look to the Great Earth Mother, Goddess Selene, as guardian of the sky, the sea and of all Gods and powers. Victory is in your name. You are the source of peoples and all Gods. Without you nothing can neither be born or made perfect.

I pray to you great mother, be present here with your virtues, grant me my wish, give me what I need and only that.

All hail to the Great Selene!

Please light the God candle (Red) using the 2 white candles

All please say-

Ancient God of forest and sky. I welcome you as you return form the shadows. Ow Great Lord the wheel has turned, I welcome you back to warm us. Great Lord I welcome your return and may you shine brightly upon this Great Mother Earth.

I pray to you great mother, be present here with your virtues, grant me my wish, give me what I need and only that.

All Hail to the Great Selene!

Litha- Southern Hemisphere

Please light the Goddess candle (Green) using the 2 white candles

All please say-

Mother Nature, Lady of the firmament, bless thy fruitful womb which I honour.

Please light the Goddess candle (Green) using the 2 white candles

All please say-

God of fertility and fruitfulness. Blessed Lord of the blazing Sun, seed and nurturer of life. May you be blessed.

MAIN WORKING

Yule- Northern Hemisphere

Using your pen and paper please draw your symbol allocated to your Hemisphere.

On top of the symbol please write your wish.

All please say-

Lord of the Sun that rides the westerly wild wind. As the seeds flourish and the fall into the waiting earth. I know this to be a time of equals allowing natures scales to come into balance. As the dark winter shadows reveal the wheel-a-turning it unveils life’s glory through a deathly silence.

O Great Goddess, watcher of sacred magic and long gone myths, show me the way to great wisdom. Show me the way Great Goddess!

When you are done please have your container safe and ready to burn the piece of paper with the wish and the symbol. During this time, please meditate for a full 5 minutes on the wish.

After the 5 minute meditation please say-

Let my mind and my hands be dedicated to the service of the God and the Goddess.

Litha- Southern Hemisphere

Using your pen and paper please draw your symbol allocated to your Hemisphere.

On top of the symbol please write your wish.

All please say-

O Great Goddess, watcher of sacred magic and long gone myths, show me the way to great wisdom. Show me the way Great Goddess!

When you are done please have your container safe and ready to burn the piece of paper with the wish and the symbol. During this time, please meditate for a full 5 minutes on the wish.

After the 5 minute meditation please say-

Let my mind and my hands be dedicated to the service of the God and the Goddess.

FAREWELLS

Please all say-

Mother Goddess, Lady of the Waters, I thank you for your presence and your blessings. May there be peace and honour between us now and forever. Hail and farewell Great Selene.”

Ancestors of blood and ancestors of spirit, I thank you for your presence and your blessings. May there be peace and honour between us now and forever. Hail and farewell.
Spirits of the land, spirits of this place, I thank you for your presence and your blessings. May there be peace and honour between us now and forever. Hail and farewell.

Thank you bright Lord for the light you have brought to us this night, may we carry it with us throughout the year that is coming.

Great Lady who is ever so gracious with her nurturing caring ways and infinite wisdom. Live within us throughout the coming year.

So mote it be!

CLOSING

Dismiss the circle:

To the Guardians of the East:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

To the Guardians of the South:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

To the Guardians of the West:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

To the Guardians of the North:

I dismiss and thank you from our Watchtowers and give Gratitude for protect us.

As you leave here tonight may the Lady and Lord bless you with all that you need and want.

I bid you Blessings and great Joy Brothers and sisters of the Craft

Thank you

June Solstice: Longest and Shortest Day of the Year

The June solstice is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Winter Solstice the Southern Hemisphere.

Illustration image — The June Solstice. (Not to scale)

The date varies between June 20 and June 22, depending on the year, and the local time zone.

June Solstice in Aurora, Illinois, USA was on
Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 11:24 pm CDT (Change city)

June Solstice in Universal Coordinated Time was on
Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at 04:24 UTC

Zenith Furthest Away from the Equator

A solstice happens when the sun’s zenith is at its furthest point from the equator. On the June solstice, it reaches its northernmost point and the Earth’s North Pole tilts directly towards the sun, at about 23.4 degrees.

It’s also known as the northern solstice because it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere.

11 Facts About the June Solstice

Meaning of Solstice

‘Solstice’ (Latin: ‘solstitium’) means ‘sun-stopping’. The point on the horizon where the sun appears to rise and set, stops and reverses direction after this day. On the solstice, the sun does not rise precisely in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west, meaning it’s visible in the sky for a longer period of time.

Although the June solstice marks the first day of astronomical summer, it’s more common to use meteorological definitions of seasons, making the solstice midsummer or midwinter.

Solstices in Culture

Over the centuries, the June solstice has inspired countless festivals, midsummer celebrations and religious holidays.

One of the world’s oldest evidence of the Summer Solstice’s importance in culture is Stonehenge in England, a megalithic structure which clearly marks the moment of the June Solstice.

In the Southern Hemisphere, where the June solstice is known as the shortest day of the year, it marks the first day of astronomical winter, but the middle of winter in meteorological terms.

Midnight Sun or Polar Night?

On the June solstice, the midnight sun is visible (weather permitting) throughout the night, in all areas from just south of the Arctic Circle to the North Pole.

Sunrise and Sunset Times

On the other side of the planet, south of the Antarctic Circle there’s Polar Night, meaning no Sunlight at all, on the June Solstice.

Solstice Dates Vary

Even though most people consider June 21 as the date of the June Solstice, it can happen anytime between June 20 and June 22, depending on which time zone you’re in. June 22 Solstices are rare – the last June 22 Solstice in UTC time took place in 1975 and there won’t be another one until 2203.

The varying dates of the solstice are mainly due to the calendar system – most western countries use the Gregorian calendar which has 365 days in a normal year and 366 days in a Leap Year.

A tropical year is the time it takes the Earth to orbit once around the Sun. It is around 365.242199 days long, but varies slightly from year to year because of the influence of other planets. The exact orbital and daily rotational motion of the Earth, such as the “wobble” in the Earth’s axis (precession of the equinoxes), also contributes to the changing solstice dates.

Moving to Other Seasons

Equinox and solstice illustration. — Equinoxes and Solstices

After the June solstice, the sun follows a lower and lower path through the sky each day in the Northern Hemisphere until it reaches the point where the length of daylight is about 12 hours and eight to nine minutes in areas that are about 30 degrees north or south of the equator.

Areas 60 degrees north or south of the equator have daylight for about 12 hours and 16 minutes. This is the September Equinox, the Autumnal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.

Earth does not move at a constant speed in its elliptical orbit. Therefore the seasons are not of equal length: the times taken for the sun to move from the March Equinox to the June Solstice, to the September equinox, to the December solstice, and back to the March equinox are roughly 92.8, 93.6, 89.8 and 89.0 days respectively.

The consolation in the Northern Hemisphere is that spring and summer last longer than autumn and winter.

Information from https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/june-solstice.html