The
Summer Solstice
Here
is the festival of Midsummer, when the King of the Land gives his power
willingly over to the Lady, relinquishing His sovereignty that the Sun
may begin to wane and the harvest ripen. Traditional lore speaks of the
Oak King and the Holly King, rulers respectively of the Light and Dark
halves of the year, and of their struggle for supremacy in a never-ending
round where one repeatedly gives way to the other.The Sun moves from Gemini,
whose duality represents the Two-faced God of the waxing and waning year,
to Cancer, the Lady's sign, sign of Water, representative of the cooling
and wetter weather which must occur for the harvest to be rich.The length
of the day had been increasing since Spring Equinox, until now, in the
northernmost provinces, the light was only gone from the Earth for five
or six hours.
In
the Celtic World, the cattle and sheep were fat with good grain, and the
fields were rich with barley and oats to grind into flour.The people rested
and feasted around the Midsummer bonfires, knowing the remainder of the
growing season was in the hands of the Lady and the Lord.
Even
today, the Summer Solstice is the traditional time for gathering the folk
together. Covens and groves which have hived return to the Mother Coven
at Midsummer, to see old friends and teachers and to celebrate the ongoing
family ties which bind them. The practice of family reunions is another
ancient folk custom which has transmuted itself into modern practice.
The
alignment of the season is South and Southwest, and the directional correspondences
are fire, fire of water ( warm rains and heavy, moist air ), fire of earth
(ripe berries. vegetables and fruits), and earth of fire ( ripe grain).
The
urban Witch does many of the same activities the ancestors did at this
season...outdoor living, tending ripening crops in the garden, visiting
relatives, remodeling and home repair to take advantage of the good weather.
Magickally, we work in alignment with the Oak King, who voluntarily relinquishes
His throne, becoming
thereby more able to understand the inner realities which structure His
life. Magick at this season is about the other half of the witche's blade,
the soul searching which is a necessary part of developing use of the Will
which is in line with the Rede. Dreamwork, inner trance meditations, relinquishment
of ideas, habits or associates which hinder growth, are all magical acts
which are in tune with the season, one of change of focus, of realignment,
of growth.
Green
Man by firesilk

OAK
MOON - DUIR
The
word "Duir" which is the Irish Gaelic for the month of the Oak, is the
same word which is the root of the English word "door." And this month
is a gateway, a doorway to the second half of the year as well as an avatar
of changes in mundane reality. Mythically, the Oak King, the Lord of the
Waxing Year, relinquishes his domain to the Tanist, the Holly King, Lord
of the Waning Year. The sun's path begins to decline in the Northern Hemisphere,
making the days shorter and cooling temperatures so that the growing crops
will ripen gently, not scorch and burn. The energy of the month is not
only "change", but often "reversal", reminding us that a door opens both
ways. The "door" of Duir, for a Witch, is the "doorway to the mysteries",
the place where the oldest wisdom is to be obtained.
The
physical characteristics of the Oak lend themselves to symbolic interpretation;
the acorn from which the oak grows is a tiny seed which slowly and over
many years produces one of the largest trees in the forest, which is a
metaphor for the growth of wisdom; the wood of the Oak is among the strongest
and most enduring of all woods, resisting corruption for centuries, as
does truth; and the leaves, bark, acorns and ground sawdust of the oak
may be used medicinally to cure various ailments, reinforcing the magickal
idea of protection and wisdom.
The
deity most closely associated with the Oak for the Celts was the Daghda,
the "good God" who was the Father of the other Gods and whose legends bespeak
great strength, sexual prowess, and the provision of never-ending bounty.
It is interesting that the Old Irish spelling of his name, as above, is
pronounced "Dada" like the child's word for "Father"...and in America and
some other Western countries, Father's Day falls in the Oak month.
The
Witch's journey in the Oak month is about "Strength and Protection", like
the feeling we have when we are safely behind a solid oaken door. Magic
to strengthen psychic defenses, erect wards around people or places, and
search the inner mysteries under the protection of the Oak King, the Father
God, are all successful during this month. Making of amulets and shields,
or blessing one's own physical space against intruders, theft or other
ill doings are also magics for this time.

