*Ø* Blogmanac | June 21-22 | Solstice!
Sun enters Cancer, 4th sign of the Zodiac (June 21 – July 22)
Festival of Alban Hefin (Druids)
Festival of Litha (Anglo Saxon) Wicker man
Seventh Station of the year
Festival of Li, Chinese Goddess of Light
At Stonehenge, the heelstone marks the rising midsummer sun as seen from the centre of the circle.
Northern Hemisphere: Summer Solstice June 21 at 7:10pm UT
Southern Hemisphere: Winter Solstice June 22 at 5:12 am Australian EST
From bright'ning fields of ether fair disclosed,
Child of the Sun, refulgent Summer comes.
Thomson: The Seasons (Summer)
Laylat al-saratjan/The Night of the Crab
The Copts celebrate the night (15 Ba'una) when the Sun enters Cancer, by hanging charms on their walls in order to drive away insects.
Is June 21 (Summer Solstice, Northern) ‘Midsummer’s Day’?
No. Traditionally, Midsummer is June 24, St John the Baptist’s Day, although it also refers to the week or so round about the Summer Solstice (21 June). Another name for the solstice of summer is ‘aestival’.
What are the solstices?
The solstices are the longest and shortest days of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice (June 21 or 22) occurs when the sun is farthest north. In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice (round about December 22) occurs when the sun is farthest south. In the Southern Hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are reveresed, so my family, friends and I are enjoying Winter Solstice, or Yule, as it is known in the Celtic tradition. Meanwhile our northern friends are enjoying Litha.
Germanic Midsummer lore
A solstice and equinox calendar, Fajada Butte, New Mexico, USA
On Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon, NM, Anasazi Indians 1,000 years ago used three stone slabs to create a still-useable calendar. On the four stations of the year, the sun shines through gaps between the slabs, either dividing or framing spirals carved on rocks behind.
Sacrifices of the Incas
In the city of Cuzco: on winter and summer solstices, sacrifices of children were made in olden days. Incas bathed in a sacred waterfall that was on one of 41 ceques or magical, invisible lines radiating out from the Temple of the Sun.
Solstice Project
ArchaeoAstronomy
Check out my article, How to make a sundial for your ceiling. Summer Solstice is a great day to begin your ‘spotdial’. All it takes is a small birdcage mirror worth a buck or two. When you have a working spotdial on your ceiling, why not send me a pic or two and we can share it with the Almaniacs.
Send a free Summer e-card
* Ø * Ø * Ø *
What does Solstice mean to you? Are you celebrating it this year? Leave a comment, I'd be interested to hear.
Sun enters Cancer, 4th sign of the Zodiac (June 21 – July 22)
Festival of Alban Hefin (Druids)
Festival of Litha (Anglo Saxon) Wicker man
Seventh Station of the year
Festival of Li, Chinese Goddess of Light
At Stonehenge, the heelstone marks the rising midsummer sun as seen from the centre of the circle.
Northern Hemisphere: Summer Solstice June 21 at 7:10pm UT
Southern Hemisphere: Winter Solstice June 22 at 5:12 am Australian EST
From bright'ning fields of ether fair disclosed,
Child of the Sun, refulgent Summer comes.
Thomson: The Seasons (Summer)
Laylat al-saratjan/The Night of the Crab
The Copts celebrate the night (15 Ba'una) when the Sun enters Cancer, by hanging charms on their walls in order to drive away insects.
Is June 21 (Summer Solstice, Northern) ‘Midsummer’s Day’?
No. Traditionally, Midsummer is June 24, St John the Baptist’s Day, although it also refers to the week or so round about the Summer Solstice (21 June). Another name for the solstice of summer is ‘aestival’.
What are the solstices?
The solstices are the longest and shortest days of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice (June 21 or 22) occurs when the sun is farthest north. In the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice (round about December 22) occurs when the sun is farthest south. In the Southern Hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are reveresed, so my family, friends and I are enjoying Winter Solstice, or Yule, as it is known in the Celtic tradition. Meanwhile our northern friends are enjoying Litha.
Germanic Midsummer lore
A solstice and equinox calendar, Fajada Butte, New Mexico, USA
On Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon, NM, Anasazi Indians 1,000 years ago used three stone slabs to create a still-useable calendar. On the four stations of the year, the sun shines through gaps between the slabs, either dividing or framing spirals carved on rocks behind.
Sacrifices of the Incas
In the city of Cuzco: on winter and summer solstices, sacrifices of children were made in olden days. Incas bathed in a sacred waterfall that was on one of 41 ceques or magical, invisible lines radiating out from the Temple of the Sun.
Solstice Project
ArchaeoAstronomy
Check out my article, How to make a sundial for your ceiling. Summer Solstice is a great day to begin your ‘spotdial’. All it takes is a small birdcage mirror worth a buck or two. When you have a working spotdial on your ceiling, why not send me a pic or two and we can share it with the Almaniacs.
What does Solstice mean to you? Are you celebrating it this year? Leave a comment, I'd be interested to hear.
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