Blog - Jenny Heston

Summer Solstice, Litha, Midsummer’s Eve – What it is and how to celebrate.

What is Summer Solstice you ask and why the heck should I give it any attention? Mighty fine questions, so let’s go for a little explore. Solstice comes from the Latin words sol, meaning Sun and sistere, meaning to come to a stop or stand still. On the day of the June solstice, the Sun reaches its northernmost position, as seen from the Earth. At that moment, its zenith does not move north or south as during most other days of the year, but it stands still at the Tropic of Cancer. It then reverses its direction and starts moving south again. The opposite happens during the December solstice. Then, the Sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky – Tropic of Capricorn – stands still, and then reverses its direction towards the north.

On a purely factual basis Summer Solstice (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) marks the longest day of the year and the shortest night, it’s the start of the the lazy hazy days of summer. Kids are normally on summer break, families scramble to go on a holiday or camp, and a lot of time is spent soaking up the sun whilst hanging at the beach, playing in the water or hosting a summer bar-b-que. Summer Solstice both ushers in the warmest season and also a gentle reminder that the days are going to get a bit shorter. Even though the days feel longer, more languid and relaxed there is an underlying freneticism of getting outside, celebrating the sun as much as possible, as it will soon be gone. This year Summer Solstice occurs on Thursday June 21st.

Okay, so we have the facts, but what does it all mean? Summer Solstice (also known as Litha, or Midsummer Eve) is all about abundance, growth, expansion. It’s the celebration of the Sun! Think about it, the farmer plants the seeds in the cool of the Spring in the wet ground and as the Summer Solstice approaches things have sprouted and are reaching up as if they are doing a glorious sun salutation. It’s a time to watch the ripening and fruiting of the plants around us and our ideas. This is a delicious inner fire/power celebration that acknowledges the abundance that grows from tiny seeds.

At Stonehenge, (which was built over 5,000 years ago) the heelstone marks the midsummer sunrise as seen from the centre of the stone circle. In ancient times, the Summer Solstice was a fire-festival of great importance when the burning of balefires ritually strengthened the sun. It was often marked with torchlight processions, by flaming tar barrels or by wheels bound with straw, which were set alight and rolled down steep hillsides. The Norse especially loved lengthy processions and would gather together their animals, families and lighted torches and parade through the countryside to the celebration site.

The use of fires, as well as providing magical aid to the sun, were also used to drive out evil and to bring fertility and prosperity to men, crops and herds. Blazing gorse or furze was carried around cattle to prevent disease and misfortune; while people would dance around the balefires or leap through the flames as a purifying or strengthening rite. The Celts would light balefires all over their lands from sunset the night before Midsummer until sunset the next day. Around these flames the festivities would take place.

In Cornwall up to the mid 18th century the number and appearance of fires seen from any given point was used as a form of divination and used to read the future. So as we can see, this celebration has been around for years, upon years and has an intensity and a deliciousness about it.

So now we have facts, the meaning – how does one celebrate it? There is no right or wrong way by any stretch. However, here are a few simple ideas that aren’t overly complex.

Great the rising sun with some crystals. Energy Muse has a nice ritual for this.

Take a moment to offer up a prayer. If you have no clue what to say, here are a few ideas for celebrating Litha.

Move your body. Welcome the sun on this longest day with a couple of sun salutations. This is a simple Yoga flow that requires you just to be present and go as far as your body will allow you to go. If you are unclear as to what it looks like there are some great beginner versions on line and this will give you a glorious full body stretch (in a gentle way).

Make an altar. Pop some seashells, flowers, fruit and dried herbs on it and voila, you have created an altar. It doesn’t have to be big, or front and centre in your living room if that makes people around you uncomfie. Your altar could be those cool rocks you picked up over the last year all gorgeously stacked on your kitchen counter.

Eat outdoors. Whether it is your packed lunch at a park, or a family dinner at the picnic table. Eat outside and breathe in the green, the sun, the connection. Look at the plants that are near you whether they are wild rampant buttercups, or a gorgeous rose whose scent wafts to you on the breeze. Realise everything is connected, people, planets, sun and most certainly you.

Take off your shoes. I’m not saying you have to go barefoot for the whole day, but at some point, take off your shoes, let your toes wiggle in the grass or the dirt and just BE for a few moments.

Get your hands dirty. Plant something and if you try to tell me that it is too late I will call bollocks. It’s a great time to pop in more spinach, Brussel sprouts and a myriad of other things. So take a moment, grab a pack of seeds and as you pop them into a pot or the ground, set an intention.

Fire time. Have a bonfire, or a little fire, and if not a fire, light a candle.

Welcome the water. Get near water, whether it is sitting by a creek, a lake or having a dip in the pool. However, if you are living in a desert this could be a tad tricky, so in that case just pour some water into a little bowl and have it near your fire/candle.

Reset. This is a gorgeous time to use the energy of the Summer Solstice to burn away anything (and I mean anything) that no longer is who you are, or is serving your highest good. One year I had a photo of someone who had been incredibly toxic in my life, but still pulled the strings. So I took the photo, said a blessing, dug a hole and popped the photo in. Lit a fire and felt tons better!

Community. Invite a friend or 15 to celebrate with you. This is a fun celebration and festival and a pivotal time in the year. Invite friends over and have a potluck, a fire, a delightful natter, play music and celebrate your connection with each other.

There you go. You have now celebrated the Summer Solstice.

Wishing you glorious fires, connection, abundance and most of all fun!

Prayers and Offerings for Litha

Jenny Heston · 2:48 pm ·

Here are a few simple prayers to offer up on this gorgeous day of Litha.

Litha Prayer to the Sun

The sun is high above us

shining down upon the land and sea,

making things grow and bloom.

Great and powerful sun,

we honor you this day

and thank you for your gifts.

Ra, Helios, Sol Invictus, Aten, Svarog,

you are known by many names.

You are the light over the crops,

the heat that warms the earth,

the hope that springs eternal,

the bringer of life.

We welcome you, and we honor you this day,

celebrating your light,

as we begin our journey once more

into the darkness.

Litha Prayer for the Beach

O mother ocean, welcome me in your arms,

bathe me in your waves,

and keep me safe

so that I may return to land once more.

Your tides move with the pull of the moon,

as do my own cycles.

I am drawn to you,

and honor you under the sun’s fiery gaze.

A Garden Prayer for Litha

If you’re planting a garden this year, you may already have plants in the ground by the time Litha rolls around. Don’t worry, you can still offer up this prayer to help them flourish! Go out to your garden on a sunny day, stand barefoot in the soil, and feel the magical energy of the earth. If you’re a container gardener, that’s okay, place your hands around each pot as you say this prayer to bless your flowers, fruit, and vegetables!

Small plants, leaves and buds,

growing in the soil.

O fiery sun, may your rays of

light and warmth

bless us with abundance,

and allow these plants to blossom

with life.

Enjoy!

It’s Beltane!

Jenny Heston · 2:00 pm ·

I love Beltane, I love it because it is fiery, passionate, intentional and produces results!

Beltane was thought to be one of the more important festivals of the Gaelic calendar. Beltane is a Fire Festival. The word ‘Beltane’ originates from the Celtic God ‘Bel’, meaning ‘the bright one’ and the Gaelic word ‘teine’ meaning fire. Together they make ‘Bright Fire’, or ‘Goodly Fire’ and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the Sun and encourage the support of Bel and the Sun’s light to nurture the emerging future harvest and protect the community.

Beltane celebrates the height of Spring and the flowering of life. Earth energies are at their strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility, look at the trees around you – (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere), they are bursting forth with bright green leaves and the little sparrows are back as well as the robins. Abundant fertility, on all levels, is the central theme.

The Goddess has reached her fullness and is the manifestation of growth and renewal and shows up as the May Queen, Flora, the Goddess of Spring. The God emerges as the Young Oak, May King or as Jack in the Green. They fall in love, the union is consummated and the May Queen becomes pregnant. Together the May Queen and the May King are symbols of the Sacred Marriage, the union of Earth and Sky. If you have ever read “The Mists of Avalon” you will know what I am talking about. “This is the night of the Greenwood Marriage. It is about sexuality and sensuality, passion, vitality and joy. And about conception. A brilliant moment in the Wheel of the Year to bring ideas, hopes and dreams into action. And have some fun!”

Have you ever seen a Maypole dance? If you have never seen a proper Maypole dance done, I highly recommend it! A phallic pole, often made from Birch (why Birch you ask – Birch is regarded as a feminine tree and Deities associated with Birch are mostly love and fertility goddesses. It is one of the first trees to show its leaf in Spring), was inserted into the Earth representing the potency of the God. At the top there would be a glorious wreath, most often Hawthorn flowers and the flowers represented the Goddess. Hawthorn is a deeply magical tree and is one of the three trees at the heart of the Celtic Tree Alphabet, the Faery Triad, ‘by Oak, Ash and Thorn’. Traditionally Beltane began when the Hawthorn, the May, blossomed. It is the tree of sexuality and fertility and is the classic flower to decorate a Maypole with.

The dance around the Maypole represented Their unity. Ribbons of Green, White and Red hung down from the top of the pole and each young woman would take an end and dance. As they danced around the pole they would weave in and out and through whilst holding onto their gorgeous ribbon. This weaving represented the Spiral of Life and the union between the God and the Goddess. It’s moving artistry and glorious fun!

So if you haven’t gotten it yet, Beltane is a festival of flowers, fertility, sensuality, and delight. The Beltane fires of yore were a time of revelry, pairing and celebrating fertility (there were lots of babies born 9 months after the celebrations!) Also, cattle would be led between two fires for protection and to encourage a strong, fertile herd. People believed the smoke and the ashes from the Beltane fires offered protection and fertility. Holy wells were visited and feasts were had. Rowan was often used in Beltane festivals as it’s a tree of protection and healing. Branches of Rowan were placed as protection over the doors of houses and barns at Beltane to protect from increased Faery activity as they woke from their winter slumber. Sprigs were worn for protection also. Rowan berries have a tiny five-pointed star on the bottom reminiscent of the pentagram.

So all in all a great time to celebrate, set intention, fertilise either self or ideas and have a grand jolly time!

But I guess the question some people have is – “Why bother marking the day?” Good question, and my answer would be because it connects you to something bigger, older and deeper than our modern day to day.

I love the way Donna Henes puts it:- Ceremonial observance adds lucid layers — depth, dimension, drama and distinction — to our lives, making the ordinary seem special, and the special, extraordinary. Through the practice of ritual we are privileged to experience ourselves as prepared, present, passionate, principled and potent. When we set aside the quality time and claim the psychic space for ceremony, when we assume the authority to do so, we are able to transform our perceptions, our perspectives, our experiences, and in the process, our reality.

Does ritual have to be long, drawn out, complicated and require a shed ton of things you don’t have in your home? Some people believe so, but I don’t. To me ritual is performed when I make food for those I love with the intention of it being nourishing and a dish of connection. It’s also in when I routinely smudge and energetically cleanse my home, or in the Epsom salt tub that I draw up for one of the boys with the oils that will help them.

So with all that being said let’s go explore 3 simple rituals for Beltane. The first one is the egg charm (and I most certainly do this at Easter) and it is so easy to do. The second is a tree blessing, which I love and will be doing. The last, but not least is a very simple dandelion renewal ritual – if spring has sprung early enough for you.

Pick what resonates for you, or create your own. The key elements are Intention, Willingness and Openness.

Enjoy and have fun!

Seriously, who doesn’t want to celebrate Spring? Why and how to celebrate.

Jenny Heston · 1:00 am ·

Seriously, have to ask – who doesn’t want to celebrate Spring? As a kid Spring time was filled with woodland flowers and baby lambs popping out everywhere and bouncing like mad fiends over the grass. Thus, I think that really nailed down the fact that I love Spring Equinox!

After a long (this one especially) winter, the idea, the knowing and the full Trust that Spring is going to come is amazing. To me it is about NEW. New plants, new ideas, new ways of moving in the world and releasing the blaugh. Spring Equinox (also known as Ostara), after the goddess Eostre is a fertility holiday, which celebrates the resurgence of life with such symbols as rabbits, cute little chicks and lambs (seeing any similarity to Easter symbols?)

Spring Equinox is the second of the four “sky points” in the Wheel of the Year, and is a time of balance, it is when the sun does a perfect balancing act in the heavens. In other words, the sun rises exactly in the East, travels through the sky for 12 hours and sets exactly in the West. Thus, all over the world, day and night are of equal length. For us in the Northern Hemisphere we know from this moment forth there will be more light than there is darkness, and growth will reign triumphant over death. (For those in the Southern Hemisphere it is Fall Equinox, a time of harvest and getting ready for Winter and a gentle letting go of the light to fold in and cocoon).

This is a time when the goddess is the Maiden in all her youthful glory, the god is reaching manhood, and energy abounds. So why not tap into that energy to bring the light into your own darkness, if you have any? For example spring cleaning is not just about your home, it’s about removing old or negative energies accumulated over the dark winter months to prepare you for glorious growth. It’s about planting seeds of intention, seeds of growth, seeds of food – it’s about shedding that heavy winter coat and picking up something a tad lighter and a bit more fun.

If we were to look through multiple cultures Spring Equinox has, and is, a glorious time of welcoming in the light, celebrating the rebirth or creation of new things, planting seeds and releasing the old, worn and tired.

For example, there is the story of the Roman god Mithras, which is similar to the tale of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. “ Born at the winter solstice and resurrected in the spring, Mithras helped his followers ascend to the realm of light after death. In one legend, Mithras, who was popular amongst members of the Roman military, was ordered by the Sun to sacrifice a white bull. He reluctantly obeyed, but at the moment when his knife entered the creature’s body, a miracle took place. The bull turned into the moon, and Mithras’ cloak became the night sky. Where the bull’s blood fell, flowers grew, and stalks of grain sprouted from its tail.”

In the Mayan culture, at Chichen Itza, spring equinox is most certainly celebrated (I have been there for this, very cool!) It’s called – The Snake of Sunlight “A famous ancient equinox celebration was the Mayan sacrificial ritual by the main pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico. The pyramid, known as El Castillo, has 4 staircases running from the top to the bottom of the pyramid’s faces, notorious for the bloody human sacrifices that used to take place here. The staircases are built at a carefully calculated angle which makes it look like an enormous snake of sunlight slithers down the stairs on the day of the equinox.” (Having been there, very cool).

Last but not least let’s look at the Iranian New Year, which is called No-Rooz, and happens at exactly the same time. Again, spring cleaning occurs and an altar is set up “Iranians consider No-Rooz as their biggest celebration of the year, before the new year, they start cleaning their houses (Khaane Tekaani), and they buy new clothes. But a major part of New Year rituals is setting the “Haft Seen” with seven specific items. In ancient times each of the items corresponded to one of the seven creations and the seven holy immortals protecting them. Today they are changed and modified but some have kept their symbolism. All the seven items start with the letter “S”; this was not the order in ancient times. These seven things usually are: Seeb (apple), Sabze (green grass), Serke (vinager), Samanoo (a meal made out of wheat), Senjed (a special kind of berry), Sekke (coin), and Seer (garlic). Sometimes instead of Serke they put Somagh (sumak, an Iranian spice). Zoroastrians today do not have the seven “S”s but they have the ritual of growing seven seeds as a reminder that this is the seventh feast of creation, while their sprouting into new growth symbolized resurrection and eternal life to come. “

So in my world, no matter where you are on this planet – equinox time is about balance & harmony. Also, celebration! So whether you just take a moment to light a candle and say thanks, go kite flying, gift a friend with a crystal (I highly recommend Aventurine, Carnelian, Peridot or Sunstone), buy yourself some spring flowers and pop them where you can see them, light a fire and have friends over for a celebration, it doesn’t matter. But I do invite you to do something, even if it is just writing with a Sharpie on an egg! Here is an Equinox ritual to perform, either on your own or with others to acknowledge this time.

For me personally; I am celebrating with my kids, a glorious feast, the ritual above, and painting my toe nails Spring colours. Oh yes, I have bought some deep purple tulips for the dining room table and have candles galore!

So how are you going to celebrate?

Easy Spring Equinox Ritual

Jenny Heston · 6:04 pm ·

Spring Equinox is here and it is a time of releasing and sloughing off the heavier winter energy and creating space and welcoming in the energy of Spring, new growth, rebirth, rejuvenation and refocus.

To help us really move into this energy of creation, growth and manifestation I have created a guided visualisation.

I always mark this day, as my body is literally gagging for the sun to come back and the snow to go. Living where I do, there is often still snow on the ground, so planting outside is not an option, but there is an alternative. For example I love good food, and I use herbs and flowers in my food, but with it being the end of winter time – there aren’t any to be found. So I create it with an intention and some magic. How? Easy….. Let’s go play…… We are going to plant some seeds and the supply list is at the bottom.

Put on some nice music, music that makes you feel good. Could be classical, hip hop, pop, blues or jazz – anything that makes your hips want to shimmy or a smile come to your face. Then take some time to light a candle and offer up a blessing, when I do this I always say “For hearth, home, happiness, health, clarity and abundance.”

With the music playing take a moment to focus on the lit candle. As you watch the fluttering flame and let the music move through you, what are your heart and soul desires? What makes you happy? What do you want more of in your life? Is it connection,love, time, health, ease, money, glorious community? What makes you feel happy and connected to the Divine and Mother Earth? What do you want to blossom and grow over the coming season?

When you hear what it is, write it down on a scrap of paper. (Not a huge piece, a small scrap, so you might have to write small). Add as many as you would like. These are your wishes, after all. Don’t overthink and worry about the “how”, just listen to your heart.

When you are done, gently fold the paper in half, give it a kiss and if you feel inclined a daub of your favourite essential oil and then pop it into the bottom of the plant pot you have.

Then pop some dirt in on top of your paper, plant your seeds, a tad more dirt and give them a sprinkle of water. Oh yes, do make sure to give them lots of good energy and attention to help them grow!

Then when you are done, blow your candle out (as fire can be tricky), smile and say “Blessed Be”. Pop your pot in a window sill or somewhere it will get lovely sunlight and watch what happens.

Supplies needed:

Seeds – could be herbs, flowers, bulbs – whatever you want.

Little Pots

Soil

Candles

Small piece of paper and a pen

Essential oils (if you feel inclined)

A great big kiss!

Enjoy, and most importantly – have fun.

Here are a few simple prayers to offer up on this gorgeous day of Litha.

Litha Prayer to the Sun

Litha Prayer for the Beach

A Garden Prayer for Litha

jennyheston

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