|
 Ah, summer is finally here—and with a vengeance, for some of us! (Don't you just love sticky humidity and severe weather?) So it's time to celebrate.
What's there to do on the solstice? Well, parties and festivals abound if you're a well-connected, Internet-savvy Pagan. One of the biggest of course is the Pagan Spirit Gathering, organized by Circle Sanctuary and held at a camp ground in Ohio every year. Registration is already closed, so if you haven't signed up, mark your calendar for next year, and see if you can find a celebration closer to home. Check witchvox.com, for one. One of the greatest secular celebrations of the Summer Solstice is the Fête de la Musique, held annually in Paris. It's an entire day dedicated to music, most of which is outdoors. Free concerts spring up all over the place, there is widespread dancing in the streets, and no noise regulations all night long! (Well, it is the shortest night of the year, anyway!) And it's not just the French who celebrate this "World Music Day"; it has spread to countries all over the world, including a couple cities in America: Kalamazoo of all places, and NYC for the first time this year! I'm sure Pagans would be organizing more concerts for World Music Day here in America, were it not for their prior commitments to dance with the faeries all night instead! If you don't have any parties to go to on the solstice, make your own. Have people over in the backyard, blast some tunes, and dance around the grill. Make s'mores. Stay up till dawn, which shouldn't be too hard this time of year! Remember that lots of Witchy cookbooks are out there to help you plan the festivities with Sabbat-specific recipes and tips. What's new at Llewellyn? Oh, just a few completely awesome new books for June and July! This month we have the lovely Ellen Dugan with her new offering, Natural Witchery. Like all of Ellen's books, this is some serious fun. There is a psychic quiz inside and lots of fun exercises to do with a group. It also has great tips for subtly incorporating witchcraft at work, how to deal with nosy relatives, and how to put together a circle for study or ritual. It's just a fun book altogether! In July, check out Goddess Alive! by Michelle Skye, a first-time book author who has frequently contributed to our annuals and other magazines. This amazing book introduces you personally to 13 Norse and Celtic goddesses, including favorites like Brigid, Eostre, and Freyja, as well as others you might not know as well, like Aine, Danu, and Branwen. Each goddess is aligned with a Sabbat or a phase of the moon. First, you'll learn her lore; then you'll take an exquisite guided meditation to meet the goddess and integrate the message of the season; next is an invocation to the goddess, an activity or craft to bring you closer to her energies, and a ritual for the Sabbat or moon phase. If you're looking for an elegant book that you can really work with for a long time, this is not to be missed! And if you're looking for lighter fare, check out White Spells for Protection by Ileana Abrev, also a July release. Ileana is the daughter of a Cuban Santero, and now helps her own clients down under in Australia. This book is not about hexes and curses, don't worry; it's all about how to defend yourself and your family against unwanted negative energies. The spells are very simple and straightforward. It's the perfect mini-book to take to the beach! Seriously cute and tiny. If you're a regular reader of the Witchy Update, you'll have heard of the Pagan Fiction Contest held jointly by Llewellyn and BBI Media (makers of NewWitch, SageWoman, and PanGaia). Winners will be announced at PantheaCon in San Jose in February 2008, and the best stories will be published in an anthology by Llewellyn in Fall 2008. If you haven't entered, it's not too late; the deadline is June 24. Just click on the link above for details. We already have a great selection of fantastic stories (and there's lots more on the way), so now we're going to cheat a bit and ask you, the reader, what kinds of stories you would most like to see selected and printed in our anthology. So please take our very short online survey (only 7 questions, just a click away!) and if you have any further comments to add, please write to me at witchyupdate@llewellyn.com. The survey will be online until July 13. Thanks and have a beautiful Summer Solstice! Articles from the Llewellyn Journal Summer Vacation Ideas for All Sun Signs Maria Shaw's 2007 Summer Love Forecast From Here to There: Magical Spells for Transportation Granular Incense Making: Tips and Techniques The Natural Witch and Intuition The Origins of the Midsummer Celebration Excerpt from: Midsummer by Anna Franklin The celebration of Midsummer is a global custom. Every culture has, at some point in its history, marked this time of year and held it to be enchanted. The Celts, the Norse, and the Slavs believed that there were three "spirit nights" in the year when magic abounded and the Otherworld was near. The first was Halloween, the second was May Eve, and the third was Midsummer Eve. On this night, of all nights, fairies are most active, and the future can be uncovered. As the solstice sun rises on its day of greatest power, it draws up with it the power of herbs, standing stones, and crystals. In the shimmering heat-haze on the horizon, its magical energies are almost visible. And as the mist gate forms in the warm air rising beneath the dolmen arch, the entrance to the Otherworld opens—Avalon, Tir nan Og, the Land of Youth, where it is always summer, and death and old age are unknown.
Cool Links
Likely the best and most useful site for witches and pagans around
Cornett's Calendar of Events (Did you know about this? An awesome assortment of links to Wiccan and Pagan authors' websites.)
(A wonderful place to start reading and suddenly lose hours from your day.)
|
Get 30% off these titles through
August 31st!
|
|
I do not wish to receive further issues of the Witchy Update. Please remove me from your mailing list.
IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE, COPY AND PASTE THIS URL INTO YOUR WEB BROWSER TO VIEW THE FULL WITCHY UPDATE. http://www.llewellyn.com/newsletters/witchyupdate/witchup_25.html |
