Seasonal Spells
On July 7, the Japanese observe Tanabata, a popular Japanese festival based upon a Chinese myth. This a festival that celebrates the annual reunion of Shokujo, the sky princess, and Kengya, a lowly cowherd. When Shokujo’s father discovered the love affair, he separated the two on either side of the great sky river, the Milky Way.
Once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month, a flock of sympathetic magpies form a living bridge over the Milky Way so the lovers can be reunited. Skogugo, the Weaver Star (Vega), joins the Cowherd Star (Altair) in the sky.
The Japanese honor the lovers by placing spools of colored thread on their altars. Japanese children write poems on long strips of paper and tie them to branches of trees. Also flowers, animals, and stars all made of paper are hung up as decorations.
To bring a lover into your life, place red jasper, a pearl, and rose quartz in a spell box. Under the light of this Moon, burn a red candle and write:
In the light of the Tanabata,
Lover, come to my bidding,
Come in the red light of flame,
Come in the flooded Moon of night,
Across the wide expanse of the Milky Way,
In the pull of tides,
By the light of Tanabata,
By the power of Weaver and Cowherd,
To my bidding come.
Roll the spell in a tiny scroll and tie with a colored threads. Before the next Full Moon, a new lover will enter your life.
By: Lily Gardner
- Color: Purple
- Elements: Fire and Water
- Altar: On a purple cloth set a vase of many flags, a plate of offering cakes, and a great chalice of wine for the libation.
- Offerings: Offering cakes made with honey and olive oil. Aid in the freedom of another being.
- Daily Meal: Anything the community wants.
Invocation
Papa Liber
Mama Libera
We honor you!
You who are liberty and freedom,
Yet whose priestesses are elder women
Because in order to know
What it is to be truly free,
One must have had experience
And understood the many prisons
In which life will try to trap us.
You who are in the spirit
Of the great phallus borne into
The marketplace for all to see and touch
Yet whose wreath is laid upon it
By a virtuous matron whose body
Has not strayed from her wedding vows,
Because in order to know
What it is to be truly free,
One must have had the choice of many chains
And freely chosen those bonds
In which one wishes to spend one’s days.
Liberty in all its contradictions,
Freedom in all its ambiguities,
The state which we can never quite define
Your country which we can never find on a map
Yet we always know
When we have touched its shores.
(The libation is passed around, and blessed, and then poured out. Each member of the community may choose what work they will do that evening, and none is to be given orders, yet they must explain the following day why they did choose in that way.)
Note: This ritual is appropriate for any day that celebrates liberation and freedom, as well as the Roman holiday of Liberalia.
Found in: Pagan Book of Hours
Gather your rose on the 27th of June; let it be full blown, and as bright a red as you can get. Pluck it between the hours of three and four in the morning, taking care to have no witness of the transaction.
Convey it to your chamber, and hold it over a chafing dish or any convenient utensil for the purpose, in which there is charcoal and sulfur of brimstone; hold your rose over the smoke for about five minutes, and you will see it have a wonderful effect on the flower.
Before the rose gets the least cool, clap it in a sheet of writing paper, on which is written your own name and that of the man you love best; also the date of the morning star that has the ascendency at that time.
Fold it up and seal it neatly with three separate seals, then run and bury the parcel at the foot of the bush from which you gathered the flower.
Here let it remain untouched till the 6th of July. Take it up at midnight. Go to bed and place it under your pillow, and you will have a singular and eventful dream before morning, or, at least, before your usual time of rising. You may keep the rose under your head three nights without spoiling the charm. When you have done with the rose and paper be sure to burn them.
Found in:
Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World
In Iceland, folklore says that if you bathe naked in the morning dew on the morning of June 24, you are supposed to keep aging at bay for longer.
In Sweden and Norway at the Solstice, people made wheels of fortune. Some of the wheels were wrapped in straw, set on fire, and rolled down hill. Other wheels were decorated and kept. These were used in two ways: One, the wheel was rolled away from a person to take away misfortunes; two, it was rolled toward a person to bring all kinds of good fortune.
To make a good fortune wheel, use a piece of wire that has been fastened in a circle. An embroidery hoop will work also. Wrap yarn or ribbon around the hoop until it is completely covered. To this wheel, tie dried or artificial flowers, good luck tokens, and streaming ribbons. These wheels can be hung as wall decorations or twirled so they spin toward you during spellwork.
From: Moon Magick
The Summer Solstice, or Midsummer, celebrates the longest day of the year. It falls between June 20 – 22. The Summer Solstice ritual focuses on the god because summer is his time. Celebrate it outdoors if you can, or if indoors, during the day so the sun is a prominent part of your ritual.
Things You’ll Need:
- Piece of cloth or cloth pouch
- Midsummer herbs
- Piece of red string or yarn
- Midsummer flowers
- Gold or yellow robe, shirt or dress
- Yellow or gold candle
- Summer fruit
Prepare for the Summer Solstice ritual by gathering a piece of cloth or cloth pouch and midsummer herbs. Use any combination of sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, lavender, Saint John’s wort and vervain that appeals to you. Meditate on your pain, troubles, sorrows and illnesses. Tie up the cloth or pouch with a red string or yarn and save it for the ritual.
Think about the qualities of fire because the Summer Solstice ritual is a fire ritual. Contemplate what you need protection from (debt-collectors, a jealous friend, an abusive family member). Write down in what aspects of your life you need strength because the Summer Solstice ritual is a time to gather courage.
Collect flowers for your Summer Solstice ritual that are golden yellow, deep red, white, pink and purple. Whatever you wear, choose a gold or yellow color to honor the sun. Use a gold or yellow candle to represent the god in ritual.
Cook dishes with midsummer herbs such as basil, sage, thyme and rosemary. Tomato soup or sauce, with its fiery red color, is suitable for the season. Eat fresh fruit or fruit salad at the close of the ritual for a sweet end to summer.
Set up your altar with your summer flowers, golden candle, pouch of herbs and any other tools you wish to use and cast the circle. At the point most suitable to you during your Summer Solstice ritual, hold the pouch of herbs in both hands. Mentally pour all your troubles, sorrows and pain into it. At the end of the ritual, bury the pouch deep in the ground.
The Summer Solstice is one of the holiest days of the year. At first light, take a tall white or yellow candle and a short black candle outside; light them to symbolize the longest day and shortest night of the year. A flower-scented incense is good to burn while you intone the words below:
Brother Sun and Mother Moon,
Day is longest now.
Energies of the brilliant Sun
Aid all at work or having fun.
Longest day, a blessing is,
From rise to set supreme is the Sun.
Fueling growth and passions bright,
Strong and true is the solar light.
Bounty grows and river flows,
As Earth is warmed and lighted.
Creative energy reaches zenith
on this day of shortest night.
Crops grow high and excitement grows,
with each new ray of Sun.
Every day, all creatures play
and hail the mighty Sun.
Ancient solstice, fires burning,
Honor the Sun and feed the light.
Druid, Indian, Norse, and Celt all danced
on Summer Solstice, joyously felt.
Solar winds and solar flares
Wash away our hunger and our cares.
Mighty Sun, King of warmth,
Makes humans to frolic and bees to swarm.
Keep this day in memory bright,
To warm you on long winter nights.
May the rays of solstice keep us warm,
All through the year.
The Sun has kissed
Flower field and tree,
The Sun is supreme.
So mote it be.
Courtesy of: Abby Willowroot
The Summer Solstice love ritual is strongest done during the June full moon, but the ritual may be done on any full moon. It is best done out of doors, but may be done indoors.
For this love spell, you need:
- 1 rose quartz
- 1 crystal quartz
- 1 blue quartz
- 1 emerald
- 1 citrine
- 1 garnet
- 1 black tourmaline
- 1 bag
- petals of 3 roses
- daisies
- red or orange cloth
- 1 large candle in red, gold or orange
Bathe before doing the ritual. Add flowers to your bath. If you shower, rub you body with a flower scented lotion or oil. Clean the stones with running water.
Clean your altar. Cover your altar with a red or orange cloth to honor the sun. Add some daisy blossoms to your altar. The daisy gets its name from day’s-eye because it turns to follow the sun.
Place the gold, yellow or red candle to represent divine Fire at the top middle of your altar. Sprinkle the petals of three red or pink roses on the altar. Place the rose quartz in the middle of the altar, make a circle around the rose quartz, with the other stones.
Pick up the crystal quartz in your left hand and say:
May I give and receive love as pure new snow.
Put the crystal quartz back and pick up the blue quartz in your left hand and say:
May I give and receive love as peaceful as calm water.
Put the blue quartz back and pick up the citrine in your left hand and say:
May I give and receive love as warm as sunlight.
Put the citrine back and pick up the emerald in your left hand and say:
May I give and receive love as strong as the oak tree.
Put the emerald back and pick up the garnet in your left hand and say:
May I give and receive love as bright as fire.
Put the garnet back and pick up the tourmaline in your left hand and say:
May I be open to love and may my love protect my loved one.
Put the tourmaline back and pick up the rose quartz in your left hand and say:
May I always be filled with love as I fill my lover with love.
Kiss the rose quartz three times. Gather all the stones with a few rose petals in both hands. While holding the stones and rose petals in both hands say:
My love is strong and surrounds all I do
I will always have all the love I need
Love is part of everything I do.
As you hold the stones and rose petals in your hands, you will know that love is with you. Shake the stones three times and then put the stones and a few rose petals in the bag.
This part must be done outside. Take the remaining rose petals and throw them in the air so the breeze can multiply your love. Every full moon take the stones out of the bag and hold them.
Copyright © 2006 Amerindea.com
This spell may be reprinted if credit is given.
If you possibly can, on the day of the Solstice go to the seashore, and at the low tide draw a solar image in the sand. Make it as large and ornate as you can, for this is in honor of the Sun. In the center place three stones or pieces of wood for three things you would like to change in your life. Position yourself where you can watch the incoming tide slowly erasing your image. As this happens, visualize the waters taking away the old and bringing in the new.
If you are unable to get to the shore then gather flower petals in reds and oranges and perform the same spell at the top of the highest hill you can reach. Try to time your arrival so that the sun is at its zenith just after you have created your image in petals. Let the wind take them in the same way as the tide above. If it is a very still day you may need to leave the pattern after your visualization, but rest assured that the magic will still work.
Whichever of these you choose to perform, follow it by taking a walk. As you go, take care to notice the seasonal changes around you. The Solstice marks the start of Summer proper. This is the season when the crops are ripening and the trees and bushes are starting to produce fruit. It is also the time when we should look at our own lives and give thanks to the Gods for those things which have born, or are bearing, fruit.
This is a ritual, or Queenship rite was created specifically for the Festival of Juno (Jun 1 – 2), but can be enjoyed at any time during the month of June.
- Colors: Purple and gold
- Element: Air
- Altar: Upon cloth of purple and gold set two purple candles in gold holders, a woman’s crown, peacock feathers, and eight golden stars.
- Offerings: Take on a leadership position, if you are female. Follow a woman’s lead, if male.
- Daily Meal: Whatever the women in the House want, if they can agree.
Juno Regina Invocation
Great Queen of Heaven,
Ruler of all the Gods,
Lady clothed in light,
You name, Juno, once meant
The indwelling spirit of inspiration
That lives in every woman.
And in every woman is the inner Queen
That you embody and enspirit,
The feminine hand of authority
That is Mother, and yet not mother,
That is Virgin, and yet not virgin,
That is both power and compassion,
Both beauty and strength.
Queen of heaven, we celebrate your Queenship
As it gives us our inspiration;
Have mercy on us as we go through our days,
And judge us lightly in the end.
Chant:
Juno Regina Domina
One who has been chosen to do the work of the ritual takes the crown in their hands and walks around the circle. If any woman feels moved to take on a leadership position, she can on this day step forward and kneel. The crown is placed on her head, and this is a symbol that she is asking to take on more responsibility. This offer cannot be refused, although the House Mama or Papa has discretion as to her future duties.
Found in: Pagan Book of Hours
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