{"id":6366,"date":"2018-06-13T11:14:50","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T09:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/?p=6366"},"modified":"2018-10-12T14:38:29","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T12:38:29","slug":"ceremonie-du-solstice-dete-midsommar-litha-st-jean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/ceremonie-du-solstice-dete-midsommar-litha-st-jean\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Solstice Ceremony Midsommar \/ Litha \/ Saint Jean"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The summer solstice festival is the oldest European festival, the ancestral tradition is that we make a
\nfire, image of the sun, which will burn all night until the next sunrise of the divine star, fire is thus
\nthe substitute of the Sun at night, making us spend a sleepless night, like during the nights of the
\npolar circle at the summer solstice : Sleepless with the undefeated sunlight that does not sleep at
\nnight : this tradition manifests the memory of the polar origin. It is also the day when we exchange
\nthe medicinal plants picked while fasting during the morning. For other meanings of the traditions
\nassociated with this holiday, please refer to the special video solstice: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RtBY-OPBgBw<\/a><\/p>\n

The Godes in the spotlight :<\/h2>\n

The solar gods are obviously in the spotlight for this celebration dedicated to the divine star:<\/p>\n

B\u00e9l\u00e9nos   \"\" Apollon :<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Balder :\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Jupiterian god* Taranis with his Solar wheel is also in the spotlight, especially in Gaul (*Jupiter
\nis considered a small sun in astrology)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Preparing fire <\/h2>\n

You must prepare your pyre several hours before dusk. It must be placed in a large space, a meadow
\nor a field, large enough to accommodate the entire clan or village. There must be enough space
\naround the fire for sports games and other activities.<\/p>\n

Architecture of the pyre, pyramid type with square base:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Architecture type 2 :\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Always make sure that people do not get too close to the fire when it is windy, beware of accidents!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Construction of a summer solstice pyre<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are different forms of summer solstice pyres throughout Europe. Most of the time they
\ndepend on the wood that can be found locally. For example, the proximity of coniferous forests
\nprovides long straight poles that facilitate cone mounting. The regions that do not have it use shorter
\nsections of wood, which allow pyramid assembling.
\nHere are the basic steps of both models :<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    1. Plant the central mast, surmounted by its crown (which can be done with oak branches adorned
    \nwith flowers and colored ribbons, to refer to the section dealing with the Advent wreath).\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    <\/a> 2. Build the pyramidal box around the mast, orienting it according to the cardinal points. Decrease
    \nthe length of the logs as you go up. Logs of larger diameter should be placed at the bottom. For the
    \nstability of the pyramid, it is necessary to cut notches 10-20 cm from the logs endpoints, above and<\/p>\n

    below (that is 4 per log, with 5-10 cm deep) which allow to embed the logs. A good pyre builder
    \ndoes not need nails to stabilize the complex – nails are contraindicated because they make it difficult
    \nto clean after the pyre burns down. Instead of a square base, it is also possible to adopt an hexagonal
    \nor octagonal base. This is particularly appropriate when you want to get a large pyre and you do not
    \nhave enough long logs to make a square-based assembling.
    \n    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    3. As you mount the pyramid, compact fagots inside, alternating with short logs of medium length;
    \nstuff straw between the logs forming the pyramid (do not stuff to much, because it suffocates the
    \nfire).\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. 4. If you have long straight poles, you can complete by plating over a conical “cap”. It has the
    \nadvantage of making the fire more spectacular, with a flame rising straight and high.\n<\/li>\n
  5. \n

    5. Finalize by hanging on the walls of the pyre, halfway up, 4 crowns – wheat or oak foliage,
    \nshaped like a sun wheel for example -to the 4 cardinal points.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Arnvald from Normandy.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Country Buffet<\/h2>\n

    At 8 pm people from each neighborhood meet around the country buffet and start eating.<\/p>\n

    Torchlight retreat<\/h2>\n

    Around 9 pm it is the departure for the torchlight retreat, each one of the people present carrying a
    \ncandle, a lantern, a torch or a burning sun wheel, pass through each of the neighborhood streets
    \nbefore heading to the place where the sacred fire will burn.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    Arriving at the pyre just a moment before dusk<\/h2>\n

    The different processions arrive 10 minutes before sunset by entering the meadow and facing the
    \npyre North\u2019s face.
    \nFour people chosen before will stand around the pyre, in a circle, each one face to one of the 4
    \ncardinal points, as if to represent (seen from the sky) a sun wheel:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    The person standing in the North will have the honor to light the fire when the luminous disc of the
    \nsovereign star begin passing under the horizon line.
    \n <\/p>\n

    Once the fire is well lit, all participants must put out their torch or candle, except the four people
    \nstill standing around the fire. These four people will then turn counterclockwise until making a
    \ncomplete circle around the fire. They mimic the movement of a planet around the sun over a year,
    \nthis represents the time which did go by since the previous solstice. It is also to remind that the Sun
    \nis the axis of our system around which everything turns, as the glyph below represents it
    \n(astrological glyph of the sun):<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    For the winter solstice it is the sacred tree that represents the axis of the world, the pole around
    \nwhich our planet turns.<\/p>\n

    Festivity<\/h2>\n

    We will sing and dance around the fire all night long. We will eat and drink there. The most
    \ndynamic will participate to sports games, the wisest will tell their poems, their stories, we will burn
    \nthe herbs of last year in the sacred fire, herbalist will change the herbs picked in the morning while
    \nfasting.. <\/p>\n

    Songs & poems <\/h2>\n

    poems : http:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/poemes-traditionnels-paiens-pour-le-solstice\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    songs: http:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/chants-traditionnels-pour-le-solstice\/<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Oleg de Normandie with the gracious participation of Arnvald.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The summer solstice festival is the oldest European festival, the ancestral tradition is that we make a fire, image of the sun, which will burn all night until the next sunrise of the divine star, fire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,40],"tags":[138,132,133,129,130,131],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.10.4","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fr","en"],"languages":{"fr":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pagans.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}