Midsummer .....

For centuries pagans all over the world have recognized the earth’s seasonal changes as sacred times when the energy of their own lives could be brought into harmony with that of our Mother the earth.
The flux of the seasons is like a personal clock that allows us to work on ourselves in ways appropriate to the natural flow of the earth's energy. For example, the natural urge in winter is to withdraw, looking for warmth and safety, sitting by the fire, reading, going to bed earlier. We create more time for reflection. With the coming of spring, we begin to enjoy the outdoors again. We picnic, take time to garden, go for walks.

The old seasonal festivals embrace our work-a-day lives on many levels. It is my belief that by understanding and working with the seasonal fluxes, we can positively aid our own life journey. Due to energy flows, planet rotation, gravitational pulls and balances and years of cumulative participation, these times possess much power. Using this power wisely for our own good and the good of others enables us to have an empathy with the larger world of humanity and the earth itself.

This yearly cyclic journey is a mirror for the whole of the human life. On a smaller scale, each day is a cycle unto itself. The night is like winter; the dawn is like spring and so forth. The cycle is constant and can be attuned to, on many levels. Eventually one begins to see the flow of one's own life, reflected in these natural cycles.

Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere occurs on the 22nd December.
Midsummer presents us with the longest day of the year, after which daylight hours subsequently become shorter. The celebration of Midsummer, then, is a two-fold one. Recognizing the sun’s glorious peak of power, we rejoice at the abundant Midsummer harvest, and at the same time, we understand the inevitable journey into the dark nadir of winter.
In our lives we mirror the sun’s progress at this time by realizing our own ‘harvests’. It is a time to reap a natural harvest of reward from activities we have been pursuing through Imbolg and Spring. Anything we have been doing with passion and intent can be enhanced at this time.
Within the vegetation harvest, a further mystery of symbolism unfolds. There is the representation of a ‘little death’ through the reaping and ‘birth’ through the saving of seed. It is in recognition of this seed within us, the seed of light, love, passion, that we can constantly be reborn and renewed. No matter that summer begins to wane, a small part of its harvest and light remains within us. After our reflective journey through Autumn and Winter, we are still in possession of a ‘seed’ which when planted can blossom into beauty and abundance. This seed is a product of our harvest of understanding which comes at midsummer through our conscious commitment to and awareness of our own journey.
That is the essence of Midsummer, it is a time to reflect and rejoice upon the good things we have and have achieved. It is a time to sort out our grain from our chaff and keep the healthy seed alive within us.
I have included a few ideas for celebrating Midsummer and bringing alive in our lives the richness that we all possess.

A personal appreciation day. Put time aside to reap the rewards of being you! Watch the sun rise and set, meditate, pamper yourself with baths and oils and massage, listen to beautiful music, dine by candle-light alone and feast upon sumptuous fresh fruits and vegies, read an uplifting book. Most of all have fun with yourself! Enjoy being you!

Reap the rewards of giving joy to someone else. Offer your help, a smile, a kind word and a listening ear. Share the vegies and flowers from your garden.


Make a list of all you feel you have achieved in your life so far. Make a list of all you have learnt in your life so far. Give yourself a pat on the back, well done.