Summer Solstice
SUMMER SOLSTICE (C. JUN 21) A. HISTORY At Midsummer, the Sun-god is at apogee (closest to the Earth), and therefore the longest day of the year. The pagans worshipped and celebrated the abundance of life, even as they recognized that this Solstice also marked the time when the Sun began to wane once more toward Winter's darkness. The legends are full of the Sun God dying by whatever method, be it burning alive, blinded with mistletoe, or crucified on a T-shaped cross. In ancient times, this often demanded a human enactor actually dying, followed by a seven-day wake. Some pagan cultures have an Oak King, (symbolizing the light half of the year) being killed by his brother the Holly King (symbolizing the darkening half of the year). "The Goddess, as we have pointed out, is unlike the God in that she never undergoes death and rebirth. In fact, she never changes- she merely presents different faces. At the Winter Solstice she shows her Life-in-Death aspect; though her...