This article by Michelle Engler of the Examiner.com talks about how everyone wants to be happy and how we can achieve this goal. Our thoughts work to create our lives. Our feelings are guided by our thoughts. Work to pay attention to the next time you feel good or bad – and you’ll likely notice that you are doing some “self talk” inside your head.

The book The Secret is an excellent place to start according to Engler when it comes to the Law of Attraction. Learn more about how to become happy here: http://www.examiner.com/x-14582-Atlanta-Divorce-Recovery-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Tips-on-how-to-be-happy

Learn about the value of having a conscious business and being a conscious entrepreneur. Heather Clancy discusses Christine Kloser’s book The Freedom Formula: How to Put Soul in Your Business and Money in the Bank.

You truly can be both spiritually minded and successful in business. It takes conscious effort – but mostly it takes being a consciously aware person!

Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/business-brains/worship-thy-business-some-entrepreneurs-find-success-by-embracing-their-spiritual-side/872/

According to Alex Marcoux, New Thought Examiner for Examiner.com, when you have the belief that you can manifest something — it can only accelerate your heart’s desire.

Many of us know that the Law of Attraction works in that what you focus your attention on only grows. Focus on abundance and it will grow. Focus on your debt….and we know what will happen. You can use the Law of Attraction to manifest anything you desire into your life – new love, health, power, abundance or other heart’s desire.

Learn more about the power of belief and the Law of Attraction here: http://www.examiner.com/x-10280-Denver-New-Thought-Examiner~y2009m6d15-The-power-of-belief-fuels-the-Law-of-Attraction

Karen Luniw offers five great and easy tips at The HuffingtonPost.com using the Law of Attraction for when you’re “freaking out” about money.

Her best tips? #3. Imagine the best outcome. So many of us begin by imagining the absolute worst, especially when it comes to our finances. Today we are bombarded with messages about how bad the economy is. Put yourself in a frame of mind where the best can come to you through the Law of Attraction.

…and #5. Be grateful for something. The feeling of gratitude is quite powerful when you start to harness it. Try keeping a Gratitude Journal and you’ll start to notice a difference in your thoughts – and in your outer world.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-luniw/5-easy-tips-for-felling-b_b_214050.html

In Joyce Shafer’s article in The Examiner, she answers this reader’s question:

“I really like everything about the Law of Attraction; however, I would like to learn more about how to stick to it. It seems like I always fall off the train. Before I know it, I get sidetracked and have to start all over again.”

Read Shafer’s article to further understand exactly how the Law of Attraction works and how you too can “stick with it!”

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-11661-NY-Spiritual-Life–Business-Examiner~y2009m6d9-How-do-I-stay-on-the-law-of-attraction-path

Years ago I took my first snow skiing trip out West. Growing up in Florida I was very familiar with water skiing and so I thought, ‘how different can it be?’ Very different, was what I discovered.

The primary difference is how you maintain your balance while snow skiing.

With water skiing, you’re not generating your own momentum, you’re pulled behind a boat. So in order to have control and balance you have to lean back. Leaning forward can land you flat on your face. And because of the inertia, trying to stand straight can throw you into several types of falls as well.

The one thing I was struggling with as I was awkwardly making my way down the green/blue trail, which happened to have a good bit of ice on the blue parts, was that I didn’t have any control over my speed.

The faster I went, the more out of control I felt, the harder I wiped out, the more frustrated and overwhelmed I became.

(At this point you might be asking how I ended up on a green/blue trail on my first skiing trip. You’re not alone. While I was on that trail I was asking myself the same question. Bad advice is the answer. )

I recovered from that trip, and found the nerve to try again, this time in Breckinridge. On this trip I wisely spent a little time with a ski instructor who gave me some valuable advice that I’ve never forgotten.

When it comes to balance and control, snow skiing is the complete opposite of water skiing. If you lean backwards while snow skiing, you actually pick up speed and lose control since your weight shifts onto the back of your skis and you can’t control your direction. You have to push your shins into the front of your snow boots and, you guessed it, you have to lean into the downhill. As you balance your weight forward, this puts more weight on the front of your skis which gives you more control and allows you to slow and direct your speed as you’re cutting through the snow.

That piece of advice has stayed with me for nearly 20 years though not because I’m any kind of an expert snow skier. Instead I’ve found this advice to be an insightful perspective when dealing with challenges and hurdles in life.

When we navigate difficult and scary times, it’s human nature to want to pull back and resist. But the more we resist, the more the problems persist.

The problems of our lives are often a calling which ask us to come forward with a more deeply authentic response. While in the midst of our challenge, if we can lean forward without resistance and fear, divine guidance, our center and a clear sense of direction and insight becomes available to us.

Interestingly, when people are most afraid of coming forward in an authentic way, I’ve noticed that their throats tend to close up. Many of the people I’ve worked with have wondered if in that moment they are reliving a past life memory of being strangled. That is entirely possible, but too, whenever we resist our true selves we are literally strangling our own self, our authentic voice.

As an example, many people are finding the fearful energy around the economy is finding its way into their experience. Try as they may to retain their center, some are finding themselves in a perpetual state of low grade fear and resistance about what their personal outcomes may be.

In hard times such as the economic uncertainty that we’ve endured over these past few years, it’s easy to forget the power we have to create our lives. The more time we spend in worry and fret, the more battles we fight, the more we resist, the more our energy tends to stay in our head.

That’s when we get migraines, stress headaches, jaw problems, toothaches and a host of other problems. From this space we also tend to react, judge and feel fearful and paranoid.

Yogi Bhajan said that the longest journey anyone ever takes in life in about 12 inches, the distance between their head and their heart.

Recognizing the places where you resist and moving beyond that resistance helps you to reconnect with a more heart-centered energy, which will also connect you with your spiritual sight, your intuition.

Here’s a technique you can use the next time you’d like to move through a challenging time more gracefully, with balance and open access to divine guidance and deeper insight.

Close your eyes and take at least 3 deep breaths — in through your nose (expand the diaphragm) and out through your nose (slow and complete exhale).

With your mind’s eye see the challenge at hand. Now notice your position in the challenge. Are you leaning forward? Or are you leaning backward, away from the situation, resisting?

If you’re leaning backward, in your visualization – lean forward into the challenge and watch what happens to your energy. Notice how your center and your balance returns. Notice how any fear begins to dissipate.

Now, open your eyes and, energetically — and in real time — make sure you continue to lean forward into this challenge. As you do this, you are leaning into trust and a deeper connection with the divine — you are eliminating resistance and therefore gaining more insight, control over the situation.

You can use this technique to see if you’re navigating other situations in your life authentically or with resistance. Simply tune in to a meditative state, close your eyes and tune in to the situation you’re curious about.

Perhaps it’s a financial situation, your career, or a dilemma of some sort. You might also look into a health problem or energy concern. When looking into health issues, be aware that information as to how you’re navigating other areas of your life might show up. For example, if you’re looking into a concern that you have about your energy level, in this exercise you might be shown how you are leaning back or resisting forward momentum in your career or resisting (untrusting) in a relationship with a loved one.

Be clear about your intended result for your challenge, how you want to navigate the situation and watch for the guidance that shows up as a result of this exercise.

The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc.
Overview

People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the summer solstice. On this day, typically JUN-21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer. It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe.

“Solstice” is derived from two Latin words: “sol” meaning sun, and “sistere,” to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it “stands still.”

(In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, also when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum. We will assume that the reader lives in the Northern hemisphere for the rest of this essay.)
How people view solstice celebrations:

People view other religions in various ways, and thus treat the celebrations of other faiths differently:

* For some people, religious diversity is a positive factor. They enjoy the variety of June celebrations, because it is evidence of wide range of of beliefs within our common humanity. They respect both their own religious traditions and those of other faiths for their ability to inspire people to lead more ethical lives.
* Others reject the importance of all celebrations other than the holy day(s) recognized by their own religion. Some even reject their religion’s traditional holy days if they are convinced that they have Pagan origins. This is a common occurrence with Easter and Christmas.
* Some view other religions as being inspired, controlled, or even led by Satan. Thus the solstice celebrations of other religions are rejected because they are viewed as Satanic in origin.

Why does the summer solstice happen?

The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5° tilt of the earth’s axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously — towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice — the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. It typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, JUN-21 — the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice — the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum.

Significance of the summer solstice:

In pre-historic times, summer was a joyous time of the year for those Aboriginal people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. The crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable.

The first (or only) full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives.

This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the “grand [sexual] union” of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, “newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon.” 14
Midsummer celebrations in ancient and modern times:

Most societies in the northern hemisphere, ancient and modern, have celebrated a festival on or close to Midsummer:

* Ancient Celts: Druids, the priestly/professional/diplomatic corps in Celtic countries, celebrated Alban Heruin (“Light of the Shore”). It was midway between the spring Equinox (Alban Eiler; “Light of the Earth”) and the fall Equinox (Alban Elfed; “Light of the Water”). “This midsummer festival celebrates the apex of Light, sometimes symbolized in the crowning of the Oak King, God of the waxing year. At his crowning, the Oak King falls to his darker aspect, the Holly King, God of the waning year…” 13 The days following Alban Heruin form the waning part of the year because the days become shorter.
* Ancient China: Their summer solstice ceremony celebrated the earth, the feminine, and the yin forces. It complemented the winter solstice which celebrated the heavens, masculinity and yang forces.
* Ancient Gaul: The Midsummer celebration was called Feast of Epona, named after a mare goddess who personified fertility, sovereignty and agriculture. She was portrayed as a woman riding a mare.
* Ancient Germanic, Slav and Celtic tribes in Europe: Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires. “It was the night of fire festivals and of love magic, of love oracles and divination. It had to do with lovers and predictions, when pairs of lovers would jump through the luck-bringing flames…” It was believed that the crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump. Through the fire’s power, “…maidens would find out about their future husband, and spirits and demons were banished.” Another function of bonfires was to generate sympathetic magic: giving a boost to the sun’s energy so that it would remain potent throughout the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest. 6
* Ancient Rome: The festival of Vestalia lasted from JUN-7 to JUN-15. It was held in honor of the Roman Goddess of the hearth, Vesta. Married women were able to enter the shrine of Vesta during the festival. At other times of the year, only the vestal virgins were permitted inside.
* Ancient Sweden: A Midsummer tree was set up and decorated in each town. The villagers danced around it. Women and girls would customarily bathe in the local river. This was a magical ritual, intended to bring rain for the crops.
* Christian countries: After the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the feast day of St. John the Baptist was set as JUN-24. It “is one of the oldest feasts, if not the oldest feast, introduced into both the Greek and Latin liturgies to honour a saint.” 16 Curiously, the feast is held on the alleged date of his birth. Other Christian saints’ days are observed on the anniversary of their death. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that St. John was “filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb…[thus his] birth…should be signalized as a day of triumph.” 16 His feast day is offset a few days after the summer solstice, just as Christmas is fixed a few days after the winter solstice. 1 “Just as John was the forerunner to Jesus, midsummer forecasts the eventual arrival of” the winter solstice circa DEC-21.
* Essenes: This was a Jewish religious group active in Palestine during the 1st century CE. It was one of about 24 Jewish groups in the country — the only one that used a solar calendar. Other Jewish groups at the time included the Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, followers of John, and followers of Yeshua (Jesus). Archaeologists have found that the largest room of the ruins at Qumran (location of the Dead Sea Scrolls) appears to be a sun temple. The room had been considered a dining room by earlier investigators, in spite of the presence of two altars at its eastern end. At the time of the summer solstice, the rays of the setting sun shine at 286 degrees along the building’s longitudinal axis, and illuminate the eastern wall. The room is oriented at exactly the same angle as the Egyptian shrines dedicated to the sun. Two ancient authorities — the historian Josephus and the philosopher Filon of Alexandria — had written that the Essenes were sun worshipers. Until recently, their opinion had been rejected by modern historians. 19
* Native Americans:
o The Natchez tribe in the southern U.S. “worshiped the sun and believed that their ruler was descended from him. Every summer they held a first fruits ceremony.” Nobody was allowed to harvest the corn until after the feast. 2
o Males in the Hopi tribe dressed up as Kachinas – the dancing spirits of rain and fertility who were messengers between humanity and the Gods. At Midsummer, the Kachinas were believed to leave the villages to spend the next six months in the mountains, where they were believed to visit the dead underground and hold ceremonies on their behalf. 2
o Native Americans have created countless stone structures linked to equinoxes and solstices. Many are still standing. One was called Calendar One by its modern-day discoverer. It is in a natural amphitheatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont. From a stone enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl “At the summer solstice, the sun rose at the southern peak of the east ridge and set at a notch at the southern end of the west ridge.” The winter solstice and the equinoxes were similarly marked. 5
o The Bighorn Medicine Wheel west of Sheridan, WY is perhaps the most famous of the 40 or more similar “wheels” on the high plains area of the Rocky Mountains. Mostly are located in Canada. At Bighorn, the center of a small cairn, that is external to the main wheel, lines up with the center of the wheel and the sun rising at the summer equinox. Another similar sighting cairn provides a sighting for three dawn-rising stars: Aldebaran, Rigel and Sirius. A third cairn lines up with fourth star: Fomalhaut. The term “medicine wheel” was coined by Europeans; it was a term used to describe anything native that white people didn’t understand. 17
* Neopaganism: This is a group of religions which are attempted re-constructions of ancient Pagan religions. Of these, Wicca is the most common; it is loosely based partly on ancient Celtic beliefs and practices. Wiccans recognize eight seasonal days of celebration. Four are minor sabbats and occur at the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The other are major sabbats which happen approximately halfway between an equinox and solstice. The summer solstice sabbat is often called Midsummer or Litha. Wiccans may celebrate the sabbat on the evening before, at sunrise on the morning of the solstice, or at the exact time of the astronomical event.

“Midsummer is the time when the sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest. The Mother Goddess is viewed as heavily pregnant, and the God is at the apex of his manhood and is honored in his guise as the supreme sun.” 12

It is a time for divination and healing rituals. Divining rods and wands are traditionally cut at this time.
* Prehistoric Europe: Many remains of ancient stone structures can be found throughout Europe. Some date back many millennia BCE. Many appear to have religious/astronomical purposes; others are burial tombs. These structures were built before writing was developed. One can only speculate on the significance of the summer solstice to the builders. Perhaps the most famous of these structures is Stonehenge, a megalith monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It was built in three stages, between circa 3000 and 1500 BCE. “The circular bank and ditch, double circle of ‘bluestones’ (spotted dolerite), and circle of sarsen stones (some with white lintels), are concentric, and the main axis is aligned on the midsummer sunrise–an orientation that was probably for ritual rather than scientific purposes.4 Four “station stones” within the monument form a rectangle whose shorter side also points in the direction of the midsummer sunrise. 15

The dates and times of the summer solstice:

The exact date varies from year to year and may occur between the 20th and 23rd of June.
Year Summer solstice
Northern hemisphere (UT)
1999 JUN-21 @ 19:49
2000 JUN-21 @ 01:47
2001 JUN-21 @ 07:37
2002 JUN-21 @ 13:24
2003 JUN-21 @ 19:10
2004 JUN-21 @ 00:56
2005 JUN-21 @ 06:46
2006 JUN-21 @ 12:26
2007 JUN-21 @ 18:06
2008 JUN-20 @ 23:59
2009 JUN-21 @ 05:45

The dates and times for 1999 to 2004 were provided by The Dome of the Sky web site. 9 However, this site is not working as of 2005-APR-05. The dates and times for 2005 to 2009 were copied from Archaeostronomy.com. 20 An online “Easy Date Converter” calculates the dates and times of the equinoxes and solstices within 20 seconds. 21

Times are in UT (Universal Time). This used to be called Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. In North America, you can find your local time by subtracting:

* 2 hours 30 minutes for Newfoundland daylight savings time
* 3 hours for ADT
* 4 hours for EDT
* 5 hours for CDT
* 6 hours for MDT
* 7 hours for PDT
* 8 hours in AKDT (Alaska)
* 9 hours in ADT (Aleutian Islands)
* 10 hours in HST (Hawaii) 10

The ancients did not have access to modern mathematical algorithms to calculate the date and time of the solstice. To the unaided eye, the sun would seem to set/rise at the same location on the horizon for about five days before and after the actual solstice. Ancient people would record the days when the sun rise or set was noticeably different from the extreme position, and interpolate the probable day of the solstice. They then used a variety of techniques to display future solstices:

* A carved or painted symbol, or some other marker, would be located at the end of a long passage that was exposed to sunrise or sunset on the solstice. It would be illuminated by the rising or setting of the sun on the day of the solstice. Alternatively, a hole in the roof of a structure would allow the noonday sun to shine onto a marker set into the floor.
* In temperate zones, the shadow of an upright pillar would be observed at noontime at the summer solstice. The shadow would be shortest on that day.
* The point on the horizon where the sun set and rose would be observed from a fixed location. A remote marker would indicate where the sun rose or set on the solstice. 3

Megalithic structure aligned to sunset on the summer solstice:

According to Knowth.com:

A 5,000 year old Cairn G at Carrowkeel in North West Ireland is aligned to allow sunlight from the setting sun at the summer solstice to enter the cairn and scan across an orthostat — a stone at the rear of the cairn. Dramatic photographs of the cairn taken on 2008-JUN-20 are available at: http://www.newgrange.com/

Many dozens videos are available free on YouTube showing the summer solstice at Stonehenge and elsewhere. See: http://www.youtube.com/
Related essays:

* Spring equinox
* Easter
* Fall equinox
* Winter solstice

Resources — a book and a web site:

* Ellen Jackson, “The Summer Solstice,” Millbrook Press, (2001). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store. This is intended for children ages 4 to 8. Booklist comments: “Jackson includes information about the summer solstice from many (mainly Western) cultures and locales, from the Chumash and Anasazi Indians to the ancient Egyptians, from Swaziland to Sweden. A brief explanation of the earth’s tilt, a solstice story adapted from a Hawaiian chant, and a few pages of solstice activities round out the treatment.” Her book made the “100 Best Books of 2001″ list of the L.A. Unified Library Services.
* Ellen Jackson has an article on the summer solstice at http://www.ellenjackson.net/ She supplies some facts about summer, describes to games, and provides two recipes: one for your dog, and one for family members with half as many legs.

Sponsored links:
References that we used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. “Summer solstice – Johannisnacht – Midsummer night,” at: http://www.serve.com/
2. Robin DuMolin, “Summer Solstice,” at: http://www.celestia.com/
3. Robin DuMolin, “Summer Solstice,” at: http://www.celestia.com/ http://www.christiaan.com/
4. Janet & Stewart Farrar, “Eight Sabbats for Witches,” Phoenix Publishing, (1981), P. 143 to 144.
5. “Summer Solstice,” at: http://users.erols.com/
6. J.W. Mavor & B.E. Dix, “Manitou: The sacred landscape of New England’s Native Civilization.” Inner Traditions (1989).
7. Selena Fox, “Summer solstice celebrations for families and households,” http://www.circlesanctuary.org/
8. “Find the equinoxes and solstices for a particular year,” at http://domeofthesky.com/
9. “World Time Zone: Accurate local times,” at: http://www.isbister.com/
10. “Litha,” a list of links to web sites about Litha, is at: http://paganwiccan.about.com/religion/paganwiccan
11. “Litha,” a description of the festival from a Neopagan perspective, is at: http://home.att.net/
12. “Litha: Summer Solstice,” at: http://www.byzant.com/
13. “Morgana, “Ritual feasts – handfasting,” at: http://www.newavalon.com/
14. G.S. Hawkins, “Stonehenge decoded,” Doubleday (1965), Pages 46 & 47.
15. C.L. Souvay, “St. John the Baptist,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, at: http://www.newadvent.org/
16. Paula Giese, “Medicine wheel: Sun & Stars,” at: http://indy4.fdl.cc.mn.us/
17. The Center for Archaeoastronomy publishes a four page quarterly newsletter, appropriately published on the equinoxes and solstices. See: http://www.wam.umd.edu/
18. M Lnnqvist & K Lnnqvist, “archaeology of the Hidden Qumran: The new paradigm,” (2002) a book advertised at: http://www.akateeminen.com/
19. “2005 Equinox, Solstice & Cross-Quarter Movements,” Archaeoastronomy.com, at: http://www.archaeoastronomy.com/
20. “Dates and Times of Equinoxes and Solstices,” Hermetic Systems, at: http://www.hermetic.ch/

Copyright © 2000 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-MAY-28
Latest update: 2008-JUL-07
Author: B.A. Robinson

http://www.llewellynjournal.com/article/1916

Praying to Water: The Summer Solstice of June 2009
Date: 2009-06-15 By: Dan Furst

In most ways, the Summer Solstice of June 2009 is likely to work and play out in the Northern Hemisphere much as it has for thousands of years now. Ever since we lived in prehistoric matriarchies in the Age of Cancer (c. 8,790 – 6,630 BCE), we have intuited that this major hinge point in Earth’s annual cycle is connected with the sacred feminine, the element of water, and the Moon. This is why, long before the first zodiacs began to evolve, we had a knowing, that was not yet a proving, that the month that begins with the Summer Solstice—what we would later call Cancer month—was ruled by the Moon and water, and somehow began a “female” half of the year.

This made sense in the Age of Cancer when the Agricultural Revolution came, and along with it better techniques of irrigation and water management that would get crops, animals, and babies safely through the hot ripening season and on to the harvest. The “second half” of the year was clearly more domestic, the Mother Time when farmers had to work their fields, families gathered at harvest home to reap and store the grain, and then celebrate Earth’s abundance in the great autumn feasts that marked the climax of the Moon Time, and the coming of the Winter Solstice, when the Sun Boy is born again.

As solar timekeeping evolved in the Age of Aries (2,310—150 BCE), the practical basis of all this got plainer. We understood that at the Summer Solstice, “the Sun sticks”—the literal meaning of solstice—as he rises at his northernmost point on the horizon, and reaches his highest arc in the sky. From now, even though the year’s hottest months are just ahead, the days begin, imperceptibly at first, to grow shorter. Though the Sun will blaze in all his fiery majesty through Leo month (July 22—August 22), the year has already reversed as of Cancer month (June 21—July 22). The goddess now waxes as the god wanes. Solar fire will soon yield to lunar water, as the rites of June—named for the ancient Lady of the House, Juno—are feminine. Women’s mysteries are taught and received. Birth, sisterhood, and community are celebrated on the green Earth, amid standing stones and near springs that mean the flowing of pure water and new life. Dancers dressed in silver, white, and blue come to the circle’s center and lift vessels of water to the Moon, then spin outward to offer a water communion to all.

While the great harvest feasts share the fruits of the field, bread and meat, beer and wine, the Summer Solstice has always been for the honoring of the Water Goddess and the sharing of water. Naturally, the feminine energy of this Solstice is strongest when it comes on or just after the full Moon, as it did in the momentous year of 2005. Until this happens again, in 2024, we will not just settle for “the other lunation” at the New Moon Summer Solstice of 2009.

Rather, we are likely to mark this moment of new beginnings actively, even urgently, as we have no choice but to become more aware of the food and water crisis that has loomed larger in our consciousness since last year, and will get critical again in the hot months of this year. As droughts spread, wildfires rage, new schemes hatch and battles brew over the control of water resources, the journey I am on now, that I had thought would take me to the high sacred sites of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge, Avebury, and Cusco now transmutes into a journey from water to water. I start at the “basilica” of Justinian’s gigantic cistern of Yerebatan Sarai Sarnici—where the babble of voices heard in the great church and the Blue Mosque nearby hushes into an awe that sounds like reverence for the water itself—and where the guards report that, for reasons they can’t explain, tourist traffic to the water is much heavier now. Then I go to the Celtic sacred springs of Cornwall, the Chalice Well at Glastonbury, the Isis shrine city of Oxford and, when the time comes, inevitably, to Lake Titicaca.

I am not the only one to be doing this. Since the beginning of this year, as though Mother Earth and the Water Goddess themselves were sending out the call, the witches and the shamans have been gathering where dormant springs have been bubbling up again, and where traditions of water worship and ceremony are splashing back to life.

The best place to begin a Water Journal 2009 would likely be in eastern Europe, where peoples newly freed from Soviet ideology and Orthodox Christianity go again where their ancestors went long before Stravinsky recreated The Rite of Spring. On Janunary 6 in Moscow, as Ellen Barry reported, some 30,000 people observed the Russian Orthodox feast of the Epiphany by immersing themselves in icy rivers and ponds.1 Such ecstatic water rituals, as it turns out, have been done for a long time.

What is different now is the people’s longing to celebrate something “ancient, real”—and to do it with an emphasis that is not formally or even faintly religious, but earth-affirming in the tradition of “wild souls,” as one Russian put it. “We are made of water. Without water we cannot survive.”

The hot water has been packing them in too, according to another Ellen Barry report on the famous Witch’s Well of Tuhala in Estonia.2 This spectacular hot spring has long been sacred to the local animist religions of Taarausk, centered on worship of the forest god Taara—it’s intriguing how many green deities from so many traditions bear versions of this sacred name—and Maausk, which means “faith of the earth.” Under the center of Tuhala, fifteen rivers flow through underground caverns, crashing and rumbling in sounds that are said to be ghost witches in their sauna, beating one another with birch branches until the Witch’s Well erupts, as it did this winter for the first time in three years. When it does, witches and shamans and students of magic come to do ritual, and mothers bathe their babies in the earth-scented mist and warm water.

The reverence for water is resurging all over our planet now in all kinds of mystical, mundane, and even nearly comical ways. The first water cue to come yesterday, when I stopped to use free WiFi, is that McDonald’s is now equipping all its restaurants in the UK with waterless toilets, each of which will allegedly save 100,000 gallons of water a year. Granted, this company has always had an opportunistic genius for spotting new trends to exploit and ride—but why quibble? The point is to save the water.

Other intriguing clues emerge too. Interest surges in the Nabataean sacred site of Petra, which owed its wealth in ancient times to its revolutionary technologies for storing and purifying water, and a Brown University team has nearly completed excavation at an immense temple that was built on the city’s main cistern to honor Al-Uzza, the Water Goddess.3

On the Summer Solstice days of June 21 – 24, people in the Northern Hemisphere will gather for water rituals like this one:

In the center, mothers who have given birth for the first time stand back-to-back, holding their babies, turning to the left, the direction of the heart axis. In the second circle, facing in, hands joined, are the other women who have given birth, all circling to the left too. Outside of these two central circles are other circles that hold everyone else: the third circle turning right, the fourth left, and so on. The easiest footwork is a simple step-and-meet linked with the rowing motion often used in Sufi dance to symbolize all hands pulling together across the sea of love toward the One Goal, this time the saving of water, and with it the preservation of life.

Not surprisingly, the chants that accompany this kind of mandala, and many other Summer Solstice rites, are water chants:

We all come from the Goddess, and to Her we shall return
Like a drop of rain going to the ocean.

The circle turns in its own time by the rhythm of the Moon, and the only rule that applies is to remember that the Summer Solstice is above all, like the Mother Month it heralds, best done in patience, inclusiveness, and kindness, in a spirit of comedy that honors all roles and unites them in the celebration of life.

As I write this beside the Isis River in Oxford, it comes clear now that the Return of the Goddess happens now not only in the resurgence of the sacred feminine. It happens too, inevitably, in the most basic practical terms of planetary survival and healing. It flows this month in rites of water.

1 Ellen Barry, “Russians revive tradition with faithful, icy plunge.” International Herald Tribune, Jan. 22, 2009.
2 Ellen Barry, “Animist beliefs come back to life in Estonia.” New York Times, Jan. 13, 2009.
3 See “Asking the Water” at http://www.hermes3.net/may108.htm.

Dan Furst (Peru) has been a professional astrologer for over thirty years. A writer and teacher, he is an internationally respected authority on spiritual practices, calendars, and rituals around the world.

Here’s what you think
A SUN survey has found 71 per cent of people believe psychics CAN predict the future. And 83 per cent believe mediums have the power to contact the dead.

More than 1,000 readers completed our online study into psychic Britain.

It showed 60 per cent of those had visited a mystic or medium. And two-thirds of that percentage said the predictions they were given were spot on.

According to our poll, mediums were by far the most popular type of psychic, with 42 per cent eager to contact people from beyond the grave. Palm readers were the next most popular, then astrologers.

More than eight out of ten people who responded to our survey read their star signs, while more than half believed the predictions had turned out to be true.

A massive 90 per cent of you believe in ghosts – 47 per cent say they have seen one. Of those polled, just one in ten thought psychics were frauds and seven per cent believe they should be outlawed.

Astonishingly, 72 per cent said they felt they had some psychic powers themselves.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2483115/William-Little-author-of-The-Psychic-Tourist-is-convinced-people-really-can-see-into-the-future.html

http://www.theirwayhome.com

By JENNA SLOAN
Published: 15 Jun 2009

A TV show where rival contestants battle it out to avoid getting the sack… sound familiar?
But this is not Sir Alan Sugar and his ruthless business proteges — this is a world-famous psychic with a team of apprentices who are more interested in Ouija boards than boardrooms.

Medium Tony Stockwell has been in touch with the spirit world for more than 20 years and now wants to pass on his skills to one lucky trainee.

After auditioning hundreds of hopefuls for his new show, he has chosen six finalists to compete to become the nation’s next top clairvoyant.

And with more and more of us turning to mystics as the recession hits home, it seems there will be no shortage of demand for their services.

Click here to take part in a survey about how psychic you are for The Sun

Tony insists many of us have hidden psychic talents that can be developed with a little encouragement and practice.

So I met up with him to see if he could teach me to connect with the other side.

After stressing that belief is vital and that only those who have faith can succeed, Tony put me through my paces using exercises from his new show.

So would I discover my mystic mojo — or was it all a load of crystal balls?

Recalling his first paranormal experience, Tony says: “I grew up in Canvey Island in Essex and when I was eight I was playing with pals in the old war bunkers on the beach.

Colour test … Jenna’s psychic powers weren’t up to scratch
“Running through one, I saw a glowing, orange light that I knew was a spirit person. I wasn’t scared, more interested.

“Later, I went along to a spiritualist church. I loved it and found I had a talent for it. From the age of 19 I was giving demonstrations there myself.”

Now 40, Tony has written three best-selling books, appeared in three TV series and done five sell-out national tours.

He also helps police around the world with investigations.

“Most people have some intuitive ability,” he explains. “It’s like a muscle — you have to train and practice for it to work well.

“Even if you’ve never done anything like this before, with the right instruction many people will find they have some psychic skill.”

Hmm. At this point I fear Tony may have his work cut out with me. The only orange glow I remember from my childhood is from the bonfires on Guy Fawkes Night.

However, I am fascinated by people who claim to communicate with other worlds and I am not an out-and-out sceptic.

Tony starts my training by showing me two envelopes. He tells me that one of them contains a picture of a murderer, the other the victim.

I close my eyes and pick up the envelopes.

Tony says: “Relax, chill out, forget where you are and concentrate on your feelings. See if you can tell which person is in which envelope.

“Rub your hands over them and trust your instincts.”

The cynic in me says there is a 50/50 chance I will get it right but then, oddly, I begin to “feel sorry” for one envelope, while the other makes me angry.

After I reveal my response, Tony says: “Well done — you got them bang on. You felt sorry for the victim and felt the rage of the killer.” Perturbed, I open the envelopes and look at the pictures closely. I try to clear my mind and concentrate on my emotions again.

“Tell me what you feel about the killer,” Tony says softly.

For some reason, I sense a hands-on job and a strong smell of cooking oil.

I am stunned when it turns out the murderer was a chef in a hotel kitchen.

Workshop … Tony Stockwell tutors Jenna Sloan in the art of clairvoyance
Maybe this psychic lark is easier than I thought. Next, Tony hands me coloured ribbon, then blindfolds me and asks me to identify the colours.

“This one is green,” I predict confidently. It’s red.

“How does this colour feel,” Tony asks. “Er, squidgy?,” I reply. I get the yellow ribbon right, but to be honest I think that was just a fluke.

Tony then shows me a picture of three elderly women and informs me that they were all together for a historic event.

He asks if I have any idea what that was.

I tell him I feel they survived the Second World War together, so I am a little deflated to I learn they actually all survived the sinking of the Titanic.

On this performance, I’d be fired in the first episode of his search for a psychic star. An exercise using an old sepia photo of a nine-year-old girl is more fruitful.

“You need to clear your mind, relax and get in touch with your feelings,” Tony says. “Don’t worry about looking silly. Just search your mind for emotions and tell me what they are.” Shutting my eyes, I try to clear my head and feel, well, anything other than foolish.

“I think she was taken from her family,” I say. “I don’t see blood but it’s scary and I think maybe she was beaten or strangled.”

Again, it feels like I’m spouting rubbish, but Tony confirms the little girl was murdered.

She disappeared after being abducted and probably strangled by a neighbour many years ago.

Great, so I’m rubbish at ribbons but totally tuned in to violent killings.

As my session concludes, Tony insists: “You did really well, much better than a lot of people. I had one person who thought those old ladies were all ex-drag queens, so at least you didn’t come out with that!

“If you attended one of my psychic workshop classes, I’d definitely mark you out as having lots of potential.”

My inner sceptic is screaming that, as a journalist, of course I can piece together bits of information and come up with some sort of story. And I have reported on enough court cases to know about the typical kinds of murders.

But as a wannabe psychic, I’m thrilled by Tony’s praise.

Perhaps my future is sitting over a crystal ball as a fortune-teller on Blackpool Pier.

I’ll have to ask Tony.

Tony Stockwell’s Psychic Academy is on BIO at 9pm on Thursdays from July 2.
j.sloan@the-sun.co.uk

*Or are you just a mystic mug?

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2481397/Can-you-learn-to-be-psychic.html

http://www.theirwayhome.com
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