Aerra Litha to mean the season of midsummer. The summer solstice can last from the 21st to the 26th June. As well as we know, bonfires are traditionally lit to celebrate this magical earth blessed time of light. Bonfires also are said to keep the negative spirits away that may appear. Entering a stone circle during midsummer's night would enable one to see fairies manifest. Walking on ley lines divert anything paranormal. Sun wheels placed on fire is a sign of the glowing sun.
Most sacred animals to the sun are "solar animals".
First is the Lion: king of the beasts. A lion represents the sun, strength, royalty, leadership, dominance power, wealth, conqueror, mighty predator, guardian, wisdom, honour, aggression, gold, heat, fire, pride.
Second is the Salamander: A small and pretty amphibian, always been considered as a mythical creature belonging to fire.
Third is the Ram: Assoiated with agility, energy, fire, arrival of light, warmth and sun.
Fourth is the Rooster: with bright plumes, both a symbolic animal of sunlight and the dead.
Fifth is the Peacock: A bird with a vibrant display of colours in its fan, this peacock symbolises reality of light, beauty, spiritual wakening, gracefulness, royalty, love and compassion.
Sixth is the Horse: An animal companion of humans, and symbolic of journeys, power, freedom, law, loyalty, rebirth and swiftness.
Seventh is the Spider: This little creature is a web weaver, and throughout many cultures it's always been a symbol of creativity. The spider is linked to eternal life, dreams, women, threads, intelligence, the number 8, magic, cosmic wisdom, domesticity and weaving.
Eighth is the Eagle: This is another dominant animal, ruler of the sky, bird of prey, and symbolic of air and sunlight. This magnificent bird, along with mythical birds such as pheonix, firebird and thunderbird, are linked to flight, astral travel, freedom, power, fire, air, sky, men, nobility, guardian, insight, justice and supernatural.
Ninth is the Dragon: The most key animal with four elements and a solar power creature of myth and legend. A creature of fire as well as ice and water. This is a major being that belongs to the category of myth but has always been firmly set in heraldic, flags, signs of office, royalty, power, dominance, wisdom, magic and time. The dragon is inter dimensional, magical, potent, a guardian, protector, destroyer, mover, medicines, alchemy, beauty, wonder, fear, flames, ancient knowledge and a keeper.
The rocks and metals of the sun flash with charm. Bronze, gold, diamonds, rubies, topaz, even amber. Adorn in the colour of the sun, yellow, gold, orange and red. Paint in those colours, wear something in these shades at the solstice. Get solar flowers, like roses, daisies, chrysanthemums and lotuses. Eat and drink solar foods, like ginger biscuits, exotic fruit, sugary and spiced meals, honey, ale, tea and mead.
Dinsul, the fairytale looking island "hill dedicated to the sun" where pagan priests and priestesses kept an eternal fire. This place is now called St Michael's Mount, found off the coast of Cornwall, England. It looks like a magical green hill of flowers and mist, rising above the water with a castle on top. A place for celebration, holidaying and old ghosts, where some favour visiting during the summer.
One doesn't have to visit Avebury, Stonehenge, Wayland Smithy or Dinsul (old name) to enjoy the summer solstice. Celebrating in one's back yard, or in a local park, or a nature reserve, is just as, or more than, cool. One won't have to bother with the hassle of getting to these packed places that are often commercialised now. Make your own stonehenge if you want.
A vision of fairies, or butterflies and moths below the clouds, escapism, bubbles, the smell of rain and cut grass, ice cream, lemonade, and honouring the sun. The sun, in the form of a goddess, Sunna.
Goddesses and women gather in a web of trees, hedges, slopes and rocky pastures. There is a vast wheel, connected by land and sea. North, South, East and West. To the north is a grove of fairies, who are distant memories of ancestral spirits and gods of nature. The Isle of Avalon ("apple land") where Idunn (Athena/Sulis Minerva) sits in guard over the sacred golden solar apples. Freya the green Goddess appeared recently as the new "Lady of the North" or Northumberlandia, in the grassy hills of Cramlington in England. Valkyries aide fallen warriors to enter the halls of Valhalla. West is the setting of fairies, guardian women at Slieve Gullion in Ireland. Daughters (Sidhe) of Odin and Tuatha de Danann sing at the return of the sun and light. In the east of broad fields then thick dark forests, Rusalka women leave the cold water to play on swings. The mavka (tree spirits) retreat into the forests at daylight. In the south, where it's crumbling islets of warm sand and pillars, the nymphs and goddesses play music. At the centre is a dwelling of islands, with prehistoric secrets, including a dinosaur park in the Isle of Wight, a few leylines, Stonehenge, Carnac Stones in France and Externsteine in Germany. Trudging through the centre are heroes and folklorists, damsels and priesthood.
Written like the solar system the land is a reflection. In honour of Sunna, the All powerful Queen of the heavens, the sun goddess stands from Her shining throne to bless us with life's energy.
Links for summer:
The Megalithic Portal
Tuatha De Danann (Transcaltic)
English Fairies (Mysterious Britain)
Midsummer (Wikipedia)
