Whether you are living through the longest days of the year or the shortest I wish you a happy Solstice! From where I stand on Earth the sun's rays are weak and from now on will be growing in strength day by day.
Simultaneously the moon was at her fullest last night and will be waning until the dark moon phase about two weeks from now. I tend to celebrate the full moon with a simple ritual surrounding gratitude. Sometimes the ritual is as simple as standing under the moonlight and speaking aloud how happy I am to live here, now, and surrounded by the simple, fortunate life I have.
These past few days have been very busy and full of hard work. I simply didn't have the energy or time to prepare something extravagant. I couldn't forget about the magic of the solstice and full moon either. I looked around my house thinking of what to do and couldn't help but notice that the place was a total mess. So, I dedicated the afternoon to a bit of deep cleaning, magical cleaning!
For me the key to infusing such a mundane ritual as house cleaning with enchanted vibes are music and incense. I put on my playlist of pagan tunes, lit a stick of my favorite incense (myrrh) and started to move out all of the items in my house that had accumulated spiderwebs, dust, mud from boots, and ashes from the fireplace.
All of the rugs, pillows, and bedding I put out into the sunshine to dry up the humidity and shake out cat fur. With most of the furniture outside the house and soaking up the rays of the (albeit weak) solstice sunshine I lit some of my favorite magical tools ~ beeswax candles and floral wand! Throughout spring and summer I have a tradition of creating dried bouquets that I use to decorate my home and fill our space with the colors of the warmer months. And on special days like the winter solstice or a full moon I burn them ritualistically.
I started by opening all of the windows and the door wide, lit the floral wand and then began walking around each room with the smoking bundle in a fire safe dish. As I walked I spoke some intentions, asking for all the bad vibes to leave the home and also using the smoke as an offering to the spirits that I feel co-habituate and protect this place.
There are a few established deities that I have altars to in little hidden corners throughout the house. I ran the smoke in and around their altars, especially my altar to the sun and to the moon. And while the smoke bundle smoldered I also took it out to bless a few new magical tools I was recently gifted by a friend. They are four ceramic models of cats, which I asked to be made with the idea of protecting our three cats and making the house a sanctuary for them at all times.
In solstices' past I have gathered with a couple of friends and prepared a feist but this year it felt more genuine for me to keep things simple. Instead I harnessed the energy of this moment, a brief day of sunshine before the months of winter to come. So, yesterday instead of going out a celebrating with others I chose to stay in an honor the place that serves not only as a temple for my pagan practice but also a refuge from the months of winter to come.
Happy Solstice!!