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Summer Solstice
Archetypal Energy: Light, Solar, Masculine
Archetype: Tigernonos (Celtic); Zeus (Roman) Sky, Solar (Spiritual) Father
Coamhain is the season between June 21 st and July31st. Coamhain is the longest day in the northern hemisphere, and was celebrated by the ancient Celts as a time of plenty, when the sun is at the peak of its powers. Most ancient people worshiped the sun as God. The summer solstice is the peak of the power of the sun and therefore the peak of yang, active, masculine, solar energy. This is a time to focus upon the divine masculine; the spiritual masculine that is represented by the sun. The Judeo-Christian tradition has become very solar and masculine dominated. This season connects most with the Judeo-Christian traditions spiritual focus upon the solar masculine. This is a time to focus upon and encourage the development of solar and positive, masculine traits. We focus during this season upon the four masculine archetypes: King, Warrior, Magician and Lover. We can focus upon these archetypes in terms of Celtic tradition as represented by the following:
1. The King: King Arthur
2. The Warrior: Chuchulainn (The greatest Celtic warrior)
3. The Magician: Merlin
4. The Lover: Angus Ogg (The Celtic God of Love) Eros (The Roman God of Love)
Ancient rituals at the season included the crowning of the Oak King. This is a time to focus upon and develop one’s masculine, solar energies.
Associated energies and symbols for the season of Coahmin, The Summer Solstice
1. Associated Element: Fire
2. Direction: South
3. Season: Summer
4. Faery Realm: Finias; Realm of The Fire Salamanders
5. Animal: Seven Tined Stag (Dear)
6. Plant/Tree: The Oak
7. Color: Red
8. Earthly Realm: Animal
9. Arch Angel: Michael
10. Polarity: Masculine/Active
11. Energy: Light/Positive (+)/Solar
12. Focus: Outer/Extroverted
13. Scared Tool: Staff of Merlin/Spear of Lugh
14. Stage of Life: Youth/Young Adulthood
15. Time of Day/Night: High Noon
16. Body Consciousness/Chakra: The Heart (Celtic and Hindu)
17. Consciousness: Solar Consciousness
18. Jungian Personality Function: Intuition (Hearing the voice of
19. Spirit/The Divine)
It is the longest day of the year and the day of greatest light. It occurs some time around June 21 through 22. This is the peak of male yang energy. This time is devoted to the warrior, youth, and along the same fullness of the summer energies of Beltaine. A time of picking fruits of summer. A time of greatest activity and outer focus. This is the full manifestation of what began in Beltaine. This is the time of full incarnation, celebration of the beauty of the world.
Personal focus
The personal focus of ritual for the season of Coamhain, the summer solstice is the following: We focus upon our masculinity internally and externally. We shall focus upon our fathers and grandfathers and male teachers and men in our lives. We shall focus upon developing and becoming aware of the four male archetypes: King, Warrior, Magician and Lover. We shall do a Tarot reading drawing to determine which of the four archetypes should be focused upon this season. We should work on developing a relationship with the archetype which chooses us for this season. We shall work with the four archetypes in our ritual at Monarch Bear Grove and will crown the Oak King within our selves and within each other. We shall focus upon the mystery and teachings of Fire.
Ritual for Summer Solstice
It is performed in the Monarch Bear Grove, in the Celtic cross circle, dedicated to the sun. We crown the Sun King in an external and internal manner. It is a time to honor the power of the king and masculinity, of the sword. It is a time to toast our fathers and male ancestors. It is a time to honor and work upon developing our masculine and yang qualities, whether we are a man or woman. It is the time of bringing and sharing of food, especially ripe fruits and grains.
The 8 Seasons of the Celtic Wheel of the Year
In Celtic Shamanistic Traditions, each of the different directions has different elemental and energetic and behavioral associations.
Begining about Nov. 1st -- Samhain is the Pagan New Year. It literally means "summer's end" in Irish Gaelic, and is the hallmark of the feminine half of the year. It is the time we honor those beloved who have died, particularly in the last year.
Yule is the celebration of the rebirth of light. It is humanity's oldest celebration which honors the Goddess giving birth to her son - the God, the Sun, and the Light.
February 1st - Brighid honors the time just before spring, when the earth is preparing to burst forth in productivity. It is the time when ewe's milk begins to flow in preparation for birthing, a symbol of the mother's milk of the earth.
Marks the shift from the lethargy and darkness of winter into the fruitfulness of Spring. The festival honors the time for new beginnings, as we travel into the light and action of spring, in gratitude for its warmth and light.
May 1st - Beltaine is the hallmark of the male part of the year, and honors the fecundity of earth. The God and Goddess are in sexual union - the maypole represents the phallus of the God planted in the Earth Goddess. The plants and flowers we lash to the maypole with ribbons represent the fertility of the Goddess. The festival celebrates vitality and passion - we cherish the joys life has to offer.
A festival in honor of the sun, of passion, and of the ripeness of the earth. The Goddess and the earth are heavy with pregnancy. This is a time when sacred and magical plants are gathered, dried, and stored for the coming winter.
August 1st - A time of thansgiving for the first fruits of the harvest. The God, a metaphor for the grain, is sacrificed - cut down in the fields to feed us. We make offerings of gratitude, ever mindful of the bounty the earth provides.
The light and darkness again are equal, but light grows less. The God, sacrificed in the harvest to nurture us, begins his journey into the Underworld. Mabon is a celebration of the completion of the harvest begun at Lughnasadh.