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Midsummer
Midsummer, 1999Midsummer, 2000
Midsummer, 1999Midsummer has always been a special time for me. It has always conjured up thoughts of faeries and amazons and magick. . This year, in the Eastern Midwest, we don't have to look far to find the magick in the mundane. I first heard their music early in May, just a low humming sort of sound. Around that time I found my first empty 17-year cicada shell. Now, at Midsummer, their call is so loud I can hear it even with the windows closed. I've heard that some people find the "noise" annoying. I, for one, find it beautiful and haunting. Imagine emerging from a 17-year sleep for a few brief weeks to make love and music and then die!! I am already finding the dead ones laying about, food for other creatures of nature. The larvae hatch from eggs laid in the twigs of trees. Then, they turn into an insect form called a nymph, which exists in a dormant state underground for 17 years. After this, white nymphs emerge, their skin splits open, and perfectly formed cicadas appear. Have you ever seen one? They are large and black, their wings colorful and lacy, like faerie wings. What powerful magick must reside in a creature able to transform itself in such a manner! In their book, Wheel of the Year, Pauline and Dan Campanelli give several magickal uses for them. They claim that the cicadas lend their potency to charms and spells dealing with things hidden and secret. Amulets of their shed skins and hazelnuts can be made into amulets when in search of mystical knowledge. Amulets of the skins can also be worn for protection during astral travel since they represent the empty shell of the body left behind during the travel by the astral being. What powerful symbolism abides in their transformation! Recall the Gods and Goddesses who journeyed to the Underworld, to return later, transformed. And so, I'm going outside right now, on Midsummer's Eve, to collect the skins of the nymphs, and some of the dead adults. I could use a good transformation!!
Blessed Be, Raven MoonFlower
Midsummer, 2000Well, another year has come and gone. The cicadas are again in slumber. What wonders will they awaken to in 16 years? How quickly time passes.... As a practicing witch, I find that time passes even more quickly, what with all the Sabats and Esbats to look forward to. Besides the new and full moon each lunar month, we have a Sabat every 6 weeks! I don't know about you, but I can feel that ebb and flow of the tides each month as the lunar cycle runs its' course. So too with the solar cycle. I've often debated with myself which I look forward to more: Yule or Midsummer. I look forward to Yule, thinking with great joy that soon the days will be growing longer, the nights shorter, and the days will begin to warm. Imbolc and the first signs of Spring appear a mere 6 weeks or so later. Birds begin to chirp; furry creatures begin to reappear and a few brave bulbs will pop their heads out and brave the snow. Another six weeks will pass and it will be the Spring Equinox, Ostara. By now we realize that Winter is over and the warm winds of Summer will soon be with us. Another 6 weeks and Beltaine!! Six more and it's Midsummer. The sounds and scents of summer surround us. Anyone can feel the magick in the air!! Yet, though we have many months left of lovely weather and three more Sabats 'till Yule, I find I am already feeling that spiraling "pull" downward towards Yule. But hey, what's wrong with that? I know that come Yule, I'll once again feel that great joy that comes with knowing that the dark times have passed and life is renewed. Raven MoonFlower
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