Summer Solstice: Fire of the Guardian

The Wheel turns once again, moving from a place of doing and into a place of being.

Summer Solstice has a long history as a turning point. For some it marks a celebration of the sun or light on the longest day of the year. Embracing the bounty of the earth, not yet ready to be plucked but growing and expanding. Some see it as the height of the magical season, with the sun energizing the world. Others see it as the movement away from the light and the beginning of the darker season because the light every day after starts to wane. Then there are others who see it as the beginning of a new year. That is the beauty of diversity, each of us connecting and showing all the different possible interpretations of an event, yet the event itself brings us together.

In Crane Practice we celebrate the Summer Solstice, not as a day, but the beginning of a season of time within the pattern of Life-Death-Rebirth. It is the season of The Guardian. A movement away from the activities of creating and planting those creations in the physical world – to one of nurturing, protecting, observing, and analyzing that which we have planted. It is a movement from external busy work, to the nurturing phase and internal reflective work.

The Master Pattern

Before I focus on the Fire of the Guardian, I want to give a brief overview of the entire pattern to give an understanding of how this flows.

Crane Practitioner’s follow a pattern that is like a blueprint for the stages of the Birth – Life – Death – Rebirth cycle. We see the Master Pattern reflected, not just in the stars and seasons, but in the cycle of life and every act of growth – creation – and transformation.

The First Turning is the Creation or Dream period. It is where possibilities flow, new ideas or perspective are born, and plan starts to form. It contains the constellations of The Seer, the Observer, and the Thinker. Each representing a stage of the beginning. The Seer starts in inspiration, a creative idea, or an idea to resolve an issue. It is the dreaming phase. The Observer is learning through the knowledge of others, seeing the overlaps, divisions, and new possibilities. The Thinker is where you start to develop your plan, how to bring your creation or solution to life.

The second Turing is the execution of the plan, the outer work. It contains the constellation of the Illusionist, The Ruler, and The Guardian. The Illusionist is all about the senses and shifting the senses, feeling and experiencing your idea. It is a time of exploration and experimentation, putting your plan into action. The Ruler is the understandings of the knowledge and experience. Mastery through doing and Foundations built from results. The Guardian is learning how to protect and nurture your creation, the parts that have proven to be important.

The Third Turning moves back inward, bringing it all back together in the mind and soul. It contains the constellations of The Enchanter, The Stabilizer. And The Healer. The Enchanter is about shifting and altering the mind. Dispelling the information and ideas that did not prove to be true in our experience, and incorporating the aspects that did. The Stabilizer is a time of reflection and solidifies the outcomes and failures of our experiments. Taking the work the Enchanter did and forming the new reality within our minds. The Healer is the time of reconciliation. It is where we let go of what does not serve this new direction.

The Forth Turning is where everything comes to an ending for a new beginning. It is the time of Wisdom and full transformation. It contains the constellations of The Knower, The Balancer, and The Weaver. This last Turning is the results of our achievement and journey. The Knower focuses on the Wisdom gained through the knowledge and experience of the journey. A time of seeing all the pieces of the puzzle and really understanding them. The Balancer sees the dualities and movements that are, and can be made, within the puzzle to create different outcomes. Understanding the positive and negative, the blessing and curses, light and dark that lay within them all. The Weaver is the one who has all the power to transform themselves and the world with all that has been gained throughout the journey. The Weaver is the power and transformation gained throughout the whole process.

Each Turning is a season of time within a creation, growth, or a transformation. Reflected in Moon Cycles, Sun cycles, Life cycles, and Creation cycles. The Four Fire Feasts of the Crane are the points on the Yearly Sun Cycle – Focused on the physical world as the interconnected collective, the whole.

The Fire of The Guardian

On Summer Solstice we celebrate the Fire of the Guardian. It is a movement from the active doing, experimenting, and planting the seeds of our project or change – and moving into a place of nurturing our creation/ work, evaluating, reconciling, and preparing for incorporation. It is a day to acknowledge and celebrate what has been done/ achieved in the previous cycle and the anticipation/ preparation of what is to come next.

It also marks the movement from the light, outer self and world, to the dark – the inner self and soul. A reminder that every journey, every creation, is a movement that starts within, moves outward, and then comes back within. A never ending spiral, starting at the center, spiraling outwards and then spiraling back deeper again.

Celebrating

Depending on how you are using this cycle will determine how you are celebrating. When it comes to the Yearly Sun cycle of the Master Pattern I generally have some type of large project or transformation I want to achieve or work through that year. The Summer Solstice then become the midway point for that goal.

Fire

A fire of some sort is always associated with these turning points. Holding both the power of clearing out, as well as, the power of inspiration and action. A perfect combination for representing the type of movement happening. I am currently in a place that allows us to have bonfires/ outdoor fires on these Sacred days, but a small tea light candle works just as well. It is a representation of igniting the soul for the next leg of the journey, energizing and strengthening.

Family Feast

We love to have a family feast at the Turnings. Our Summer Solstice is generally filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as campfire foods. Smores are a staple must have with any bonfire we do. We bake fresh Rosemary Bread and corn bread is in honor of our ancestors. We then spend the evening together, toasting, eating, sharing stories, and inviting the spirits to share in our bounty (Death worker here – so the spirits are always a part of celebrations for me.)

Spell Pouch

If I am having a big outdoor fire I will make a burnable spell pouch out of paper (an envelope works too). I am usually focused on the Turning I am moving into, but you can also include anything that needs to be let go of from the previous one in order to move forward.

On the paper I write down aspects I want to bring in during the next Turning, anything I may need help with, any power I feel I need to boost in order to do the work ahead. If I am clearing something out, I make sure I am doing so with gratitude and love, good or bad, for it served a purpose at some point or was a part of my journey that led to me where I am right now at this moment.

I may add some plant spirits, color magic, sigils or seals to enhance the intention and aspects written. The only real limits is if something will burn cleanly, effectively, and not be harmful to the environment.

Then I place everything in the middle of the paper and fold it up, or inside the envelope and seal it. I will hold onto it, focusing my thoughts and emotions on what I wrote. When I feel the power within vibrating, then I will throw the pouch into the fire for quick action and release of the magic.

Depending on what the intentions were, I may collect some of the ashes to create a magical water with, or use in different spell work, throughout the new Turing I am entering into.

Moon and Sun Water

The Solstices and Equinoxes are a great time to charge some specialty Sun and Moon water.

Sun Water charged on the Summer Solstice is great for: Revealing hidden things/ secrets, Shedding light on a situation, major energy boosts to self or spell, adding heat to a situation, adding speed and endurance, accelerated growth of something, to burn something away – completely gutting it out, domination magic, and Power in a physical world standpoint.

Moon Water charged on Summer Solstice is great for: Bringing to light shadows within the self, Shadow work – especially beginning a new shadow work, quieting spirits, lowering your emotional energy, quieting turmoil within, and to reduce grieving.

The Sun, in this age, sits at the top of the torch on the Orion constellation on Summer Solstice. The Moon’s position changes, so be sure to mark on your storage container the constellation and moon phase. These specific moon aspects can also add a whole other layer of energy into the mix.

For Storage: I prefer glass jars when putting them in the fridge. For specialty waters that only come around once a year or several years, I like to freeze them. Small ice cube like containers work great, just be sure you are able to mark them so you remember which each one is.

You can use these waters in spell work, taking into the self by drinking, or to make specialty magical waters/ sprays/ hydrosols. As a Crane Practitioner I will infuse the water I use with Voice as well. Speaking directly to the water my intention or chanting a specific Soul Rune spell, infusing the water with my words and emotions. Voice is a key element in the Crane Tradition.

Soul Runes

As a Crane Practitioner I use Soul Runes. They are a Divination tool and magical system specific to the Crane tradition.

The Runes are split into two Branches, which has 4 sets of 6 Runes within them. Each of the 4 sets represents an energy, element, and color in Crane magic, with specific messages and lessons within them. These allow you go deeper into the message being presented and to see all the energies at play within the individual Rune.

There is a lot more depth to it than that, but there is not enough time or room to cover it today. If you are specifically interested in learning more about Soul Runes keep an eye out for some upcoming articles this month about them, or just sign up to my newsletter here on Patheos and get them emailed to you.

For a Turing Point such as Summer Solstice I will cast (roll) all of the dice, align them into their sections, and reveal the pattern for that particular Turning. I will generally take 2-4 of the most prominent Runes standing out to me and create a magical chant/ spoken spell. I can then use the spoken spell as an affirmation – drawing in the energy of the Rune combination, to focus my energy/ ground myself in those energies, or use them in a larger spell work connected to the message given.

Tarot and Oracle

I generally combine these with my Soul Rune work, adding another layer of depth to the reading, but you can use them all on their own too.

For the beginning of the Turning (on Summer Solstice in this case) I love to use the particular spread below.

1. What is the Energy at the Forefront?

2. What Energy do I need to be cautious of? (this isn’t always a negative energy, just something to be acutely aware of)

3. An Action to Embrace

4. Questions to be answered (what questions surround the card/ energy being presented)

5. Something to Let Go of

I specifically use Oracle cards for this particular spread, but you can use tarot, or a combination of tarot and Oracle – Tarot for questions 1 & 2, then oracle cards for the rest. Then I will write everything down in my Divination Journal so I can keep coming back and reflecting on it throughout the Turning. You can also use the tarot to go deeper into any aspects of the reading by using the “Tell me a story” method about the card or message in question.

The Oracle Decks I specifically use are: Earth and Bone and Star Dragons for the top part – and then the Seasons of The Witch Decks for the actions/ questions.

If I want to add a daily practice in, or a little more direction here and there, I will do a one card pull with the intention of “What do I need to focus on today?”

I highly encourage keeping detailed journals for any Divination. It is a great way for beginners to learn, develop their skills, and see their accuracy. For seasoned people it is wonderful for self and magical reflective periods.

Ending Thoughts

We all have our own ways of celebrating the changes of seasons, points of time, sun and moon phases. I just thought I would share some of what I do. Perhaps it will inspire you or give you an inspiration to try something new.

No matter what though – have fun with it! Be present in whatever experience you are creating for yourself when celebrating something.

Laughter, silliness, music, dancing, and joy are all parts of celebrating life – and in the end, is that not what celebration is for.

I’d love to hear what you may be planning and what you are celebrating this time of year!