Just like at Beltane we will be coloring our way into the Summer Solstice. We already discussed the benefits for of coloring now lets discuss the power within each color. Learning about the energy each color has and how to use it in your life is an important lesson for not just kids, but adults too. Sir Isaac Newton discovered in 1666 that as a pure while light passes through a prism it separates and appears as a color. Upon further experiments e learned that every color is made up a single wavelength unique to itself. He learned that although you can combine colors to create a new color you can not separate colors. Even though much research has been done on how light creates color, and which colors when combined create new colors not much research has been done on why certain color make us feel and react the way we do. The Ancient Egyptians would use chromotherapy to help to heal those around them by transmitting light through crystals or glass to create a color. This color would either be focused on your body or illuminate the room you are in so you can gradually absorb it. This practice is still used in many holistic centers and has been found effective. Some examples are they would use red light to increase your circulation, or blue light to treat pain. Each color makes a person feel a certain way and just like the color each person's feelings may be different. Many associate the color white with purity and new beginnings while in some parts of the world people relate it to death and loss. So even if a color is associated with a feeling or energy know that it may be different for you. As you pick your color that you choose to either color your pictures, or candle on your altar you can choose with intent behind it. Red- Aries, Scorpio, Mars influencing Saturn and is a Fire energy. It heals your bones, colon, prostate, and the root chakra. Harness the energies of: passion, courage, strength, power, joy, renewal, desire, ambition, leadership, business deals, and hunting. Pink-Venus, influencing Mars. It heals all aspects of the muscular systems. Harness the energies of:self-love, friendship, calming, romance, harmony, partnerships, exercise, surgery, new beginnings, honor, emotions, femininity. Orange-Sun, Leo, Sagittarius and is a also a Fire energy. It heals kidneys, uterus, bladder, sperm, and digestion. The sacral chakra is associated with it. Harness the energies of: healing mental health, happiness, material gain, sealing a spell, harvest, strength, and legal matters. Yellow-Mercury, Taurus, Libra and is a Air energy. It heals your lower back, spine, pancreas, liver, digestion and the solar plexus chakra. Harness the energies of:friendship, remove negative thinking, increase creativity, prosperity, self-esteem, and beauty. Green-Venus, Mercury, Aquarius, Cancer and is an Earth energy. It heals your upper back, breasts, heart, respiratory system, circulatory system and all aspects of the heart chakra. Harness the energies of:increasing love and trust, faeries, general healing, transformation, new beginnings, prosperity, career, hope, rebirth, herbal magic, fertility, luck, courage, alliances, and artists. Blue-Jupiter, Moon, Virgo, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces and is a Water energy. It heals your neck, thyroid, ears, mind and all aspects of the throat chakra. Harness the energies of:wisdom, wealth, joy, opportunity, patience, peace, loyalty, meditation, long distance travel, growth, sports, doctors, and studying. Violet/Purple-Mercury, Saturn, Capricorn, Jupiter, Gemini, Sagittarius and is a Spirit energy. It heals your face, nervous system, pituitary gland, emotions and all aspects of the brow chakra. Harness the energies of:clairvoyance, relief of emotional hurt, spiritual protection, heal, meditation, justice, forgiveness, memory, education, and astrology. White-Moon, Pisces. It heals your brain, pineal gland, semen and all aspects of your crown chakra. Harness the energies of:Safety, protection, enlightenment, relieving shyness, the cycle of life, freedom, and health. Black-Saturn and it heals your bones. Harness the energies of:Use in combination with white to represent balance, divination, beginning, creation, rebirth, absorbing energies, patience, stability, neutralizing forces, karma, death, manifestation, law, overcoming obstacles, and real estate matters. Brown-Scorpio, Capricorn and is an Earth energy. Harness the energies of- friendship, animal magic, nature magic, generosity, grounding, and telepathy.
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For thousands of years people have worn crowns and wreaths so of course why wouldn't we want to incorporate this in our Sabbat celebrations. That is why for our Litha festivities we made Sun Crown to wear for our family ritual and feast. This craft is a fun to do as a family and an easy project for any age. Crowns have long been a symbol of a royalty whether it be Egyptian or English, but they are also a form to honor our inner Divinity. Crowns can come in simple forms like a floral wreath, bronze crown or elaborate jewel crown. The ancient Egyptian Pharaoh's like Ptolemy III Euergetes worshipped the Sun God Ra so he wore a pointed solar crowns that symbolized his connections with Ra. To start we will be making the halo that we will be building our base of our crown for this we will be using a form of floral wire. Measure the size of each person's ahead and make sure that it fits comfortably then you cut the wire and entwine it closed. At this point you can either leave the floral wire plain or you can wrap string around it allowing a little more cushion on top of your head. Now it is time to cut your Sun rays I used a thick yellow and orange card stock. Trace triangles four different sizes; one large, four medium, and depending on the size of your head 6 smaller. Our goal is to have a full crown of sunrays around your head. You will be pulling the bottom of the Sun Ray out and underneath your halo then stapling them together. Place each halo right next to each other until it fully circles your head. As I place each Sun crown on a person's head I say a blessing: I bless you with the power and the strength of the Great Sun God
Let us harness this energy to celebrate. Living in the Northern Hemisphere we are about to celebrate the Summer Solstice while in the Southern Hemisphere they are celebrating the Winter Solstice. These two sacred holidays both revolve on the celebration of the Sun God, and the battle of the Oak King vs. the Holly King. The loser of this battle then needs to travel to the underworld via the ferry man. We will be making medallions for the Holly King to make his journey. The legend of the ferryman, the Charon, who takes the souls of the dead into the Underworld has been around since 500 BC. Hermes would bring the dead to the edge of the river where Charon would be waiting with his boat. If you did not have the medallion or coin to pay him, he would not take you and you were forced to wander the edge of the river for all eternity. This is why in ancient time people would bury their dead with coins in the mouth so they would be able to pay the Charon. Our medallions or "coins" will not have monetary value, but they will have symbolic value. We will be making the medallions our of a salt dough blend much like the one we use to make our Yule tree ornaments. We will be adding yellow food coloring and gold sprinkles to give it the appearance of a gold coin. In addition we will also be making markings on the "coin." You can make rune symbols, or money symbols the choose is yours. Keep your medallions in a bag for your battle reenactment. TO MAKE THE SALT DOUGH MEDALLIONS 1 cup salt 2 cups flour ¾ cup water yellow food coloring gold glitter Mix the flour and salt together. Once well mixed add the food coloring, then knead the glitter into the dough. Roll out the dough and cut out circle, medallions. Then using a toothpick draw your decorations on them. During the Summer Solstice the sun is at its peak point in the sky this is why we are making Solstice Sun Catchers to hang on inside our window to grab the sun's rays and spread them through out our home. Each kid gets to make their own sun catcher to catch their own rays when they hang it in their bedroom. What is one of the most important stars in the Universe, our Sun. With out the sun their would be no possibility of life on Earth. The suns gravity holds the Earth into place with out it we would be floating around the Universe. If we did not have the sun the Earth would be to cold for not just people but all life to survive. The sun provides the energy for plants to go through their photosynthesis to process carbon to oxygen. Humans and animals as you know can't survive without oxygen. Now that you know the sun is so important not just for the Earth and civilization but as a symbol of the God within Paganism. Our ancestors knew that without the Sun we would not be able to survive. They knew that the strength and power of it was magickal, this is how the creation of the Sun God came to be. Many different cultures saw the Sun God as one of the main Deities to be worshipped. In Egyptian the God Ra ruled over the Sun they would gather at the great temple of Karnak. This beautiful ancient temple aligns with at the Summer Solstice just like how Stonehenge is in complete alignment during this time. This is how we know that they celebrated the Solstice and honor the Sun God at this time. On both the Winter and Summer Solstice we wake up early and just as our ancestors did we wait and watch the sunrise. It is amazing to think that our ancestors did this exact same thing to honor the Sun God and celebrate his strength at this time. I love seeing the sunshine coming in my windows and the light that it creates this is what inspired me to make sun catchers with the kids. Sun catchers grab the light of the sun and reflect off color from the glass, or in the case of what we are using crayon. I gather all the material to make each sun catcher. Have a variety of colors of cardstock is great to have on hand for any new crafts you would like to create. If you cook you probably have wax paper, and if you have kids you probably have crayons. Then each kid traces and cuts out their card stock. Folding the card stock in half then cutting the shapes can help to ensure that your cuts are even and using a cup to trace the circle makes it complete. Now it is time to pick our color crayon to shave and then melt on the wax paper. You can use two methods to melt the crayon shavings: leave it in the hot sun and let it melt naturally, or place on a baking sheet and melt in the oven at 250 till melted. After you allow it to cool then cut into a circle and place it in sun card stock. As I hang it in the window I say a blessings
Rays of light Shining bright Send love and light into our life. Then hang in window. |
As a mom of three boys who go to public school I started to notice that some things were not being taught in detail so I decided to create lessons for them. Many of these lessons cover science, history and of information about Paganism. I share crafts for the all different holidays and cultures as ways that they can learn and have fun at the same time.
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