As Above, So Below

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by Anita

My parents came here from Latvia, a country with strong pagan traditions. One of the biggest holidays of the year in Latvia is called John's Day, celebrated June 24. It's a national holiday, and equals or surpasses Christmas. Everyone has the 24th and 25th off from work. On June 24, everyone named John wears a wreath made of oak leaves. When I visited my cousin one year during that time, they even placed an oak wreath on their car as a hood ornament (my cousin's husband is named John). Women pick flowers from the field, wind them into wreaths, and wear them. The oak leaves symbolize strength and flowers, of course, represent beauty.

Latvia is situated far to the north. During Midsummer, the Sun sets after 11 p.m. and rises again at 3:30 a.m. The traditional celebration of John's Day is to stay up all night, build a bonfire and sing and dance around it, drinking beer and eating cheese. The cheese is a special John's Day cheese, typically homemade, containing caraway seeds. If you own a folk costume, you wear it. Several places in the countryside offer John's Day celebrations for the public, especially city-dwellers who otherwise would not be able to build their own bonfire. The year I visited, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the President of Latvia, also attended the celebration. When the Sun rises at 3:30 a.m., everyone goes home and sleeps the rest of the day.

John's Day in Latvia features a fertility ritual; a celebration of the Sun at its full force (Saule, the Latvian word for Sun, is feminine, and Saule has a group of handmaidens -- Saules meitas). The bonfires must be lit before the Sun sets. They represent the continuation of light from one day to the next. The fire and smoke are also believed to chase away evil spirits and to bring health. But Latvia's climate is somewhat similar to Seattle's, in that summer takes a long time to arrive, and it often rains on John's Day. (It is, however, much colder than Seattle in winter!)

Part of the tradition of John's Day is to pray for a bountiful harvest. Folk songs and poems mention not only John, but Peter, who rides through the field wearing a gray cloak. The cloak represents rye flowers, which appear gray. Rye is one of the main crops grown in Latvia, from which they make their celebrated dark rye bread.

Litha

The Sun enters Cancer June 20 at 11:46 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). It's the longest day of the year, the equivalent of the Full Moon for the solar cycle, when the Sun is at her most powerful. For the purpose of ritual, Litha is a good time to recognize and celebrate your own personal power.

The Sun's home sign is Leo, a fire sign. When the Sun enters the water sign Cancer, it's like fire meeting water. Positive use of this energy is to create steam, which has been used to power engines and cook food. Negative effects occur when you allow watery emotions to take over and douse your inner fire.

Emotions have their purpose, though. What is the difference between intellectual knowledge and experience? Emotion. Emotions help us remember things like the fear and awe we experienced when Mt. St. Helens erupted, the wonder we experienced when we saw a hummingbird for the first time. Why are school lessons so hard to remember? Because rarely are emotions part of the learning experience.

Emotions also help provide power to a ritual. "An it harm none, do what thou wilt." In order to do, we must first will, and emotions provide momentum to will. A ritual that does not contain emotion is empty words.

The positive side of Cancerian emotionality is protection. Cancer is the natural sign for mothering, for defending and nurturing those who are weaker than us. The negative side of Cancer is fear. Fear paralyzes. Remember also that energy goes in the direction of thought: if we focus our energy on that which we fear, we are attracting those negative events and creating our own horrible future. When we are fearful, we yield our power to those who want to take advantage of us and to take away our power. "Here, let me take care of you" is one of the most dangerous phrases during our vulnerable moments. Cancer teaches us how to transform fear into boldness, bravery and courage. Then, once we have found our inner strength, we are ready for the lessons of Leo.

June 21, 9:14 p.m. PDT, Full Moon in Capricorn: With Solstice so close to a Full Moon, we get the double whammy of a powerful fiery Sun and a strong Moon affecting our emotions. The Moon is still in Sagittarius at Solstice, but enters Capricorn and opposes the Sun in less than 24 hours. A Cancer Sun and Sagittarius Moon are favorable for plans involving travel. Since it is a waxing Moon, almost full at Solstice, it's a good time for rituals that involve increase or growth. The Sagittarius Moon especially favors a spiritual focus. However, for anything that involves planting, wait until the New Moon in Cancer.

June 27, 9:01 p.m. PDT, Mercury enters Leo: Mercury is still direct, so communications from now until July 22 can be positive and full of confidence.

June 27, 10:53 p.m. PDT, Venus enters Leo: Party time! Leo, the sign of creativity, romance and recreation, brings out the light-hearted spirit of the planet of art and love. Any time that Venus is in a fire sign, it's relatively easy to forget disappointments in love and move on. It's also a good time to simply enjoy someone else for the pure pleasure of being with them, no strings attached.

July 6, 5:02 a.m. PDT, New Moon in Cancer: This is a perfect time for planting and sending energy to all growing things. Plan domestic and family activities, cooking, and nurturing yourself and loved ones.

July 16, 5:30 a.m. PDT, Saturn enters Leo: While Saturn is in Leo, it will be a difficult time for Leos as well as natives of all the other fixed signs (Aquarius, Scorpio and Taurus). Saturn is the sign of restriction and judgment, but remember that Saturn also brings gifts to those who do not give up the fight. Serious Saturn causes us to think twice about who we really are and what we really want to do. While Saturn is transiting a sensitive point in our charts, it's time to evaluate what we need to keep and what we're ready to throw out of our lives. With Saturn moving out of the cautious and fearful sign Cancer, it may be possible that threats of terrorism and violence become less significant. Saturn remains in a sign for approximately two and a half years.

July 21, 4 a.m. PDT, Full Moon in Capricorn: This is the second Full Moon in Capricorn. A Capricorn Moon emphasizes the need for structure, organization and discipline. Capricorn also rules career and position in society, so you can utilize this Full Moon to do a meditation or ritual on career matters.

July 22, 10:41 a.m. PDT, Sun enters Leo: The nurturing energy of Cancer is transformed into Leonine generosity, Cancerian fear into Leo confidence. When the Sun is in its home sign, it's a good time to do meditations and rituals focusing on our self-image, identity and creative self-expression. In order to love others, we must first love ourselves, and Leo helps teach us that lesson. Don't go too far, though, because too much self-love can turn into self-indulgence and arrogance!

July 22, 6:01 p.m. PDT, Venus enters Virgo: While Venus, planet of art and creative self-expression, is in Virgo, the sign of precision and detail, it's time to cast an editorial eye on the works of art we have created and improve them. It's a good time to delve deeper into any creative endeavor we may have started: Take classes to learn new techniques or read up on how to perfect your talents and skills. Venus in Virgo loves to look at details, to examine how things are made. The earthy practicality of Virgo lends a love of work to Venus, not typically a Venusian trait. Since Virgo also rules health matters, now is a good time to learn more about nutrition and how the body works.

July 22, 7:59 p.m. PDT, Mercury turns retrograde: Mercury remains retrograde until August 15. Be extra cautious about any form of communication while Mercury is retrograde. It's very easy to slip up and make careless mistakes, and misunderstandings are common during this time. If you plan rituals during this time period, plan your words in advance and practice, so that you won't make mistakes. Don't hurry. Avoid making firm commitments during this time period, you may have to go back later and re-examine them. If you happen to have Mercury retrograde in your birth chart, however, you may notice that this time period is one when people actually listen to what you have to say, and your tongue doesn't twist itself into knots! Retrograde Mercury has a positive function, and that is to help us reflect on the past, to help us pay attention to causes and fundamental issues underlying our thoughts and actions.

July 27, 10:12 p.m. PDT, Mars enters Taurus: Slow-moving, earthy Taurus energy slows down Mars. This is not a good time for rapid-fire action. Mars, planet of desire and will, finds itself in the sign of finances, values and material possessions. This is a good time to develop practicality. Your roving eye might find itself drawn to things -- nice, expensive things --you may need to rein it in. It's also a good time to examine where your values really lie. Use the Martian energy and willpower to learn to discriminate between what has lasting quality and what is a cheap imitation.

August 2, traditional day to celebrate Lammas: The astrological midpoint occurs at 3:15 a.m. PDT, August 7 (Sun reaches 15 degrees Leo).

August 4, 8:05 p.m. PDT, New Moon in Leo: This is a time to take advantage of the fun-loving nature of Leo. Entertain, take up a new sport, make new friends. Focus on whatever activities you enjoy that express your inner creativity, or meditate on growing self-confidence. If you want to take advantage of the renewing energy of the New Moon for your Lammas ritual, you might want to wait until the astrological event on
August 7.

I am always interested in feedback. If you have questions or comments about this article or series of columns, please contact me at sylviafan@juno.com. I'd especially love to hear from any of you who have experience with astrology for the Southern Hemisphere.