{"id":17052,"date":"2018-06-01T01:10:08","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=17974"},"modified":"2018-05-22T15:55:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T20:55:48","slug":"celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2018\/06\/01\/celebrating-the-old-ways-in-new-times-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

June 2018 for Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bright Blessings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I had a delightful conversation today with a neighbor.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This neighbor is one of my buddies. You can find us out front, giggling, gabbing, venting, chatting with other neighbors, and going gaga for the neighborhood dogs together.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We became unexpected teammates in gardening four years ago. I had ran out of gardening space on my back patio, and had planted everything I could in my front space, so I begged neighbors at my building to allow me to plant things in their spaces. He was the last one I asked, and he turned out to be the most enthusiastic. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My husband and I had planned to have our condo sold, and be gone from here by now, so last year, I told everybody I would not be doing more gardening. Well\u2026we are still here\u2026and although I decided to only garden on the patio, guess what? I ran out of space out back again! In the front, an unexpected, and unwanted invader showed up.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A TON of poison ivy!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I have been fighting a losing battle with it for years now, and I enlisted the help of the condo manager to help tame it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One year, they sent somebody who \u201ccould not find it\u201d until I made an appointment to have him come when I was home, so I could show him where it was.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sigh.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, there were small patches of it I controlled by pouring boiling water on it\u2026or so I thought\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This year, it came back for revenge, and has spread into my mint and lavender. I planted both of these in 2006, and it appears I may have to give them up to kill the poison ivy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not entirely certain I\u2019m ready to sacrifice my sixteen-year-old herbs, but I am less certain if I have a choice or not.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, after my neighbor buddy lamented to me something that is bugging him, I lamented about the poison ivy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He just so happens to have some poison ivy killer, and Sunday, we are going to murder it together.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The growing season is my favorite for a lot of reasons, but things like poison ivy make me cringe, and when I am bitching about the cold of winter, and missing my plants, I can at least be thankful I won\u2019t have to worry about being covered in the awful itch and bumps of my least favorite plant.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Up until a few years ago, I LIVED for Summertime, and could not understand people who needed cold.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, poison ivy, asthma, and age induced heat intolerance has me understanding how so many have issues with my favorite season.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I am learning there is more to life than the good and the bad of Summer, although there was a time that is all I lived for.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

While some of us see the seasons as being broken up into two, one being Winter beginning at Samhain, the other Summer beginning at Beltaine, these days, most people feel there are four seasons, and Mid-June brings us to the Summer Solstice. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Solstice Anyways?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Most simply stated, the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, meaning it is the day when there is the most amount of sunlight. It is marked by revelry (of course!) bonfires to represent the sun, and ritual in many faith traditions. I had not realized this, but Summer Solstice is observed in over 30 countries, some of which are actually in the Middle East, and members of both Xtian and non Xtian faiths celebrate it in various ways. Of course, as with most Xtian celebrations, it originated in Pagan times.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One thing many of us have known for a very long time is a site where we find evidence of Pagan Midsummer celebrations is Stonehenge.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Stonehenge<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stonehenge has intrigued us since forever. Sitting on Salisbury Plain, it cuts a dramatic figure with it\u2019s huge stones, and the fact many are missing lends an air of mystery, as well as stirs the imagination.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From tales of human sacrifice, to devil worship, today\u2019s folk like to say all sorts of far fetched things about this stone circle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The fact there are no written records left by the people who both built and used it add to the mystery, and there are too many \u201cexperts\u201d throwing theories around they can never prove. Instead of sharing mounds of these theories, I will share what is known through evidence.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It was developed through four stages of construction. I find it interesting that when I was a kid, they were saying it was THREE stages, and now, they are saying it\u2019s four. So CURRENTLY, it is accepted there were four stages of development.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first stage took place around 3100 BC, and it included the famous Aubrey Holes, which some claim can be used to calculate lunar events, cremations, a ditch, and an earthwork and bank. It was then abandoned for about 1,000 years. Nobody knows why.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The second stage was around 2100 BC, and the very heavy bluestones were hauled from mountains 240 miles away, some of which weighed four tons. This was all supposedly done via waterways, and then dragging the stones by log rollers on land. An incomplete double circle was formed, and an avenue was constructed, which lines up with the Midsummer Sunrise. This is evidence that over 4,000 years ago, Midsummer was observed at Stonehenge.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The third stage around 2,000 BC, less than 200 years later, they hauled what are called the Sarasen stones from about 25 miles away. The heaviest of these is estimated to weigh about 50 tons. They made another ring of stones, laid the stones atop, which we call lintels, and formed a horseshoe ring of stones we can still see today.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The final stage took place around 1500 BC, and included rearranging he bluestones.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There has been generations of researchers, and no matter what the discover by this or that fond onsite, we can only piece together so much because no written record was left by the people who built it. We know when what was put where, and where it came from. We know it was all very sacred. We have no idea exactly what was done.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is pointed out that both solar and lunar events can be marked by where moon and sun rises when, and the Aubrey Holes, as was previously mentioned supposedly work by moving a stone from hole to hole every day to keep track of lunar events. The sun and moon, marking seasons was significant to the builders, and due to the fact cremains and animals teeth have been found buried on site, it is believed the teeth were used as sacrifice to gods, and the site was a sacred burial grounds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are never going to have the whole story. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, Pagans have our spiritual selves to let us know sites like Stonehenge are sacred. Today\u2019s Pagans have been hosting Midsummer Sunrise celebrations for many years. Last years was well documented by video, which I will share here. This is a 40 plus minute video, and in it, you can see the Druids doing their ritual and talk. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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