{"id":9931,"date":"2014-06-01T01:10:42","date_gmt":"2014-06-01T06:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=10277"},"modified":"2014-05-31T14:57:33","modified_gmt":"2014-05-31T19:57:33","slug":"witchcrafting-crafts-for-witches-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2014\/06\/01\/witchcrafting-crafts-for-witches-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Witchcrafting: Crafts for witches"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cHere Comes the Sun\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"Sun\"<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Merry Meet.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
June brings us in the Northern Hemisphere the summer solstice, also known as Litha and midsummer. It\u2019s one of the four solar festivals. It\u2019s the day with the most time between sunrise and sunset – even if it is just seconds different from the day or two before and after. For thousands of years, this is the time people have honored the Sun God with bonfires, feasts, torchlight parades, games and other celebrations.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One tradition to rise early and greet the sunrise. Another common tradition is to light a candle and keep it going the entire day, especially if it\u2019s cloudy or raining.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
While it is a time to celebrate life, power and fertility, witches know that the wheel is ever turning, and that the solstice signals a shift as the sun begins to wane. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One way I have celebrated the solstice is to make a sun. You can make a spell out of it if you wish, weaving in a spell or an intention.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Noon is a good time for this project – with the sun is at its strongest.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In preparation, collect four sticks of roughly equal length (three to four feet is good). Lay them in a star shape. You can bind them together with twine, or not, as you choose (it just makes the first several passes around a bit easier).\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Cut strips from a variety of\u00a0 yellow material about two to three inches wide. I used everything from old T-shirts to quilt scraps, some solid, some not. Attach the strips end to end. This can be done using hand stitching, a machine or even fabric glue that is allowed to dry thoroughly. There\u2019s probably no reason staples wouldn\u2019t also work. Rather than making only one very long piece, it\u2019s easier to make a few long strips, attaching a new one as the previous one nears its end.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Taking a strip of cloth pieces, tie one end to the a branch very close to the center, and then begin to weave around the circle clockwise, over and under, over and under, until the branches are held in place and there is enough space to work with each branch individually. Figure at least two to four times around. This will hold the center relatively stable, even without twine.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then, as you approach each branch, bring the fabric over the top, wrap it around the branch and go under it, pulling the fabric tight before moving to the next branch, going over the top of it, under and around it, and on to the next, etc. Keep the fabric from getting loose as you go. If you lose the rhythm and go under, around and over a branch or two, it will be fine, just revert back to over, around and under when you notice.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
If you choose, you can weave with intention, making each wrap around a stick something for which you\u2019re grateful or a blessing, perhaps channel the sun\u2019s energy into the piece.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Continue until you decide it\u2019s done. Tie off the fabric and tuck in the\u00a0 end. Hang or \u201cplant\u201d it as you choose.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With assistance, this craft is appropriate for all ages and abilities. It can be a solo or group project. It can also be modified so that everyone in a group make smaller, individual suns weaving thinner strips of fabric or yarn around smaller twigs, Popsicle sticks or chop sticks.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In addition to the summer solstice, Yule would be another appropriate time to make this craft, celebrating the return of the sun.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Merry part.<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n
And merry meet again.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHere Comes the Sun\u201d Merry Meet. June brings us in the Northern Hemisphere the summer solstice, also known as Litha and midsummer. It\u2019s one of the four solar festivals. It\u2019s the day with the most time between sunrise and sunset – even if it is just seconds different from the day or two before and after. For thousands of years, this is the time people have honored the Sun God with bonfires, feasts, torchlight parades, games and other celebrations.\u00a0 One tradition to rise early and greet the sunrise. Another common tradition is to light a candle and keep it going the entire day, especially if it\u2019s cloudy or raining. While it is a time to celebrate life, power and fertility, witches know that the wheel is ever turning, and that the solstice signals a shift as the sun begins to wane. \u00a0 One way I have celebrated the solstice is to make a sun. You can make a spell out of it if you wish, weaving in a spell or an intention.\u00a0 Noon is a good time for this project – with the sun is at its strongest. In preparation, collect four sticks of roughly equal length (three to four feet is good). Lay them in a star shape. You can bind them together with twine, or not, as you choose (it just makes the first several passes around a bit easier).\u00a0 Cut strips from a variety of\u00a0 yellow material about two to three inches wide. I used everything from old T-shirts to quilt scraps, some solid, some not. Attach the strips end to end. This can be done using hand stitching, a machine or even fabric glue that is allowed to dry thoroughly. There\u2019s probably no reason staples wouldn\u2019t also work. Rather than making only one very long piece, it\u2019s easier to make a few long strips, attaching a new one as the previous one nears its end.\u00a0 Taking a strip of cloth pieces, tie one end to the a branch very close to the center, and then begin to weave around the circle clockwise, over and under, over and under, until the branches are held in place and there is enough space to work with each branch individually. Figure at least two to four times around. This will hold the center relatively stable, even without twine. Then, as you approach each branch, bring the fabric over the top, wrap it around the branch and go under it, pulling the fabric tight before moving to the next branch, going over the top of it, under and around it, and on to the next, etc. Keep the fabric from getting loose as you go. If you lose the rhythm and go under, around and over a branch or two, it will be fine, just revert back to over, around and under when you notice. If you choose, you can weave with intention, making each wrap around a stick something for which you\u2019re grateful or a blessing, perhaps channel the sun\u2019s energy into the piece. Continue until you decide it\u2019s done. Tie off the fabric and tuck in the\u00a0 end. Hang or \u201cplant\u201d it as you choose. With assistance, this craft is appropriate for all ages and abilities. It can be a solo or group project. It can also be modified so that everyone in a group make smaller, individual suns weaving thinner strips of fabric or yarn around smaller twigs, Popsicle sticks or chop sticks. In addition to the summer solstice, Yule would be another appropriate time to make this craft, celebrating the return of the sun. Merry part. And merry meet again.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}