Summer Solstice and the Strawberry Moon

"The Algonquin tribes knew this Moon as a time to gather ripening strawberries. It is also known as the Rose Moon and the Hot Moon."

And it sure as shit was a hot moon. The temperature reached 100 today and my fat little body was melting. I didn't have anything planned for the summer solstice. I stay at my ex's on the weekends and forgot to bring anything with me to do ritual, so, since I stayed over today waiting for someone and having a doctor appointment nearby, I bought a simple white candle and used an image of the sun as my focus. Since it's both the solstice and the full moon, I listened to meditative music specifically for a full moon. This simple meditation lasted for about 20 minutes before one of my legs and my butt went numb. You can listen to it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSmtHUNa8YA

I pulled a card today to meditate on as well. Using the Goddess Tarot, I pulled the Prince of Swords. "The suit of swords is associated with Isis, the Egyptian fertility goddess. Swords symbolize the incisive forces of the intellect; they cut through to refocus the energy grown in the preceding suit of staves. Swords also symbolize the magical ability to transform painful situations into areas of personal growth. ... Like Isis, we can choose how to use our swords. We can turn them against ourselves when we are in pain. Or we can transform the situation through knowledge and understanding. From: http://www.tarotgoddess.com/

MEANING: Cutting through confusion. Being able to defend oneself brilliantly. Focus and clarity of understanding. A person who symbolizes these forces.


I believe my focus needs to be with my education. I'm being distracted by other things, and I need the closure on things I've been working on. It fits well with my meaning of this solstice. I see it as a symbol for, even though it's the longest day, it still comes to an end. I need closure, but I need to focus to better understand my obstacles. I have so much on my mind dealing with my heart and my goals. One step at a time.

Reading Material

So, one of my daughters has scarlet fever. We thought it was a regular cold, but throughout the weekend she just kept getting worse, so when I took her to the doctor, she tested positive for strep. When I gave her a bath, she was covered in a red and itchy rash, which is caused by the strep, which is scarlet fever. Poor kid has been miserable for almost a week. I wish we had caught it sooner. Instead of doing a reading for myself on the 5th's dark moon, I just enjoyed my time with family. Maybe I'll doing a reading for myself later.

I've started reading a new book. The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts by Arthur Edward Waite. I was watching the movie The Craft and decided to look up the book that Nancy is reading inside the witchy shop. Now I know that the book is bound with the title "Invocation of the Spirit" or something along those lines, but I Googled lines of the actual text shown and found Waite's book. I don't honestly believe in black/white magick. I'm very much of the same mind as the store clerk in that movie, where she says, "True magic is neither black, nor white - it's both because nature is both. Loving and cruel, all at the same time. The only good or bad is in the heart of the witch. Life keeps a balance on its own." Either way, I'm interested to see what this book has to offer. It's rather old, first published in 1898 (the edition I found was published in 1910.) I have no idea what to expect, but I'm of an opened mind, so we'll see.

I'm behind on videos on my YouTube channel and haven't been able to participate in the witchy collab channel these past few times. I'm tired and sick and sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'll be seeing doctors soon.

Blessings to you all.