by Lin Barrett

Created on: June 18, 2009

Rituals for the Summer Solstice

One ritual not often covered in articles about Litha, the summer solstice holiday, is that of "Drawing Down the Sun." It is the precise parallel of drawing down the Moon; this ritual, however, may be performed by a man. It can also be performed by a woman.

The timing in drawing down the Moon is crucial: it must be done just as the Moon reaches fullness. The closer to the point at which She becomes full, the greater the power available to the practitioner.

The same is true of drawing down the Sun. With the Moon ritual, if the timing is off the ritual will fail; with the Sun ritual, the longer cycle of the Light grants even more power. If the Sun is drawn down into a person during its waning period, from Litha to Yule, health problems can result. So be very careful of your timing if you choose to draw down the Sun.

Litha occurs when the Sun enters the sign Cancer. The moment of cardinal ingress can be precisely timed; several astrological websites post the time, most astrological and witches' datebooks mention the ingresses and the cross-quarter days, and even some weather channels will now mention casually that summer begins at 10:45 Saturday night, June 20, as it did in 2009.

Once you are armed with this knowledge you can set your time of ritual. Drawing down the Sun will be most effective precisely at noon (if you have the astrological smarts to correct for longitude, by all means do so). The Sun has reached his zenith at that point, and his rays are warmest. So in 2009, we perform our ritual at noon on Saturday, almost eleven hours before the Sun's ingress.

Drawing down the Sun can be folded into the observance of Litha itself. It best takes place within a warded magic circle. Celebrants should be properly cleansed and prepared by whatever ritual is appropriate within their tradition or belief.

Once the circle is cast and warded, the man or woman who wishes to Draw Down the Sun assumes the center of the circle, facing south. He or she assumes the god position appropriate to tradition or, if not guided in this matter, the Osiris position: feet a little father than hip-width apart, right wrist crossed over left at the level of the heart. (I have had left-handed students attempt this with the left wrist on top, and they told me that the power they were able to draw in that position was significantly less than with the right hand on top. Interesting.)

If a priest or priestess is present, that person may use his or her wand

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