Rituals have been celebrated these days since the dawn of time. In fact, the real St. John’s Eve should be celebrated on June 20th or 21st – this date can vary from year to year – coinciding with the summer solstice – the longest day and shortest night of the year. In 2019 the summer solstice will take place on June 21st at 17:54.
It is precisely on these days that due to the cosmic vibrations that are developing, the door or the thresholds between the human and the divine are opened. However, once again Christianity, in its effort to nullify and make all pagan connotations disappear, decided that instead of celebrating the solstice rites, the feast of St. John should be celebrated on the night of June 23rd to 24th.
In ancient times, the Celtic druids celebrated their purifying rites on this night – from 20th to 21st June – where the element of fire was the primordial article. These were rituals to thank them for the good harvests and to pay tribute to nature for being so beneficial and prosperous. It was also a night of joy in which the sun was thanked for its triumph over darkness. For this reason, giant bonfires were lit in which everything bad was burned and everything that one wanted to see disappear. It was the time when the Druid priests collected their sacred plants, prepared potions of all kinds and where they connected with their gods. Sacred rituals were carried out to mark this astronomical and earthly event. Ceremonies were held inside the stone circles aligned with the solstices and equinoxes. We have all heard about the rituals that were held in magical places such as StoneHenge, one of the Earth’s cosmic energy centres. And where, if one stands in the centre of the monument and looks at another stone outside the circle, one immediately sees that this stone coincides with the horizon and if one chooses the day of the summer solstice, i.e. June 21st, the sun rises almost directly above this stone. And we all know that there is no such thing as chance. Today it ‘rises almost above’. In ancient times, it rose just above the stone.
That is why, today, on St. John’s Eve – the night of June 23rd and 24th – fires and bonfires are raised everywhere for this celebration that sometimes forgets all spiritual connotations to be simply moments of expansion and joy among friends.
It is said that on the night of St. John – or at the time of the solstice – the portals of the different invisible worlds that surround us are opened and spirits of all kinds try to communicate their messages.
Whatever your decision to celebrate these moments at the solstice or on St. John’s night, it is clear that these days are magical days par excellence where magic and good vibrations take on special strength and where the world of the human and the divine are closer to each other.
It is, therefore, a special night of petitions, of rituals, of prayers, of pushing away all evil, of invoking for prosperity to come into our lives… those who, seriously, do rituals tonight or on these days will be especially blessed.
The Wiccans celebrate during this solstice one of their major celebrations: LITHA
How can we today celebrate and take advantage of the unique magic of this night – or nights?
One of the simplest and most effective ways is to make a fire and on a white paper and with a pencil, write down everything we wish to REMOVE from our lives: heartbreak, economic hardship, family arguments, indecision, fears…. After writing all this down and with the greatest concentration, we will throw our paper into the fire and then take a bath in the sea to symbolize purification and the new state of grace.
For those who cannot go to the seashore, another way of celebrating this day is by lighting a red candle – which will symbolise the bonfire – writing on the white paper and with the pencil in the same way everything that you want to take away from our lives and then setting it on fire with the flame of the candle. When the paper has been completely reduced to ashes, scatter them in the air by blowing lightly on them. Then take a bath in bitter herbs or simply water and salt as a symbol of purifying sea water.
For those who want to do something deeper and more intense on this night, who really want to give it the importance that this magical night has, there are in the esoteric shops – also in mine – very complete rituals of protection, of luck, to attract love etc.
For those who do not wish to buy a ritual, but who wish to do something more important to take advantage of the magic of this day, and after doing the ritual of burning away all the negative things in our lives, you can do the following ritual which is very effective in empowering all aspects of our lives.
Make a circle with coloured candles: white, red, yellow, violet, green, blue, and pink. Make a circle wide enough to enter and sit in the centre of the circle, which is composed of 7 candles, the magic number par excellence, which will give you additional strength. We will also take with us 7 white papers as well as a pencil. For those who do not want to use candles, candles are available. It’s up to you to decide.
Sitting inside the circle, we will light each of the candles with wooden matches and always in a clockwise direction. We will take the 7 white pieces of paper and put a wish on each of them that we want to achieve. We will also have an incense of our choice and if we wish, some quartz or stone that represents a connection with mother earth or with the spiritual plane.
Once we have done this and concentrated, we will burn each wish, that is to say, each piece of paper, in its corresponding candle and always in a clockwise direction.
On the WHITE candle we will burn a desire of a spiritual nature
In the RED candle we will burn a wish that for us has connotations of victory or something very difficult to achieve.
In the YELLOW candle we will make a wish of monetary order
In the VIOLET candle we will ask for a desire of transmutation; that is, to change something for something (fear for courage, sadness for joy…)
On the GREEN candle we will make a wish about health. Also with this colour you can make requests for work.
On the BLUE candle we will make a wish of an intellectual or wisdom nature, for example to increase our understanding of life, a competition, an exam….
On the PINK candle, our wish will be of a sentimental or emotional nature.
Stay in the sacred circle for about 15 minutes, meditating and seeing our wishes come true. Leave the circle and let all the candles consume. Once the last one has been consumed, collect the ashes from the papers and scatter them to the wind. Put the remains of the candles in the container.
If you do not want to use candles, you can also use candles with the same colours. Everyone will see what they want or can do. Always remember that the more you ask, the more you must give to the universe.
May the magic of these days bless your lives and fill you with spiritual and material blessings.