Yah, I’m a big fan of the horror movie Midsommar. In a hilarious twist, I actually watched the film for the first time on a recent Winter Solstice, filled to the brim with a hero’s dose of mushrooms and having just come off of a long telepathic chat with the Norse god Odin.
So, it was a pretty epic experience.
And, like most things in the world of “woo”, this confluence was not planned. Or, at least, not planned by me.
If you’ve watched Midsommar already, you know that mushrooms and Norse mythology are actually a big part of the movie’s plot, with many of the scenes shot to recreate the unique visual experience of being on psilocybin. And, while it’s technically a horror movie, I found it unexpectedly— and ultimately— uplifting. What can I say? I’m a fan of runes, paganism, and stories with a radical feminist twist.
But, horror movie aside, what is Midsommar? Why does this holiday matter to us shamans and spiritual folks? What is its significance for Wiccans and witches and pagans? And, perhaps most importantly, what can you do to harness the incredible potential and power of this most special Summer Solstice? In other words: what is the Solstice “so what” for you?
The Summer Solstice
Midsommar is another name for the Summer Solstice, also called Litha (shout out to Britt for this education!). This cosmic event is the literal middle of summer (hence the name), making it the longest— and sunniest— day of the year (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). This year, Midsommar falls on June 21st, so mark your calendars and get ready!
On Midsommar, you are literally standing at equidistant lengths from both the beginning of the year and the end of the year, which serves as a set of temporal scales: on one hand, there is death and winter; on the other, there is life and spring. So, given this focus on cosmic balance between light and dark and death and life, Midsommar rituals generally acknowledge both, but always with an emphasis on appreciating the cycles of nature and our role within it.
In paganism, witchcraft, and Wiccan traditions, Midsommar is the most magical day of the whole year, opening up a portal to the fairy realms and the worlds of spirit. On Midsommar, contact with ultraterrestrials— i.e. sentient, non-human beings— is more within our grasp than on any other date in the year.
Midsommar is pure, unmitigated magic, and if the past several months are any indication of growing fairy and nature spirit activity, this coming Summer Solstice is going to be one hell of a banger.
Our Fairy Godmother
William Shakespeare’s famous play A Midsommar Night’s Dream features Titania, a powerful fairy goddess, engaging in shenanigans and mischief with mortals on her day of power: the Summer Solstice. And long before Shakespeare wrote this play back in 1596, tales of Titania and her connection to the Summer Solstice had been around as a part of an oral tradition for literally thousands of years.
Fun fact: Titania, the Fairy Goddess, is featured in our TOTEM Tarot Deck, replacing the traditional Star tarot card with the dynamic energy and symbolism of the “Queen of Starlight and Summer”. Midsommar is a great day to channel Titania’s energy, perhaps reflecting on the strange fact that our sun is just one of an infinite number of stars in the universe… and perhaps just one of many that supports biological life.
And, if you sit back and think about it (possibly doing so on mushrooms), aliens and fairies really do have quite a few things in common. Interesting, right?
Reflecting on Titania’s energy— perhaps with the help of our TOTEM Tarot Card— can really move the needle on this upcoming Summer Solstice. Midsommar is Titania’s big day (and night), kind of like her very own annual cosmic Fairy Goddess quinceanera.
Titania represents and embodies the energy of healing and hope, of inspiration and elevation, of love and music and beauty and the realization of dreams. Titania is the sparkling celestial being that resurrects and reanimates energy through the activation of the stardust that comprises everything in creation— including us!
Yep. It’s true. We are all made of stardust. Our bodies are made of these primal, interstellar elements, the same building blocks of the moons and the stars and the other planets. In this way, we are all connected, and when we look up at the night sky and see the stars, we can feel this connection.
And, through this connection, we can feel hope.
Hope is the most vital resource we have as humans. It’s what gives us the bravery to dare to dream. What’s more: Titania governs wish fulfillment, which is why “wishing upon a star” is a thing in our fairy tales, Disney movies, and culture more broadly. In this way, Titania is our collective Fairy Godmother, granting wishes and helping to shepherd us through the difficulties of life.
When Titania appears in a tarot card reading, your struggle has come to an end. If you’ve been enduring a spiritual or physical illness, especially if it’s been eluding effective diagnosis or treatment, expect relief on the horizon. Seeking alternative treatments, such as Reiki, acupuncture, massage and meditation, will produce exponential results at this time.
And, in this way, our TOTEM Tarot Card reflects the pure energy of Midsommar, the peak of our own star’s solar rays, and the perfect moment for us to harness its healing powers. If you own our deck, consider pulling Titania’s card out and placing it on your altar for Midsommar, acknowledging her presence on her special day. Any other tarot deck’s Star card will work as a good stand-in in a pinch, too.
But, if you’ve been on the fence, debating picking up a copy of our self-published TOTEM Tarot Deck, it’s now 50% off on our Etsy Shop when you make a purchase of $100 or more. Check out the details and/or get your own copy HERE while Etsy supplies last.
If nothing else, try to talk to Titania on this Summer Solstice, perhaps in a silent meditation or during a Shamanic Journey. Ask for her to leverage her command of our local star to help bring hope, healing and maybe even a little resurrection to your life. But tread carefully (and respectfully): it’s said she’s the celestial force behind summer storms, especially those that bring tornados. In other words: for all of her joyful, healing powers, Titania can also be quite the “head bitch in charge”, so proceed with any spirit work accordingly.
Midsommar exercise: make a wish
For this Summer Solstice— on June 21st— make a wish upon a star. Schedule some time to gaze up at the night sky, pick a star, and make a wish out loud, trusting (and hoping) that Titania will hear you. If you see a shooting star that night, consider yourself especially blessed by Titania and expect immediate— and dramatic— results.
And, if nothing else, remember this: our sun is a star, so you can always do this exercise during the day by wishing upon our solar systems’ celestial body— just remember to not stare at the sun directly! We don’t need folks going blind while making Midsommar wishes;)
And, while making this wish or setting your intention, focus on areas of your life that could use a a life after the wear and tear of a tough three years: is it your career, your small business, your health, your energy levels, your love life, or just your overall outlook on life? Have the last three years gotten you down a bit? Have you been grieving loved ones or relationships or previous lives?
Ask Titania to help you out with a sprinkle (or wagon-full) of stardust.
Then, watch as the miracles start rolling in. But remember: sometimes, we don’t get what we want for our own good. But, we really do always get what we need.
The magical harvest
In pagan and witchcraft practices, Midsommar is dedicated to the alchemy of the elements of fire and water and, given this, it’s the optimal day for some intensive botanical magic. Herbs and other plants harvested on this day are believed to be at their absolute peak of medicinal and magical power. Also, any rain that falls during Midsommar is believed to have exceptional healing powers and my be preserved for later use in self-care or ritual magic.
Given this, Midsommar is the formal day for witches and pagans (and shamans) to undertake a very intentional— and very magical— harvest of flowers and herbs. And while I can’t distill the whole class I facilitated at the Herb Bar a month ago here on Substack, I can share a bit of the tips and tricks from our “Ancient Alchemy, Modern Medicine” workshop for you to leverage in a Midsommar exercise to undertake your own magical harvest.
Midsommar exercise: make your own flower essence
Undertake your own magical harvest of flowers, herbs or plants, but focus on foraging in areas where you know pesticides, chemicals or other pollutants are not used, such as organic personal gardens and designated organic nature areas. Operate intuitively, but be sure to do a quick check on your finds (referencing a plant book or Google source) before ingesting anything. There actually are some very pretty but very poisonous stuff out there, so if there’s any question just skip it for now!
When you’ve found a flower, herb or plant that you want to hand-harvest, gather it up and place it in a mason jar with an alcohol of your choice. I prefer 190 proof grain alcohol, as its flavor is neutral and the liquid doesn’t change colors. When you’re ready to make it into a flower essence, mix the contents of the jar (strained) with filtered water in the ratio of 20% to 80%. You can also just strain it and keep it as a high-proof tincture.
Midsommar exercise: take a blessed bath
During Midsommar, bonfires are lit and rituals are held beside bodies of “living water”: lakes, rivers and springs. If you don’t have a lake nearby and/or aren’t prepared to build a giant bonfire (we don’t need any more wildfires, guys), you can always indulge in a ritual herb-infused or floral bath, surrounding yourself with an array of candles to represent the fire element. You can infuse the bath water with some of the flowers or herbs you hand-harvested during the day, lighting the candles with the intention of alchemically combining the elements of water and fire. Ritual baths are powerful witchcraft, so be sure to set a clear intention. And, as always, I recommend white or natural-colored candles…don't want to accidentally call up a demon from the depths of Tartarus while taking a nice fairy bath;)
The time of the fairies
Based on our recent experience with Beltane (aka May Day), I have a feeling this year’s Midsommar is going to be a rip-roaring, dubstep-jamming, straight-up fairy rave. And, as William Shakespeare noted so long ago, Midsommar is a day particular to Titania and her elemental, summer creatures.
During Midsommar, the veil between our material world and the fairy realm is the thinnest it will be all year, perhaps with Halloween (Samhain) as an exception. Fairies seem to be easiest to spot and/or interact with at dawn, dusk and— as we recently learned this past May— in the middle of the night. In fact, midnight is also referred to as “the Witching Hour” (also the name of our chamomile flower essence!) because time stretches and opens up another liminal dimension in which the witches can get some real witchy shit done.
So far this summer, I’ve noticed more fire elementals and pixie-like fairies in our backyard at dusk. What is a pixie? Well, Tinkerbell from Peter Pan is a good example of these winged, iridescent nature spirits.
Midsommar exercise: honor the fairies
On Midsommar, you can celebrate and honor the fairies by gathering bouquets for your home or for fashionable flower garlands for their little fairy heads. Tie together flora like lavender, chamomile, bergamot, yarrow, sweet peas, Queen Anne’s lace, marigold, rosemary, and/or sage to hang over your door or inside your home or at your fairy area in your yard for protection and healing.
You can also make a paper doll fairy, concentrating on a Midsommar wish as you build and decorate it. You can leave it as an offering for the fairies, perhaps even gifting a small crystal, piece of costume jewelry, or other sparkly Titania-esque item. All of this is made more powerful if you’ve built a fairy house or placed a similar, tiny dwelling in the wild area of your yard for the fae to enjoy.
The colors blue, white and yellow are primary to Midsommar, so consider weaving these into your fairy doll, fairy house, or garland decorations.
Fair warning: fairies have poor boundaries. Temperamentally, they’re like children. But, fortunately or unfortunately, they’re also very powerful. When leaving them offerings, make sure to assert your boundaries (i.e. “don’t come into the house” or “don’t wake me up”) and do not, under any circumstances, get into a contract or bargain with them. Choose your words very carefully and be super-explicit if you’re communicating with them.
Take it from a pro: they’re listening.
What do the Runes say?
Midsommar is a really big deal in former Viking strongholds— areas where people still honor the Norse gods alongside their more modern traditions. The Norse god Odin brought the Runes to humanity: the first tool of “divination”, much like modern tarot cards or pendulums or even astrology charts.
What’s more: the Runes aren’t just psychic divining tools. They’re also the earliest form of proto-German, the bedrock of our own English language. I’ve always noted how divination tools tend to double as letters, words or heiroglyphics, perhaps demonstrating the witchy magic behind the concept of language, as evidenced by the word “spelling”. Get it? Spell-ing? As in, casting a spell?
Midsommar exercise: cast the Runes
If you have a set of Runes, take them outside this Midsommar. Cast them and pull a few, asking Titania specific questions about the rest of the year ahead. If you don’t own your own set of Runes or know how to interpret them, I offer one-on-one Ancient Rune Readings for clients. You can learn more and/or book on my website HERE.
The Skeptical Shaman- Solstice Episode
I recently had the unique pleasure of sitting down with Britt Sandkulla-Sinclair of Golden Thread Alchemy for an episode of The Skeptical Shaman podcast. Britt is a practicing witch, so we discussed her experience of “coming out of the broom closet” in every area of her life— including as a mother of several teenage boys!
In this episode, we dig into the upcoming Summer Solstice and its significance for all of us— not just the witches! Make sure you’re looking out for our podcast episodes to start hitting here on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and more!
A day to celebrate life
Ultimately, Midommar is a celebration of life: of flora, of fauna, and of the fae. How we behave and honor life forms and primary life energy on this date holds tremendous energetic significance for the rest of our year— and, sometimes, even our life.
So, get clear and be intentional. Perhaps get up from your computer or shut off your god damned phone for a few hours to go for a walk through nature. Even big cities— like my former home, Chicago— have nature areas, like the Lurie Butterfly Garden next to Grant Park.
And keep an eye out for any interesting or unusual animals, lights or sensations as you wander about. Though subtle at first, fairy communication usually grows into a symphony of the woo and strange, infusing our days (and our lives) with a little more magic.
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Thank you, and Happy Midsommar!
-Rachel
Anyone else listening to Bjork while offering the fae premium Lilet liquor? Asking for a friend. Nothing weird going on here at all today.