It’s Midsummer, also known as Summer Solstice and, in some circles, Litha.
It is the longest day. The Stag/Oak God is at his peak, so paradoxically, begins to die. The Bull/Holly God begins his reign.
My favorite song of Midsummer is The Raven is Calling, by Gwydion Pendderwen. I can’t find the lyrics online anywhere. It speaks in the voice of the Stag God as he is about to go into battle with the Bull God:
My shield it is broken
Like the covenant sworn
‘twixt the Gods and my mother
On the day I was born
They promised her truly
That I would not die
’til the Sun stood quite still
In the Midsummer sky.
(Except I think the word “Midsummer” is wrong there.)
The notion of a battle that fuels nature is offensive to some, but I find it moving and powerful. The struggle of the great forces of life and death, light and dark, and the reminder that change is eternal, even when the sun stands quite still.
Oak! Oak! He’s our man!
If he can’t do it, Holly can!
Thanks for sharing those lyrics – I haven’t heard them before, but I like the power in its simplicity. Dawn x
Dawn, you can find the song “The Raven is Calling” on Gwydion Pendderwen’s “Songs of the Old Religion,” available from Serpentine Music.