I catapulted the Sun!

[nontacitare]

So, I was driving home from an SCA camping event (Bardic Roundhouse) on Sunday when I saw a "Summer Solstice Celebration tonight!" sign around the corner from my apartment complex. I had to go. It was a lot of fun, but what really made the evening special was the home made catapult on the lawn. I took an orange, loaded it up, said "The sun travels from the waxing to the waning half of the year," and let it go. That has to be the coolest way to celebrate the solstice.

Today I went to an Indian mound two miles from my home to do my Solstice ritual. It was nice; no one came by. It wasn't until after I'd poured mead on the ground, though, that it occurred to me that alcohol might not be an appropriate offering for that space. I apologized to the spirits of the place, and did leave an offering of carrot seeds (planned) and water (spontaneous from my water bottle). A dragonfly landed on me and hung out for a while, which I took as a good sign.

In honor of Solstice, here is a poem I memorized for the event this weekend:

"Summer," by Amergin (a legendary Irish bard)

Summer is the season for long journeys,
silent is the wood of the tall trees
undisturbed by wind,
green is its clothing, a sheltering canopy.
The water sucks and swirls in the stream
and there is warmth now in the very clods of earth.