For the Files: Summer Solstice (Proper), Family Style

"Glad Midsommar" by Nicholas John Frith. Look! Morels!
Image found at a fave blog, A Polar Bear's Tale. 

Cook for the Sun, bake for the Moon. This is what we do...

It has never been an intentional or conscious gesture, but rather something organically derived, this cooking for the Sun. As we prepared our dinner foods that evening, it occurred to me that this is just how we do these things. All our Solar observances involve creating a special meal together & then of course, sharing it. For the Moon, there is nothing I enjoy more than devising a sweet treat & pairing it with just the right libation, but now is the season of the Sun. Cook we must.

How this inadvertent way of doing things came to pass, I cannot know, but this is what we do. It works.

Half eaten.
Our Summer Solstice meal 2012.

This year, chile-lime shrimp skewered & grilled with fiery-coloured sweet peppers, pineapple & onions. Perch them on a bed of saffron rice & it all becomes sublime. A sip of chilled Vouvray for me, a Firefly cocktail for hubby. Just the four of us in the light of this blazing, tireless Alaskan summer Sun. Just right.

Summer Solstice cakes, 2012.

We talked about the Solstice, the gifts of the Sun & the mechanics of it all over our dessert -- angelfood adorned with fresh mango slices & a raspberry coulis. Little Lad was delighted with the Summer Solstice magnet I had found for him (last winter, ironically) at the Anchorage Museum. Simple & relevant. Together. This is what we do.

A small token for the Little Lad.
Illustration by Alaskan artist Bruce Nelson.

Children do not like to mind their bedtimes when the Sun does not set. I had every intention of completing the aforementioned working that evening -- after the wee folk were asleep -- but hubby had to return to work for an unexpected round of testing. In the interim, our babies behaved like fiends & by the time my better half arrived to help me build the fire, I was spent. Too aggravated to do productive work, I accepted the limitations of this life & embraced the joys. The working would find its perfect time later in the week. So, Hubby & I shared some mead & together we placed the offerings in what functions as our "garden." Freshly brewed dandelion tea & a cup of mead for the Sun. No foods, of course. This is Alaska. This is what we do... & don't do. 

Offerings in the "garden." Summer Solstice, 2012.

My Secret Garden

I have a Secret Garden.

If you have read the Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, perhaps you will understand. I have read the book several times. As a child, it was one of those stories, along with Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, which captured my imagination & made my Spirit quiver with delight. I LOVED that book. I LOVED that garden. I loved that it was a secret & it was special. I read that book again & again so that I might linger there, just a bit longer. 

Before I get to the heart of this, I will digress a wee bit & share a little gem of a film which also has a Secret Garden. Back in 1993 Francis Ford Cuppola produced a version of Burnett's story with a British film company. The rendering, in my opinion, is exceptional. It is a bit dark & many liberties were taken, but I can forgive these transgressions because the total package is very worthwhile. I watched it with Little Lad about a year ago now & was absolutely astounded when we reached a scene where the children performed an ecstatic magickal rite around a bonfire. Imagine Little Lad, eyes as big as saucers, "What are they doing?!?"  Imagine me, goosebumps all over, mouth agape... "This is not in the book...!" 

...But I loved every minute of it.

The folks reviewing the film on Netfilx however, did not. Yes, big objections for the gratuitous "occult" theme in that film (no suprise there). Silly me, I thought it was a brilliant way to render the climax. If you watch this trailer, you can catch a glimpse of that fire scene (in addition to all sorts of lovely footage):

Anyway, I just thought I would share that little gem because it is worth a few extra minutes of my time.

• 
  But back to my Secret Garden.
  
  

  

  From OWG: A Very Earth & Ground Centered Ritual.

  I have been keeping my own personal "Secret Garden" to myself like a greedy thing. I read it every night before bed & I didn't want to share it with anyone except Hubby & only because he sleeps next to me. He kept reading it over my shoulder because he secretly loves it too & besides, someone had to keep me from reading/peeking ahead. 
  
  

  I read it from beginning to end & after a month or two of reading one entry, maybe two a night, I finished it. I was so moved, so stirred by this story, that I had to tell the author(s). Serendipitously, they were reading my story & had written me first. This is my reply. I think I could not express myself any better now, than I did when I wrote it for them (in the throngs of my admiration):
  

  I have been doing my best (children allowing) to read a wee bit of your blog every night. It is the last thing I do before I sleep. The way you describe your rituals, your memories, is the perfect way to enter the dream world. I want to thank you for inviting me into your home, sharing your family & your grove with me. My husband & I (if he can stay awake long enough) lay in bed w/the laptop & read it together -- it is like taking a little trip to upstate New York every night & spending time with the most delightful hosts. Of course, he has to remind me not to read ahead, peek at the pictures, etc.  

  I am wondering what I will do when I have read it all? Do you ever have that concern when reading a marvelous book? Perhaps you take extra time to read it, savouring it, dragging it on & on, because you cannot bear the thought of its conclusion? Luckily, I know your blog will continue, a little at a time. I will just have to find the patience. 

  Thank you for writing to me. As it happens, I have been meaning to write to you, to thank you for writing the best blog I have ever read. Ever. (Not that I am all that versed in the blogosphere, but nothing thus far has resonated so well for me.) Your words & photos are beautiful & I relish them...

  

  "Magic Flame" by OWG

  The letter continues from there. I discuss my possessiveness towards my "secret" (my "precious"?) & later I request permission to share &/or write about my newfound source of bliss.
  
  After this heartwarming exchange, I kept reading. Then, after I finished, I took a baby step & shared my secret with a special friend -- someone I knew would understand. BUT, I made her promise she would read it from beginning to end. No peeking. 

  
  This is a very intimate, deeply spiritual story about a family of Druids honouring the gods. They are also artists, poets, wordsmiths. They have a grove, it changes over time, people move, people die, new folks join them, the Wheel turns. Her voice is sublime, the way she describes their rituals, memories, the sadness & hilarity of life, family & worship. I am not a Druid & I confess (as my friends will tell you) that I have a difficult time wrapping my feral brain around the Druidic cosmology, liturgy, philosophy... all of it. But I loved every single chapter of their Druidic story & I got it. I got it. 

  
  

  

  OWG: Open the Door, Let Bridget Come In

  The joy I received when I shared this story with my friend was so epic that I could not focus during my meditation at the Night Altar & this elation remained with me for days. Just knowing my friend was reveling in the beauty of this precious secret filled me with warm-fuzzies. 
  
  If you had any doubts, she loves it too. Her words: " ...holey moley I am in awe."
  
  The words & inspiration continue to reverberate. Hubby has been designing a special circle for us in the pasture (to the East, the home of Breakfast Canyon) using earth, stone & wood. His ideas are much inspired by the designs found at our Secret Garden: Our Whole Grove's Mountaintop Underground. I continue to revel, reflect & await the forthcoming chapters. Now I understand what all those Harry Potter fans felt as they waited for their beloved tale to continue.
  
  Go read it. I'll still be here prattling away to myself when you return. But remember, read it from beginning to end. In that order. No peeking. It is a wonderful journey.
  
  

  "We are here to honor the gods, gods who give meaning to life." 

  -- Our Whole Grove

  
  

  

  OWG: A Mid-Summer Solstice of Sweets & Flowers