Goddess Speak Sanctuary of Solace Newsletter - June 2023

This June issue of Goddess Speak is dedicated to our dear friend Candace 'Peace' Ross, who left this plane to begin Her new journey on May 10, 2023. Almost all the art pieces pictured throughout this issue are by her talented hands. Candace, may the peace you sought in this life be ever abundant in the next - just as the love in your heart always was - HAIL TO THE TRAVLER!

June Dates of Interest:

Happy Pride Month!

• June 1- International Dinosaur Day
• June 3 - Full 'Honey' Moon @ 8:41 pm
• June 5 - World Environment Day
• June 8 - World Ocean Day
• June 14 - World Blood Donor Day - Make an appointment today!
• June 16 - Summer Solstice Celebration (ZOOM) @ 8:00 pm (link below to RSVP)
• June 17 - Summer Solstice Celebration (Live) @ 7:00 pm (link below to RSVP)
• June 17 - New Moon in Gemini @ 9:37 pm
• June 17 - June Food Pantry @ UUCLV
• June 19 - Honoring Juneteenth - Freedom Day
• June 21 - Summer Solstice @ 7:57 am
• June 20 - Happy Father's Day!
• June 24 - International Fairy Day!
• June 28 - Micro New Moon @ 7:52 pm

Note: Please 'save the date' July 7th - this will be the date of Candace's Requiem. More information will come soon.

The Sacred Tree Calendar

Hawthorn (Huathe) Moon

6th Moon of the Celtic Year

May 13 - June 9

Hawthorn is burned to purify, and draw faery to your eye.

The Hawthorn is a prickly sort of plant with beautiful blossoms. Called Huath by the ancient Celts, and pronounced Hoh-uh, the Hawthorn month is a time of fertility, masculine energy, and fire. Coming right on the heels of Beltane, this month is a time when male potency is high — if you're hoping to conceive a child, get busy this month! The Hawthorn has a raw, phallic sort of energy about it — use it for magic related to masculine power, business decisions, making professional connections. The Hawthorn is also associated with the realm of Faerie, and when the Hawthorn grows in tandem with an Ash and Oak, it is said to attract the Fae.

Magickal aspects:

• The tree essence cleanses the heart of negativity and stimulates love and forgiveness.
• The Hawthorn is the tree most representative of the struggles the Christian Church had
• in suppressing pagan beliefs and celebrations.
• Hawthorn is respected as a tree of enchantment under the protection of the faery realms.
• It guards wells and springs. Its beautiful flowers are said to help prayers reach heaven.
• If you sit under a Hawthorn on May 1st you are liable to be whisked away for good to the faery underworld.
• The blooms of the hawthorn are used in spells for fertility, happiness, and good luck in fishing.
• To take a blossoming hawthorn branch inside one's house will cause their mother to die.
• Wands made of this wood are of great power. The blossoms are highly erotic to men.
• Hawthorn can be used for protection, love and marriage spells.
• The original May Poles were made of Hawthorn
• Hawthorn can be woven in to a growing fence called a Hedgerow.
• These thorny barriers are very effective and have saved many villages from thieves and highwaymen.

And every shepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale ~John Milton L’Allegro

LESSON OF THE HAWTHORN

from The Wisdom of Trees by Jane Gifford

The blossoming of the Hawthorn

marks the certain end

of the dark days of winter

and the return of the procreative forces

of nature to the fullness of spring.

The beautiful white flowers

give cause for celebration

of nature's capacity for renewed life

and love, and for the wonders of lovemaking,

conception, and childbirth.

For the Celts there was no shame

attached to these natural processes.

They were revered and respected

as an essential part of life,

and as a sacred expression

of the human capacity for love.

I honor the energy of hawthorn for cleansing and restraint. I will choose what I place within my body, and empty myself of all that violates my personal well-being. So mote it be Pray Peace

Excerpts from:

I’m So Grateful I’m so grateful for this moment, I’m so grateful for this day. As I breathe, I feel the love flow into me, As I sing, the love flows out of me. I’m so grateful for this moment, I’m so grateful for this day! ~ Candace Ross 2022

ENVISION A PLANET CALLED PEACE. That is my dream, my calling. To implant that in the heart of every being, so that we can all share this sacred space we have been born in to in PEACE. My intention, that we all are: Healthy, Happy, Helpful, Calm and Kind. Blessings to all, this and every day. ~ Candace Ross

~June Spotlight ~

“Litha” a Summer Solstice Celebration

Compiled by: Priestess Novaembre

This sabbat is called Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Litha, Vestalia (Roman), Gathering Day (Wales) Feill-Sheathain (Scotland), Alban Heflin (Anglo-Saxon), All Couples Day (Greece) Feast of Epona (Gaul), and Midsummer’s Eve. It is the longest day and shortest night of the year. The sun is at the height of Her power, but from this point on, we enter the waning year.

There are many stories associated with Midsummer:

• In Goddess Spirituality, the Mother is at the fullness of Her strength, sexuality and fertility. It is the midpoint of the growing season. The Goddess who was born at Yule has reached Her maturity. She is the Earth Mother. Her image is full brightness, abundance, sexuality, and fertility.
• In the Persephone story, the Goddess at her height of living discovers death. She leaves the earth at this Sabbat to enter the underworld realm of Her grandmother Hecate. Demeter, finding Her gone, searches the earth for Her daughter. Not finding Her, she declares and end to all growth and life and the harvest comes, the crops fade, and death begins on the planet. At Solstice, Persephone has just made the beginning of Her descent. The Mother doesn’t yet know that She is gone. It is the coming of age of Persephone at menarche.
• It is also the beginning of the descent of Inanna to the underworld clothed in all Her jewels.

This is a fertility festival. The Goddess is heavy with pregnancy just as the earth is pregnant with the coming harvest and the cattle in the field await calving. Midsummer is the last sabbat until spring in which an obvious theme of fertility is present. It was considered lucky for menstruating women to bleed on the fields. Menstrual blood was considered to bring and create life.

This is also a fire festival. Fire is the most prominent element at Midsummer. It is the most easily seen and immediately felt element of transformation. It can burn, consume, cook, shed light, heat, or purify. Because of its heat, it is associated with the Midsummer sun. Balefires play an important role in this sabbat. Traditional nine types of woods were used in the Midsummer fire: Birch, Oak, Rowan, Willow, Hawthorn, Hazel, Apple, Fir, Grape vines.

Nine is the traditional number symbolizing the moon.

The cauldron is also important. A Celtic symbol of life, death and rebirth, it honors Cerridwen, the Crone Goddess, who tends the cauldron. The cauldron reminds us that the sun is not truly dead but will be reborn at Yule.

“May the long time sun shine upon you. All love surround you and the pure light within you guide your way on. Summer Solstice blessings!” – Unknown

Themes: fulfillment, turning of the wheel of the year, abundance, consummation.

Color: red

This is a good time to make protective amulets to be empowered over the Midsummer balefire. It is also a time to gather herbs, magickal and medicinal, especially mistletoe, lavender and vervain.

Faery folk are also closely associated with Midsummer.

June is an important time for weddings. May was sacred to the Goddess and mortals did not marry in May.

Fire and water goddesses are a part of Midsummer.

Litha Correspondences:

• Animals: Butterfly, bee, wren, robin, snake
• Colors: Gold, red, orange, blue, and yellow, green,
• Deities: Aine, Freya, Flora, Habondia, Lugh, Greenman, Oak King, Bast, Brigit, Hathor
• Faeries: At Summer Solstice the phenomenon of the Trooping Faeries will begin. Trooping Faeries live in large communities like a clan and may travel great distances in long processions. You will know that the Trooping Faeries are about when you hear other-worldly music and the sounds of a raucous party. Their favourite pastimes according to Yeats is feasting, fighting, making love and playing music. On Mid-Summer night, keep your eyes and ears open and you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them!
• Foods: All early summer fruits and vegetables, ale and mead, honey cakes, red wine, strawberries, sun tea, herbal teas,
• Herbs & Plants: Mugwort, vervain, chamomile, rose, honeysuckle, lily, oak, lavender, ivy, yarrow, fern, elder, wild thyme, daisy, carnation.
• St. John's Wort - At Summer Solstice the Sun has reached its zenith in the sky and is as close to us in the northern hemisphere as it will ever get before it begins its slow descent which will lead us into winter. At Summer Solstice Saint John’s Wort is also in its height of flowering, and with its golden star-flowers full of stamens that look like rays bursting forth, the sun’s uplifting energy is captured on earth in the form of a humble flower.
• Magick - Healings, growth spells, empowerment spells, and love magick are all incredibly potent at this time
• Gems: Amber, tiger’s eye, jade, emerald
• Litha Incense: Sage, cedar, frankincense, lemon, myrrh, pine, rose, and lavender
• Solar System - Sun
• Element - Fire
• Trees - Beech, elder, holly, laurel, linden,

“Not only is it Sum­mer Sol­stice, there is a Full Moon. May love sur­round you like sun­shine on a sunny day.” – William Shakespeare

Full Moon in Sagittarius: June 3rd 2023

Article except from Dark Pixie.com

Full moons tend to be emotional and serious, but Sagittarius is an optimistic sign that only wants to focus on the positives, so Sagittarius full moons usually aren't as serious as others are. This can especially be evident this time coming out of the Scorpio lunar eclipse, which is as serious-minded as it gets, and we can open our minds and work on being less brooding and more open to the good in our lives. This can open our minds and give fresh perspectives.

We can connect strongly with what we believe with the Sagittarius full moon, and this can help us become more invested in the beliefs that connect with who we are now. If our beliefs aren't true to our current selves, or are bad for us in some way, the full moon can challenge us to break free and see how this hasn't been helping us. We can switch to something that resonates with us now, and can be better for us.

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter and loves space, so we can crave more space to do our own thing with the Sagittarius full moon. We need to make sure we go about this in a healthy, productive way though, otherwise we may push people away and can't take it back later. We need to make sure we're not just lashing out, but actually think it through. It could be a good time for a little adventure, and we can learn a lot from life experience.

Sagittarius is a travel ruler, so there can be more focus on long-distance travel in some way. Sagittarius rules higher learning, so we can focus on colleges and universities in some way. Sagittarius is a ruler of the law, so there can be an important legal ruling or case we're focused on around the full moon.

June's Full 'Honey' Moon Magic

Article by: Patti Wigington, "Strong Sun Moon." Learn Religions, Aug. 28, 2020, learnreligions.com/strong-sun-moon-2562396.

In June, the sun has taken over and the fields are growing. This is the month named for Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage, and it's the time when we welcome Litha, the summer solstice. The full moon this month is called the Strong Sun Moon in many folkloric traditions, but it's also known as the Lover's Moon, the Honey Moon, or the Strawberry Moon. In some Native American belief systems, this time of year is associated with the woodpecker.

Flowers have bloomed, we're beginning to see some early summer fruits and vegetables (a great time for strawberry crops!), and the days are getting longer and longer. It's a far cry from the darkness of winter, and we typically try to spend as much time outside as possible. It's a time for bonding with friends and family, and forging what connections we can. Nurture your relationships, your garden, your career, and your soul this month.

Correspondences:

• Colors: Incorporate sunny colors like gold, yellow, and orange into your magic, ritual, and altar decorations
• Gemstones: Topaz and agate are associated with the summer solstice season and the month of June
• Trees: Oak and maple are flourishing this time of year
• Gods: Isis, Cerridwen, Juno, and Persephone are connected with the month of June, which means it's a great time to do moon magic focusing on female empowerment and the sacred feminine
• Herbs: Parsley, mosses, skullcap, and mugwort in bloom, so find a way to work them into your spellwork
• Element: Earth is tied deeply to this full moon phase

“It was June and the world smelled of roses. The sun was like powdery gold on the grassy slope.” – Maud Hart Lovelace

Because the nights are short, June is also a good time to tap into solar energy, and it's not uncommon for the full moon to be visible in the sky before the sun has actually set. Take advantage of this, stay outside later than normal, and embrace the power of the sun and the moon at the same time. It's a perfect blend of opposites and balance - sun and moon, masculine and feminine, day and night.

This is the month where magical workings are well suited to maintaining and enhancing things you already have.

Try one or more of these to welcome the magic of the Strong Sun Moon into your life:

• Weed your garden, prune the bushes, give your lawn all the tender loving care it needs. If you're growing fruit or vegetables, begin harvesting those that are ready to be gathered. Early herb and flower blossoms can be collected as well, and hung up to dry for later use.
• Take time to let your personal life blossom as well—focus on things that improve your job or education, as well as your relationships with family and friends. It's okay to do nice things for yourself! Go on a short vacation, cut off the cell phone and your email for a few days, and spend time with family—or with yourself!
• Another name for the Strong Sun Moon is the Honey Moon, and during the late summer and early fall, honey is a staple crop in many parts of the world. Honey has a number of magical properties, so why not find a way to tie it into your spellwork this month?
• Focus on the power of the sun to help with spells and rituals related to strengthening yourself mentally and spiritually. You've got more hours of daylight now than any other time of the year, so tap into it! Spend as much time outdoors as possible - it's not only good for your emotional well being, it also can help you feel better physically!
• Use sun energy to charge your tools by leaving them out on a bright warm day to absorb the sun's rays. You can also consecrate water for rituals by placing a jar of it out in the sunlight—use this for workings related to strength and power, as well as personal growth.
• If you've been dealing with issues in your personal life that are rooted in indecision or uncertainty, this is a good time to fix them. Take a long hard look at your possible choices, and make one. Ask for advice from others if you need to, but in the long, it's okay to trust your intuition.
• Remember this is also called the Lovers' Moon—and no wonder, since so many people get married in June! Allow yourself to welcome love into your life—and if you've already got it, then let yourself appreciate it even more! Do things that make you feel sensual and sexy, affectionate and abundant, and in addition to loving other people, and allowing them to love you in return, know that you're allowed to love yourself as well.

“I stand under the mystical moon at midnight in June.” – Edgar Allan Poe

New Moon in Gemini: June 18th 2023

Article except from Dark Pixie.com

The Gemini new moon stimulates our minds in a big way, and we can focus on new ideas, new plans, and keep ourselves busy. We can fill up our schedules, and be much more engaging. This can be a great time for communication, conversation, and expressing ourselves fully and openly.

Gemini is the sign of the mind, so we can utilize our mental abilities, and benefit from using our minds. We may take up learning something new, share knowledge and information we have, and want to connect mentally.

This new moon is widely square (challenging aspect, 3 signs away) transit (moving) Ceres at the end of Virgo (exits June 22nd 2023), in fact anaretic in Virgo. There are 30 degrees in every Zodiac sign, and 29 degrees is the last degree and called the anaretic degree. It's a point of crisis energy in transit.

Ceres is a dwarf planet ruling nourishment and support, so we're likely extra focused on nourishment, support, resources, and finances at this time, what we're lacking and in need of, and this new moon can challenge us. We may need to find a different approach, or stop fixating on what's missing and focus instead on how we can better use what we already have. We may lack support for ideas we have, and may need to find alternative ways to get our point across.

We may also feel extra stressed out with this new moon, and need to make sure we're managing this in a healthy way, otherwise we may get burned out and super anxious.

Do something every day, to help heal the world. Light a candle, sing a song, make some soup. And as you do these things, make it a blessing to all life. ~ Candace Ross

~ Crafting Corner ~

Summer Solstice Incense

(Litha, Midsummer)

From the blog of: Moody Moons

Crafting your own summer solstice incense adds a uniquely regional touch to your Midsummer or Litha celebration.

Combining herbalism with the zen-inducing art of aromatic magic, the act of blending herbs for the purpose of sacred ritual dates back to the earliest roots of our human heritage.

So grab a pair of pruning shears and let’s take a walk in the wildflowers!

Just before Midsummer, the wildflowers in my region explode. They vine their way up abandoned houses and burst through the cracks in the sidewalk, lighting up the landscape in jewel tones gone rogue.

I love it. I gather them by the basketful to make floral smudge wands, fill every vase available and, of course, make incense and casting blends.

A Few Notes

The recipe below is a rough guide. Feel free to customize it to your region according to the plants available.

Garden and kitchen herbs make excellent substitutions for any flowers or herbs not easily accessible.

The point is to create something unique to you, your practice and the natural landscape around you.

Obviously, if you live in the Midwest or the tundra, your local wildlife varies considerably from ours here on the East Coast, so absolutely use what you know and what is seasonal.

Ratios

I don’t include exact measurement in this recipe because the strength of herbs and flowers varies so widely. I encourage you to “sniff it out” until you come up with a combination that suits your needs. That said, I listed the herbs in order from most to least here to give you some idea of where I was more heavy-handed, and where I went lighter.

Okay, here we go!

Mint

The freshest herb in the garden, I clipped some mint from stash in the back yard and let it dry upside down for tea and other projects. A pinch of this in my Solstice Blend symbolizes the vibrant abundance of high summer.

Chamomile

This one I snagged from an organic tea bag. If you grow it, even better!

Known to dispel the naughty or mischievous spirits that notoriously scamper about on the night of Midsummer’s Eve making lighthearted trouble, chamomile welcomes friendly summer “faeries” (or whatever you call positive energy).

Flowering Thyme

I love the smell of thyme in the garden this time of year. If you “upset” it (by rustling the leaves or stepping on it—it makes great groundcover, by the way) it releases an unmistakable warm, rich “green” aroma.

Thyme is ruled by the Element of Water, which symbolizes a relationship with water (pools, lakes, oceanfront) during the summer months and welcomes the aqua energy) and is a particularly nice addition for someone with a sea witch practice.

Tea Roses

The crown jewel of the summer garden, include dried roses in your summer solstice incense to encourage “enchantment” on the night of the Litha.

Chicory (or regional flower)

I included chicory for its bright blue, playful color and its native, seasonal bloom during the month of Midsummer in my region. I encourage you to substitute a flower local to your region and easily foraged during the week leading up to the Solstice. If nothing else, it gets you out into nature!

Daisy

A sun symbol, daisies make a nice inclusion in summer solstice incense to honor the power of the sun on the zenith of its power during our journey around it.

Essential Oils (optional)

Chamomile, lavender, lemon or rose oil are all appropriate.

Instructions

Make sure all your ingredients (except the essential oils) are very, very dry. The drier they are, the better they burn.

It can take up to a week to air dry them, or you can pop them in the oven at about 200 degrees for 5-6 minutes to speed up the process. If you use the oven method, watch it very carefully. Essential oils in plants can flare if they get too hot.

Fill the base of your cauldron with salt or sand, then add a charcoal disk specially made for incense on top. Light the disk and sprinkle the dry ingredients on first, adding a few drops of essential oils if desired.

Blessed be.

Get involved. Speak out against injustice. Speak up for those who are treated unfairly. And vote. ~ Candace Ross

~The Kitchen Witch's Cauldron~

Nejma Lentil Soup

(Moroccan Goddess of protection, health and courage)

From: The Temple Cookbook - Goddess Recipes

This Lentil soup recipe was a favorite from the cookbook Candace created several years ago. She often made it for our ritual potlucks, and it was always a popular dish. The cookbook is filled with recipes that Candace compiled and gave each recipe a corresponding Goddess name. Her intent was to honor Goddess by making known more of Her thousands of names. For anyone who may be interested, copies of the cookbook are still available; follow this link for more information:

I'm thinking the mindset that must change needs to be from "How much money can I make????" to "How much good can I do!?!?!" ~ Candace Ross

“Happy summer solstice. Today is the day to remember and celebrate your light and the light of others. May we dance in our light together and forever.” – Unknown

June Book Review

A God Who Looks Like Me

By Patricia Lynn Reilly

"A wonderfully unique resource for women who are continually searching for new insights in the area of woman-affirming faith and worship."--Reverend Sharon Vandegrift (United Methodist Chaplain, Drexel University)

Childhood religious images of judgment, punishment, unworthiness, and shame, of male saviors, messiahs, and Higher Powers, pursue all women into adulthood. Many women realize they must leave behind these traditional concepts and images for a more authentic spirituality. Yet they find, to their dismay, that the male symbols of God are deeply rooted in their psyches and difficult to transform.

In this book, the poignant personal memories of women of all ages and lifestyles are interwoven with the collective story of women buried in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Bible. Together, these women explore the lost glory of Eve, Lilith, and Mary. They teach us to plumb the depths of our relationships with our mothers, our bodies, and ourselves; our sexuality and vulnerability; and our journey into old age. Each chapter offers a rich tapestry of poetry, ritual, story, and meditation, a splendid invitation to join a circle of women in search of woman-affirming spirituality.

"Patricia Lynn Reilly guides her readers towards solutions. . . .This book is an excellent map filled to overflowing with provocative exercises and concrete suggestions." --Gloria Karpinski (Author of Where Two Worlds Touch - Spiritual Rites of Passage)

"It beautifully combines the best of the poignant with the best of the practical and the political." --Publishers Weekly

A God Who Looks Like Me is a substantial contribution to defining a woman-affirming spirituality. It blends methodology and message harmoniously. Informed scholarship, personal stories, and profound insight converge to create a mirror in which woman can see their own lives reflected. And in that reflection, women discover that what they have longed for from "out there" is actually already within themselves. -- Kim Dickson Rogers, Woman Spirit Magazine

Genres: Spirituality, Feminism, Religion, Nonfiction, Goddess, Womens Studies, Paganism

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Just For Laughs!

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