Goddess Speak Sanctuary of Solace Newsletter - June 2024

June is here — signaling the start of summer and bringing an infectious energy that makes us want to enjoy every moment of longer days and warmer weather! It’s a month of fresh starts, new adventures, and the promise of brighter days ahead.

June Dates of Interest:

Happy Pride Month!

“Pride is important because tonight someone still believes they’re better off dead than being themselves.” — Sterling Graves

• June 1- International Dinosaur Day
• June 4 - National Cheese Day
• June 5 - World Environment Day
• June 6 - Gemini New Moon @ 5:37 am
• June 8 - World Ocean Day / 4th Annual HPF / Southern Nevada Pride 2024
• June 14 - World Blood Donor Day - Make an appointment today!
• June 14 - Pagan/Occult Movie Night @ UUCLV - Showing Midsommar!
• June 15 - June Food Pantry @ UUCLV
• June 16 - Happy Father's Day!
• June 19 - Honoring Juneteenth - Freedom Day
• June 20 - Summer Solstice @ 1:50 pm
• June 21 - Full 'Honey' Moon @ 6:07 pm
• June 21 - Summer Solstice Celebration (ZOOM) @ 7:00 pm (link below to RSVP)
• June 22 - Summer Solstice Celebration** (Live) @ 6:00 pm (link below to RSVP)
• June 23 - PPDLV Planning Meeting 1:00 pm @ UUCLV
• June 24 - International Fairy Day!
• June 28 - Disclosure - The 2024 UUCLV Welcoming Congregation Movie & Talkback!
• June 29 - Approaching the Celtic Gods w/ Inner Circle Sanctuary 6:00 pm @ UUCLV
• June 30 - International Asteroid Day

**Please see the article below for important information about our Summer Solstice celebration!

“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

The 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.

Summer Solstice 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,

Join us for our Summer Solstice Celebration in honor of Sekhmet!

Our evening will begin with The Feast of Sekhmet (menu below), followed by our ritual. The feast is being provided by Sanctuary of Solace and will not be a potluck; each food choice has been carefully chosen in honor of, Sekhmet. We ask that you please RSVP so we may insure there is enough for all. We are asking attendees to contribute towards the costs of the food with a sliding scale of 5.00 to 10.00/person. Please contact us if you have any menu questions or have food allergies which need to be addressed.

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

~ June's Lunar Spotlight ~

Gemini New Moon: June 6th 2024

Article except from Dark Pixie.com

Gemini is the sign of the mind, so the Gemini New Moon stimulates mental energy, and makes us more engaged, expressive, and communicative. We can connect with our minds, ideas can flow, and we can take action with our plans. We can share what we're thinking, and information can be passed along. It's a good time for learning anything, sharing knowledge, writing, or speaking.

Gemini is an active air and mutable sign, so we can be especially active with a Gemini New Moon. We want a variety of projects and ideas to focus on, and we can go from one thing to the next quickly. We can get bored more easily, so we need to keep ourselves and our minds occupied.

Jupiter is now in Gemini with this New Moon in Gemini, and this means we can have lots of new opportunities with our ideas and our plans, we're way more optimistic and expansive, and we have a good view of the big picture. We can think bigger and brighter, and we can take chances on our ideas.

The New Moon is conjunct (aligned with) transit (moving) Venus in Gemini and widely square (challenging aspect, 3 signs away) transit Saturn in Pisces. The conjunction to Venus means we've got some help working with others, and we may benefit from our connections. Opportunities can pop up that allow us to work with others, and we can make new commitments and arrangements. We can take verbal agreements more seriously, and can pay close attention to the conversations we have with others. Venus also helps to ground our minds a little bit.

The square to Saturn might bring some challenges with having disciplined minds and maintaining our focus. We may want to let our minds wander a little too much at times, and we may not want to get down to the nitty-gritty reality. We have to make sure we're seeing what we need to and being as realistic as we need to be, without being pessimistic.

Full Moon in Capricorn: June 21st 2024

Article excerpt from Dark Pixie.com

Capricorn is the height of the Zodiac, the highest point and Zenith, and this means it relates to our goals, our aspirations, what we strive for, and the heights we reach in life. With Full Means being times of culmination and results, the Capricorn Full Moon is usually a time when we see the results of hard and smart work, and we can reach new heights, achieve, and succeed if we've done things the right way and for the right reasons. This can come with new responsibilities, but we can handle it if we make sure to give ourselves enough room to breathe.

If we haven't done things the right way or for the right reasons, we can experience setbacks, delays, and ourgith failure, and this can be a trying time for managing responsibilities. We may lack discipline and focus, and we can feel like we're being crushed under the weight of it all. We have to find a new approach, see what we need to fix or do differently, or change our objective altogether.

This is the first of two Full Moons in a row in Capricorn, and the next on July 21st is at 29 degrees Capricorn. When we have two consecutive lunations in a row in the same sign, they usually tie into one another, and developments begin with the first and end or culminate with the second. This means that whatever passes with this Capricorn Full Moon can continue into July, and is a steady focus for the next month. We have to make sure we're being smart, focused, responsible, and wise, especially since the next Capricorn Full Moon is anaretic (29 degrees), and the end or culmination is likely to be quite big and important.

This Full Moon comes right after Ceres, dwarf planet of nourishment, support, and resources, turns retrograde in Capricorn. A body is called retrograde when it appears to move backward in astrology, and this tends to throw the energy of it off. With Ceres, this can mean we're thrown off with resources, support, and nourishment, and we may see issues with money, food, or possessions in the world at large. Capricorn rules governments, politics, and corporations, so likely to be a trying time for them too.

Ceres is still retrograde for the next Capricorn Full Moon as well, so the developments we're focusing on likely tie into this Ceres retrograde. Focus on where you're feeling insecure, lack support, or are having challenges with resources, and work to find a way around, tackle core issues, or find wiggle room.

The Full Moon is widely opposite transit Venus in Cancer, and this might bring some issues with others. The Gemini New Moon works well with others, but this Full Moon, not so much! We have to make sure we're being considerate and thoughtful of others, while also making sure we're not being doormats. That delicate balance needs to be struck since we're likely to be strong one way or the other, and that doesn't help anyone.

Suggested rituals for the Capricorn Full Moon:

• Goal-Setting Ceremony: Create a sacred space and reflect on your long-term goals. Write them down and visualize their manifestation. Set achievable steps to bring your aspirations to life.
• Grounding Meditation: Find a quiet place, light a candle, and sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes, focus on your breath, and envision yourself rooted to the earth. Absorb the stability and determination of Capricorn.
• Release and Let Go: Write down any fears, self-doubts, or limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Burn the paper with a lit candle, symbolizing the release of these obstacles and clearing the path for progress.

June's Full 'Honey' Moon Magic

Article by: Patti Wigington

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

“At midnight, in the month of June, I stand beneath the mystic moon.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe

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.

“It is good to realize that, if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature’s gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.” ~ Jimmy Carter

~ Crafting Corner ~

Since June is the month of the Honey Moon, this seemed like the perfect Crafty Corner project!

Happy Crafting!

DIY Garden Bee Hive

How To make a DIY Garden Bee Hive from Dollar Tree supplies!

From the blog:

Tess writes: "I have always wanted to buy a Bee Skep for decorating the inside of my home and my garden but if you are like me and have searched for them too you would see just how expensive they are, how hard they are to find, and how quickly they sell out when found."

Supplies for the Bee Skep ( Hive ) :

• A tapered flower pot, approx. 6.25" Diameter x 5.625 "tall. This one came from The Dollar Tree and just looking at it, upside down, it looks like a bee hive!
• 4 packages of Jute Rope. (The thicker size from The Dollar Tree is recommended; found in both the Craft section and the Garden section. Each package measures 9.5 ft)
• Hot Glue Sticks - 11 sticks suggested
• Black Acrylic Craft Paint. Used to make the faux "hole" in the bee hive.
• Brush to add the paint. Don't choose too large a brush for this smaller area as you don't want the paint on the outside ring jute.
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun

Directions:

Start out with the Hot Glue Gun really hot and add a bead of glue along the lower edge as close to the bottom as possible. You don't want the pot to show, but this color flower pot does help mask any areas that are not too perfect. You want to glue "slowly" and carefully not to burn your fingers...but it does sometimes happen as you add the jute. Take your time. You don't want to glue too thickly a bead that it shows up on the jute front. Carefully add the jute going around the pot.

Your next rows will be glued closely to the previous row. As you make your way around the pot take your time to press the glue bead on the top of the previous row and the flower pot. You will get a feel for it doing small areas at a time. Hot glue can sometimes set up and harden quickly so keep the area that you are gluing as a small section.

At this point you have likely used up the first package of jute and added the second package right up against the first. You will notice that the jute edges have a teeny piece of tape to keep the jute from fraying. You have two choices. Carefully remove the tape before you butt it against the first end or leave it on and butt it against.

Now we are at the end of the third package of jute and ready to get the top added. As you can see there is no "top" of the pot so we will be making it by adding the jute at a bit of an angle onto the previous row as we work our way up. Yes, it can be scary not knowing where to put that dab of glue and just how to angle it...but trust me...you will see and get the feel of it as you begin.

Take your time and add the glue carefully.

Okay, before starting the fourth package of jute, cut a 12" piece of jute off, make a loop and glue it down to the center of the flower pot bottom (now the top!).

Put a dab of glue in the center and make a "foot" with the bottom of the loop staying in the center.

​Keep adding the jute around the top making the open area smaller and smaller.

Work your fourth package of jute up around the loop carefully gluing it along the way and cut and poke your end into the hole next to the loop.

Cut a 5" piece of the leftover jute and make a circle by joining the ends. Glue the circle to the side of the bee hive.

Add the black paint inside of the circle and set it aside to dry.

This project took a bit over an hour to complete.

“June has never looked more beautiful than she does now, unadorned and honest, vulnerable yet invincible.” ― Marie Lu, Legend

~The Kitchen Witch's Cauldron~

Chilled Cucumber & Greek Yogurt Soup

Feasting, drinking, singing, and music were all big parts of celebrating Sekhmet.

One celebratory food to include is cucumbers. This is likely due to the magical correspondences of cucumbers which are beauty, fertility and healing - all of which resonate with, The Names of Sekhmet, of which these three demonstrate:

• She of Great Beauty and Hope
• Lady of the Waters of Life
• Great One of Healing

We will be enjoying this tasty recipe as part of our Summer Solstice Feast of Sekhmet - won't you join us?

Bright Blessings - Priestess Laurelinn

“This is the smell of June, she wanted to write to Christopher... honeysuckle, green hay, wet linen hung out to dry...” ― Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon

June Book Review

The Sound of the Sea:

Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans

By Cynthia Barnett

A compelling history of seashells and the animals that make them, revealing what they have to tell us about nature, our changing oceans, and ourselves.

Seashells have been the most coveted and collected of nature's creations since the dawn of humanity. They were money before coins, jewelry before gems, art before canvas.

In The Sound of the Sea, acclaimed environmental author Cynthia Barnett blends cultural history and science to trace our long love affair with seashells and the hidden lives of the mollusks that make them. Spiraling out from the great cities of shell that once rose in North America to the warming waters of the Maldives and the slave castles of Ghana, Barnett has created an unforgettable account of the world's most iconic seashells. She begins with their childhood wonder, unwinds surprising histories like the origin of Shell Oil as a family business importing exotic shells, and charts what shells and the soft animals that build them are telling scientists about our warming, acidifying seas. From the eerie calls of early shell trumpets to the evolutionary miracle of spines and spires and the modern science of carbon capture inspired by shell, Barnett circles to her central point of listening to nature's wisdom-and acting on what seashells have to say about taking care of each other and our world.

Human dominion unwinds natures elegant precision. ~ Cynthia Barnett

Editorial Reviews:

• "The Sound of the Sea is a glorious history of shells and of those who have loved shells. It is a history of fascination and of shame. It stretches our capacity to absorb new knowledge. It is as complex, multichambered and beautiful as its subject, and if Barnett can awaken our sense of wonder, then perhaps there is hope for jump-starting our collective sense of responsibility toward the oceans and one another."― Katharine Norbury, Washington Post
• "Will have you marveling at nature…Barnett’s account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation."― John Williams, New York Times Book Review
• "For anyone who's ever admired the ocean's most beautiful objects, this is a literal 'beach read' to treasure."― Ron Charles, CBS Sunday Morning
• "Fascinating…[The Sound of the Sea] explores topics ranging from colonialism to ocean acidification in connection to seashells."― Jonathon Keats, Forbes
• "Enthralling…A fascinating history of the shellmakers and of the multitude of ways they have interacted with and shaped human beings."― Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times
• "Magnificent…[Barnett] starts with wonder, imbues that with knowledge, and then alchemizes it all into awe, leaving the reader struck with a blow of revelation…If you're looking for a late-summer beach read, you couldn't possibly do any better than The Sound of the Sea."― Jason Mark, Sierra
• "An arresting meditation on shells and ocean history."― Andrew Robinson, Nature
• "A lustrous meditation…Barnett’s richly detailed narrative is a celebration of how much we have valued mollusks in the past, how fascinating they are in the present, and how vital it is to insure their survival into the future."― Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History
• "This is not a scolding book; it's an awestruck travelogue and appreciation of something beautiful…With each page, Barnett's meticulous insights soon had me marveling with new appreciation."― Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon
• "A superbly researched and thoroughly documented book, covering a complex subject from many different aspects…It reads like a fascinating adventure story…Both enjoyable and informative."― Tom Eichhorst, American Conchologist
• "Well-researched, consistently illuminating…An absolutely captivating nature book."― Kirkus Reviews (starred)
• "A delightful, informative, and momentous read for both enthusiasts and readers who’ve never picked up a shell."― Library Journal (starred)
• "Riveting…[A]n entertaining, colorful tour of a surprisingly dynamic part of nature."― Publishers Weekly
• "Full of fascinating and important stories, vividly evoked. I was captivated by both the wonders of molluscan life and by the many unexpected ways that shells live at the center of human cultures. A must-read for anyone interested in the riches of the living Earth."― David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen
• "In the deeply researched tradition of Rachel Carson’s sea trilogy, Cynthia Barnett enchantingly weaves poetic musings with deep-seated conservation wisdom and ocean science. An instant classic of nature history―a science-driven work of literature full of seaside grandeur."― Douglas Brinkley, best-selling author of The Wilderness Warrior
• "Writing with clarity and heart, turning science into prose and history into useful knowledge, Cynthia Barnett has given us a book for the ages. The Sound of the Sea is timely and mind-opening, echoing voices from the wondrous world of shell-harbored creatures of the sea. She urges us to give them our ear in ways we never have before, for in this transitional age, their truth is our fate, their wisdom our answer, and their future our hope."― Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf
• "The Sound of the Sea is as exquisite, many-chambered, and luminous as the shells Cynthia Barnett describes in her wild and hybrid book. It is a travelogue, a finely argued indictment of colonization and capitalism, a reanimation of scientists lost to the official narrative, and, most ringingly, the story of the way shells and the soft and vulnerable animals within them reflect back both the greatness of human ingenuity and the equally immense and rippling effect of human harm to the natural world. This song of mingled praise and warning left me shell-shocked, wonder-struck, utterly delighted."― Lauren Groff, best-selling author of Florida
• "The Sound of the Sea is one of those rare, knockout books that has you gasping in surprise on every page. From the prehistoric to the present, seashells have suffused human life, from giving voice to ancient gods to spurring climate solutions today. Thank you, Cynthia Barnett, for honoring the gifts the mollusks have left us, and―like the conch shells that once called the faithful to worship―for giving them the voice to speak for the imperiled ocean."― Sy Montgomery, best-selling author of The Soul of an Octopus

Genres: Natural History, Seashells, Coastal Ecosystems

Available in: Hardback, Paperback, EBooks & Audible

First published July 6, 2021

Just For Laughs!

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