Summer Solstice Rite
The Summer Solstice, also called Litha, marks the longest day and shortest night.
The Sun is at the height of its power and is now beginning to decline. In common with the other Solstice and the Equinoxes the date of this festival will vary from year to year, taking place between the 20 and the 23rd of the month. Also in common with the other Sabbats it would have been traditional for celebrations to have taken place over several days.
If you have a group of people it can be great fun to enact the battle of the Oak and Holly Kings. At this time Lord Oak, who presides over the waxing year, gives way to Lord Holly, who will rule until the Winter Solstice. Select two combatants to wrestle or fight with staves until the one playing the Oak King gives way to the other. It is a good idea for them to practice in advance so that they do not harm one another.
~from the Real Witches Year by Kate West
Handfasting
A Handfasting is the Witches' form of wedding.
It differs from a conventional ceremony in a number of ways. Like any other Craft Ritual it can take place anywhere the couple wish, indoors or outside. Friends and family will gather in a circle and the ritual takes place within it; usually this will be a cast Circle. Both parties enter the Circle as equals; no-one is 'given' to the other. The promises made by the Bride and Groom are their own, there is no set form of words, so this can be as personal and individual as they like. The couple's hands are tied, with cord or ribbon, during the Ritual, hence the term tying the knot. They jump a broomstick, to symbolize the leap from one life. as an individual, to another, as part of a couple, which gives us the term jumping the broom.
Witches may marry in any color, not necessarily white, as the necessity for a woman to be 'pure for her husband' has no meaning in the Craft. Having said that, the non-Craft superstition of someone wearing green at a wedding being unlucky originates in the Beltane tradition of wearing green to show that you are actively seeking a mate.
Probably the largest difference lies in the fact that the couple can choose to be Handfasted for life, or for a year and a day. The latter option is sometimes taken up by couples who like the notion of renewing their vows annually, perhaps tailoring them to the practical aspects of life together.
Oak Month
The Oak is the King of Trees and sacred to the Celts and Druids.
It has long been considered bad luck to cut it down or to take the living wood. Since early times it has been associated with Herbe who was thought to have practiced magic under one, and with the stag, symbol of the Horned God. It is also sacred to Thor and acorns are said to protect a house from storms and lightning. It was sacred tot he ancient Greeks and the Romans dedicated it to Jupiter, and King Arthur's round table was said to have been made of a single slice of Oak. The Oak is strongly associated with the Elements of Earth and the physical realm, The Oak represents the sacrifice of personal freedom in order to take up magical work.
The Oak is slow-growing and capable of living well over a hundred years. Its hard wood was used to build ships, and burnt to provide charcoal for metalwork. The bark was used in leather making and to create dyes of purple, black, yellow and browns. The young wood is used to make furniture. Acorns have long been noted for their antiseptic properties and used in folk medicine to dress wounds. They have also been used to make flour and a form of coffee. The inner bark makes a gargle for throat and sinus problems, The leaves make a soothing dressing for sore eyes.
To protect your home from all manner of ills, make an equal-armed cross, bound with red thread, of two pieces of Oak. To bring prosperity plant an acorn the day before a New Moon.
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