Hi, my dear friends!
Today is Litha - Summer Solstice Day. This means summer is on its top.
For those who's never interested in Wicca I'd like to say a few words about the Wheel of the Year. This is an 8-holiday cycle that marks the special moments of the Sun God’s and Earth Goddess’ lives. In traditional societies, these points of the year were connected to significant changes in nature, which our ancestors had to live with. It all is much more siplier in the modern society. But as soon as we, humans, are the part of the Nature, it still affects our lives.
On the other side of the coin, these 8 holidays can be seen as a reflection of a person's personality. It's important to note that when we talk about "gender" in this context, we're not necessarily referring to biological sex. Rather, the concept of god and goddess is used to signify a person's entire personality, regardless of gender.
Summer Solstice Day is a period when the energy of partnership is at its peak. Here, too, one must understand that when I say this, I do not mean some sudden surge of this energy. It accumulated gradually and, having reached its peak today, will also gradually decrease. At the same time, let's understand partnership broadly in all its manifestations.
The gender roles of this period are "Wife" and "Husband".
A "Wife" is a woman who changes her destiny, her life through a man. She actually renounces her fate in order to share it with the fate of a man.
This understanding of the role of a "Wife" has ancient roots, when after the marriage a woman actually renounced her family and passed into the family of her husband. So, for example, in ancient Rome, after getting married, a woman lost touch with her family and, on the contrary, "merged" into her husband's family, taking the position of a daughter in relation to her husband's father and the position of a sister in relation to her husband's brothers and sisters. This kinship was called agnat kinship, which for a long time had priority over blood, cognate kinship.
The wedding ceremony itself largely symbolizes the death of the bride for her father's family.
Traditionally, the transition to a husband's clan could be reflected in the status of a woman, since from that moment her status was determined by that of her husband. Thus, her status in connection with marriage could either rise or fall.
The role of the "Wife" is very significant, because, having passed into the clan of the husband, she not only changes her destiny, she also influences the destiny of the man and his environment, mainly due to the fact that two clans unite through her, especially when children are born.
If any of you remember, when I named the Berkan rune, I talked about the similarity of its energy with the energy of the gender role "wife".
It should be noted that in society, the role of a "Wife" often includes roles such as "Mother", "Housewife", "Mistress". This cannot be considered correct. Each of these roles is individual and has its own characteristics, so you should not mix them.
A woman whose role "Wife" is in the first place is a woman who cannot imagine life without partnership, without pair relationships. She cannot exist outside of relationships and in every relationship she seeks marriage. If this role is hypertrophied, this can become a problem.
If the role of the "Wife" is failed, then it is very difficult for such a woman to compromise, to partner. This manifests itself not only in relationships with men, but also in business relationships.
A "Husband" is a man who takes responsibility for a woman and children. That is, this is a man who is ready to take responsibility not only for himself, but also for those who trusted him. In essence, the role "Husband" is the first inclusion of responsibility. This role also includes keeping promises.
The imbalance of this role is manifested in the fact that a man, with his physical weakness, tries to justify his own irresponsibility (falling into the role of a newborn). Such a man is not able to bear responsibility even for himself. He justifies this by his own weakness.
The skew of this role - "die, but do it". When he does not correlate his promises with his own strengths and capabilities or with changed circumstances.
What is the main conclusion and why all this is needed. The fact is that all these "roles" live within us. And if any of the roles is not developed enough, the personality will not be developed harmoniously. You wrote all this and what do you want us to do? - you ask. Try to work on partnerships during this period. It could be your family or work, friends or neighbors. In general, this is the time for team play.
I will definitely try to do this. I may or may not believe in Wicca or other popular teachings, but I believe in the power and support of nature. I have been practicing the practices that the Wheel of the Year offers us for more than five years and no matter how we feel about it, they have made my life better, if only because I have become more confident and balanced.