Temple of Diana: Midsummer

Summer Solstice
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_solstice
The summer solstice occurs when the tilt of a planet's semi-axis, in either the northern or the southern hemisphere, is most inclined toward the star (sun) that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt toward the sun is 23° 26'. This happens twice each year, at which times the sun reaches its highest position in the sky as seen from the north or the south pole.


Midsummer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer
Midsummer is the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, and more specifically the European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice or take place on a day between June 21 and June 25 and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different cultures.


Diana (mythology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_%28mythology%29 
In Roman mythology, Diana (lt. "heavenly" or "divine") was the goddess of the hunt, the moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy. Diana was worshipped in ancient Roman religion and is revered in Roman Neopaganism and Stregheria. Dianic Wicca, a largely feminist form of the practice, is named for her. Diana was known to be the virgin goddess of childbirth and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses, Diana, Minerva and Vesta, who swore never to marry.

Oak groves were especially sacred to her. According to mythology, Diana was born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos, daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana made up a triad with two other Roman deities: Egeria the water nymph, her servant and assistant midwife; and Virbius, the woodland god.


Janus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus (Latin: Ianus) is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, passages, endings and time. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. The Romans named the month of January (Ianuarius) in his honor.


Note
The stag or horned solar god, as well as the moon goddess, go clear back into the ancient world to proto-European peoples. Later manifestations (Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic/Gaulish, Slavic, etc.) all merged, co-opted, or co-existed with this earlier culture.


[Music: Song #1: 'Ready to Fly' by Verman Williams; Song #2: Unknown]

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The Raven witch and the Autumnal equinox

I missed this seasonally, but this video just sort've came together for me. However, we are still in the Fall. To change the subject, I suppose that I'm not the only one who has fallen in love with certain software programs which slowly become obsolete... and the newer versions of Windows force them out.... aaaand, the newer versions are awful. I loved Corel Photo Paint 8, but it's just no longer compatible, and the newer versions are really, really bad. They're ridiculously confusing and positively limited. There's a big difference between that, and merely getting used to the newer versions of Word, which really just take some time getting used to. I used to really love the older WordPerfect office, more than Word, but I guess it's just a matter of going with what it pragmatic and available.


The Raven witch and the Autumnal equinox


Equinox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumnal_equinox

An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20 March and 22 September), when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length.


Wheel of the Year
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_Year

Autumnal equinox
The holiday of the autumnal equinox, Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed (in Neo-Druidic traditions), is a Pagan ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them to secure the blessings of the Goddess and the God during the coming winter months. The name Mabon was coined by Aidan Kelly around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology.[27] Among the sabbats, it is the second of the three Pagan harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas / Lughnasadh and followed by Samhain.


[Music: 'Dream Weaver by Michelle Mays; 'Celtic Requiem Chant' by Elliot Simons]

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Gallia Cisalpina VI: Gaulish Bread Harvest

Gallia Cisalpina VI: Gaulish Bread Harvest (click here for link; YouTube did not allow our video to be imbedded due to the fact that the footage is copyrighted)

Lammas is a Neo-Pagan holiday, often called Lughnasadh, celebrating the first harvest and the reaping of grain. It is a cross-quarter holiday halfway between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumnal Equinox (Mabon). In the northern hemisphere, Lammas takes place around August 1 with the Sun near the midpoint of Leo in the tropical zodiac, while in the southern hemisphere Lammas is celebrated around February 1 with the Sun near the midpoint of Aquarius. On the Wheel of the Year, it is opposite Imbolc, which is celebrated on February 2nd in the northern hemisphere, and late July / early August in the southern hemisphere.

Lammas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lammas

Lughnasadh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lughnasadh

Harvest Festival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_festival

Celtic calendar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_calendar

Wheel of the Year
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_year

*The footage shown is from the 2006 American remake of 'The Wicker Man' :

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wicker_Man_(2006_film)

Internet Movie Database
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450345/

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Wicker-Man-Widescreen-Unrated-Rated/dp/B000JYW5DW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1279558795&sr=1-2


[Music: Unknown]

Gallia Cisalpina IV: Gaulish Harvest Festival of Samonios

Gallia Cisalpina IV: Gaulish Harvest Festival of Samonios

Samhain

The Gaulish calendar appears to have divided the year into two halves: the "dark" half, beginning with the month Samonios (the October/November lunation), and the "light" half, beginning with the month Giamonios (the April/May lunation). The entire year may have been considered as beginning with the "dark" half, so that the beginning of Samonios may be considered the Celtic New Year's day. The celebration of New Year itself may have taken place during the "three nights of Samonios" (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]), the beginning of the lunar cycle which fell nearest to the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

The lunations marking the middle of each half-year may also have been marked by specific festivals. The Coligny calendar marks the mid-summer moon (see Lughnasadh), but omits the mid-winter one (see Imbolc). The seasons are not oriented at the solar year, viz. solstice and equinox, so the mid-summer festival would fall considerably later than summer solstice, around 1 August (Lughnasadh). It appears that the calendar was designed to align the lunations with the agricultural cycle of vegetation, and that the exact astrological position of the Sun at that time was considered less important.

[Music: 'Loreley' by Blackmore's Night]