Facing the bonfire, when you close your eyes and listen to the fire crackling, it's like if you were back many many years in history to the pagans time, when the God of Sun was adored. This day is supposed to be in honour of Sain John the Baptist, but in reality it's an old pagan festival to celebrate the summer solstice and the power of the sun. It's the day when the sun shines in the sky longer, but also begins its journey to the winter solstice, that is a symbolic death. So in this day we celebrate life and death, light and darkness, what is to be born and what is to be left.
It's a night of magic and mistery, also called the witches's night. There are many legends from ancient times, saying that in this night Nature can show all its power, and the world of humans mixes with the world of Faerie. Conjurations and celtic rituals for love or money are made. Asturias, my region, is a land with celtic roots and celebrations like the San John's night are lived very intensely.
I was invited to my uncle's for dinner and we lit also our own bonfire in the garden. It was a lovely night, spent together with my family and my uncle's dog, who was scared most part of the time because of the fire. Here are some of the pictures of this night:
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Silvia Martinez
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Comments: 7
"this night Nature can show all its power, and the world of humans mixes with the world of Faerie. Conjurations and celtic rituals for love or money are made. Asturias, my region, is a land with celtic roots and celebrations like the San John's night are lived very intensely."
The literature is so rich in allegorical references and have roots even further back to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. It is so interesting to follow the progression of thought and archetypes as they mutate over the years into the literal forms we see expressed today, played out with different actors and different forms... like a masquerade. Thank you for the writeup here... I just recently picked up a book on Celtic Moon Signs off the bargain bin and am reading with great interest the esoteric meanings contained within. Hopefully, it won't be trip in fantasy only, but something that may influence me in honing my poetry.
Always learning,
Jeff
!Las imagenes de las hogueras son maravillosas! El circulo de la gente, los embrujos que hacen.
Thank you for sharing your story!
Jeff, how nice that you a book related with the celtic world, sure that it will have an influence in your writings. I think that I'm pretty much influenced by it, as I've lived in a celtic land almost all my life.
John, you can understand very well the magic of that night, as you enjoyed it as well here in Spain. Here in the North we enjoy dancing around the fire and sending our wishes to the flames, when you do that you feel connected with all the people in the past who did the same. I don't know if the wishes will become true or not, but "que me quiten lo bailao" :-) :-)
Kathryn, you would have loved to be here around the fire!
Mona, how nice that you celebrate this night in Denmark in the same way. I've also heard that some other countries do it as well. I'll love to read your piece about it and see the photos! I'll do it tonight when I'm back home.