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Today is

The time so tranquil is and still
That nowhere shall ye find,
Save on a high and barren hill,
An air of peeping wind.

All trees and simples, great and small,
That balmy leaf do bear,
Than they were painted on a wall
No more they move or steir.

Calm is the deep and purple sea,
Yea, smoother than the sand;
The waves that weltering wont to be
Are stable like the land.

So silent is the cessile air
That every cry and call
The hills and dales and forest fair
Again repeats them all.
Alexander Hume, Scottish poet, 1599; from 'A Summer Day'

Concerning dates, whate'er they pen
No matter whether true or not
I know it must be summer when
Green peas are in the pot.
Poor Robin's Almanac, 1808

Highly recommended:
Folklore of World Holidays
by Margaret Read MacDonald

Midsummer

The Spiral Dance
By Starhawk
20th Anniversary Edition

Zodiac by Degrees

All Around the Zodiac

The 13th Sign

The Secret Language of Birthdays

The Rule of Four

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Leon Battista Alberti's Hypnerotomachia

Hoax

Secrets and Lies

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Search by keywords for books, music, computers, software, home and family products and much more.

What Would Jefferson Do?
By Thom Hartmann

When Corporations Rule the World

Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

The Corporation
Highly recommended DVD

Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America
By Bruce Shapiro

Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America
By Bruce Shapiro

Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
By Robert F Kennedy, Jr

The Skeptic's Dictionary

Women's Activism and Globalization

8 Minutes in the Morning

Stand and Deliver
Hip Hop activism

Salam Pax
The Baghdad Blogger

Prehistory of Australia

 
A Calendar of Festivals

Peace Under Fire

The Stonehenge People

Stonehenge

The Summer Solstice

Daily Everything

A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore

Architects of Peace

Celtic Folklore Cooking

Activism and Social Change

The Elements of Ritual

Live with Passion!
Anthony Robbins


More books, calendars, T-shirts, mugs, music, posters, etc at  
Cafe Diem!

Celtic Daily Prayer

Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism
Murray Bookchin

Photo of the day

Mother Earth Spirituality

Wheel of the Year

Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft

Aries  Taurus  Gemini  Cancer  Leo  Virgo  Libra  Scorpius  Ophiuchus  Sagittarius  Capricornus  Aquarius  Pisces

Sun enters Cancer, 4^th sign of the Zodiac
(Jun 21 - Jul 22)

In astronomy and astrology, Cancer, the crab, is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Cancer is small and dim, and to many it does not resemble a crab. It lies between Gemini to the west and Leo to the east, Lynx to the north and Canis Minor and Hydra to the south.

In Greek mythology, Cancer was a brave little crab who tried to stop Heracles from defeating the Lernaean Hydra and was squashed for his efforts.

The astrological sign Cancer (June 21 - July 22) is associated with the constellation. In some cosmologies, Cancer is associated with the classical element Water, and thus called a Water Sign (with Scorpio and Pisces). Its polar opposite is Capricorn.

In the 1970s there was a proposal to rename the zodiac sign, as some astrologers felt that an imagined association with the disease Cancer was off-putting. Some people with the sun sign of Cancer refer to themselves as moon children instead (the sign is associated with the Moon in astrology).

Astrology    The Real Constellations of the Zodiac    Astrology: Pro    Astrology: Con

Midsummer, Neopagan festival of Litha

Festival of Alban Hefin (Druids)

Seventh Station of the year

Festival of Li, Chinese Goddess of Light
Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992 Calendar

Laylat al-saratjan/The Night of the Crab
The Copts celebrate the night (15 Ba'una) when the Sun enters Cancer, by hanging charms on their walls in order to drive away insects.
Blackburn, Bonnie and Holford-Strevens, Leofranc, The Oxford Book of Days, Oxford University Press, 2000
Source

Feast day of St Aaron, Abbot in Brittany

Feast day of St Agofredus

Feast day of St Alban of Mainz

Feast day of St Aloysius, or Lewis Gonzaga, confessor
(Viper's buglos, Echium vulgare, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

Feast day of St Corbmac

Feast day of St Demetria

Feast day of St Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, martyr

Feast day of St John Rigby

Feast day of St Lazarus
This Lazarus was a leper mentioned by Jesus Christ in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in the Gospel of Luke. Not to be confused with the Lazarus (brother of St Martha the dragon charmer), who was resurrected by Jesus.

Feast day of St Leutfridus (Leufredus; Leufroi), abbot

Feast day of St Martia

Feast day of St Martin of Tongres

Feast day of St Meen (Mevenus;  Melanus), Abbot in Brittany

Feast day of St Ralph, Archbishop of Bourges, confessor

Feast day of St Raymond of Barbastro

Feast day of St Rufinus

Feast day of St Terence

Feast day of St Urciscenus

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

Yemaya (Yemaja; Yemanja; Yemayah), Yorùbá goddess, is commemorated

Nalukataq, Inuit end-of-whaling festival (Ieupiat and Yupiks of Alaska)

"Nalukataq means 'the Tossing' in the Inupiat Eskimo language …

"This is the Eskimo Whaling Festival. Every year after whaling, the Northern Inupiat Eskimo villages hold a celebration to honor the whale which has given itself up for their good. The whale is a spirit, and if its head is returned to the ocean it will be able to grow its body – its parka – again and return for the good of the people once more. Thus its meat may not be sold, for that would dishonor it. It is given away plentifully at the festival, both cooked and raw. On the last day of the festival the sealskin which covered the whale boat is taken off and converted into a blanket, which is used as a blanket toss to hurl aloft successful whaling captains, traditional healers, and the recent mothers of sons. The latter contrive to go up with a large bag of candy, which they scatter in a shower among the tossers. Only the elders may eat the candy. Liberality and full participation in the natural cyclical processes of the cosmos are the themes of the festival."   Source

"The traditional celebrations are thrown jointly by three to five whaling captains
after one of them lands a bowhead."   Source

Picture

Niman Kachina, Hopi Pueblo (Jun 19 - 29)

National Aboriginal Day, Canada (started in 1996)  

Fête de la Musique in France, Belgium and Switzerland

Shaun Goater Day, Bermuda

Go Skateboarding Day

International Surfing Day

World Music Day

Glastonbury Festival, UK

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury Festival or Glasto, is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. In 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres, had over 385 live performances scheduled and attendance of around 150,000 people. Glastonbury festival has been compared to Woodstock and the burning man festival, and shares some of the spirit of these events. Glastonbury is the town where the legendary King Arthur was buried.

The man who created the Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival - the Official Website    Glastonbury Town Website  

On which day of the week were you born? Find out here

356 BCE Alexander the Great (d. June 11, 323 BCE); his date of birth is also said to be September 20 (qv) and his birthday for June 21 might have been contrived to have him born on the Summer Solstice, thus imbuing his life with mystery and omen. Many ancient gods and saviours were born on the solstice, though usually that of Winter.

"Alexander is supposed to have been fair skinned, with a ruddy tinge to his face and chest. Plutarch stated that he had a pleasing scent. Like all Macedonians, Alexander liked his liquor; his fondness for wine also caused some of his outbursts of rage. Alexander liked drama, the flute and the lyre, poetry and hunting. What he truly wanted in his life was glory and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of athletic contests, according to Plutarch.

"To say the least, young Alexander matured early. A famous anecdote describes Alexander skillfully receiving Persian envoys in Philip's court while Philip was out inspecting his troops. Alexander is said to have impressed the envoys more than Philip would have. This incident would have happened when Alexander was about five or six."   Source

1002 Pope Leo IX (d. April 19, 1054; April 19 became his feast day)

1731 Martha Washington, First Lady of the USA, wife of George Washington

1823 Jean Chacornac (d. 1873), astronomer

1839 Machado de Assis (d. 1908), Brazilian writer

1862 Damrong Rajanubhab (d. 1943), Thai prince, administrator and historian; he was one of the children educated by Anna Leonowens, the English schoolteacher in The King and I and the newer movie version, Anna and the King

1882 Rockwell Kent, American socialist illustrator. He did his first significant work at Monhegan Island, Maine. Later he travelled widely, doing other landscape work. He also did a great deal of work illustrating working people, serving as an illustrator for The Masses, a popular left-wing magazine. He was a victim of McCarthyism during the 1950s. As a devotee of realistic art, he had also fallen from popular favour.

1884 Claude Auchinleck (d. 1981), British Field Marshal

1891 Pier Luigi Nervi (d. 1979), architect

1903 Al Hirschfeld, cartoonist

1905 Jean-Paul Sartre (d. 1980), philosopher and playwright. His mother was Anne Marie Schweitzer, cousin of the famous medical missionary Albert Schweitzer. Sartre was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in literature – and declined it in protest at the values of bourgeois society. His long-time companion was Simone de Beauvoir, and in the 1940s he was closely linked to fellow existentialist Albert Camus.

The Philosophy of the Existentialists    More

1912 Mary McCarthy (d. 1989), American novelist

1919 Gérard Pelletier (d. 1997), French journalist, politician and diplomat

1921 Judy Holliday (d. 1965), American actress (Oscar: Born Yesterday).

Judy Holliday was born in New York City. A shrewd, intelligent woman, Holliday made her acting career by playing endearing, scatter-brained blondes in films such as Adam's Rib and Born Yesterday. In the early 1950s, Holliday was called before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee for associating with suspected communists. Realising the public confused her with her film persona, Holliday put on a show for the committee, leading her questioners in circles of illogic and forgetfulness. Convinced she really was an idiot, the committee let her go without getting a single piece of usable information – and never realising they were the idiots and victims of a masterful joke.   Source

1921 Jane Russell, American actress (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes)

1925 Maureen Stapleton, American actress (Oscar: Reds; Cocoon)

1934 Wulf Kristen, writer and recipient of the Heinrich Mann Prize 1989

1935 Francoise Sagan, writer

1938 Ron Ely, American actor (TV series: Tarzan)

1939 Ruben Berrios, politician

1944 Ray Davies, singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter with The Kinks, which he founded with his brother, Dave, in 1963 ('Apeman'; 'Lola'; 'Waterloo Sunset').

On January 4, 2004 Davies was wounded when he was shot in the leg while chasing thieves who had snatched the purse of his companion as they walked in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ray Davies Kinks web site Wilson's Almanac Book of Days hip list

1945 John Paul Young, Scottish-born Australian pop singer who had a hit with Love is in the Air - twice (in the '70s and again in the '80s)

1947 Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, human rights activist and founder of Children's Rights Support Association in Iran. In 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's and children's rights. She is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the prize.

1951 Nils Lofgren, musician

1953 Benazir Bhutto (d. December 27, 2007), the first woman to lead a Muslim country in modern times when she was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, only to be deposed in a coup 20 months later. Bhutto was assassinated.

1973 Juliette Lewis, actress

Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section

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Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Winter Solstice Southern Yule Birthdays Dragon Boat Festival (China) [ Varies ] Summer Solstice [ Jun 21 ]

Varies Full Moon Day
Varies Friday the 13^th
Varies Hindu holidays
Varies Dragon Boat Festival (China)
Varies Shavuot
Varies Fathers' Day

June

17 International Violin Day
17 World Juggling Day
17 Sweden-America Day
17 Sandcastle Day (Oregon, USA)
17 Oyster Festival (California)
17 Hollerin' Contest (North Carolina)
17 Pepperfest (Oklahoma)
18 Go Fishing Day
18 Splurge Day
19 Butterfly Day
19 Juneteenth
19 World Sauntering Day
20 Vanilla Milkshake Day
20 Ice Cream Soda Day
20 West Virginia Day
21 Summer Solstice
21 Cuckoo Warning Day
21 Peaches And Cream Day
22 Chocolate Eclair Day
23 Typewriter Day
24 Flying Saucer Day
24 Swim Day
24 Blueberry Festival ((New Jersey, USA)
24 Feast Of John The Baptist
25 Strawberry Parfait Day
25 Leon Day
26 Chocolate Pudding Day
26 Beauticians' Day
27 Sunglasses Day
28 Treaty Day
29 Remote Control Day
30 Sky Day
30 Meteorite Day

July

1 Canada Day
1 International Joke Day
2 I Forgot Day
2 Mullet Day
2 Violin Lovers Day

  ... More Events

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546 BCE (Some sources say 547 BCE) Thales of Miletus, Greek philosopher, died. He is thought to be the first person to observe the attractive (electrical) properties of amber.

"He was a mathematician, astronomer, and businessman. He is attributed with many voyages and many discoveries. The more probable of these discoveries is that he was the first to foretell an eclipse."  Source

"Thales believed that the Earth floats on water and all things come to be from water. For him the Earth was a flat disc floating on an infinite ocean. It has also been claimed that Thales explained earthquakes from the fact that the Earth floats on water. Again the importance of Thales' idea is that he is the first recorded person who tried to explain such phenomena by rational rather than by supernatural means.

"It is interesting that Thales has both stories told about his great practical skills and also about him being an unworldly dreamer. Aristotle, for example, relates a story of how Thales used his skills to deduce that the next season's olive crop would be a very large one. He therefore bought all the olive presses and then was able to make a fortune when the bumper olive crop did indeed arrive. On the other hand Plato tells a story of how one night Thales was gazing at the sky as he walked and fell into a ditch. A pretty servant girl lifted him out and said to him 'How do you expect to understand what is going on up in the sky if you do not even see what is at your feet'. As Brumbaugh says, perhaps this is the first absent-minded professor joke in the West!"   Source

 

524 Battle of Vezerone: Burgundy defeated the French.

1377 Death of King Edward III of England.

1527 Death of Nicolo Machiavelli, historian and political author, aged 53.

1582 Death of Oda Nobunaga (b. 1534), Japanese warlord (daimyo).

1652 Death of Inigo Jones (b. 1573), architect.

1665 The first soldiers of Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières arrived at Quebec, Canada, to invade Iroquois territories.

1675 Construction began on St Paul's Cathedral, London, and the foundation stone was laid by its architect, Sir Christopher Wren.

1734 In Montreal in New France (today primarily Quebec), a black slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique, was tortured then hanged by the French authorities in a public ceremony that involved her disgrace and the amputation of a hand.

1749 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada was founded.

1788 New Hampshire ratified the Constitution and was thus admitted as the 9^th state in the United States.

1791 King Louis XVI and his family were arrested at Varennes, France, and returned to Paris as their escape plan was thwarted by the National Guard.

1798 Irish battle of Vinegar Hill at Enniscorthy.

1813 Laura Secord set out to warn British forces of impending American attack at Queenston Ontario.

1834 Cyrus McCormick patented the reaper.

1843 The Royal College of Surgeons was founded in Britain.

1868 The opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, by Richard Wagner, premiered in Munich.

1908 Twenty thousand people attended a women's suffrage demonstration in London.

1915 The US Supreme Court handed down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down an Oklahoma law denying the right to vote to some citizens.

1919 Royal Canadian Mounted Police fired a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnepeg General Strike.

1919 Admiral Ludvig von Reuter scuttled the 27 vessels of the German fleet in Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, Britain. The nine sailors killed were the last casualties of the First World War.

1940 World War II: France surrendered to Germany.

1940 The first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage began at Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

1942 German troops under General Erwin Rommel took 25,000 Allied prisoners at Tobruk, Libya.

1942 "The Sunday Dispatch reported in 1942 that a tooth robber was at large in Nottingham posing as a dentist. He first surfaced when he called on Mrs Mabel Foulkes, and extracted a back molar. 'I screamed,' said Mrs Foulkes. The man, holding up the tooth, called out 'isn't it a beauty?' and dashed out of the house."   Source

1954 John Landy became the first Australian to break the 4-minute mile.

1957 Ellen Fairclough was sworn in as Canada's first woman Cabinet Minister.

1964 Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner were murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, USA by members of the Ku Klux Klan.

1966 Arthur Calwell, the Leader of the Opposition in Australia, was wounded by broken glass when his car took the bullet in an assassination attempt at Mosman, New South Wales.

1967 At a solstice party in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, USA, an estimated 30-50,000 attended.

1973 In handing down the decision in Miller v. California 413 US 15, the Supreme Court of the United States established the Miller Test, which now governs obscenity in US law.

1982 John Hinckley, Jr was found not guilty, by reason of insanity, of the March 1981 shooting of US President Ronald Reagan and three other people.

1988 Beset by student protests, the regime in Burma imposed a curfew.

1990 An earthquake in Iran near the Caspian Sea killed 25,000.

1994 "Jose Martin and his wife, Vicenta Cors, were driving in Spain from Madrid to Marbella. As they zoomed past the town of Getafe, a three-pound rock smashed through their windshield on the driver's side, ricocheted off the dashboard, and bent the steering wheel, breaking the little finger on Martin's right hand. It then flew between the couple's heads and landed on the back seat. Other than the broken little finger, they were okay. The stone was chemically analyzed (see this site for details) but cannot be confirmed as extraterrestrial on this basis. Eighty-one additional fragments weighing a total of 55 kg were collected from the area."

Source: Meteor near-misses and strikes

2000 Section 28 was repealed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote. The amendment stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

2001 A solar eclipse darkened Africa.   

More

2002 Death of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Australian Aboriginal artist (born c. 1933)

2004 SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.

2004 Thousands gather at Stonehenge for solstice
Mon 21 June, 2004 05:53

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of druids, revellers and the simply curious have witnessed a cloud-obscured sunrise at Stonehenge during an annual pilgrimage to the site to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

Source

 

 

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