Marsha A. Moore: Summer Solstice

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Solstice Scavenger Hunt

Happy Solstice!

FSF Readers Lounge Presents its first ever Solstice Scavenger Hunt.

Running from June 16th to June 29th,19 authors joined forces to offer readers a chance at $75 cash via PayPal and 19 eBooks as a Grand Prize! 38 secondary prizes (an eBook from one of our participating authors) will be given to randomly chosen participants with the correct answer.

To Play:

To play for a chance to win you must go to each of the authors sites listed below, collect the "hidden" word(s), unscramble them to reveal the popular fantasy quote, and then enter to win! Enter the Rafflecopter Here

Entering does not enter you into anything! You have the option to choose who to subscribe to and who to follow - the only requirements are:

1) you must follow the Facebook page for the Readers Lounge in order to get the winners announcement and

2) use the link to enter the giveaway, but I hope you choose to follow the wonderful authors participating in this hunt!

Make sure to visit all the sites to gather all your words! Happy Hunting!

The Prizes:

$75 Cash via PayPal

eBooks up for prizes:

A Bit of Magic

Azimuth

Bonded

Curse Breaker: Enchanted

Dragon Blood

Elven Jewel

Forever People

Ian's Realm Saga

Schrodinger's Cat

Shadow's Hand

Sleepless Flame

Tattoos

The Fox and The Hunter

The Glass Gargoyle

The Hand of Atua

The Shikari

This Cursed Flame

Witch's Moonstone Locket

Wolves' Gambit

About my book prize, Witch's Moonstone Locket:

A local witch might have the griever’s moonstone locket, which allows the wearer to talk with the dead. Determined to find that locket, Jancie goes to the coven’s annual carnival. This opposes her father’s strict rule—STAY AWAY FROM WITCHES!

Twenty-three-year-old Jancie Sadler was out of the room when her mother died, and her heart still longs for their lost goodbye. Aching to ease her sorrow, Aunt Starla gives Jancie a diary that changes her entire life. In entries from the 1930s, her great grandmother revealed how she coped with her own painful loss by seeking out a witch from nearby Coon Hollow Coven. The witch wore the griever’s moonstone locket, which allowed whoever could unlock its enchantment to talk with the dead.

Determined to find that locket, Jancie goes to the coven’s annual carnival held in her small southern Indiana town of Bentbone. This opposes her father’s strict rule: stay away from witches. But she’s an adult now and can make her own decisions. She meets Rowe McCoy, the kind and handsome witch who wears the moonstone. He agrees to let her try to open the locket, but they’re opposed by High Priestess Adara and her jealous desire to possess him. Desperate for closure with her mother, Jancie persists and cannot turn away from a perilous path filled with magic, romance, and danger.

Witch’s Moonstone Locket is a stand-alone book in the Coon Hollow Coven Tales series. If you enjoy mystic adventures and have ever wanted to speak to the dead, then you’ll love Marsha A. Moore’s quest for the elusive gemstone.

Available for purchase at Amazon.

The mystery keyword from Marsha is:

Remember to visit all 19 author sites to collect all keywords. Once you unscramble the popular fantasy quote, enter it in the Rafflecopter here.

____________

Rafflecopter link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3d87297f10/?

site links:

https://writerrsj.com/blog/

http://faeriesdragonsspaceships.blogspot.com/

https://sjeckert.wordpress.com/2019/06/16/solstice-scavenger-hunt-2019

https://linntesli.com/page/

https://marshaamoore.blogspot.com/2019/03/solstice-scavenger-hunt.html

www.huntersofreloria.weebly.com

http://www.pjmaclayne.com/mountain-musings/

https://diendrial.wordpress.com

https://www.facebook.com/KatieCherryFantasy/

www.dorablume.com

https://www.odinsmusings.com/

charitywrites.blogspot.com

http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com/

www.noellenichols.com

http://www.alisonlyke.com/blog

https://maebaum.com

https://melindakucsera.com/blog/

www.cheryllynndyess.com

www.thisisnothitchhikersguide.com

*** Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing.

JOIN MARSHA'S MAILING LIST and receive a free copy of her paranormal romance story RULER OF THE NIGHT.

Read Marsha's COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Midsummer's Eve Party—a joyous moment of change

The Tradition of Midsummer

Tonight marks the eve before the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere. During this time, magic and wonder abound.

It marks one of the eight sabbats for witches—Litha. The name "Litha" derives from the Old English phrase for June, meaning "before Midsummer."

On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant. At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks.

(Image from Astral Aspects www.astralaspects.biz/ishop/7...83.html)

The Christian religion observed this day as Jack-in-the-Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet.

As a solar festival, bonfires would be lit at Midsummer Eve. People would jump the fire, and later spread the ashes on the fields as a blessing, as well as fertilization. In Celtic celebrations, wheels (symbolizing the Sun) were lit and rolled down hills.

Castle_an_Dinas_midsummer_bonfire_2009

This is a good time to give offerings to your allies and to faeries or energy beings who may help you, or who share your environment. This promotes goodwill, and increases the harmony of your home. As an offering, food is usually appreciated. Traditionally, milk and bread would be offered.

A Moment of Change

Midsummer is a time of change.

There is a story in pagan lore of the Oak King, God of the Waxing Year, and the Holly King, God of the Waning Year. The Oak King represents the dark half of the year, and his twin, the Holly King, the light. The Summer Solstice (Litha) marks the battle that declares the Holly King the victor, and the light half of the year begins. Then the second battle of the year will happen on the Winter Solstice (Yule), when the Oak King will win, and the dark half of the year will begin. The brother kings, while at odds with one another, form two halves of a whole.

(photo reference: The Oak King & The Holly King, Anne Stokes)

With this battle, midsummer is also a moment to realize mortality. Though the life force of summer is still powerful, we can see the end zone—the limits of growth and the inevitability of decline. This balance is necessary. Without it, the Sun's heat would continue to grow and tax all life. The balance is maintained even by death. Litha offers the opportunity to re-evaluate our perception of death. We often think of death as an ending. Yet, it is also the beginning of something wonderful to follow!

Summer Solstice heralds the best part of the year, although spiced with the bittersweet sorrow of the year that is, in fact, winding down.

I invite you to face this paradox, and celebrate the joyous cycle of life!

Here are a few ideas for your celebration:

Go berry picking. Have the children chose their best berry and throw it back into the berry bushes as they thank the Goddess and the bushes for the fruit.
Burn your remnants of your Yule Tree or Wreath in the bon fire or try using Wreaths of Vervain and Mugwort which were burned in ancient times at the end of the festivals to burn away bad luck.
Leave out milk and honey as an offering to the Fae folk
Have a mock battle between the Oak and Holly King.
Hang a bundle of fresh herbs out to dry and use them to spice up a Litha feast of cooked summer vegetables
Jump the balefire
Have an outdoor breakfast picnic to welcome the Solstice
Stay up and watch the sun go down on the longest day of the year!
Draw a picture of the sun at sunrise and sunset
Try a fire divination, stare into the coals of your bonfire as it settles or look for forms in the leaping flames.
Create a ritual to bring healing and love to Mother Earth
Dispose of those qualities that trouble you: project them into a burn-able (bunch of dry twigs, paper, etc.) and thrust the mass into a cleansing fire

And click on this image to visit the main page of the tea party to find more ways to celebrate!

*~*~*

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Read her COON HOLLOW TALES of paranormal romance and her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous epic fantasy romance. For a FREE ebook download, read her historic fantasy, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.