June: Carna to Ogun

June is named after Juno, the Roman 'Great Mother Goddess'.

Pagan Festivals and Holy Days in June

Introduction

Juno

June is named in honour of Juno, the wife of Jupiter, known to the Greeks as Hera. This first half of June, to the Ides, is a period of religious purification, and as such is an inauspicious time for marriage.

Litha

The lunar month corresponding to June was known as Ærra Liða, 'first' or 'preceding' Liða and July was Æfterra Liða, 'following Liða'. Bede writes that "Litha means 'gentle' or 'navigable', because in both these months [June and July] the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea." Since the adjective liðe does appear in other Anglo-Saxon contexts meaning 'calm' or 'gentle', along with the verb liðan meaning 'to sail', and a host of other 'lið-' words with nautical connotations, Bede's explanation seems wholly plausible.

Some modern pagan authors have interpreted Liða as the Anglo-Saxon name for the summer solstice due to its symmetry with Yule within the old calendar. Ærra Liða, June, and Æfterra Liða, July, fall before and after the summer solstice just as Ærra Geola, December, and Æfterra Geola, January, fall before and after the winter solstice. But since there is no record of any Anglo-Saxon words related to liða that have a meaning encompassing the concept of 'the sun', this idea remains within the realm of speculation. Of course, one could also speculate that liða refers to the summer solstice because the sun can metaphorically be seen to sail, liðan, across the sky. But since the solstice is the point where the sun appears to stop moving (solstice literally means 'sun-stop' in Latin), sailing would seem an odd choice of metaphor for this particular celestial event.

German Traditional Month Names

In Old High German (9-15th century) June was known as Brachmanoth, meaning 'Blooming month'. In (Early) Modern German (c. 15-19th century) many different variants are found, including dialect and non-standard Latin forms: Brachmonat, Brachmond, Brauchmonat, Brachet, Braemaent, Braimaint, Broimaent, broumaent, Gieskerec, gisserèche, Gunck (Lothringen), Midsomermonat, Prachmanet, Somertras, somertraz (in France), Wedemaent, Weidemaent, Rosenmond.

Roman Calendar

• 1 - Festival of Carna
        Day sacred to Tempestas
• 7 - Day of Vesta Asperit (Vestalia)
• 8 - Festival of Mens
• 9 - Festival of Vesta
• 11 - Day sacred to Fortuna
• 13 - Lesser Quinquartrus of Minerva
• 15 - Women's festival of Vestalia
• 16 - Festival of Ludi Piscatari
• 18 - Festival of Anna
• 19 - Day of all Heras
• 24 - Fors Fortuna (Day sacred to Fortuna)
• 27 - Festival of Initium Aestatis
• 30 - Day of Aestas

Other Dates

• 3 - Sigurdsblot (Norse)
• 5 - Sheela-Na-Gig (Irish)
• 10 - Day of Anahita (Persian)
• 11 - King Kamehameha I Day (Hawaii'an)
• 13 - All Souls Day (Tibetan)
• 16 - Night of the Drop (Ancient Egyptian)
• 20 - Day of Ix Chel (Mayan)
• 21 - Summer Solstice
• 24 - Feast of the Sun (Aztec)
• 26 - Green Corn Festival (Iroquois)
• 28 - Runic New Year's Eve (Norse)
• 29 - Runic New Year / Half Month of Feoh begins (Norse)
        29 Feast of Ogun (Santeria)

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