Pagan Events and Festivals for the Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice is on Sunday 21 June, a little over a week away. For many pagans it is most celebrated festival of the year. Here are some of the events taking place in the days leading up to the Summer Solstice and Midsummer. Some are in London and some are in other parts of England including the famous stone circles at Stonehenge, Avebury and the Rollrights.

Now to Sunday 19 July. Numinous – photographic exhibition by Sara Hannant inspired by the tradition of offering votive rags at Cornwall’s Holy Wells. Venue: Forty Hill, Enfield EN2 9HA. Free to enter, opening times: Tuesday–Friday 11am–5pm, Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays noon–5pm. For more details, call 020 8363 8196 or visit: http://www.fortyhallestate.co.uk/

Wednesday 10 June; Talk about The Slender Man by Ian ‘Cat’ Vincent. ASSAP lecture in the Function Room, Star of Kings pub, Kings Cross. Time: 7pm-9pm. Cost: FREE to members of ASSAP, £5 to non-members. http://www.assap.ac.uk/

Thursday 11 June; PF-London Summer Solstice Open Ritual Facilitated by Tribe of Avalon. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn London. Time: 7.30pm for 8pm start. Ritual ends around 9pm followed by feasting until 10pm. Entrance: £6/£5 PF members. Please bring seasonal food and drinks to share at feast after ritual. For more details, visit http://london.paganfed.org/

Thursday 11 June; The Poorest Hee. Storytelling by Sarah Rundle at South East London Folklore Society (SELFS). Venue: The Old King’s Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49 Borough High St, London SE1 1NA. Entry: £2.50 / £1.50 concessions. Meetings are normally the second Thursday of each month. http://www.selfs.org.uk/ To guarantee a seat, email [email protected]

Thursday 11 June; Magic of Nature Workshop by the Crafty Crones on how to use their Nature of Magic Oracle Set. Location: Maldon, Essex. Time: 7pm. Tickets £15. Bookings through PayPal at: www.themagicofnatureoracle.com/crafty-diary/ Phone Sheena on 07906 269359 or Tania 07746 721155 for more details.

Thursday 11 June; Enfield Town Circle Pagan Moot. Venue: Crown and Horseshoes pub, 15 Horseshoe Lane, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 6PZ. Time: 7pm to 11pm. This moot takes place on the 2nd Thursday of every month. For more details join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EnfieldTownCircle/

Thursday 11 June; Connecting to Your Higher Self with Savitriof the London College of Spirituality. Venue: Latvian House, 72 Queensborough Terrace, London, W2 3SH. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15. Details: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Thursday 11 June; Geomantic Divination workshop hosted by Wiccan High Priestess Caroline Westbury. South London Wicca Meetup meeting at a private house in Tooting Bec. Time: 6pm. Free but you must reserve a place in advance. Details at: http://www.meetup.com/South-London-Wicca-Meetup/

Friday 12 June; Elyse Pomeranz in Conversations with Trees, organised by Sacred Sites and Sacred Walks. Location: Greenwich Park, Greenwich. Cost: £15. Time: 10.30am to 2.30pm. Booking is essential by contacting: marion @earthenergynetwork.co.uk. For more information, visit: http://www.meetup.com/Sacred-Sites-and-Sacred-Walks/

Friday 12 June; Connecting the Self with the Source: The Evidence and how you can use that Connection. Lecture by Anna Parkinson. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 12 June; Lucifer the ‘Light Bringer’ – His ancient, present and future identity. Talk by Sylvia Francke at Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT. Doors open at 7pm, event from 7.30pm – 9pm. Entry: £3.50 (£1 concessions, students and under 25s). http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/

Saturday 13 June; Mysteries of Midsummer. A one-day course on symbolism, folklore, custom and magic by Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 11am – 5.30pm. Cost £55, advance booking and deposit essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: [email protected]. http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Saturday 13 June; Wiccan Apprentice Circle 2015 run by Wiccan High Priest Mani Navasothy. New monthly training group organised through the London Woodland Witches Wiccans EcoMagicians Outdoor Pagans. Location is in London, exact details are given to members who sign up. Time: 1pm start. To find out more and to reserve a place, visit: http://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Outdoor-Pagans/

Saturday 13 June; Visit the Ankerwycke Yew near Wraysbury with Elyse Pomeranz and Sacred Sites and Sacred Walks. The Ankerwycke Yew Tree is in Magna Carta Lane, Wraysbury, Staines. TW19 5A. Meet at meet at Waterloo station at 10am to take a train to the location. Cost £15 plus train fare (£11.20). For more information and to reserve a place, visit: http://www.meetup.com/Sacred-Sites-and-Sacred-Walks/

Saturday 13 June; Summer Stones and Ancient Magic at the Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire. Bring a picnic and enjoy entertainment, craft demonstrations and a market. The evening will culminate in the staging of a play called Summer Solstice. Time: 2.30pm – 10.30pm. Tickets cost £12.50 adult, £5 aged 8-15, under 8s free are available from the box office at The Theatre, Chipping Norton – 01608 642350. More details: http://www.rollrightstones.co.uk/index.php/events/

Sunday 14 June; Meeting the Goddesses and the Gods. Looking at the different pantheons, gods, goddesses, how they relate to each other and their importance in witchcraft with Cobwebs at Cauldrons at Unit 137, Romford Shopping Hall, 43 Market Place, Romford RM1 3AB. Price: £25 per person, deposit required to secure a place. Visit http://www.cobwebsandcauldrons.co.uk/ or email [email protected]

Sunday 14 June; Occult London: Guided Walk with Delianne Forget organised through Treadwell’s bookshop. Meet 2pm at a central London tube station – details given after you book. Price: £10. Call 020 7419 8507. For further details: [email protected] http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Sunday 14 June; How does Past Life Regression work? Talk and Meditation with the Sensing Energy and Intuition Development meetup group. Venue: Latvian House, 72 Queensborough Terrace, London, W2 3SH. Time: noon. Cost: £15. Details and to book a place: http://www.meetup.com/Sensing-Energy-and-Intuition-Development/

Sunday 14 June; Free Training Session: The Right Method of Meditation (Theory and Practice) with Global Wicca Tradition. Location sent to those attending. Time: 3pm. http://www.meetup.com/Global-Wicca-Earth-Healing-Temple-London/

Monday 15 June; Psychic Circle run by Shamanic Spirit at a venue in Croydon, South London. The circle is held on Mondays fortnightly starting at 7.30pm. Cost £5. For more details and to book places call 07952 041477. For more information, visit http://shamanicspirit.co.uk/

Monday 15; Mindfulness – How To Live Well By Paying Attention. Talk by Ed Halliwell. Venue: Alternatives. Venue: St James’s Church Piccadilly, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm – 8.30pm. Tickets £12/£8 online. For more details and to book tickets: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/

Tuesday 16 June; Meditation and Yoga. Free weekly meetings hosted by Ruth, Katka and Galya. Venue: Phoenix Community Centre, 66 Westow Street, Crystal Palace, SE19 3AF. This takes place on Tuesday mornings from 11am – 12pm. Free event, just turn up. http://www.meetup.com/Free-Meditation-Yoga-South-London/

Tuesday 16 June; Sound Meditation. Venue: Goose Green Clinic, 57 East Dulwich Road, London SE22 9AP. Time: 10.45am. Cost:£12/£10. More information and booking: http://www.meetup.com/Holistic-SoundBath-Meditation-Summoning-The-Sacred-Dulwich/

Tuesday 16 June; The Byzantine Tarot: Wisdom from an Ancient Empire.Talk and tarot deck signing by John Matthews and Cilla Conway at Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6pm. Free event. For more details Tel 020 7836 2182 or visit the website http://www.watkinsbooks.com/

Tuesday 16 June; Drumming Circle run by Shamanic Spirit at a venue in New Addington, Croydon, South London. Every second Tuesday starting 7.30pm. Cost £10. For more details and to book places call 07952 041477. For more information, visit http://shamanicspirit.co.uk/

Tuesday 16 June; Angels and the Keys to Paradise. Lecture by Stewart Pearce. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Tuesday 16 June; Blake’s London. Talk by Trevor Dance at Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT. Doors open at 7pm, event from 7.30pm – 9pm. Entry: £3.50 (£1 concessions, students and under 25s). http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/

Wednesday, 17 June; The Rose Bridge. Workshop and talk about the transformative nature of the goddess with Heather Andrew Dobbs. Venue: Canbury Pavilion, Kingston, SW London. Time: 6.30pm – 9pm. Online advance tickets £20/£10. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-rose-bridge-speaker-heather-andrew-dobbs-tickets-16993588280?

Wednesday, 17 June; Gawain and the Loathly Lady. Storytelling by Annette Armstrong. Venue: Treadwell’s, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.30pm – 9pm. Tickets £10. Advance booking required. Call 0207 419 8507. For further details: [email protected] http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Thursday 18 June; The Circle of Ankerwycke moot on the third Thursday in each month. Venue: Function room at the back of the Two Rivers Pub, 43 Church Street, Staines-upon-Thames, TW18 4EN. Time: 8pm.

Thursday 18 June; Babaji: The Lightning Standing Still.Talk and book signing by Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath at Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6pm. Free event. For more details Tel 020 7836 2182 or visit the website http://www.watkinsbooks.com/

Thursday 18 June; Croydon CoA Gathering: Social evening open to all Pagan Paths at 1 Mathews Yard off Surrey Street, Croydon. Event held on the third Thursday of the month at 8pm. For any questions email [email protected] or visit http://www.witchfest.net/

Thursday 18 June; Philip Carr-Gomm (Head of OBOD) talk on Grail Chapel in Brittany. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT. Doors open at 7pm, event from 7.30pm – 9pm. Entrance is £12 Concessions and donations possible. Doors open at 7 pm, pay at the door – all welcome. For more detailsm, visit www.philipcarr-gomm.com or http://www.meetup.com/London-Pagan-Circle/

Thursday 18 June; Fortnightly Druid Order Open Introductory Evening. A chance to learn more about at The Druid Order (A.D.U.B.) at an evening with talks and a meditation. Venue: Treadwell’s, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Price: £8 on the door. For more details, call Druid Order on 020 8659 4879.

Thursday 18 June; Sacred Heart Awakening: Believing in Yourself with Aang of the London College of Spirituality. Venue: Latvian House, 72 Queensborough Terrace, London, W2 3SH. Time: 7pm. Cost: £15. Details: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Friday 19 June; Demonstration of Spiritual Mediumship by Edwin Courtenay. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Friday 19 – Sunday 21 June; Woodland Midsummer Ritual and Epping Forest Camping 2015 with Hern’s Tribe and Wiccan High Priest Mani Navasothy. . Venue: Debden House Campsite, Epping Forest. Tickets from £8 per person per night. To find out more and to reserve a place, visit: http://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Outdoor-Pagans/

Saturday 20 June; Free and Open Gorsedd of Caer Abiri Summer Solstice Rite. Druidic ceremony to celebrate the Summer Solstice at Avebury stone circle in Wiltshire. Meet at the Red Lion pub from Noon for ceremony around 1.30pm. The ritual should end at 3pm, then back to the pub. Offerings of bread, mead and song or poetry welcome. Overnight camping is allowed in the overflow car park.

Saturday 20 June; The Summer Solstice Festival at Stone Cross, Sussex, with Pentacle Drummers. Lots of live entertainment and solstice rite. Venue: Stone Cross Nurseries, Dittons Rd, BN24 5ET Pevensey, East Sussex. Time: 10m – 10pm. Tickets £5. http://www.thesummersolstice.co.uk/

Saturday 20 June; Hilly Fields Midsummer Fayre. Annual summer community fair in a lovely park with its own stone circle. This is not a specifically pagan event, but has a lovely atmosphere of a traditional summer fair with stalls, children’s rides, farm animals, crafts, refreshments, arena entertainments and more. Location: Hilly Fields, Hilly Fields Crescent, London SE4 1QA. From noon to 5pm. Free entry. Visit http://www.brockleysociety.org.uk/event/hilly-fields-summer-fayre-2015/

Saturday 20 June; Occult London: Guided Walk with Delianne Forget organised through Treadwell’s bookshop. Meet 2pm at a central London tube station – details given after you book. Price: £10. Call 020 7419 8507. For further details: [email protected] http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Saturday 20 June; Summer Solstice Festival. Family-friendly pagan festival with entertainment, storytelling, workshops, healing sessions and tarot readings. Venue: Bedfords Park Walled Garden, Romford, Greater London RM4 1QL. Time: 2pm – 10pm. Full details: http://bedfordswalledgarden.org/events/summer-solstice-festival/

Saturday 20 – Sunday 21 June; Celebrate the Summer Solstice at Moonhenge with the Pagan Federation. Two-day camping event with talks, entertainment and market at Woodwalton Cambridgeshire, north of Huntingdon, a few minutes from the A1. Tickets Adults £30, Children 13-15 £15, 12 and under free, camping £5 per person per night. Full details: https://paganfed.org/

Saturday 20 June-Sunday 21 June; Stonehenge, the 5,000-year-old megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, is the most famous place in England to celebrate the solstices. Entry is normally restricted although English Heritage, which manages the site, will be providing what it calls “managed open access” to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice. English Heritage allows individuals and groups to conduct their own ceremonies and rituals during the opening times, from 7pm on 20 June until 8am on 21 June. No camping is allowed. There is a car park half a mile from the stones, but it is more environmentally friendly and probably easier to use public transport to get there, buses run from Salisbury railway station. For details about access to the stones, visit: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/plan-your-visit/summer-solstice/

Sunday 21 June; Wheel of the Year Festival – Summer Solstice Meditation at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Gather at the Well Head at noon for celebration and meditation until 12.30pm, followed by a chance to chat on the lower lawn. Free admission to the gardens from 10am to noon. http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Sunday 21 June; Summer Solstice Picnic in the Park with London Energy Share. This will be in Regent’s Park, London, and start at 10am with the exact location sent to members who sign up on the London Energy Share Meetup Group: http://www.meetup.com/londonenergyshare/

Sunday 21 June; Midsummer on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Open ritual hosted by Jeremy Morgan, the Druid of Wormwood Scrubbs. Venue: The Hawthorne Grove, Primrose Hill, Regents Park, London NW1. Meet at 12.30pm for a 1pm start, ends at around 2.30pm. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm.

Sunday 21 June; Anderida Gorsedd Summer Solstice open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.

Sunday 21 June; Midsummer Festival and the Archangel Uriel at Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT. Time: 2pm – 7pm. Entry is free. for full details, visit http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/

Sunday 21 June; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm.

Sunday 21 June; Crossbones Walk tracing the lost history of Crossbones, the outcasts’ burial ground, led by writer-performer John Constable, who revealed the Cross Bones story in his book The Southwark Mysteries. Meet 1:45pm for a 2pm departure, Tabard Street Piazza, Borough High St, London SE1 1JA. Free event. visit: http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Sunday 21 June; Midsummer Ritual – Working with Faeries to Enhance our Powers session with Global Wicca Earth Healing Temple London. Meet at St Marks Gate, Victoria Park, Hackney Wick, E9 5HT at 3pm. Bring a mat to sit on. To reserve a place and for more information, visit http://www.meetup.com/Global-Wicca-Earth-Healing-Temple-London/

Sunday 21 June; Summer Solstice. Evening service led by the Wheel of the Year Group at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim’s Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. http://www.rosslynhillchapel.com/

Monday 22 June; Solstice Energy and Sound Bath with Carly Grace of the London College of Spirituality. Venue: Latvian House, 72 Queensborough Terrace, London, W2 3SH. Time: 7.30pm. Cost: £15. Details: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/

Tuesday 23 June; Crossbones Festival for St John’s Eve with tours, workshops, performances and vigil. Venue: Crossbones Garden, Redcross Way, London SE1 1HA. 3pm – 8.30pm including the 7pm vigil. Free. Donations welcome. For more information on the BOST events contact Nicola: [email protected] or visit http://www.bost.org.uk/ Also visit: http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Tuesday 23 June; Surrealism, Austin Osman Spare and the Occult Underground of Early 1990s London. Lecture by Nadia Choucha at the The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art and Natural History, 11 Mare St, London, E8 4RP. Time: 6.30pm – 8pm. Tickets £10/£5 concessions. More details and to book tickets: http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/

Tuesday 23 June; New Pagan Moot. Venue: Souk Medina Tea Room, 1a Short’s Gardens,Covent Garden, London WC2H 9AT. Time: 6pm-9pm. Free event. http://www.meetup.com/London-Pagan-Holy-Wells/

Tuesday 23 June; Solstice Gong Bath – Festival of Achievement with Olaf Nixon. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm. Cost: £18/£20 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

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