On friday night we celebrate midsummer in Sweden. Weather you are married or not – Don’t miss to capture some of the magic in this night. To make sure you get into the mood I thought I share with you are part of the midsummer chapter in my book:
Midsommar Nights Magic, Sweden
The Midsummer night is full of potency and hidden powers, especially when it comes to love and fertility. It is the night before the longest day of the year and the night that the sun never goes down. For many thousands of years the Swedes have been using spells to please the higher powers and take advantage of the magic of this night. Back home they say that if a woman is lucky, she will dream of her husband-to-be this night. This is of course something we all want to know, and so I have practically thrown myself into this tradition every time I have had the chance.
My older cousin and her friends taught the Midsommar tradition to me, long before I had any interest at all in boys. I think I must have been about age four when they first indoctrinated me. As we all know, one should start early. I remember the girls wearing long white summer dresses, or folk costumes, and their hair was decorated with braided wildflowers. They took me by the hand into the night to complete the long list of tasks that needed to be fulfilled. I was thrilled and excited, and walked through the night with my eyes wide open.
You can try this at home: Pick seven flowers from a meadow. They should all be a different kindof flower (grasses do not count). For every flower that you pick, you need to jump over a wooden fence or a hurdle. This is not too difficult to achieve if you are spending the night in the Swedish countryside. However, this is not always the case and so I have many times stretched the practice. There was the time in Paris when I gathered flowers from the middle of the traffic circles, and jumped every construction fence that Marais had to offer. Or in Colorado, in the United States, when my friend’s mother ended up buying the flowers because we couldn’t find enough growing naturally. After years of experience, I can now tell you what I’ve learned: You have to stick to the rules. Cheating does not work, whether you are in Sweden or anywhere else.
As with most important rituals, I recommend you first read the fine print before you start. There are two rules you must observe: First, you are not allowed to say a word during the whole process. And second, you are not allowed to laugh. These two rules have to be followed until you wake up the next morning.
There is also a way to make the spell a bit stronger: Pick the flowers from a churchyard in the night. I have not tried this yet, but it is a relief to know that there is a last possible boost if I ever get desperate.
When you have picked all of your flowers, you should go straight home. When you have finally made it to your bedroom, place the flowers under your pillow and fall asleep. If you did everything right you will dream about the love of your life.
So far, the Midsommar magic has not worked for me. I can honestly say that I have tried my best. It is painful, but I know what it means. Either I will never get married, or I am simply continuously doing something wrong. I like to think I know what I did wrong—it was all the laughing we did through the whole procedure. But if I’m not allowed to laugh, I don’t want to get married anyway.
