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Summer Solstice blessings to you all! This year (2024) the moment of Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs today, June 20, at 4:51 p.m. US Eastern Time (9:51 p.m. GMT).

The first Full Moon after Summer Solstice occurs tomorrow, June 21, at 9:08 p.m. US Eastern Time ( or just over the line into the next day, 2:08 a.m. GMT, June 22, and so on further east). So there's very little time between Solstice and the next Full Moon.

Some Slavic pagan reconstructionist groups have a special day for the Dark God on Leap Year Day. This day may be for Koschei, Chernobog, or the Dark Face of Veles.

Leap years are years that have an extra day, and they happen every 4 years, in our current calendar system. The extra day is February 29th, and some cultures have holidays for Leap Year's Day. One of those is the reconstructed pagan religion, Ukrainian Ridnoveri, and other Slavic pagan groups. But they use the Slavic calendar, which is the same as the Orthodox calendar in use in Slavic countries, based on the old Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar in use in Western countries. Slavic February 29th is not the on same day as our February 29th in the English speaking world. 

This is a busy and festive time of year for the Tribe. Over the past month or so we've observed Therasia's Labor, which led up to Winter Solstice and was quickly followed by the Blessing of the Waters.

Because the Blessing of the Waters takes place on the first Full Moon following Winter Solstice, the number of days between the two events varies from year to year. The lunar cycle slithers around the steady points in the solar calendar, the two intertwining in a dance that stretches out into a longer cycle: eight solar years equal 99 full lunations.

Rounding out the year's posts on the holidays of the reconstructed pagan religion Ridnoveri, here are the winter holidays coming up as 2022 turns to 2023. And if you're using this calendar in a leap year such as 2024, be sure to add in the Leap Year day! I'll be posting about that specifically as it gets closer. 

 December

If you're looking to deepen your Ukrainian based practice or your connections to Ukrainian gods and culture, here is a list of upcoming holidays in the reconstructed pagan religion Ridnoveri. Some of these may be similar to holidays in other Slavic cultures. They also may have overlap with Christian holidays. 

September

If you have recently contacted the Slavic gods and are looking to deepen your connection to them, here is a list of holidays observed by some Ridnoveri groups and individuals. Ridnoveri is a modern Ukrainian pagan path. Other Slavic peoples have their own paths, which share many gods and characteristics but don't always have the same holidays.

Some of these holidays have a Christian history and some Ridnoveri pagans are Christopagan. I have done the math to translate these from the Julian calendar, traditionally used by Orthodox Christians in Slavic countries and also by Slavic pagans, to the Gregorian calendar generally used in English speaking countries.

If you've recently initiated contact with the Slavic gods and are wondering what to do next, here are some upcoming holidays you might want to research and explore. These are Ridnoveri holidays, which is a modern Ukrainian pagan path. Other Slavic peoples have some of the same holidays and some different ones. There are cultural and linguistic differences between the various Slavic peoples and their varieties of paganism but their gods are recognizably named the same names and most pagans consider the various versions of a same name god to be the same god, just like with the heathen Germanic and Scandinavian gods. That is, all versions of Mokosh are Mokosh, just like all versions of Odin are Odin, even if spelled slightly differently (Wotan, Odhinn, Mr. Wednesday, etc.)

The Slavic gods are busy right now so if you are going to pursue your new relationships, just honor them, don't ask for anything unless you're Ukrainian yourself.