Midsummer.

In pagan cultures,

magic is thought to be stronger

at midsummer.

And I believe it.

Each year,

I see more and more

how magical summer is.

...

This year,

I was determined to celebrate midsummer

and the summer solstice.

So I did.

Snow cones,

swing sets,

The Sandlot.

There are all sorts of pagan midsummer rituals

that I would have liked to do too.

Like jumping over bonfires

or dancing around a maypole

or casting wreaths of flowers into the river.

What I did was sleep with flowers under my pillow.

(It seemed easiest.)

Apparently,

when you sleep with flowers under your pillow

at midsummer,

you dream about your future spouse.

I guess you're supposed to have
at least seven different types of flowers.
All I had was a hollyhock
and some sort of weed that resembled a flower.
(Limited resources.)

At any rate,

I don't remember my dreams from that night,
but it was still fun.

...

Pagan comes from a Latin word
meaning rural or rustic.

I like the idea

of doing the same things

that centuries of simple folk did

to try to make sense of the world.