Midsummer & St. John's Tide: Meanings in Masonry

Brothers, what is the secret power of Midsummer: Solstice & St. John’s Tide?

"The outer light will decrease: the inner light must increase"

Here in the Northern Hemisphere on Earth we have begun the summer season after having nearly 15 months of Covid-19 restrictions put upon us. Our lodge, like the sun coming back from a long winter’s sleep, is awake again and shining. All of us are here to bring the light of Freemasonry to our region through the delight of human contact—brotherly love.

June 21st is the date of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. In this season, one can envision a marriage of the Sun with the Earth creating the multi-colored world of nature. Seeds once buried in the depths of winter are born again as plants and flowers rising ever farther away from the Earth. Nothing is held back as plants and animals rejoice in this annual divine cosmic union. We too as Mason’s, can rejoice as we have reached the far end of one of our annual pendulum swings between the two St. John’s. At the summer solstice, we must open ourselves to the sources of life—open ourselves to the cosmos.

In the Masonic calendar the Festival of St. John (the Baptist) is celebrated in the Christian calendar 3 days after the midsummer festival on June 24th. St. John was known as the “last prophet,” the hermit in the desert, said to be a tremendous orator. Clothed in animal skins and eating only the food of the desert, he must have been a wild sight to behold. But rather than exalting his own personality, St. John made himself subservient to a higher calling. One way he has been described is through his gesture of self-sacrifice in the act of service. This is one way to perceive the gesture of the midsummer sun, as the outer light must now start to decrease as we prepare to move towards winter solstice and thus our inner light must increase. The midsummer sun, the outer light bringing with it the cosmic light and warmth must be internalized, so that humanity can shine from within. As Masons we understand the light shines from within and is to be shared through our actions and deeds.

As we pass through the heart of summer, one answer to the midsummer challenge can be: “My small all-too human ego, must decrease so that the greater cosmic GAOTU may live through me, aligning and guiding my personal journey and morality within the cosmos.”

So Mote it Be.