Before the rite, make up a small cloth pouch filled with herbs such as lavender, chamomile, St. John's wort, vervain, or any of the Midsummer herbs¹. Mentally pour all of your troubles, problems, pains, sorrows, and illnesses, if any, into this petition as you construct it. Tie it shut with a red string. Place this on the altar for use during the rite. The cauldron should also be there or nearby. Even if you use candles to mark the quarters, the red candle in a holder should also be on the altar. For outdoor rituals, light a fire—however small—and drop the pouch into this.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the circle of stones. Recite The Blessing Chant². Invoke the Goddess and God. Stand Before the altar and say, with wand upraised:

I celebrate the noon of the summer with mystic rites.
O great Goddess and God,
all nature vibrates with your energies
and the earth is bathed with warmth and life.
Now is the time of forgetting past cares and banes;
now is the time for purification.
O fiery sun, burn away the unuseful, the hurtful,
the bane, in your omnipotent power.
Purify me! Purify me! Purify me!!

Lay the wand on the altar. Take up the herbal petition and light it in the red candle on the altar (or, if outdoors, the ritual fire). When it is burning, drop it into the cauldron (or some other heat-proof container) and say:

I banish you by the powers of the Goddess and God!
I banish you by the powers of the sun, moon and stars!
I banish you by the powers of earth, air, fire, and water!

Pause, seeing the hurts and pains burning into nothingness. Then say:

O gracious Goddess, O gracious God,
on this night of Midsummer magic
I pray that you charge my life with wonder and joy.
Help me in attuning with the energies adrift on the enchanted night air.
I give thanks.

Reflect upon the purification you have undergone. Feel the powers of nature flowing through you, washing you clean with divine energy.

Works of magic, if necessary, may follow. Celebrate The Simple Feast³. The circle is released.

Midsummer Lore
Midsummer is practically the classic time to perform magics of all kinds. Healings, love magic, and protections are especially suitable. Herbs can be dried over the ritual fire if you're celebrating outdoors. Leap the fire for purification and renewed energy.

Fresh fruits are standard fare for Midsummer.

¹Midsummer: Mugwort, vervain, chamomile, rose, lily, oak, lavender, ivy, yarrow, fern, elder, wild thyme, daisy, and carnation.

²The Blessing Chant: May the powers of The One, the source of all creation; all-pervasive, omnipotent, eternal; may the Goddess, the lady of the moon; and the God, horned hunter of the sun; may the powers of the spirits of the stones, rulers of the elemental realms; may the powers of the stars above and the earth below, bless this place, and this time, and I who am with you.

³The Simple Feast: Hold up a cup of wine or some other liquid between your hands to the sky, and say: Gracious Goddess of abundance, bless this wine and infuse it with your love. In your names, Mother Goddess and Father God, I bless this wine (or brew, juice, etc.). Hold up a plate of cakes (bread, biscuits) with both hands to the sky and say: Powerful God of the harvest, bless these cakes and infuse them with your love. In your names, Mother Goddess and Father God, I bless these cakes (or this bread).

Excerpted from Wicca: A Guide for Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham