Sol-stice = "sun-stands still", the sun rises & sets in the same spot for a few days...at the Summer Solstice it is the longest day & shortest night of the year (here in the northern hemisphere). From this day on, the days will get shorter. This phenomenon is a direct result of the Earth-Sun relationship. At solstice, Sun & Earth align in such a way that brings all living things on Earth to fruition, helping them to mature, ripen & blossom...All things, including us, arrive at their fullness in this season.
This is why all cultures on this planet, since long ago, have celebrated this moment of culmination in one way or another, To honor this period of abundance, plenitude, growth, light & sharing, to celebrate the joie de vivre here, on beautiful Earth, & to honor the power of our day star, the Sun.
Astrologically this corresponds to the entry of the
Sun into Cancer, a water sign governed by the moon. Cancer symbolizes the moving waters of our inner life, our moods & cycles, our instincts , intuition & fluids. It is the force & power of our imagination, our emotions, our roots. A reflective, passive, cyclic force, this sign marks the inner world, the intimate, personal & family bonds, as well as our larger collective family, with an accent on the tribe, the clan, & a sense of belonging. It concerns especially the mother-child relation, & represents fertility, maternity, birth & all processes of gestation. Cancer is an energy of nourishment, care, & protection. Here is the force & intensity of our feelings, our past & our inner personal universe. In Cancer, we built a firm, secure, well-nourished inner foundation based on our relation to Spirit.
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Let the light shine…
as we now move
towards Winter Solstice. Druids celebrated the Summer Solstice as the wedding of Heaven & Earth. The Goddess manifests as Mother Earth & The God as the Sun King. Many traditions throughout time have celebrated the Solstices, Ancient Egypt, the Aztecs of Mexico, the Chinese, the Chumash Indians of California,& Indigenous Europeans, to name a few. In present time you will find the Solstices celebrated by neo-Pagan, Western Mystery tradition, Wiccan, Native American, in the Catholic tradition it is the Nativity of St. John the Baptist; families everywhere celebrate Summer vacation.
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Bonfires are lit to celebrate the Sun at its height of power & to ask the Sun not to withdraw into winter darkness. Midsummer Eve festivals in the countryside of Cornwall, England have firelight shinning from every hill & peak; Bright bonfires with dancers adorned in garlands & flowers & young men jumping through the tall flames. This ancient Cornwall Summer Bonfire tradition revived during the 1920’s is still a popular festival.
The spiral is a symbol associated with the Solstices. Ancient dances would follow the Sun’s movement like a spiral. People joined hands weaving through the streets, winding into a decreasing spiral into the middle, then unwinding back out again. The Sun moving from contraction at the center of the spiral at winter solstice, to expansion at Summer Solstice & back again.
Midsummer’s Eve is one of the three spirit nights of the year, when the veils are thin between the worlds. The others are Beltaine (May Day) & Samhain (All Hallows, Celtic New Year). At the great stone circle at Stonehenge, England, the sun rises over the heel stone. Only one heel stone stands now, it is thought that there was another heel stone & that the sun would rise between the two pillars. There are many stone sites in the world that are aligned to the Sun’s yearly travel.
The Summer Solstice is a time to reflect on the growth of the season. Seeds planted in the Earth as well as are own seeds of our souls. A time of cleansing & renewal.
A time of joyous
Love & growth. Some ways WE can celebrate Summer Solstice:
Since this is the 1st harvest- Gather the magical plants & healing herbs, since they are at their most potent. Five common Celtic sacred plants associated with Midsummer are St. John’s Wort, Vervain, Yarrow, Fern,
& Mugwort.
of common sharing & service.
Here are a few Chants i came up with, feel free to bring some of your own:
Sun wheel turning Sun wheel burning Sun wheel yearning Take me to the fire
I am the beat I am the flame I am the heat Say my name
Turn your face to the Sun & the shadows fall & run
Meditate on what needs fire energy, either for increase or to be burned away… Make an agreement of something that you will do to improve life
bring light
& love into this world in your own creative way & begin to carry it out. Bright Blessings & Peace - |
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