Summer solstice celebration
Have you ever considered celebrating the Summer Solstice? It is the first day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year where bonfires are a common celebration practice believing it boosts the sun’s energy guaranteeing a good harvest and wards off evil spirits. Allowing the fire to burn away negative beliefs and illuminating your darkness.
You know it’s the longest day of the year but did you know it does not consistently fall on the same day, usually 20, 21, 22nd. The longest day of the year in 2022 is the 21st, which is also the 6th month mark for my mom’s birthday. Marking the Winter and Summer Solstice very dear to me.
Every culture has their own special rituals from rising with the sun and embracing the physical light of the sun. Try connecting with the earth by walking through the grass without your shoes.
Pagan folklore believes that the veil between this world and the next is thinnest during summer solstice which means that magic is most potent but also allows for evil spirits to roam more freely. This is why we see the tradition of using herbs and flowers in the form of garlands and crowns as a way of protection and common use of St. John’s Wort (hypericum) symbolizing the sun and dispelling the darkness.
Here are some ways to connect with the earth during Summer Solstice.
Go outside.
Connect with the water elements by dipping your feet in water or take a bath. Try adding in fresh herb and flowers, yarrow, mugwort, chamomile, mullein, st. john’s worth. (Shortcut Tip-Dr. Teals has a Chamomile Epsom Salt Bath)
Lite a bonfire or harness the fire of candles.
Work with herbs. Gather them. Make them into a garland or crown. Display them in floating water in the sunshine.
Journal. Freely write it all out. Dispelling negative energy and thoughts to find balance within the light and dark inside. Best part about a journal is you can burn the pages in your bonfire by taking all of those thoughts to make them eternally private. Laugh now but I challenge you to reflect on how you feel 10 minutes afterwards.
Celebrating the arrival of Summer shifts the dark to the light in the practical sense of how we observe the sun. So it makes sense to me that we honor our connection to the sun and earth by shedding our hibernating, winter shell with a burst of growth and abundance under the power of the sunny skies. Happy Summer Solstice. -Jessie
