Why Celebrate the Summer Solstice? 🌞 (And 6 Ways to Join in!)

Summer Solstice can sometimes feel like a very long time coming…

This day has been revered for at least as long as records have been kept – some of those in the form of stone monoliths. Because the solstice re-affirms life. It’s a day of power and light, of stillness and heat.

This is the day on which we receive the greatest presence from our Sun: He spends the most time above the horizon than at any other time in the whole year. (And conversely, those living in the opposite hemisphere experience the longest night – the winter solstice).

Ultimately, the Sun is our true source of light, who, coupled with the birthing and nurturing body of Mother Earth, the source of all we can see manifested around us.

For our ancient earthly ancestors, the presence of the Sun was a real cause for celebration!

…And in the same way that the arrival of the Full Moon signals our monthly opportunity to pause and give gratitude, the Summer Solstice brings a larger, more all-encompassing, and solar-centric embodiment of this same principle.

The Summer Solstice is a signal to appreciate the fullness of life

The days of winter release and retreat are a lifetime away.

Spring’s budding and emergence and has worked its magic.  And we have finally arrived in the center of the season to submerge ourselves in the joy of what has unfolded around us!

Some of the cyclical, seasonal festivals are definitely more suited to ceremony and ritual than others, and of course, some traditions demand it. But I’ve always felt that this one demands only a little more than our party heads! Too much seriousness and rule-following can risk detracting from the raw, celebratory essence of the occasion.

But, there’s one particular focus that I like to bring to the Summer Solstice that can often be denied, or simply overlooked during other festivals, and that is the honouring of the Masculine.

Our Sun is the instigator of some of the most powerful and necessary divine masculine qualities that feature here on Earth, those such as assertion, courage, strength, provision, responsibility, clarity, and focus.

It’s easy to forget the vitality of the divine masculine

For so many thousands of years, his presence has been morphed, misunderstood and misused… and eventually almost lost, so that now it’s mostly only the shadow qualities that remain within our experience.  So rather than expressing the pure and divine aspects of the sacred masculine principle, most people instead think of the masculine as dominating, competitive, controlling, and the manifested patriarchy we see around us today.

YES, the rise of the Divine Feminine on our planet is vital and necessary, and exciting! BUT so is the rise of the Divine Masculine.

Let’s not let him slip through our net of awareness.

Let’s welcome his presence, and cultivate his expression in our world…

Here are a few ways you could mark this midsummers day:

1. Rise with the Sun

Rise with him, and set with him too… honour the day in its entirety.

 1. Sun gaze

This should only be done at sunrise and/or sunset, as the Earth’s atmosphere as you look through it, over the surface of the Earth means that only rays of the lowest ultra-violet index are visible. Be very careful, and just gaze for a few seconds at a time, unless you are well-practiced.

Sungazing is an ancient practice known to bring clarity and connection and is believed to help decalcify

the pineal gland and reduce our dependence on food for energy.  If you’re interested then seek out more information about this before leaping in!  But for Solstice, it can be a beautiful momentary practice to greet the longest day.

3. Make a Solstice tea infusion

Fill a large glass jar with a lid (like a mason jar) with clean fresh water and a few handfuls of whichever edible herbs and flowers you would like to infuse. Gorgeous additions could be: mint, lemon verbena, chamomile, or hibiscus flowers.  Add tea leaves or bags if you like too.

Screw on the lid, and leave in the direct sunlight for 3 -5 hours, or until your infusion has reached the right strength for you. Your tea will contain wonderfully invigorating energetic codes, absorbed directly from the Sun.  Many herbs also release their vital minerals and nutrients over a longer time period (such as raspberry leaves) so you’ll bet extra goodness with a longer steep. Add a little honey or slices of lemon, or ice if you prefer a cooler infusion, and enjoy!

4. Write a gratitude list!

What have you manifested so far this year?  Spend some time re-visiting the past six months and bring into your consciousness all that you have to appreciate.  Give gratitude to the Sun for being the ultimate life-giver and enabling your journey!

5. Light a summer bonfire

When you light a fire, you’re making an earthly symbol of our Sun, and this serves as a reminder of HIS constancy and power. Invite your friends to dance around it with you, and recognize your movements as mirroring the movements that our Earth makes each year around this awesome celestial body.

6. Invite your menfolk to join you in any ceremony or celebration you have!

Circles are so often exclusively attended by (and aimed at) women, so break the gender divide! Allow the men in your life a glimpse of the ritual and magic YOU love so much. Include them, and honoring their presence (and if you’re a man reading this…this is an opportunity to honour yourself, as a manifestation of the divine masculine, solar principle. 

Summer Solstice is one of my favorite days

It feels special, doesn’t it? It’s a marker, one of the pivot points around which our collective journey is shaped. YET it may need to look entirely different for you today! Trusting the solar urge within you is truly the way to honor it… but if you’re curious, try something new. And let me know in the comments what you’re up to!

Wishing you a wonderful, bright, blessed midsummer,

Kat

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