Summer Solstice: Honoring & Nourishing Your Light
The Summer Solstice where we see the true stretch in the long days, warmth has returned (we call still hope here in Ireland!), and the flowers are blossoming.
And yet, once Solstice passes the light begins to decline. The days will grow shorter again. And for the seeds to be released, the flowers must wither and decay. A poignant time where there is so much life, with a taste of what is to come in the natural cycle of life.
The Summer Solstice is when there is the most light, sun energy available for us to use. We have the inner fire and outward focused energy to do things. We can nurture our intentions so they grow into our late summer and autumn harvest.
Can you feel it?
How do you plan to use it? How can you shine your light out into the world?
The sun gives us the life force energy to support us with the strength and will to succeed and achieve our destiny, life purpose and dreams. In astrology, the Sun represents the essence of your being – the Self, your personality, your ego and what makes you uniquely YOU. It’s your identity and how you face the world or are seen in the world. The fire energy of the sun is associated with will power, conscious choice and invites us to take risks, to tap into our courage and live a life of passion, creativity and inspiration.
When the sun shines in the sky, it doesn’t wonder what the clouds will think of it or is it shining too much… it just shines.
What prevents you from being who you are at your core, your true self? Your conditioning, beliefs, generational, karma, trauma, the shoulds, the thing we do to make others happy, the don’t upset the cart…. the sun knows who it is and what it’s here to do which is show up everyday and shine and bring light to the world (granted we might not always see it!)
Shine Your Light
Shining our Light is one of the most beautiful things we can do and also one of the most terrifying. Some people will celebrate your light and others will want to dim it down. For some, your light will be considered ‘too much’. Your light may make others uncomfortable.
Shining your light will require you to possible learn to not give a feck about how others think you ‘should’ be or their fears about you shining your inner light. We always have the opportunity to reclaim more and more of our light as it’s not a one time thing. So shine on.
A life truly lived constantly burns away veils of illusion, burns away what is no longer relevant, gradually reveals our essence, until, at last, we are strong enough to stand in our naked truth
Let the Light Nourish You
Solstice is taken from the Latin words ‘sol’, meaning ‘sun’ and ‘sistere’, meaning “to stand still’ as the sun appears to stand still in the sky for. In the Northern Hemisphere we have the day of longest light (in Southern Hemisphere for the Winter Solstice it is the day of longest darkness).
Like all the points on the wheel of the year, the Summer Solstice is a gateway. Summer starts on Bealtaine (May) and goes until Lughnasadh (August) where Autumn begins. At Bealtaine we are opening to the building energy of the earth, at the Solstice we are at the climatic point, the energy of the sun at its fullness and then we connect to the energy that always follows the peak – the descent.
Although the days get shorter after the Summer Solstice, it’s hardly noticeable as we are still enjoying being outside in the brightness as we ‘play’ and party in the light and heat.
On top of the Ferris Wheel
The Summer Solstice is a midway point where both the light and the darkness are honored. Our seasons reflect to us that they hold both light and dark at the same time, just like us. We remember that without darkness there is no life.
In this brightness and celebration, we acknowledge that spiral of life as we begin to turn now to the descent into the dark. Its like being at the very top of the ferris wheel, it’s a beautiful moment to pause, notice, celebrate, prepare as it is about to start it’s next phase – decent for us in the North and ascent for those in the South. It’s a slight shift initially as it will be months before we see more of the darkness. We remember that the spiral continues, life ebbs and flows like the seasons and the moon and the tides.
Life is like a ferris wheel. One minute you’re on top, the next you’re at the bottom. Just stay in your seat, enjoy the ride, and hang on until you reach the top again.
We can use this midway point as an opportunity to see how far we’ve come this year, to take time out to review what have we done with the year.
- What you have learned since the Winter Solstice?
- How have you grown?
- What can you take forward with you?
- What seeds did not germinate and how could you do things differently to ensure success next time?
- What can you leave behind as you focus on the movement towards Winter Solstice?
- Who has supported you and how can you show your gratitude for them?
- How can you use the fire energy of the Summer Solstice to take action steps on your intentions?
Celebrate Abundance
Nature shows us the abundance that is all around us. Open your eyes to natures gifts – the flowers are bright and blooming, the first berries are ripe for the picking, the lush green is everywhere, the warmth of the air envelops us.
It’s a magical time to attune yourself to this abundant and fertile energy. Express gratitude for the life-giving sustenance the sun provides and all that it manifests for you.
Shine a light on what are you GRATEFUL for right now? Really feel into what you are grateful for, what you do have rather than what you don’t have or what you wish to have.
Imagine opening your arms and allowing the light to beam even more light into your heart so it can open up more to receiving as well as giving.
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means waste of time.
Summer Solstice is a time to:
- Nourish your creative solar energy and power
- Celebrate life and reclaim your sovereignty
- Acknowledge the balance of light and dark in ourselves and the world around us
- Weave the sacred Masculine and Feminine within you
- Ignite your inner fire and ‘can do’ energy
- Acknowledge the hard work you’ve put in and celebrate your peak moments and successes. Sometimes, we are in such a hurry to move onto the next thing we forget to pause and give thanks to all we’ve experienced and gained.
- Call back your power and any energy you may have lost or given away throughout the year so you can be empowered and strengthened by your own light. Allow yourself to move forward with more of your natural power.
- Explore passion, creativity and growth with the fire element
- Invite fire into your life to burn away all that you have outgrown and no longer supports you.
- Review the progress you’ve made since the Winter Solstice and the intention seeds you planted in the dark rich soil. Are the seeds beginning to bloom or do they need some focus?
Journal Prompts for Summer Solstice
- What are you grateful for at this turning point of the Wheel. You could list what you are grateful and add the ‘why’ you are grateful for it to open yourself up deeper to the gratitude for all that you are, have experienced and learned.
- What has brought you light and joy this year? What people, places, things brought light to your life? You could expand this beyond things and think of qualities or behaviours you’ve integrated
- Can you allow darkness to be your friend even as you celebrate the light? If not, what stands in your way? If yes, how can you show this?
- How can you be present to what is in this moment before you continue on the cycle of the seasons – the peak activity, creativity and energy
- Are your seeds, intentions and desires moving closer to physical form? What do they need to help them come to fruition? Focus, Clarity, Action, Energy, Love, Grounding, Support, Nurture, Surrendering, Flow etc
- What do you feel is coming to full bloom or full potential in your self and life?
- Where have you given away or lost your energy during the year? Think with whom, what places, what situations. Use the sun energy to reclaim your power from those places so you can re-align with your highest potential..
- What did you learn from your last growth period or from the heightened energy of the Summer Solstice last year? How can you use this to approach this cycle differently?
- How can you the honor the heightened energy of celebrate and also the sadness that you are beginning the descent again?
Ways to honor Summer Solstice
There are lots of ways to honor Summer Solstice. Choose one (or more) of the below or come up with your own way. Your intention and the energy you bring to it is more important than what you are doing.
- Write a list of your highest intentions and ask that Spirit illuminate and shine light upon the energy of these intentions. You could also place these intentions in your altar for the duration of the summer season or under the light of the Summer Solstice.
- Connect with the fire of Spirit within and express gratitude for your body….
- Take time to honor the abundant earth mother. Leave tokens of gratitude in your favourite places of nature and speak to her words of thanks for her abundance, support, nourishment and invite her to continue to hold you as we move through the Summer Solstice into the descent.
- Create a sun mandala infused with your intentions and gratitude. Use yellows, oranges, reds and greens to invite in the fire and sun energy.l
- Honor the growth your seeds and intentions have made up to this point. With the heightened sun energy, infuse your seeds and intentions with any additional energy needed to complete their growth cycle.,
- Have a magical purifying bath cleanse with oranges, yellow flowers, citrine crystal, a citrus oil / essence with the intention to give yourself permission to Be Fully Alive!
- Cleanse your altar space for the new season and create an altar of light. Add images, statues, crystals e.g. citrine, food e.g oranges , oils or herbs to it that represent Summer Solstice e.g. sunflowers, sun / solar symbols, yellow or gold candles, red flower or cloth for passion and energy.
