Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, where I live, spans June 20th to 23rd.

I like to use the whole three days for celebrating as the Summer Solstice is bursting with promise and hope for the future, and is intensely powerful.

June 21st marks the longest day and the shortest night in the solar year and brings completion to the dreams we invoked on the Winter Solstice.

Nothing is impossible now. All that awaits the birth of our future ventures is focused intention. What we’ve been holding close to your heart for the past six months is aching to be released into the here and now.

The word solstice means the standing of the sun and it is also time for us to stop, be still, listen to our inner voice, remember past promises to ourselves and make preparations for the road ahead.

Just as at the Winter Solstice, everything began its journey outward towards manifestation.

Summer Solstice begins the process of everything turning inward once more.

Quite often we are not aware of what is truly happening energetically after Midsummer’s Eve because we are trained to think of everything expanding well into September. This quirk of the calendar and summer activities blinds us to the fact that we now we begin the journey back to our dark side.

At Summer Solstice, we are at our brightest, most filled with the magic of the Sun, most ripe, the soil of our soul most ready for manifesting.

If ever there was a time for living intentionally and with purpose, this is it!

The moon will be waxing from dark to crescent, a powerful phase. What does this mean for you?

You will feel an increase in energy, a flow of excitement and expectation that will fuel your manifesting plans.

When the moon is increasing in size, it brings energy to everything it governs and it governs you, it’s watery, mystical accomplice.

The time for action is now! No holding back, in love, in work or play.

Have you been looking for a lover, a job, a new direction?

Dig up those old scribbled journal entries from the winter and ask yourself if you are ready for what you dreamed of?

Your most expanded self is awake and capable of great generosity. Take time to bless others, with our time and/ or energy, in effect, passing on the vibrancy of the sun and the expanding moon to whomever you wish.

Our ancestors, those who lived close to stone circles, would stay up all night and greet the sun as it rose over the carefully aligned structures.

Be careful to record your dreams coming up to the solstice. They will bring messages, awaken your intuition and stir your soul towards achievement. We may feel overwhelmed as the forces of the universe collide with our intentions—but we need to just hold on tight to resolve and make whatever we need to happen, happen.

Courage! All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

If you feel like a bubble is about to burst, it is! It is the bubble of all that pent up energy that has been brewing since you awoke on the winter solstice and began to expand towards the Possible.

Accept your journey for what it is and make the most of every step.

Here is one of my favorite ideas for Midsummer’s Eve, Day and Night.

Prepare meal with like-minded friends.

Spend the evening sharing what dreams you have bee nurturing and where they find you on this day. This can be a great time of encouragement and community.

Plan either an overnight at a high place (hill, mountain?) in tents, or drive to this elevated location before sunrise and set up an area where you could do sun salutations as the sun rises. Those who cannot physically do the salutations can still benefit from the energy raised by those who can.
Greet the sun with merriment, joyful sounds (instruments or voices).

Walk a circular path together, either having drawn a spiral in the sand if at the beach or simply around something, like a tree or cluster of trees or what have you in the area.

Voice your intentions for the coming six months.

Remember the Earth and plan something healing that you can offer Her with your actions, it could be an environmental action taken every day.

Plan a group meditation for some time in the day, include chanting a mantra if so inclined.

End the festivities that night with a bonfire to seal your determination for a live well lived.

Include drumming, dancing (can be done naked), and connecting with the Earth barefoot as part of the fire ritual.

Make an Herbal Tea

Herbs are plentiful now. If you have access to fresh plants, collect them for drying at dawn and crush when fully dry into a clean jar for winter use.

In the summer, experiment with fresh mixtures. Sometimes I like a simple tea such as sage, or thyme or mint, or lemon balm on their own, but also, I will pick a sprig or two of this or that into a glass cup to enjoy the color of the tea and drink in the aroma and flavor of the combined effect.

There is nothing quite like the heady gift of summer herbs. Enjoy!

Blessing to you and yours, may your dreams unfold and your intentions manifest. So it has been written, so mote it be!

Relephant: 

Summer Solstice Creativity!

Author: Monika Carless 

Editor: Renée Picard 

Images: Original artwork by Gaia Orion (used with permission) / Wiki Commons