This is the time of the summer solstice in our hemisphere,
When the light part of the day is at its longest.
In our part of the earth, Life reaches Her fullness.
She spreads Her radiance; Her greenness peaks.
She fills to capacity; opens completely.
And so She turns back toward the dark…
We celebrate Her radiance, a fullness of being
And the generous pouring forth of it.
And we raise energy for healing remembering
We are open channels for the moving energies of life.
Adapted from Glenys Livingstone, Starhawk
Today, June 20th is the Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. The day in the northern hemisphere that we are actually the farthest from the sun. It’s the day where the sun seems to stand still. Tomorrow, we will begin a long slow tilt towards the sun. Over weeks and months, the days will slowly grow shorter. We are reminded of the ebbs and flows of life. The lengthening and the shortening. The light and darkness, heat and coolness, that all things change and for everything, there is a season. Each year contains it all, the full spectrum of sunlight.
A few years ago in a used book store in Pullman, Washington (it was such a fantastic used bookstore overflowing with every kind of book, it’s the used book store that dreams are made of!) I found The Circle of Life: The Hearts Journey Through the Seasons by Joyce Rupp & Marina Wiederkehr. I try to pull it out every season just to flip through and be reminded that each season holds an invitation.
The flow of one season to another brings new physical realities (Longer days, shorter days, warmer days, cooler days, greener days, and browner days) also carries more subtle “heart invitations.”
“Summer is the season of the radiant sun, of succulent fruits, long days, short nights, dancing flowers, fireflies, steamy weather, and radiating heat. It is the season when the warm intensity of our sun signals vegetation to leap into fullness. The steady flames of the sun ignite a passion in the land, urging the fertility of all living things to produce an abundance. On this summer solstice, we gather to celebrate the day of longest light, this season of potency, when the fiery rays of our immense sun fill our hemisphere with intense heat and energy for growth. Let us rejoice in the power of the sun and its ability to give life to our planet. Let us also rejoice and celebrate the inner light that sustains us, the light that empowers our spiritual ability to grow deeper and stronger.”
The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons
By Joyce Rupp & Marina Wiederkehr
Summer is a season of potency.
Summer is a season of abundance.
Summer is a season of energy for growth.
Summer is when roots grow deeper.
Summer is a season of light.
Summer is a season when the tilt of the earth literally starts to shift. One journey ends, and another journey begins.
Summer is a season of ripening.
“Solstice is taken from two Latin words, sol, sun, and stitium, to stand still. The summer solstice is the time of year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator, a time when it appears that the sun has stopped moving higher in the sky. On this day, the length of time with sunlight is the longest.”
The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons
By Joyce Rupp & Marina Wiederkehr
I wonder as I read about sol and stitium where in my heart feels furthest from the sun? Does the (literal) tilt of the world invite me to start turning my heart back towards the light?
Smaller and deeper is an invitation to pause and reflect on the deeper events and meanings.
What does the length of days mean to your soul?
What is the invitation?
What is the season of your heart?
I love the idea that the earth is beginning a slow tilt. Where is my heart off kilter? As the planet slowly (ever-so-slowly) begins a tilt back towards the sun, how can I use that as an invitation? Light is energy; we are in a season with more light-more energy; how can I use that as an invitation to go deeper or smaller?
Pause in the next few days and notice the sun, the length of the day.
Notice the tilt of your heart—the invitation of energy.
Enter the season of summer with intention and purpose.
Some {SMALL} ideas:
Draw, write, paint-create something to mark the beginning of the summer season.
Summer is a season of growth, deepening, and abundance look for growth, deepening, and abundance in your own life.
Get up early and watch the sunrise. .(I did that last week, I saw the first glow of the sun and watched it rise over the mountain and Payette Lake-it was perfection.)
Watch the sunset.
Eat a piece of fruit and appreciate the present moment.
Some {DEEP} ideas:
Reflection Questions (from The Circle of Life-Summer Solstice Celebration Ritual)
What is your life’s passion at this point in your journey?
Is it still hidden, or has it make itself known to you?
Is it waiting in the wings?
Is it alive and active?
How would you name it?
How do you feel about it?
Are you living it?
What is your approach to it?
What do you need to do to have the flame in your soul leap with life?
(I try and pay attention to words or phrases that stand out to me in my reading and listening. There is a spiritual practice called Florliledgium that collects short, interesting pieces {words that “sparkle” up} and put them together. This is kind of like that. Watching for things that sparkle. Gathering them and seeing how they work together and what message, mantra, or new idea might arise.)
A Practice:
Read slowly.
Notice if a word or phrase stands out to you.
How do the words make you feel?
Is there an invitation?
(I’m sharing in italics the lines that stand out to me in these passages. Maybe it’s the same, or maybe it’s different, there is much food for thought in each of these passages)
Both the Winter and the Summer Solstices are expressions of love. They show us the opposition of light and dark, expansion and contraction, that characterize our experiences in the Earth school so that we can recognize our options as we move through our lives.
Gary Zukav
Allow the sun’s energy to illuminate your being by taking some time to really appreciate all that is positive and joyful in your life right now. Becoming aware that this time too will pass reminds us of the importance of stopping now and then simply to enjoy the good things that we have created in our lives.”
Danu Forest, The Magic of the Summer Solstice
The Sun
by Mary Oliver
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone--
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance--
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love--
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed--
or have you too
turned from this world--
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?
