The Earth tilts on its axis as it orbits the Sun (Sol) resulting in the Northern Hemisphere getting more Sun from March through September and less light the rest of the year. In Alaska this is the time of the day of the year when they get 24 hours of light. The further south you go, the less light. Where I am in Oregon we get about 18 hours of light, and believe me that's a lot of hours. Canada gets anywhere from 17 hours of daylight today up to 24 hours in the far north. Watching sunset and afterglow at 10 or later is quite a remarkable experience. If you can, get out to watch the last sunset and afterwards, in the weeks to come, watch how the Sun appears to move back towards the southerly direction at sunset each day. The Solstice does not happen at the same time in all places. In Washington D.C. for example, it occurs one day later. Go to TimeAndDate.com to find out when it occurs where you are.
Summer Solstice has long been a time when people gather to celebrate the beginning of Summer. Summer Solstice is the peak point in Yang/Active/Fire energy, and a most auspicious day for celebrating and expressing gratitude for the abundance and gifts that promote growth and regeneration. Here are seven ways you can honor, celebrate, and utilize the Summer Solstice energy.
1. Pause and Reflect. Take time to consider the fruits of your efforts over the past year. Consider what seeds you have planted, and what is growing in your life now. Ask yourself if you are using what abundance and bounty the world is offering right around you now. What has grown in your life and how have you benefitted from the fruits of your labor and the abundance of your life? This is always a good time to meditate and to invite in a vision of your life as a whole. We sometimes get so caught up in the daily tasks and chores or the immediacy of some major event, crisis, or project, that we lose perspective of our overall journey in life. Today is a good day to get a little perspective. You might want to take a walk to a new place where you quite literally see things from a different angle. Climb a hill or go down into a valley to see life from a different angle. Make a list of 10 things you're grateful for. Make a list of 10 things you've accomplished since last summer. Appreciate who you are in the Light of the Sun.
2. Harness the Fire. Summer is the time when the Yang/Fire energy is strongest. Plan ways to harness the fire energy by making plans to use the energy to expand, create, grow, and accomplish whatever makes your soul sing and your heart come alive. Make plans to enjoy life more fully. Move life outdoors more. Barbecues, picnics, bonfires on the beach, hikes, and moonlight walks. Get out at night and go to a high place to star gaze and learn about the constellations through the lens of a telescope. Play more. Laugh more, and share time with friends. Got to the library and the bookstore, and pick up a new book to read this summer. While you're at it, buy a book for someone you love, and mail it to them as a surprise. Help someone who is facing difficult challenges and crises, by lending a hand or providing some service that frees them to heal and find peace more easily. Absorb, embrace, and use the fire/yang energy to awaken and enliven yourself and others.
3. Clean Your Space. Energy flows where energy goes, so the saying goes. Time again, for it is part of our ongoing process, to clean up our acts and our spaces. Cleaning releases trapped energy, and allows that energy to flow. Clear all counter tops and clean them. Clear off your desk, and clean it up. Clean the refrigerator and freezer. Sweep all the floors and clean all the appliances, sinks, and basins.Wash curtains, replace winter drapes for lighter summer window dressings (I put up white cotton curtains in summer and put my heavier winter colors/fabrics away until next fall).
Clean the windows while there's plenty of light, and clean your mirrors. Clean out the car and the trunk. With all the extra hours today, start off or find time, to do a thorough cleaning to free up the energy and exercise your own muscles to get things in order. Do the chores earlier so you can enjoy the celebration later. As you are cleaning, put items aside that you want to give away or recycle.
4. Clear Out. Right now, get up and go find 10 things in your house that you can put in the out box to give away or recycle. How long did that take? One of my favorite baristas told me her rule of thumb was "If it can be done in 5 minute, do it." Set a timer or do it when you take breaks in your work day. Clear your closets of winter clothes/shoes, and get your summer wardrobe out of storage. Rearrange your life for summer living. Add to the out box of items (clothes, household goods, office equipment, craft supplies) and put by the front door to take to a thrift shop or Goodwill later in the day. Pack a box of food items to take to the local Food Bank. Clear out older spices and packaged goods that are past their shelf life. Get rid of whatever you are not using. Fix things, or give them away to someone who can repair and reuse them. Our town has a monthly Fix It gathering at a local pub. People who can fix things show up and meet people who need things fixed. It's a great idea. Try it with your friends and community. Get rid of those items that take up space in your home/car/office and your brain. Think how heavily that broken blender takes up. Make room for the flow.
5. Water Your Life. To counter the heavy dose of fire energy of summer, add more water to your life. Stock up on bottled drinking water. Add foods to your diet heavy in water content (watermelon, cucumbers, lettuce, parsley). Add a water element to your home/office design (a tiny fountain, photograph of water, floating candle). Drink your 8 glasses of water a day; make this a priority. Flavor your water with a slice of lemon, lime, or some berries. Keep a cold pitcher of iced tea in the fridge (I have a pitcher of hibiscus and raspberry tea in mine all summer long). Go for a swim. Walk along the beach, river, stream, lake, or pond near you. Get in and on the water. Take a ferry across the Bay of river to get a different perspective on life. Learn to sail or kayak or canoe.
6. Dress Up for Summer. Dress yourself and your home up for summer. In fall and winter we like to make our homes warmer and cozier. In Summer it's time to bring in the lighter fabrics and colors and to move to the cooling spectrum of the color scheme in clothing. Blues, violets, greens, paler shades of yellow, and white. With your clothing and accessories, the same applies. As already mentioned, store the winter clothes. Clear out the closets and make room for summery items. Do the clearing first, then feel freed up to start looking for sales on summer togs and cruising the thrift shops for great bargains on summery clothes. Do the clearing and giving away first. Leave some room for a few days to invite in and inspire new ideas for how to free yourself up a bit during the summer season. Take your shoes off and walk in the sand or on some grass. Get a new pair of sandals or flip flops. Get your swimming bag ready with a beach towel, sunscreen, sunhat, flip flops, and a bucket for gathering litter or treasures from the sea. Find something to freshen up your summer hair. Get the trim you need, change the style, add some color, or wear a flower in your hair. Give yourself a fresh new look. Every budget has room for an item of clothing from the thrift store each month. You'll be surprised what you can find. Treat yourself. Share your bounty with someone else too. Get someone who needs support, a special gift that you know they need but maybe cannot afford. It is in giving that we receive, and the flow of energy moves when it is freely moving.
7. Create a Home Blessing Ritual and Altar. Attitude is everything. How we view life colors how we experience life. We can choose to be gloomy, negative, or pessimistic, or we can choose differently. Our powers as humans are limited. We can do solve some problems, we can help solve others, and we can only hope and pray some of the bigger issues will be solved with the right people making the right decisions. We can, however, play a major role in our own lives and our perspective of it. Once you've prepared your home and yourself for the Summer's beginning, create a special blessing ritual to honor and make sacred your living space. This may be in the form of a simple prayer, a purifying ritual, music, dance, or a special meal. Make it uniquely your own, using items and inspiration that suits you and your family. Next, if you haven't already done this, set aside a special place in your home to honor your ancestors, your special blessing totems, religious and spiritual inspirations. A writer friend of mine, Angela Sanders, recently posted her Refrigerator Door Altar, and she inspired me to look at what could otherwise become a point of dated clutter as an opportunity to use that space to keep uplifting and inspiring messages, pictures, and small tokens.
However you spend the Summer Solstice, be sure to do the sweeping ritual. What's that you say? The daily practice (old as the hills) of sweeping the floors and the entryways in and out of the house. Sweeping is a Feng Shui ritual that truly highlights the need for us to keep ever present in our awareness of keeping energy flowing and keeping unwanted clutter and energy out. And remember to stand your brooms handle end down. Another ancient Feng Shui principle. Happy Summer Solstice. And Happy Winter Solstice to our friends down under as you cross over into the darker time of year. Blessings to all. We are children of the Sun.
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