Summer Solstice
Connecting to the seasons has long been a passion of mine and in the past 5 years I’ve been looking closer at the cycle of our seasons and connecting with them in a different way. Using the wisdom from the celtic wheel of the year I’ve been inspired to connect with each of the eight seasonal celebrations in the wheel, the themes they identify, and gaining inspiration and creating ways to mark them for myself. The Summer Solstice is one of the eight celebrations and one which sees most interest online and most widely, possibly because of the coverage of the solstice gatherings at Stonehenge, but also Glastonbury festival and mid-summers day tend to fall at the same time. I hope the following help you find out more about the solstice and create your own way of connecting to this threshold and turning point in the year.
What is the Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice, or mid-summer, is a celebration in the northern hemisphere of the longest day and shortest night. The Earth is tilted to its maximum possible direction towards the sun in the northern hemisphere, and so it experiences the sun is at its fullest height. It’s a turning point of the year as the sun will gradually drop lower in the sky in the next six months and days slowly shorten once again as the Earth continues its journey around the sun. At the same time the northern hemisphere experiences a solstice the southern hemisphere does too, the Winter Solstice. Both Solstices offer us an opportunity to celebrate the light, a moment to pause, stand still, reflect and take stock and refresh our plans.
The word ‘solstice’ is derived from ‘solstitium’, a Latin word which means ‘sun standing still’. On the weeks running up the the Summer Solstice and for many weeks following it the sun remains high in the sky and appears to stand still.
All around the world different cultures mark this moment in the year, for thousands of years people have celebrated the sun and its position in the sky. Fires are lit, people gather together at ancient monuments or as a community, there is singing, dancing, eating and celebrating by decorating with foliage and flowers.
Summer Solstice and nature
In nature at this time of year flowers are in bloom, greenery is full and overflowing, the weather is warm, there is growth but less than in the spring months. In the UK some of the flowers which have been flourishing are continuing to thrive, some have gone over and seeds and fruits are beginning to form, whilst others are continuing to begin their growth and will bloom in their own rhythm. The warm weather draws us outside and we make the most of the light. Abundance can be felt with slow growth. Plants are fueled by the most amount of light, warmth and so have been rapidly growing, this growth will slow in the coming weeks as light levels reduce.
Creating a personal connection to the solstice
The summer solstice invites us to use this moment of the sun standing still as a time to pause mid-summer and pretty much at the mid-year point. It creates an opportunity to check in at a threshold, a moment to pause at a doorway of a seasonal transition as we move closer towards a darker time of the year. The solstices create intentional moments to be still, to appreciate the energy of the season, to check in with ourselves, our dreams, our aspirations, our intentions and plans.
I find this time very symbolic and am fascinated when I discover more about the history of this moment in our calendar. There are so many ancient monuments around the world which have formations oriented towards framing the sun at this point in the year. The festivals, monuments and stories remind us of how close humans were connected to the rest of nature around them and the cycles.
The Summer Solstice felt like a gentle entry point many years ago into connecting with the seasons, celebrating these moments, and connecting more to a seasonal way of living, and cultivating a more intentional life taking inspiration from the seasons and the themes which nature hands to us.
How I connect with the Summer Solstice
Today was an early start and I woke about 4:45am, a time I naturally seem to stir at this time of year, and close to sunrise. I opened a window and let the fresh morning breeze into our bedroom, looked up at the brightening sky, made a cup of tea, sat and thought for a while, I opened my notebook and spent time thinking jotting down reflections.
I tend to use the days on and around the solstice to make plans, take a deep dive check in with my word of the year and my intentions for the year. I go for walks, listen to uplifting music, nourish my body with good food, gather flowers from our garden and bring them inside and connect with friends. I attempt to manage my energy too as the summer can feel both uplifting and draining. Today I’ve felt a mixed sense of fizzing energy, tiredness from the heat and disturbed nights, and a layer of energy building from the new moon from over the weekend.
The solstice provides a doorway into the second part of the year and is the day of pausing, taking a deep breath, making space and time to connect with the inner self and doing some journaling or reflections, in whatever way feels good. I tend to focus on writing in my journal, creating lists, celebrating where I am now in life and the year, reflecting on what brings me joy and lights me up. I celebrate any progress or moments since the Winter Solstice, I review my intentions made at the Winter Solstice and make a gentle plan for the time between now and the end of the year/Winter Solstice.
Rooting into nature’s rhythms, noticing the seasons and reconnecting to the rhythms outside of ourselves and in the more-than-human world allows us to begin the journey of reclaiming the wilder parts of ourselves and the wisdom we can take from our natural instincts at this time of year. Nature has so much wisdom which we’ve cast aside in our fast-paced world, we’ve disconnected with it and it is time to reconnect gently once more to appreciate and treasure the world around us.
When we connect more with nature and the seasons we begin to appreciate change as a constant theme, we cycle through rhythms of birth, growth, harvest, and hibernation. For plants and animals these happen at different times, depending on the environment they are in, it is inconsistent in the way it happens. Noticing cues from the natural world can help us regain and reconnect with this part of us.
Reflection questions to use at the Summer Solstice
I like to use a range of reflection questions to reflect on at the Summer Solstice, linking to the themes of the celebration and the summer season. I invite you to take a look below, read the questions and reflect on any which might feel resonant for you this week. These questions form gentle invitations to help you make space to pause in your full and busy week, to support you to cultivate a power which comes from reflection, and to give yourself and your mind a moment to take stock and appreciate the small things.
You may find it helpful to gather your diary, photo app or photo library, wall calendar, your journal, your intentions/outcomes/goals or aspirations for the year, as well as a notepad, pen and a drink. Give yourself around 30 minutes and invite a sense of curiosity and reflection. Look through all of the things in front of you, gather a map, make some notes, write down a few words to track what life has been like for the year so far. Note down the key moments and how you felt. Note down anything you’ve achieved, the progress made however small, and check in with how you are doing right now.
This is an invitation to reflect, use compassion and kindness with yourself as you navigate what may come up. You may like to share this with a friend and talk through what has come up for you. Sharing your celebrations and thoughts with others can feel invigorating as you are being heard and being acknowledged.
Invitations to reflect on the Summer Solstice
Take a look at the question prompts below and see which ones feel resonant for you at the moment, leave what doesn’t. Give yourself the space in one or more sittings to think and write down your thoughts. Writing them down is a powerful part of the reflection process and helps bring the thoughts to life, be seen and remembered.
Where am I in this season of my life?
What does this season feel like? Sound like? Taste like? Look like?
What are the joyful moments I have experienced since the Winter Solstice last year?
What can I celebrate?
Where have I grown?
Where have I flourished?
What has been nourishing?
What has drained my energy or felt a challenge?
What do I want to let go of? What no longer serves me?
What might be helpful to adjust or change?
What lights me up?
What is blooming in my life right now?
How am I nurturing the light within me?
What has yet to grow or bloom?
What is the smallest and safest first step to start?
What is my inner fire drawn towards doing for the rest of the year?
Fast forward to the upcoming Winter Solstice, how do I want to feel? What am I noticing about life?
Wishing you a wonderful Summer Solstice week. I hope you feel inspired to connect to some of the prompts above, to connect with how you are feeling and support you in reflecting at this mid-point of the year.