summer solstice

People often want to know exactly how we as a family celebrate the wheel of the year, so I thought I'd post a typical holiday festivity:

2007 themes – strength, health, & vitality

On the longest day of the year the sun is at its strongest, so tying in with that theme of strength the basic idea for this ceremony is to pay tribute to our bodies, honoring their natural strengths and seeing them as vibrant and healthy. This is not about vanity or any unrealistic sense of aesthetics – this is about valuing our wellbeing and striving for vitality.

To celebrate our physical vibrancy, any type of body art would be appropriate, such as temporary tattoos, henna, face paint, bindis, crowns, masks, or even creating a piece of jewelry or embellishing an article of clothing – any activity that adorns the body, etc.

Preparation:

As part of our family’s ceremony we’ll be making sun crowns. These crowns can be made of any material, ribbons, wires, garlands, grape vine wreath bases, use your imagination. They can be playfully simple or sophisticated and detailed. Since children are involved at my house the crowns will be made of recycled cereal boxes flattened out and cut into a crown type pattern. (Of course, this also works great for those of us w/o kids who are just young at heart!)

Some time before the solstice, you’ll need to paint, add any glitter and let the crowns dry completely ahead of time. Remember, the final decorations added during the ceremony need to be quick drying or glue-free so the crown can be immediately worn.

Prior to the actual ceremony gather all the materials needed for doing the final ornamentation of the crowns and spread them out upon a table…stickers, gems, pressed flowers, markers, etc, --plus strong clear tape or a stapler for attaching the ends of the finished crown together.

For practical reasons, an outdoor dining table will pretty much act as “altar” for the ritual (weather permitting). You may use a centerpiece to tie in with the seasonal atmosphere, perhaps a bowl of sunshiny citrus fruits or a vase of fiery summer flowers. But keep it simple since a lot of activity will be going on at the table.


THE RITUAL:


Centering:

Since the theme is strength, health and physical vitality, some sort of physical act makes a good centering…perhaps doing a few stretches or yoga postures while basking in the sun would make a good start. After that, doing some nice calming centering breaths while sitting around the table would be a pleasant way to transition the focus.

Centering breath: ”Imagine breathing in the vibrant, glowing, health-giving sunlight. As you exhale, imagine that same light carrying away anything unhealthy in your body, letting it float away from you as you breath out.” (repeat)

Evocation (attuning to the season):

“Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year. Today the sun is at the highest point in the sky; golden and dazzling, at the zenith of radiant, powerful glory…(even on a cloudy or rainy summer day as the case may be!)

It seems everything under the sun is vibrantly alive at this time of the year…warm, steaming and throbbing with pulsing waves of summer’s heat. The flowers are blooming and Mother Earth is lush and green. You can practically hear gardens and woodlands bursting at the seams with growth and buzzing with the rich powerful flow of life.

Our very existence on earth is dependent upon the many life-sustaining gifts that shine down on us from our sun. Sunlight is what activates our beautiful planet earth. Gravity, warmth, light, photosynthesis, energy…all are contributions from the precious sun. Throughout history there have been myths and stories about the sun because our glowing yellow star has always been a universal image of power.

So on this first day of summer in all it’s dazzling, glowing luminosity, let’s sizzle, let’s blaze and beam like the sun…let’s just shine!”

Intention:

“Today as we celebrate the strength of the sun we celebrate our bodies, too, because they are also strong, vibrant and vital. To honor our bodies and show gratitude for all we ask of them, we will create royal sun-crowns…adorning ourselves like the glowing and powerful sun. Once crowned, we take a sacred oath to care for and nourish our bodies, to help them remain strong, healthy and vigorous.”

Action:

Decorate the sun-crown and ceremoniously crown each other, bowing and generally being a bit silly & playful. Each person can try to stand w/the sun behind them so that their crown truly glows with rays of light.

The oath: I promise to eat good food, to exercise, and to get enough sleep so that my body can always be strong and healthy.”


Closing:

“Today we celebrated Summer Solstice, we have honored the sun’s strength and our own, too. We made a promise to take care of our bodies, to keep them growing strong like the summer sun. We thank the sun and earth for providing us with healthy food to help us keep that promise.”

Grounding:

Clear away the craft supplies, set the table and eat – while still wearing your sun-crowns, of course!

This year we’re having a brunchy type feast so we can get out and enjoy the rest of the day :)

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Ideas for other activities: making herbal sun tea, flashlight processions after dark, chasing fireflies, making sun-catchers or dream pillow sachets --(Midsummer's Night Dream), young children love things like crayon chips melted on paper in the sun to make various art projects. All in all just generally being out of doors and enjoying the sunshine is a great summer solstice activity (w/sunscreen liberally applied please!)

Educational opportunities for homeschoolers: photosynthesis, solar power, global warming, for younger children tracing shadows at various intervals throughout the day can be interesting, as well as explaining the solar system.