Summer Soltice : The Turning Point

Today is the  Summer Solstice -  the longest day of the year. We are already at the midpoint where the days will beging to get shorteer (after a three day pause). That sort of makes me sad - yet it is meant to be a day of celebration and joy - as we honour the lifegiving energy of the Sun.

Stonehenge is probably the most famous visual symbol of the Solstices. Many gather here each year to witness  the Sun as it peaks over megalithic stones built thousands of years ago. 

 "At midsummer- the Sun rises over the horizon to the Northeast- close to the heel stone."

 Today's Solstice celebration at Stonehenge

“A silver glow is growing behind the silhouetted horizon; it promises to be a fine day. It is an hour before sunrise, that special time when the Earth seems to hold her breath in anticipation of the appearance of her lover, the Sun. He has been united with her throughout the dark hours; now he prepares for his rebirth and subsequent climb into the heavens where he will take up his duties as Lord of the Day. But that is still an hour off. Venus, the morning star, illuminates the heavens to the east and bids us enter her domain. She is another aspect of the Goddess; we feel the power of her love directed towards us as we approach her temple. As we speed through the awakening countryside the birds are singing their praises to the dawn and there is movement to be seen in the hedgerows.” 

 http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/ceremony.php

 

https://youtu.be/1DJ1ClemHLk (live stream recording)

I've just watched the Solstice Sun rise and sparkle through the majestic pillars of Stonehenge (on youtube live).  England was my second home for many years - yet I never actually visited  Stonehenge. I did drive by them once on my way back from Glastonbury but didn't have the chance to get close.  Sort of ironic that  I am watching and listening to it now on youtube from thousands of miles away - enjoying the chanting and drumming in the background as I write this blog post.

The megalithic stones of Stonehenge are aligned to the sunrise of the Summer Solstice - and the  sunset of the opposite Winter Solstice.  The feeling of wonder and magic may seem a bit diluted  in modern times - though according to my  friend Maggie - who went there more than once -  it can still be felt when you are there amongst the stones.  (I'm thinking of you now Maggie - wherever you are). I have been to several smaller stone circles -  in England, Scotland  and Ireland- and they are truly  special places.

The symbolism of the Summer Solstice is of the Sun and Earth in union.

 

May there be peace in the East

May there be peace in the South

May there be peace in the West

May there be peace in the North

May there be Peace on Earth. 

"All druid rituals have an element of fertility, and the solstice is no exception," says King Arthur Pendragon, a senior archdruid. "We celebrate the union of the male and female deities -- the Sun and the Earth -- on the longest day of the year."

The current astrology echoes that sense of  of fertility and fecundity. Planetary aspects are stirring up powerful passions and creativity by activating our deepest urges and drives.  Venus opposite Mars creates  sexual and creative tension - which is then being amplified by Jupiter in sexy Scorpio.

Cancer is the sign of the mother- the Sun represents the father. So Sun moving into Cancer represents the joining of the two. When the masculine and feminine join (as in a New Moon) it represents a seed time and a chance to begin anew.

The actual Moon is  in Libra- at a 90 degree angle to the Sun at the moment - if you look at the Moon in the night sky  it looks half full (first quarter). This angle adds  more  tension to help stir up our creative juices even more. When the Kundalini (life force) rises -  it activates  our energy centres and pushes us toward some sort of self expression. The polarized energies can either magnetize or repel  - creating postive union - or negative reaction. We  need to bring our  conscious awareness to what is really driving us.

Feel the energy rising. Then feel it pause - at its zenith- as you breath in the moment. Then - dance. Sing. Drum your way through the intensity. Then - when your energy is spent- once again- be still.

 Just like at the Winter Solstice - the Sun will  pause in the same spot for three days. Over the next few days - we hold the tension of past and future - inner and outer - self and other.  Planetary factors are pointing to continued and profound earth changes  - as we enter the next stage of our emotional and spiritual rebirth.

It can feel sometimes like  a long and arduous process - this new birth- and we might worry that whatever is emerging will not make it out alive. (at least that is how I feel some days).  It seems this transition we are in will take  a lot of courage,  faith and perseverance if we are to see the process through to the end.  A healer friend of mine calls it Ascension Sickness - he says  we  are acclimatizing to a totally new frequency. And just like in a detox-  some of us are encountering a die-off effect - as the sludge from deep inside comes to the surface.  It's not always so easy to let go of  old familiar beliefs and conditioning.  When I feel like giving up - I remember the symbolism of the tree - that  begins as a small seed - like the  oak tree that already exists in the acorn.

 Use the  Solstice energy to tap into your passion- your deepest desires. Not the ones you've been conditioned to want - taught that this or that will  fill the endless void inside.  No. That's just a never-ending cycle of anticipation and then disappointment. We are being urged to go deeper than that- to our core passion for life. It's there  - deep down in your belly. Seek out your creative impulse. Find your uniqueness. Give it voice. Give it form. 

Nurture your true magnificence. 

You know you want to!

    "I am Infinite Being.  

Innocent - Whole - Powerful - Free. 

All is forgiven. 

All is released."