Summer Solstice: the tipping point of the year
“Now, on the longest day, light triumphs, and yet begins the decline into dark. We turn the Wheel... for we have planted the seeds of our own changes, and to grow we must accept even the passing of the sun... Set Sail...See with clear eyes...See how we shine! “-Starhawk, from The Spiral Dance
Summer Solstice—the longest day and shortest night of the year, (in the northern hemisphere!)—is the moment when the life force energies reach their peak. Although summer is just beginning, from today on the light will begin to diminish, just a bit, each day until once again we find ourselves in the long, dark nights of winter.
For Pagans and all those whose spiritual traditions are tied to the cycles of nature, the Solstice is a special time. Energetically, it’s the crest of the wave. The life-forces have been building, building—now is the tipping point.
We like to believe that our inner changes mirror the outer cycles, so the Solstice is a good moment to reflect on what we hope to bring to fruition through the coming months. The Solstice is also a time for making offerings, for considering what we need to relinquish and let go of. ‘Sacrifice’ means to make sacred, and nothing comes to fulfillment without some sacrifice, of time, of effort, of devoted service. Children grow to adulthood because their parents invest enormous amounts of time and care in their nurturing. The crops set seed, the fruit ripens and comes to harvest because we tend it.
Now as we enter summer, is a good day to reflect also on what will be needed to nurture our dreams and hopes into reality. What effort must we make? What do we owe to one another, to our resilient yet fragile earth? How can we nurture her, and what can we give back to protect and honor the planetary life-support systems that sustain us? What might we be willing to sacrifice to assure that they continue to flourish and thrive?
Gather together with friends, share the early fruits and gather the flowers, celebrate the time of warmth and light today. And know that, just as the swelling fruit contains the seed, the growing light holds the dark, and one cannot exist without the other. At Solstice, the sun appears to stand still on the horizon. Take a moment, be still, and listen to the earth. What does she ask of us, in this potent moment?
A blessed Solstice to you all!
~Starhawk
