Happy Summer Solstice to those of you in the Northern Hemisphere! (And if you’re living in the Southern Hemisphere, happy Winter Solstice and welcome to the first day of Winter!)
Summer Solstice not only marks the longest day of the year, it heralds the beginning of summer. And it’s a wonderful time to pause to reflect on your unique journey. It’s also a time to nourish yourself and spend some extra time taking care of yourself and others.
We’re nearly halfway through the year! How do you feel in this moment? What intentions do you have for today?
Although there are traditions and rituals that have been practiced over the centuries on this day, I encourage you to find your own way to observe this point in time.
Trust what you are feeling and sensing. What are you drawn to do today?
Here are just a few ways to celebrate the summer solstice:
- Spend some quiet and reflective time journaling about what you’re grateful for
- Get together with community (friends, family, your chosen tribe) to celebrate with feasting and dancing
- Compose a list of everything you’d like to release during this season and bury, safely burn, or flush it
- Honor the power of the sun through creativity by playing with artwork, music, poetry, or graphic art
- Find an inspiring place to watch the sunset while setting your intentions for the rest of the year
- Get in an intentional and soul satisfying workout
- Spend dedicated time playing with your children and/or four legged friends (or just playing!)
- Declutter or clean your home or a special place in your home
- Spend some time working the soil/earth in a garden
- Connect with nature in a meaningful way
- Get a massage or some other kind of body work
- Take a yoga class or practice some sun salutations on your own
- Read a meaningful short story, essay or poem
- Enjoy a nourishing vegetarian or vegan meal made with lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grains
- Chant some mantras (a great one for today is the Gayatri mantra)
- Meditate
- Create a Summer Solstice altar to the sun in your home or yard with flowers, stones, wood, or other natural items
There are countless ways that you could honor the Solstice!
But hands down, the best way is to connect with the one that feels the best to you. What feels meaningful?
It’s easy to put pressure on yourself during any holiday and think that there is only one “right” way to celebrate. Or maybe you compare yourself to others and do an overwhelming amount of scrolling through social media to see what everyone else is doing. Or you automatically defer to the wishes of others, even if it’s not aligned with what you would have chosen.
The only right way to navigate your journey, including the Summer Solstice, is YOUR way.
Allow yourself to decide what feels good.
Give yourself permission to choose what is meaningful.
And that includes choosing to completely ignore it! Or you can honor the Solstice on another day. It’s not like you’re going to “blow it” if you miss the calendar day.
What matters is your intention.
As long as your intention is aligned with your heart and soul, you can’t make a mistake!
I encourage you to create a Summer Solstice ritual today or this week that makes your heart sing, that feels meaningful to you in a particular way.
Please share a comment below on what you come up with! I would love to hear. See the comments below for how I’m honoring the day.
I honor you!
P.S. If you want to strengthen your connection to your soul, heart, and intuition so that your trusting your own journey and creating the rituals that are most aligned for you, be sure to claim your free Soul Connection Reset digital gift box! This creative resource will upgrade your soul connection pronto!