June 20/21
The Summer Solstice marks the zenith of the sun’s power in the Northern Hemisphere. We celebrate summer and the fullness of Mother Earth’s abundance that she shares with us. We celebrate fertility: the magic of pregnancy, progeny, and growth, and the fulfillment of the flowers, the fruits of the trees, and the magic manifestation of the vegetables, legumes, and grains that sustain us and all of life on our planet. This is a time to count our blessings and give our gratitude. Another name is Litha.
Purpose
To celebrate the solstice.
Preparation
Cut some heather and bring it in for your altar. Alternately, buy a heather plant and place it in a beautiful pot. Gather rose petals in a bowl. Place a large, beautiful container of water at the center of your circle. Find a staff or scepter that you can use for the ceremony. You can also use a wand.
Welcome and Greetings
Welcome to our Summer Solstice ceremony. Introduce yourself and go around the circle having each participant share their name and why they came to the circle. Have them close their eyes and share a moment of silence to prepare for the ceremony.
Call the Directions
Call in the directions and the energies of the Summer Solstice.
Teaching
Since the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, the sun has been inching its way back into our lives. Rising slightly earlier each morning and setting a minute or two later every night, it graces us with light gradually gained. The change is at first imperceptibly slow, but it is steady, and soon the minute-by-minute accumulation of daylight asserts itself in more and more hours of summer. The Summer Solstice is the high point of the year’s outward expansion of growth in northern countries. Other names for this solstice are Alban Heruin, Midsummer’s Eve, and Litha. Where the Winter Solstice celebrates the births of the sons of great mothers, the Summer Solstice celebrates the mother herself in her fullness.
We honor our strengths, gather together outside, and celebrate the beauty of the green world.
We celebrate abundance, fertility, and the full power of the sun. We invite the fairies and elfin people to our ceremonies and we are grateful to the beauty of nature. The Hazel tree and Apple tree are honored this month. We call forth the devas of wild rose, thyme, and heather as well.
In summer, joy and blessings abound. Everything in nature is growing, flowing, and blossoming. The fruits are sweet, fat, and deliciously juicy. The vegetable gardens are ripe for picking and vacation days come none too soon. Summer is the season of the longest day, yet the longest day also begins the decline of the sun’s power, heralding in the onset of autumn. And again, the wheel takes another turn.
Sing
Choose songs of gratitude for the earth and for the Goddess.
Chant
What is the teaching of the Summer Solstice? Bounty and abundance.
Our freedom comes from dancing and singing.
Behold! The mother Goddess blesses us with her fullness
And we are free to express our joy and happiness.
We seek to celebrate with our loved ones.
What is the teaching of the Summer Solstice? Gratitude.
Read
Behold, it is summer!
Our Mother Earth in her fullness
blesses us with her abundance.
She offers her fruitfulness.
And we give her our gratitude and
we are full of thanks giving.
Behold it is the Summer Solstice!
Our Mother Earth in her fertility
honors us with her bounty
She offers her blessings
And we give her our gratitude
and we are full of thanks giving.
Behold it is the growing season!
Our Mother Earth in her fullness
shares with us her growing fields
She offers us life.
And we give her our gratitude
and we are full of thanks giving
Guided Meditation
Close your eyes and turn your attention to your breath. Slow your breath down and focus on your heart. Send some love to your heart and continue to breathe slowly. Let go of your busy life and all its needs and wants. Simply let go and be in this quiet moment.
Imagine that you can safely travel to the sun … (pause) When you arrive, you find that you can merge safely with the sun. As you enter its heat and light and power you are fully protected. Simply step into the heart of the sun and merge with its brilliance …
Notice what you notice. Take in its intense power. Let it fill you with its life-giving light. You find that you are the sun, and you experience its fullness and its dazzling light. You know that you are one with the infinite sun, forever, and ever, and ever … (long pause)
When you are ready, step out of the sun and give it your gratitude for all that it does for life on our planet. Appreciate it and allow its potential to fill you with hope and new life. Let it grow you and move you toward your possibilities. Know too that you have a destiny to fulfill, as you are an important part of the cosmos and you have the same creative dynamic within your own cells as the sun does in its cells. You can become like the sun within your own life. (Pause)
It is time to return from your journey. When you are present, open your eyes, ground, and center.
Sharing
Pass around the talking stick and let the group share their experiences from the meditation.
Song
Choose songs that honor the sun and the fullness of summer.
Chant
The sun is our light and our warmth
and our life, forever, and ever, and ever.
Activity: Activating the Power of the King and Queen Archetype
The solstice marks the zenith of the sun’s power. Our human representative of the fullness of the sun is the king or queen archetype. This is also represented by our heroes and heroines. Who in your life has impacted you the most? Allow each person to respond.
Take a moment to become a great king or queen. What would you wish for the world? Take on the role of the king or queen and speak your proclamations! Give them a scepter and pass it around so that each person can make their proclamations. For instance, “I proclaim that there is no more war!” Pass the scepter around many times, as this is quite a lot of fun.
Read
Here tonight we find courage, intellectual competence, and self-confidence.
We embrace light and clarity. Here we meet our fears and let them go and treat them with kindness, but we do not give our power over to them. It is a good time for positive energy, for making resolutions and vows that require inner strength. Close your eyes and think about your aspirations. Who do you aspire to be? (Pause)
Take a moment to contemplate a symbol that can represent your aspiration … (pause) For instance, the scarab is a symbol representing the process of our becoming. Who are you becoming?
Sharing
Have your participants share their aspirations and the symbol that they chose to represent that aspiration. Have them also state what they are becoming.
Read
We invoke you our Cosmic Mother.
We invite you to our circle.
We see you all around us.
You are here in the buzzing bees of summer.
You are here in the array of colors and aromas of the flowers.
You are here in the growing of the vegetables in our gardens.
You are here in the babbling brook.
You are here in the bright azul sky above.
You are here as the sun shines warm upon our day.
You are here in the wispy clouds that dance across the horizon.
And we are grateful.
As you have created a paradise for us.
They say that this is a good time to make a wish.
May we ask of you our heart’s desire?
May you grant us the fulfillment of this wish.
May you hear our prayers for peace.
May you offer your guidance.
May you extend your blessing for our health.
And for the fulfillment of our holy purpose.
Thank you for offering us such bounty.
Such beauty and such brilliance.
May we learn to share as you do.
May we learn to be compassionate as you are.
May we grow to hold the sacred and protect you.
May we give back to you.
And never take you for granted.
Our hearts are filled with love.
Activity: Rose Petals and Wishes
Summer Solstice is a magical time for wishing and for sending a message to the Cosmic Mother, whose symbol is the rose. Pass around a bowl of rose petals and ask each person to choose a petal. Each one sends their wishes out into the world by kissing their rose petal, giving their gratitude to the Cosmic Mother, and placing it into the bowl of water at the center of the circle. The participants can say their wishes out loud or keep silent as they kiss their petal.
Read
May we be aligned with you our Great Mother, so that your powers may flow through us and be expressed by us for the good of this planet Earth and for all living beings upon it. We gladly welcome and accept joy, prosperity, and goodness with gratitude, through people, places, things, and situations that bless us. And so it is!
Ending
Release the directions with gratitude for the fullness of summer and for all the blessings and open the circle.