PHOTO: MAMMA MYSTIC+THE LOCAL ROSE
For those who live in the Northern Hemisphere of our beautiful planet, we are reaching Midsummer, the peak celebration of the Summertime when the days are longer than the nights. Physically we are experiencing more *light* and since the beginning of time, our ancestors have marked this period with ritual and celebration. As you know, there are thousands of ancient sites created around solstices and equinoxes that were built to honor our connection to the Sun as the source of our light.
It is a time of celebrating the fullness of life and of taking the time to raise our energy to regenerate abundance and manifest our dreams. How can we modern folk do this? Well through doing something symbolic to honor this time. In doing so we are not merely reviving something of the past but rather tapping into something that is eternal. We need not only honor our dependence on the physical Sun but also honor the spiritual fire within each and every one of us. Now that’s reason to celebrate and be grateful!
So in doing so I’ve gathered some *magical ideas* that we can do to connect with the Solstice!
>>>Celebrate the outer and inner FIRE with a summer BONFIRE! Play drums, dance and celebrate with your loved ones. If you want to get more ritualistic gather some fresh herbs like Vervain, Lavender, St. John’s Wort or whatever is local and throw them into the fire with your deepest wishes!
>>>For a more personal celebration, make a little ALTAR OF LIGHT and gratitude by lighting a candle (or few) and decorating it with summer flowers, and tangerines. If you leave the tangerines outside in the sun, they will soak up the sun’s energy and you can eat them later ;) Also you can stick a candle into an orange and make beautiful candle holder.
>>>For a super fun idea make or buy a SUN PINATA and fill it with yellow flower petals and gold coins! Blindfold guests to hit it!
>>>Make a SUN WHEEL by creating a large wreath with flowers and moss. Then get some strips of paper and have your friends write a wish on it and wrap it or tie it with string to the wreath. Pass it around casually through the evening. Some can take turns dancing with it, holding it and then at the end of the evening throw it into a fire!
>>>Gather or buy some yellow and orange flowers and make a SUN MANDALA offering on the Earth. Pick the petals off and arrange them in circular patterns. The act of creating something beautiful and sacred is a holy and healing act. As you do it infuse it with your prayers and hold a vision of peace for our planet. This is one below I did with my dear sister Shiva Rose to celebrate our Spring Equinox.
>>>Since astrologically have moved into the water sign of Cancer, it is also a nice idea to involve the water element. So adding some fresh herbs and flowers in a jar full of water water and covering and leaving it in the sun makes a magical SOLSTICE SUN TEA!
>>>Make a SOLSTICE FLOWER ESSENCE! I recently took a Native Plant gathering Medicine Women course to learn about the edible and medicinal uses of our local plants and we learned to make our own flower essences. They are so easy and magical to make! If this interest you read below…
PHOTO: MAMMA MYSTIC
>How to make a FLOWER ESSENCE:
~Go out and tune in to the flower you are resonating with! It’s best to just pick one flower and make one essence at a time. Use your intuition to feel whether or not your have permission to pick the flowers. ~Place your flowers in a small glass bowl with Spring water. Let it sit in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours, enough for the sun’s rays into help the energy of the flower expand vibrationally into the water. ~Strain the flowers with filter paper or strainer and pour into a bottle or jar. Half fill your jar with your water and then add the same amount (fill the other half) with Brandy to preserve it. The essence you have left over, you can either drink or return it to the Earth as an offering of gratitude! ~Then cap your jar, label the flower and date and voila you have your “MOTHER” essence! With this you can get a little dropper bottle and fill 1/4 way with Brandy and then simply add 2 or 3 drops of your “MOTHER” essence into the your dropper bottle. The amazing thing about flower essences is that since it’s vibrational medicine a few drops is all it takes to carry the energy signature of the flower.
This “dropper bottle is what you can then use by adding e a few drops into your water to sip through the day! And voila you can have your “Solstice Flower Essence” You can look up the energy that certain flowers carry too but I would suggest to to this after you choose your flower so it’s more instinctual! I would love to hear if you make this ;)!
(***Oh and I finally word, is be conscious of how you body feels after you start using it. They are very gentle and safe to use but the move things energetically so pay attention, use your intuition and your discretion! And I will add the DISCLAIMER, this is information is for informational purposes only and not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any illness.)
>>> On the Water theme, if you have little ones take them to the beach, lake or river! Or simply give them a bucket of water and let them have some WATER PLAY! It’s summer after all!
>>>And finally why not make some beautiful FLOWER WREATHS for yourselves! You can’t help but FEEL the magic with flowers in your hair!
PHOTO: MAMMA MYSTIC + THE LOCAL ROSE
I hope this post has inspired you to try some of these ideas or dream up some of your own! Please share and let all of us who tune in here know what you do or plan to do! We can all inspire each other by sharing the ways that we connect and make these little moments sacred~
Here are some ideas for
>>> Winter Solstice: Ritual, Ideas & Celebrations~
Peace to all~
MM
>>> If you wish to share this post, please links below and if you quote any words please remember to use “quotations,” attribute, and link back. Thank you! ♥︎
28 comments
jimmy says:
Jun 19, 2013
wonderful to see this. ive been creating my own rituals over 40 years now, there wasnt alot of sincere info available back in the day like this here, it makes me smile. blessed be..:-)
barefoot says:
Jun 19, 2013
amazing and inspiring ideas here….thanks!!
Sally says:
Jun 19, 2013
Wonderful ideas. We live near the water and will definitely be taking the children to play in the river. I will also try the flower essences.
Peace, love, light n happiness to all this beautiful Solstice.
Ayala Eirena says:
Jun 19, 2013
Lovely! The energy of your intentions vibrates right through this article! So sweet.
Thank you!
Friend says:
Jun 19, 2013
Great ideas! Please make sure the Mother essence you make isn’t toxic before intaking it. xoxo
mm says:
Jun 19, 2013
Thank you Friend for bringing this up! I did some further research after your comment to look into this, but the consensus seems to be that with Flower Essences, toxicity is not an issue. They are known to be very gentle and safe to use. In fact, no molecular trace of the plant will be found in the final essence. What is being captures is merely the vibration imprint of the flower that is memorized by the water. And then it is diluted several times. Only 2 to 3 drops of that go into the final bottle from which you will then use only a few drops into your water.
The thing to be aware of is how it will make you feel and please use your intuition and listen to your body!
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Laura says:
Jun 19, 2013
Beautiful and magical ideas! I will definitely try some of these!
kat says:
Jun 19, 2013
I love these ideas. I would ask that those of your readers who have “ample” water supplies please send those of us in the severely drought ridden states in the SouthWest prayers and invocations asking for some much needed rain during our “monsoon” season. (I put monsoon in quotes, because it has been some time since we’ve had “real” monsoons.) We must be mindful of our use of all of Gaia’s gifts, and only use what is needed. Thank you.
Kylie says:
Jun 20, 2013
What a wonderful article, bursting with brilliant ideas.
Thank you
Cecilia says:
Jun 20, 2013
Where are you based? I have just relocated to the US (NY) and would love to find a group with whom I identify and go out celebrating in the nature! Thank you for all your postings by the way – I really love your page! <3
AnniRose says:
Jun 20, 2013
Thank you for sharing!! Love these ideas!!!
Susan says:
Jun 20, 2013
We really loved the flower essence idea and have started two different flowers–yarrow and elder are what called to me. Also added some crystals with some solstice-inspired intentions to each bowl as they sit in the sunshine. Thank you!!! Happy Solstice!
Peaceful Mothering says:
Jun 21, 2013
Lovely post, thank you. We are celebrating Winter Solstice here in Australia at the moment.
Thel says:
Jun 21, 2013
Lovely post! I’d love to celebrate with women like you! I hope to accomplish some fun, inspiring & beautiful rituals Friday night, with a fire ritual too! Blessings of Love & Light to All. Xx <3
Li says:
Jun 21, 2013
I love all this wonderful inspiring ideas to celebrate the summer solstice..but what about us in the Southern Hemisphere,, what can we do to celebrate this Winter Solstice, where sun is the last thing to manifest here in this cold and grey weather nowadays here.. Thanks a lot!! Bless!
Bettina says:
Jun 21, 2013
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INSPIRING IMPULSES!
gail kellstrom says:
Jun 22, 2013
This is just a lovely page. Very “do-able: little rituals. And a wonderful easy way to honor and celebrate the coming summer. thank you.
ellee says:
Jun 17, 2014
My kiddo asked if we can get clay, paint our bodies with it, and let it bake onto us in the sun. Such a fun idea! Can’t wait to spray each other with water to wash it all off!!
Disheartened says:
Jun 22, 2015
I was looking for ideas to show my appreciation for the ss as I am a beginner. All I found were mutilated flowers. Aren’t we, as wiccans supposed to worship the Earth and do the least harm. Not intentionally kill flowers for our own amusement. I think I’ll be leaving killing plants for no reason out of my practice.
Luana says:
Jun 9, 2016
beautiful
maui mamma says:
Jun 20, 2016
Thank you for all these gorgeous images, ideas, and inspirations.
I feel the flowers, planets and elementals love these ancient rituals and ceremonies.
Done in complete respect, reverence, and deep wisdom.
All the things you so beautifully suggested.
thank you…many blessings… and happy solstice…
angel says:
Jun 20, 2016
this could not have been more helpful… you are everything i have been searching for, MAMMA MYSTIC… thank you for your guidance
Marjorie says:
Jun 20, 2016
Thank you so much for sharing this!!! I’ll prepare this rituals for this year’s summer solstice and I’ll let you know about the flower essence. Love your way!
Natalie Garay says:
Jun 21, 2017
Thank you for sharing about Flower Essences. They are magical. I’ve been sharing them
with my mama clients for a few years now, so gentle and healing.
Happy Solstice!
zuberi says:
Jun 21, 2018
thanks for sharing
Denisse says:
Jun 21, 2018
Thank you for sharing loved it blessings
writemyessaytoday says:
Aug 13, 2019
CNN Travel announced the challenge of the global celebrating summer solstice around the world. People from all the corners of our plant are ready to share they rituals. I’m writing the collection of essays on the Scandinavian rituals and will get the first edition ready.
Moonfire says:
Jun 16, 2020
Love all of this! Doing ceremony all day to balance masculine fire and feminine water. I’ll be bringing water offerings to Haleakalā at noon and making a candle/ flower mandala on the beach at an ancient Hawaiian fish pond that aligns with the Solstice sunsets. Thanks for the ideas!