Connecting with Solstice: Ritual and journal prompts ♡

⊹ Solstice ⊹

The more present we become with nature the more we notice the cyclic rhythms of every living organism surrounding us, including the Earth herself.

While we go about our days moving through routines, making exciting plans, or pondering on our past, the Earth is in a constant motion spinning around the Sun.

Forever spinning around and around. Getting lighter and darker each 24 hours. And over an entire year, moving through four key phases:

Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Fall Equinox, and Winter Solstice.

Cycles that have been recognised and celebrated for centuries with ancient sites like Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, The Great Sphinx, famous Egyptian pyramids, and more, all built in a way that aligns with and marks the days of these phases of the Earth.

Before we had the technology to measure weather, we also used these occasions to mark the beginning of each season, with our astrological seasons, too, aligning with these beautiful rhythms of the Earth. The intelligence of nature is mind-blowing, is it not?

To explore the Seasons, moon cycles, astrological movement and Soul in greater depth, join us in the Flow with the Moon Membership. Monthly astrology, tarot, ritual, lives and connection.

 

June: Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice for the Southern

(For December Solstice it is Summer for the Southern Hemisphere, and Winter for the Northern)

A new beginning that sprung forth in March under the Equinox, the June solstice ushers us into the second phase of the Earths journey around the Sun.

June 21st marks the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, and the Winter Solstice for the Southern.

The word Solstice comes from the Latin words Sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). On this sacred day, the Earth’s axis reaches it maximum tilt towards the Sun – which has reached its highest point in the sky. It is here that we meet our longest, and most sun-filled day of the year for some, and our shortest and darkest day of the year for others.

This day marks a turning point for the Earth. She has been building in one direction and has reached her peak. It is now it is a matter of shifting into her next chapter, her next stage, and the next phase of her being.

This shifting of our surroundings is an invitation to lean into the shift that is occurring within each of us, too.

It is through honouring the constant motion of the Earth and all of nature that we can honour our own cycles of change, growth, expansion, shedding, release, shifting and more. Giving ourselves permission to change, just as the Earth. Giving ourselves permission to let go when we know it is time, and to begin again when we are inspired to do so.

 

Astrology and the Earth

Just as the Earth meets the second phase of her journey around the Sun, we also step into Cancer Season in astrology (which you can read more about here).

Any zodiac that begins as the Earth shifts into a new phase represents initiation and new beginning, including Cancer.

For the northern hemisphere, Aries initiates us into Spring under the Spring Equinox, Cancer begins as we step into Summer under the Summer Solstice, Libra initiates Fall as we meet the Fall Equinox, and Capricorn into Winter as we reach the Winter Solstice.

For the Southern Hemisphere, we switch directions with Aries beginning the Autumn/Fall Equinox, Cancer the Winter Solstice, and so on.

Cancer season in particular speaks to initiation and beginning through emotion, inviting us to nourish our inner worlds.

As we now know, Solstice roughly translates to ‘sun stands still’ and at this time of the year for several days before and after the Solstice, the Sun appears from our viewpoint to stand still in the sky.

This moment of standing still invites us inward to also become still for the moment. To become fully present with where and who we are, with what the moment is asking of us, and to reintroduce ourselves to who we have become.

How have we changed since the March Equinox, and where are we ready to go next? We can only meet our next chapter when we are fully present in our current, and we can only walk forward when we have our two feet planted fully on the surface beneath us.

Cancer Season takes us out of our minds and deeper into our bodies. It is a time of warmth, compassion, emotion, self-nurturing, and nourishment. It asks us to tap into our own healer, our own home, and our own comfort and source of safety. Knowing that when we allow ourselves the nourishment that our minds, bodies, and souls have been craving, incredible healing occurs. And where we meet healing, we meet new layers of ourselves as we let go of old. Where we meet healing we meet the beautiful open space of potential, new chapters, a new self.

Whether you are in the Northern Hemisphere moving into beautiful warm and sunny days, or the Southern Hemisphere and meeting the darkest day of the year, the invitation is the same expressed through a different lens… to meet yourself.

To honour your cycles. To let yourself change. And to remember that you are your greatest guidance system.

The Earth never doubts where she is or where she is going next. She never doubts that she will bloom again after dropping her leaves. Or that she will be reborn again and again and again, exploring herself in different ways. She knows she is never trapped in one way of being, in one chapter that was always designed to be just that, a chapter in the ever moving and growing story of her life.

 

Celebrating Solstice through ritual

Let this beautiful day of the Earth be a day that you, like mother nature, trust in your own guidance.

Intention sits at the core of everything we do.

What is your intention as you are called forward to celebrate this sacred day? Is it to honour the Earth? Celebrate your journey and how far you have come? Connect with your oneness with nature? Understand what new chapter you are stepping into? Or something else?

What are you honouring? What is your intention? What is your heart whispering?

Let these questions guide you into your next steps. Whether it’s a beautiful yoga flow in dedication to the Earth, a meditation soaking in the Sun, journaling, future visioning or something else. If you are guided to connect with the Solstice, trust that the same guidance that led you here knows where to take you today, too.

 

Ritual ideas & journal prompts:

Sun & Earth Meditation 

In reverence to the Earth, in gratitude to the Sun, in a deep acknowledgement and appreciation for our oneness with this beautiful blue planet that we sit upon – a beautiful way to celebrate and align with the energy of Summer Solstice is by going outside, connecting with the Earth, and immersing yourself in the rays of the Sun.

A few intentions to bring power into this ritual:

–   Returning to oneness with the Earth

–   Letting the Sun rays nourish your body

Letting yourself be held by silence, whether that is silence of your surroundings or only your mind, feeling the Earth beneath your body, and the Sun on your skin – let these sensations be your focus. And with your intention, let yourself be guided in this moment of meditation and silence.

To bring this up a notch, bring a journal into your outside practice and when you are finished meditating, explore all the ways in which you are grateful to the Earth, and perhaps speak some desires to the Sun. Or bring the next two rituals into this practice.

 

 Journaling & Reflection

As with every shift that occurs – the Moon through her phases, our chapters of change, the Earth through seasons, the astrological seasons – these moments of change all bring a beautiful invitation to go inward and reflect what is shifting within us, too.

Journal prompts:

• Six months ago, the Winter Solstice beckoned us inward. What has happened in the last six months that deserve being celebrated? What have you experienced? What dreams came true?
• How can you allow yourself to celebrate your wins with the recognition they deserve?
• How have I changed, grown, transformed during this time? 
• How can I celebrate who I have become?
• A thank you letter to yourself:

 

Set Summer or Winter Intentions

 As we usher into a new season, a new energy, and a new chapter of our lives, taking a moment to dream widely and set our intentions for Summer or winter is deeply powerful.

Beginning with dreaming, letting your mind wander into joy and show you how good things could be. Some prompts to begin this with:

• If I could have it all my way in my perfect reality, what would the ideal Summer or winter day look like to me?
• If I could have it all my way in a perfect reality, what new things, people, experiences would I get to live?
• How would I be different?

 

Bringing together your thoughts into beautiful 1-2 sentence intentions. For extra magic, keep them in a place you see, read, or say out loud often.

To explore the Seasons, moon cycles, astrological movement and Soul in greater depth, join us in the Flow with the Moon Membership. Monthly astrology, tarot, ritual, lives and connection.

 

Jordane x