Summer Solstice Celebration
… and the wind blew in gently, from the East. As it swirled around the ceremonial area, it felt content and satisfied with the chosen sacred space. It whispered to the fire in the South, beckoning to the sparks; “It’s time”! With purposeful short wisps of air, it freshened up a place for the water of the West and then, it quieted, close to the ground in the North, in gratitude to Mother Earth for her permission to celebrate on her soil. “It’s time”, she said “for Summer Solstice. Make a joyful noise to All My Relations, for today we celebrate the Sun”!
Summer Solstice came in gently this year at noon on June 21. It was one of the most beautiful days of the year. Father Sun knew that we desired his presence, so he shown for us as we set-up for our outdoor celebration. This year’s celebration took place at the beautiful Wisteria Acres in Langley, hosted by Krista and her herd of 6 healing horses.
The participants arrived in a trickle, at first, and then suddenly. One by one they were smudged and joined the circle that created our sacred space. With the scent of sweet grass in the air, we began our ceremony.
“We are all One”
“This Solstice 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. We can do this 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.
The Summer Solstice ritual is performed to fulfill the external physical & emotional manifestations of our internal desires; such as love, wealth, health, joy, faith, love, happiness, friendships, family, blessings, fun, luck, and abundance. A sense of being “One with ALL“.”
The creation of a group medicine wheel started us off on our ceremonial journey, to discover a visual and physical manifestation of the circle of life.
All My Relations is a prayer meaning that “We are all One”. It encompasses all of Nature and everything that surrounds us. Each one of the Relations, represented by figurines or a picture card, was welcomed into the sacred circle by each member. The ones that fly, the ones that swim, the four leggeds, the rock people and so on. And the energy of our circle began to grow.
There is nothing richer and more profound than spending an afternoon in gratitude. The talking stick marked the time in space when each person took a turn sharing their gratitude. And the energy of our circle grew, even more.
As we began to chant to the four corners of the Earth the energy grew to its height and each member of the group was invited to take some of this beautiful, healing energy for themselves or for another who was in need of healing. And then we filled bags full of summer, healing herbs to take home and remind us of the wonders of Father Sun, his healing power and wealth of abundance he shares willingly with us.
Prayers were carried on the wisps of smoke…
We then put pen to paper and wrote out our hopes, dreams and desires for the summertime months ahead. The sacred fire was lit and we committed our desires to the flames after doing a walking meditation that made them solid, within our beings. The most incredible silence fell over us as, one by one, we took our turn placing our papers into the fire and we waited to greet the others as each took their turn. A tear or two was shed while we soaked up the magnitude of that moment and watched as our prayers were carried on the wisps of smoke, up to Great Spirit.
Aho….
