The Summer Solstice, also known as Litha, is the longest day and shortest night of the year. It happens on June 21st, and marks the sun at its full power, and the subtle shift that gradually begins to fade the summer light, as days get shorter again slowly from here. Though there is the hint of the eventual return to Winter, this is a time for celebration and expansion. It is the time when the Goddess is pregnant and abundant, and the earth forces express their virility and fertility in bright colors and warmth. European pagan rituals involve staying up in vigil throughout the night to witness the sunrise. A bonfire is created, representing the sun in its full force. People burn aromatic herbs, offer ashes to fertilize the fields, and even jump the bonfire. This is one of the long honored moments in the wheel of the year, throughout the ancient cultures, across our world.
Many monuments have been built to commemorate this movement of the sun in relation to the earth. Among the mysteries of Stonehenge, is the famous view of the sunrise on the Summer Solstice, when the sun rises above the Heel stone and shines directly into the center of the stones. For those facing North East, the view is breathtaking, a reminder of the knowledge and astronomical magic of cultures past. The mirror of this spectacle can be seen on the Winter Solstice, when facing the opposite direction at sunset. The Sphinx, of ancient Egypt also honors the Summer Solstice sun. If you stand at the Sphinx on the Summer Solstice evening, you will see the sun set directly between the two pyramids it faces. In ancient Mexico, many pyramids were built to mark astronomical events with amazing light play. The Kulkulkan temple at Chichen Itza, for example, creates strong shadows on the West and South sides at the Summer Solstice, giving the impression of being split in two. (The Spring Equinox is even more dramatic, creating the pattern of a moving serpent on the stairs.)
Why were ancient civilization so reverent to the movements of the sun? The sun is the source of nourishment on our planet, and the visible representation of the energetic force of light. It sustains and energizes us in more than one way. In the Nahualismo tradition, the sun is the force that brings us to our highest destiny. At this time of year, when it is in its full power, our energy levels rise, projects flourish, abundance is palpable, and the feelings of possibility, joy, and power are accessible. For many, it is an active time, a time to create, a good moment to take full advantage of the available energy to direct towards the blossoming of our cherished dreams and the fulfillment of our needs. Celebration helps us to align with this force, to acknowledge it and be grateful.
This year is a good time to think about the customs of ancient civilizations. With the full moon eclipse of May, we have officially entered into the era the Mexicas and earlier Anahuacan peoples called the Sixth Sun, and which Western Astrology names the Age of Aquarius. From what I understand from the oral tradition, this is a substantial change in terms of how magic, ritual, healing, and manifestation will work in our world. It is said that this time is the rise and empowerment of the feminine forces, most primarily the earth, the moon, and the night. It is a sun of darkness, but this is not meant the way it sounds. We have come from a time where value, meaning, power, and satisfaction were placed outside of ourselves. We have looked to spiritual authorities, religion, doctors, social classes, money, and material gain to validate, heal, and nourish us. Though what is of value in these systems will not be lost, what is predicted is that we will begin to, and need to look more to the inside territories and the hidden aspects of life for our fulfillment. The realm of the unconscious, the intuition, dreams, the path of knowledge, magic, and mystery are the territory of the feminine forces. What before was not fully supported there, and often greatly persecuted, is said to now emerge as strong and central. We are meant to remember, and to evolve, using capacities within us that have been sleeping or not yet tapped. A sun is a very long cycle, 6,625 years. We are only at the start, but the method of working with the feminine forces is different than working with the more masculine forces that guided the previous era. It may help to recall some of the ways earlier cultures supplicated and honored them.
I have been thinking about what I have learned essentially from Goddess traditions, in light of what I am learning now from the elders sharing about these predictions. Hugo Nahui, an oral tradition keeper, teacher of Sergio Magaña, and scholar, says that the feminine forces need to be supplicated with care, respect, and gratitude, more so than the male forces required, and that their power to create in subtle, magical ways will offer an increase in intuition, the potency of dreams, the energetic forms of healing, personal power for all rather than for a chosen few, and a strong awakening of the mystical nature and earth based power of women. May it be so! Thinking about this has me reflecting on a few principles that Pagan culture shares with Indigenous practices. Here are a few suggestions for working with the feminine forces. These are things you may already know, but which may take on more significance in the coming days. They are worth considering in daily or ritual practice:
Beginning and ending with gratitude. Gratitude is respectful, particularly when one sees energy flowing and wishes or intentions fulfilled, but even early in the process of manifestation and supplication it has a role. Gratitude is like a contract of trust between us and the divine or elemental forces. It humbly assumes that prayers will be answered in a nurturing manner, and gives thanks for this exchange, thereby opening the inner door to receiving and the flow between ourselves and the unseen.
Formal supplication with beauty and offering. Making an altar or an offrenda is an art. The more effort and beauty we add to this, the more meaningful it is, for ourselves on conscious and unconscious levels, and for the forces we are courting. Flowers, the best of the foods you have to share, sacred medicines, and your own artistry feed these forces without and within.
Making personal relationship with the divine and earth forces. One thing I love so dearly in Goddess traditions is the manner in which the Goddesses and Gods are personified, connected with, spoken to with heart and creativity, danced for, channelled or aspected, and fed. This creates an intimacy of relationship and a pathway to learning and development that is intuitive and direct.
Honoring the hidden pathways within and without. How many times have you sat and absorbed the energy of a waterfall, made an offering at the entrance of a cave, watched the night in a wild place, observed the movements and meanings of the moon and stars, listened to your own intuition with reverence, worked at first waking to recall and listen to your dreams? The more we honor and practice the gifts that are accessible to us within and without, the more these gifts will grow.
Now that we are at the fullness of the sun’s ability to amplify our lives, gifts and paths, isn’t it a good time to renew our sacred practices? There is so much more than what I am briefly describing here. But, here is a place to begin. Let it be a celebration of what is good and exciting within us and around us. It has been such a challenging time, but if there are also gifts, let us claim them.
We suggest aligning with this solstice by considering what you have to celebrate. What areas of your inner and outer life are flourishing? How can you honor and use this energy? Pull a card, or engage in your favorite form of divination, and ask: How can you awaken the full force of sun within you? What area of your life needs this light and energy? What gifts, belonging to a feminine Sun of night and dreaming, are you longing to recover or develop?
Ometeotl.
With so much gratitude,
the eleventh house
-This blog was written by Melusina Gomez. You can learn more about her work and healing practices at www.metzmecatl.com