This is an excerpt from my Summer Solstice ceremony we’re doing tonight

Sing to the mother – father god, all creatures!
Worship him with your joy;
Praise her with the sound of your laughter.
Know that we all belong to the Divine,
That this is our source and our home.
For her goodness is beyond comprehension,
And his deep love endures forever.
(An alternate translation of Psalm 100)

Summer Solstice is the beginning of the sign of Cancer, associated with home and motherhood. It is a time for honoring change and acknowledging what has come before and what lies ahead. As the Sun stands still, it opens a powerful portal through which new energies can flow to Earth

Litha, Midsummer, or the Summer Solstice is also known as Alban Hefin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feill-Sheathain, Feast of Epona, Gathering Day, Johannistag, St. John’s Day, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, Whitsuntide or Whit Sunday.

To Mayans, Aztecs, ancient Scandinavians, Egyptians, Celts, some Native Americans, and some branches of Christianity, it has been a day of symbolic ceremony for the infusion of light from its greatest source in the material world – the sun. Like those that have come before us, we gather today to infuse ourselves with our own ceremony of light, and to make a connection with those in other time zones around the planet who have either already done or will be doing a similar ceremony, which will eventually encircle the earth.

In many cultures, the concepts of light, the Sun, and love all hold similar meanings. The light of the Sun is seen as a symbol of the light of the Divine, for it feeds and nurtures us, brings us sustenance, and shows us the way. But there are other types of love besides divine love. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, once your basic survival needs are taken care of, your need for love and belonging must be met before you can move on to truly seeking meaning and enlightenment. Love, tangible love, is a very real need. If you look at he studies that have been done in orphanages in eastern bloc nations, they have shown that a lack of human touch, a lack of love, can actually stunt a child’s development, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

We live in a society that teaches us not to ask for things for ourselves, that to do so is shameful or selfish. But how are you supposed to be of service to your fellows, let alone seek out higher spiritual knowledge, if one of your most basic needs is not met? This is not to say you should ask for so-and-so to love you, but there is absolutely nothing wrong for asking for more love, or for an increase in your experience of love.

I challenge you to see the Feminine Divine in the Sun, to balance out its energy once more. The actual name for the star we orbit around is Sol, and it is a higher aspect of our own individual hearts. Our daily experience of the Feminine Divine is through the sensations of the chemical reactions that happen in our bodies in response to stimulus. Something happens, our chemistry shifts, we feel it. That’s the Goddess talking to us. That is our soul, reminding us to be here now, in our bodies, and that we can process with our bodies much more quickly that with our minds.

While June 1 is typically thought to be the beginning of the second half of the year, in reality, June 21 is the real kick-off of the second part of 2022. If our New Year’s resolutions didn’t work out (or most likely shifted), this day lends us a second chance. For the next month, we’ll feel more connected to our roots, more sentimental, and ready to connect deeper with our homes and ourselves. This a very important point in our astrological year, calling it a reset of the overall energy for the collective. Cancer is the first cardinal sign as well as the first water sign of the zodiac, so it holds a very initiatory energy.

Besides the new-ish energy we’ll all be basking in, Cancer season also gives us an increased desire to spend more time at home and bond with our families (both blood relatives and chosen ones). Following your intuition is key for the next month. While it’s always a good idea to look within, now our gut feelings will be even more spot on. Make sure to listen. Being this in tune with your emotions means that it’s also time to embrace the homebody-ness of Cancer — most of us have been go, go, going since the start of 2022, and now that we’re finally halfway done with the year, it’s time to actually sit back and relax. Rest is always important — especially with burnout being such a collective experience — so prioritize that this month.

The bright Sun and the dark night both influence our pineal gland, which is known as the seat of consciousness or as the seat of our soul. When the Sun is bright, our pineal gland supports the flow of our life force. When the dark night falls, the pineal gland helps to awaken our dream state, sparking our imagination, clairvoyant gifts, and out-of-body experiences.