This year’s Summer Solstice occurs at 9.44pm AEST on Wednesday 21st December 2016. That’s all well and good but what does it mean and how can we mark it?

The graceful movement of the planets, stars, Sun and Moon is continually in flux above us, and was closely monitored by ancient civilisations from the Mayans to the Pagans. Anyone observing the skies would have noticed key moments such as the new moon, full moon, movement of comets and meteorites, solar and lunar eclipses and equinoxes and solstices. An innate desire to honour, celebrate and worship these astrological alignments were the reasons so many temples and structures, unfathomable feats of human engineering, were built: Stonehenge in England, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Karnak Temple in Egypt among many others. Across the ancient world, the sun was revered as a majestic giver of life.

Ancient civilisations were very aware that humanity was part of a larger picture that included and was strongly influenced by the natural world. Accordingly, it was understood that these moments of alignment held an energetic intensity; a potency, that could be felt, tapped into and utilised to create changes in one’s external and internal world and bring about more harmony within one’s life.

Solstices occur twice a year – in winter and in summer, and are the points when the sun is either the furthest south or furthest north from the equator; thus creating the longest or shortest day (daylight hours) of the year. In the Northern hemisphere, 21st December marks the Winter Solstice, whereas in Australia, in the Southern hemisphere, we arecelebrate the Summer Solstice. Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and is thought to mark the height of Summer; a time when crops are ripening and flowers blooming. As such, this Solstice is viewed as a life-affirming celebration of light, vitality, power, prosperity, passion, desire, creativity and strength.

The word ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin word solstitium, from ‘sol’ meaning ‘sun’ and ‘sistere’ meaning ‘to stand still’; perhaps insinuating a marking of the solar phase by the pause of our day-to-day activities to observe not only the sun but ourselves – our internal world and our place within our community, society and greater world. The Summer Solstice offers a time to stand still for a moment, to take stock of our lives and embrace this opportunity for self-development, spiritual nourishment and growth.

There are innumerable ways we can tap into the ancient tradition of honouring the solstice. Five suggestions are described below. Comment to let us know how you plan to celebrate!

Blessings to you this Solstice!

References:

https://naha.org/naha-blog/making-and-using-flower-essences/

http://www.sacred-space.com.au/making-a-flower-essence-sun-method/

http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/summer-solstice-traditions

These are strange times to be alive indeed… There is a huge amount of tumultuous energy whirling around on Earth and it often feels like a daily struggle to remain grounded and not let emotions run riot: sending stress levels soaring. The pantomimes being played out across the media can easily be mistaken for what is really important; when what is truly important is always what is happening within. Our modern world is clever at duping us into thinking we are powerless; that we are reliant on external objects and ideas to find strength and happiness. One straight forward and almost instant way to reconnect with our personal power is through daily ritual.

The word ‘ritual’ feels charged with spooky scenes of witches stirring a cauldron or some kind of blood sacrifice – however, if we move beyond that we find ritual really translates to simply doing something regularly with deep awareness and intention.

What are your already existent daily habits? Can you add extra awareness to any of them, and in doing so create a more magic moment? Many of us make ourselves a hot drink in the morning: could this be done with added consciousness about what cup we use, which tea, how we boil the water, where we sit when we drink it and the state of mind we allow to flow as we do? Could we bring a more meditative state to the way we approach a daily task and even use it as a special time when we focus on an intention we may have to initiate positive change in our life? In the same way that meditation calms the mind and nervous system, creating small rituals out of our daily habits can be a real game-changer to one’s feelings. When we allow ourselves the time and focus to transform the mundane into the sacred through giving our full attention and grace; we feel the benefits on multiple levels.

Alisha Battaglia talks of how ritual reawakens the body’s natural evolution mechanisms to help us be happier, healthier and feel more connected:

“Ritual allows us to enter sacred space with awareness to flow. There is often a point of focus at the center of a ritual in present time that helps us to reclaim our spirituality. Performing ritual is simply a tool to reawaken this aspect of our being because it provides a signal to the body to begin physiological and energetic changes to initiate change by aiming for an altered state of consciousness conducive to self-exploration and reprogramming.”

This coming week, with Monday night/Tuesday morning’s super moon (peaking at 12.52am 15.11.16 – the biggest since 1948) could be the perfect time to upgrade your life by bringing a little ritual in. Full moons are often catalysts of change inspired by a new realisation or increased awareness in consciousness. Could you bring a little ritual into your life to help you reconnect to your power and your innate ability to heal, grow and manifest?

We’ve come up with a few daily rituals you might like to incorporate into your daily routine:

Morning yoga or meditation practice
Simply watching the sunrise (this is a powerful practice!)
Brewing and drinking a cup of tea (preferably in a pot with loose leaf tea, perhaps you have a special spoon and cup too!)
Burning resin incense or Palo Santo while you sit in the days first rays of light
Writing a page of ‘stream of consciousness’ thought as soon as you wake

Remember – start with something small at first… Creating new patterns of thought is a powerful process; and it doesn’t have to be hard!

Happy ritual creating! We’d love to see what you come up with – tag #ritualtherapy in your photos!

Rachel x

References:

http://www.chopra.com/articles/transform-your-life-with-the-power-of-ritual

http://www. lonerwolf.com/daily-ritual/

‘The Sacred Art of Ritual of Smudging’ by Reverend Alisa Battaglia

To help you to create ritual through incense, we are offering free shipping on all our Aromatic Treasure Box sampler sets through November! Click the image below!

Tag: ritual

Little Rituals for the Summer Solstice…

The Power of Daily Rituals