Summer Solstice Rituals: Reflections on Fire, Rose Wisdom and Intentional Living
Welcome gentle souls,
The power of the transformative fire.
Taken @whiteleafyurt by Stephanie
We had a wonderful celebration of the solstice yesterday evening.
It was our time to gather together to celebrate the longest day of the year, it was community, sisterhood, ritual and remembrance.
Solstice from Solstitium, meaning the sun stands still, such a beautiful potent moment to pause, to breathe and reflect and honour all that the first half of the year brought us. The seeds we have planted and the gifts that we have allowed ourselves. The paths we have set in motion. The decisions made, the steady progress. Celebrate yourself and acknowledge how far you have travelled. You are further than you thought. This is the quiet space between planting our seeds to gathering the crop, from striving and working hard to receiving to recognising all that is unfolding.
Our ceremony was guided by the transformative effects of fire. We wrote what no longer serves us on bay leaves, and offered them to the flames, allowing old stories, fears and limitations dissolve into the ether. Carried by the wind, they made way for new intentions, new possibilities and a deeper alignment with the life we wish to create over the months ahead.
Alongside the fire we worked on the beautiful energy and medicine of the rose. At the height of her majesty for the solstice. The rose is the flower for the month of June, she embodies the fullness of the season. She is both softness and strength, beauty and boundary. She is lyrical poetry in a flower in her unfurling petals and dusky scent. She is the feminine paradox: her velvet petals invite openness while her thorns offer protection. She is vulnerability and resilience. The young rosebud speaks of innocence and potential. The fully opened bloom reflects fertility, maturity, liberation and the courage to be seen. Throughout history the rose has symbolised both the purity of the Virgin Mary and the red passionate untamed love of Aphrodite and Venus. When she is at full bloom she is already preparing for her next flush of growth, teaching us to honour where we are whilst also making plans for the future.
Perhaps this is why we are so drawn to her. She reminds us that we too are made of beautiful contradictions.
‘We can complain that the rose bush has thorns or we can rejoice that the thorn bush has roses.’ Alphonse Karr
In the Whiteleaf Yurt for our summer solstice celebration, we made a rose altar.
‘When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.’ Rumi
Until next time,
Blessings,
Stephanie
May your light shine brightly.