With the week of the summer solstice upon us, now is an opportune time to evaluate your life over the previous months and set intentions for the ones ahead. If you aren’t familiar with the summer solstice, you’re in for a treat!
What is the Summer Solstice?
The summer solstice marks the official beginning of summer as the longest day of the year. For those in the northern hemisphere, that day occurs in June, and for those in the southern hemisphere, it happens in December. Each day leading up to the summer solstice, daylight lasts a little longer into the evening until it reaches its climax at the solstice (usually around June 20 or 21, depending on the year). As the rotation of the earth finds that sweet spot, we are given extra light in our day, which may do more for us than we know.
Many people go through life with little regard for the changing of the seasons, while others attest to the power that comes as we tune into nature and allow it to help guide our living patterns. Cultures across time and history have noted and celebrated these changes as a time for reflection, growth, and change. In Sweden, people celebrate Midsummer, by enjoying time together outdoors, dancing around a maypole. Swedish legend notes that it is a “magical time for love” and “telling people’s futures” (Si, 2024). In countries like Spain and Puerto Rico, the summer solstice is celebrated alongside the birthday of Saint John the Baptist. It mixes the idea of baptism and rebirth with the changing season (Pope, 2023). Throughout many countries, it often carries religious or philosophical significance in addition to the celebration of physical light. In Wiccan tradition, it can be a time for bonfires, cleansing, and meditation (Indiana University, n.d.). Those who practice yoga may also honor tradition by performing 108 sun salutations on this day to celebrate the sun and all it gives us.
The roots of the summer solstice celebration go back many thousands of years. Across the world, we see remnants of people's tributes to the sun like Hagar Qim in Malta, where the sunlight on the solstice shines directly into a part of the monument, illuminating it differently than any other day. The sarsen stones at Stonehenge in England also pay homage to the sun’s movements. English prehistoric specialist Jennifer Wexler’s comments regarding Stonehenge remind us of the sun's significance: “It’s about 4,500 years old in its current form, but it seems to have a very important connection to the sun. It was carefully designed to actually align with the movements of the sun” (Pope, 2023).
Just as people centuries ago used the sun and summer solstice as a day set apart from the others, we too can harness the power that comes with the day to reset our lives, give gratitude for our existence, and chart a new course.
Start Your Solstice with Intention
Whether you celebrate the solstice or not, you can still take advantage of what it has to offer. Just as a plant needs light to grow, you can choose to use the energy and excitement surrounding the solstice to elevate your own personal growth. When a seed is planted, it inherently knows which way to grow to reach the sun. Likewise, as you set your focus and intentions on your goals, you will grow toward them just as a plant grows to meet the sun. Now you might ask the question – what intentions should I set during the solstice? And how do I do it?
The first step is to understand the difference between goals and intentions. Everyone has summer goals – to get that summer body, to surf the best waves, or to keep the kids from lighting the house on fire with fireworks. Goals have an end in mind, a deadline that often coincides with the end of summer. An intention, on the other hand, is a more permanent shift. When you set an intention, it is a conscious choice and commitment to a pattern or activity. Think of it as a shift in mindset or action. Intentions are meant to be honored, not just checked off. Think of it as a way to hold some of the goodness of summer inside and keep it throughout the year. Intentions may sound like “I will be present with my family,” “I am aware of nature around me as I take my dog for a walk,” or “I can sit and just be still.”
Well-planned intentions reflect your authentic self – your needs and your desires. They provide the opportunity to reflect on who and where you’ve been, and who and where you want to be. Setting intentions can illuminate a profound sense of gratitude for your journey up to this point. Acknowledging it allows you to release old beliefs or actions and replace them with new ones that serve the current and future you.
Creating Your Own Solstice Ritual
Before the day of the solstice arrives, consider having a plan so that you can make the most of your time that day. Here are some of the elements we’re planning into our solstice rituals:
- Meaningful location – We understand that not everyone can (or wants to) trek out into nature before sunrise. Find a place that is meaningful, welcoming, and ideally, one that has natural sunlight. You can bring a favorite chair next to a window, put a blanket out at a park, roll a yoga mat out on the patio, or tuck yourself into a quiet café corner.
- Personal elements and materials – Have a journal like the Thankable Gratitude Journal for you to write freely in, along with pens, pencils, and anything that brings you a sense of joy or calm. Some of our favorites are a candle, a bouquet of flowers, or a warm cup of tea.
- Ritual structure – Think about how you want your ritual to go. Are there activities that help you feel confident or inspired? Where do you get your best ideas? The answers to these questions are the best ways to start your ritual. To get inspiration, we often have to do things that inspire us. Begin with what makes you feel uplifted, and go from there. You can try guided meditation, gratitude journaling, or the simple act of observation. Create a short list of the activities you would like to include, and then be willing to change if inspiration strikes during your solstice ritual.
Making the Most of Your Solstice
When the day of the solstice arrives, consider starting your ritual by waking up with the sun if your schedule allows. Take a few minutes to savor the light as it arrives and give thanks as it washes over each building or tree you can see. Allow yourself to be in the present moment here so that you can be fully engaged as you set your intentions. Reflect on achievements and lessons learned over the first half of the year and identify the areas you want to grow in. As you set your intentions, do so with a grateful and open heart. Coming to your ritual with a heart full of thanks will help you see your past more clearly and without judgment, allowing growth opportunities to open.
Use your journal to write your intentions, and then reflect on them. Repeating your intentions aloud as you make them and each day as you live them will help further cement them as a part of who you are. Think about how you can incorporate them into your daily life – how will you see them? When will you repeat them? One of the biggest obstacles to setting intentions is simply forgetting them afterward. With so many things vying constantly for our attention, how do we focus on our intentions? If you are a visual person, try creating a vision board, notecards, or a mindmap where you can easily see your intentions each day. If you prefer audio, you can set an alarm on your phone (with a pleasant sound) reminding you to refocus on your intentions and repeat them aloud. Setting a time or a place each day to reflect on your intentions will help them last longer than just the day of the summer solstice. It will help you hold onto the inspiration for the days when the dark inevitably comes.
Remember that both your intentions and the way you interact with them will change over time. Intentions need not be all-consuming beliefs or rigid constructs. They are like the rays of sun on the summer solstice, illuminating your path and providing light on your journey to a more joyful life.