What is the summer solstice?
If you have been living under a rock all these years you may not know that summer solstice is the longest day of the year. Earth’s northern hemisphere gets more exposure to sunlight over the course of a day because of the earth’s tilted rotation around the sun. The solstice occurs when Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees on its axis towards the sun, marking the day it falls on the day with the longest daylight hours. This peak exposure day falls on June 20, 21, 22 of any given year. In the Southern Hemisphere this year it is occurring on June 21, 2019 at 15:54 UTC. A solstice happens at the same time for all of us. The sun has a very large significance to us both spiritually and physiologically. It is both helping us evolve spiritually as well as helping the human body run efficiently. The sun has a spiritual significance since the dawn of existence and many have documented this significance based on ancient texts and ancient structures erected to notify the people of the changing of seasons. Ancient societies did not have calendars to track the seasons so these structures could have been built to signify the end of one season or solstice and the beginning of a new.
Stonehenge and The Pyramids
While we may never understand the full significance of Stonehenge, interestingly Stonehenge was apparently built at the exact same time as the pyramids appeared in Egypt along with the Sphinx. If you stand between the pyramids and the Sphinx the sun will set exactly between them. These structures were likely built to mark the solstices. In Latin, solstice means standing still.
Spiritual Significance
The summer solstice also has spiritual significance that we should acknowledge. These spiritual meanings are the reason possibly that these structures were enacted to mark these events. Beeselbub, author of the Path of the Spiritual Sun: Celebrating the solstices and the equinox’s speaks about summer solstice being evidence of the power of the sun based on an ancient religion of the sun. In it he describes the religion as the oldest religion of humankind. Perhaps the religion of the sun existed because the ancient wisdom known back then was extremely powerful and quite possibly related the sun’s energy within each of us to attain enlightenment.
Summer solstice contains a number of essential elements than one can use to induce a deeper knowledge or understanding of the relatedness of all.
1.Fire-
The summer solstice represents the fire element. It was also believed that on midsummer’s eve, the walls separating the spiritual world and the physical world are thin as paper. It is also believed that there is an inner world that beings can pass through and frolic among humans on this day. Life is constantly changing and growing and evolving as are you are your spirituality. We are like the sun and we contain the power the bring forward growth and rebirth. It is also important to burn away that which no longer serves us. The summer solstice is a celebration of the sun. It’s a celebration of the return to light and the can also signify the return to the light in each of us. Fire is pure, raw power and can be embraced and used to induce change.
2. Patience-
the changing of solstices signifies a desire to slow down. You can’t rush spiritual breakthroughs and just like the ripening of the fruit you can’t rush these things.
3. Balance-
there is a balance that must be attained both to grow spiritually, and a balance that must be developed on the planet for things to grow and thrive. This can be a great chance to learn to balance the energies between the masculine and feminine.
4. Christ consciousness-
the unity of the light between all of us also known as Christ Consciousness. It can also mean enlightenment or awakening and triumph over darkness. The solstice is a desire to reflect on our journey or more appropriately our spiritual journey and can be attributed as a time to embrace breakthroughs in your spiritual development. It’s a time when the heavens and higher realms open up and make themselves accessible to us. You should use this as a divinely guided opportunity to quantum leap into the higher realms of your being and embrace this chance to access the inaccessible.
5. Prosperity and abundance-
in earlier times midsummer or Summer Solstice marked a beginning of a time of year when people’s fields bloomed and sprouted with abundance. Our ancestors were able to take a break cultivating the field and to reap the rewards of their hard work. It is also marked by the returning of winter so it’s important to appreciate the beauty while we have it. Use this time to reflect on what your grateful for. Celebrating your gratitude to the universe will ensure that more of it comes your way.
6. Nature -
summer solstice is a time to reflect on the beauty of nature and all it has provided us with. It is also a time to celebrate nature’s grounding principles and its ability to keep us centered in oneness with all that has been created. Some ancient tribes recall this as a time to pay respect to and call the four corners. This could be a time to tap into the life energy of the four directions north, south, east and west.
7. Completion
it also represents a peak or complete return. On the summer solstice the sun reaches a point or peak in its journey. It completes its journey along its path. This is also a great time to reflect on your journey and what goals you have completed.
It’s important to remember when you are acknowledging and celebrating the solstices you are accessing the connection between sun and nature and with ancient civilizations who have celebrated the solstices before you. Whether you have attained a certain level of spiritual enlightenment or not is not important it is important to remember our own oneness with all that is and has ever been. None of our progressions along this path are linear, meaning it does not follow a sequential path with certain steps. You do not need to have attained one to advance to another. You should take this opportunity to discover for yourself on how to use the solstices as an opportunity to advance spiritually weather this is your first time or not. It is never too late to begin a spiritual practice, whether you are 10 or 100 years old. This divine knowledge is accessible to all of us at anytime and must only be requested by yourself.
Despite what some scientists think, our psyche has parts that are fluid and can change as you evolve. The place which generates all your thoughts and feelings must be connected to the sun because so much of our attitude as well being is connected to its energy. Even Hippocrates believed ever changing seasons influenced your health, the key being how how much available sunlight being available during the year. The most influential piece of information is likely the development of Seasonal affective disorder, a condition of lethargy and sadness when the weather forces people to stay indoors for longer periods of time. People that work the night shift and don’t get access to the sunlight because they are sleeping, may produce less melatonin, a hormone that is dependent upon the light . There was a study, by Gavin Lambert of the Baker Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues, that appears in the Dec. 7 issue of The Lancet which shows measured levels of brain chemicals flowing directly out of the brain found that people had higher serotonin levels on bright sunny days than on cloudy ones.
The sun’s significance in our lives and a day commemorating the mathematical journey of the sun along its path should be seen as a source to both revere and learn from, since the sun is so essential to us as a species. Summer solstice is a great time to embrace the spiritual journey you yourself are on and a time to grow in it exponentially.
