Lithia is one of the "power days" of the year. It is also known as the Summer Solstice or Midsummer's Night. The solstice occurred on Sunday, June 21 at 1:45 a.m., eastern daylight time (June 21, 05:45 UT*). Those of us in the Western Hemisphere, are celebrating the Summer Solstice while our friends living in the Eastern Hemisphere, are marking the Winter Solstice. Which ever cycle we are observing, it is always worth a look across the year to see where we are going and from where we've come. Until this point, the year has been waxing. We have reached a point of maximum light. From now on, the dark time of the year grows as we enter the waning cycle.
In the Eastern Hemisphere, the year is born anew, full of promise but needing care. In the west, the year has grown into a fully mature woman. Fulfillment is the focused power of this time. The Divine Mother is wielding her strength, sexuality and fertility with mighty strokes. The crops are planted, they are blooming or have bloomed, and the buds give way to ripening fruit. The promise of harvest sits in the balance at this midpoint of the growing season. The harvest, not yet taken, is dependent on the Divine Mother to provide the right amount of rain and ideal conditions so the plants can mature.
Passion. Passion is the hallmark of this time. The merging of all the right aspects will produce the highest yield. The Divine Mother and Mother Earth are most abundant right now. They are ready to give maximum payoffs fed by the highest life force. It is time to turn the wheel of the year, the wheel of life, again. During the rites, celebrants are keenly aware that this fullness comes at the expense of descent into the darkness of the year. A bittersweet duality.
Some say the time of power lasts for three days, some say four, others believe a week from the time the solstice occurred. Regardless, it is a time to dance with great exuberance and abandon, no holding back. This is not a quiet, introspective time. Drum, dance, chant, move with abandon and willingness. Wield the power of the days and of the Mother Divine with confidence. Be sure to ask for what you wish to bring into reality until the next time of power. Be thoughtful in what you ask for as Mother Earth is at her most giving. Be one with all levels of nature. Be joy. Be sunshine. Be laughter. But most of all, be your true self. To both of the Mothers and all the the Devas, nature spirits, who are acting together to bring all things in this season into form, I humbly give great, great gratitude. Namaste.
In the Eastern Hemisphere, the year is born anew, full of promise but needing care. In the west, the year has grown into a fully mature woman. Fulfillment is the focused power of this time. The Divine Mother is wielding her strength, sexuality and fertility with mighty strokes. The crops are planted, they are blooming or have bloomed, and the buds give way to ripening fruit. The promise of harvest sits in the balance at this midpoint of the growing season. The harvest, not yet taken, is dependent on the Divine Mother to provide the right amount of rain and ideal conditions so the plants can mature.
Passion. Passion is the hallmark of this time. The merging of all the right aspects will produce the highest yield. The Divine Mother and Mother Earth are most abundant right now. They are ready to give maximum payoffs fed by the highest life force. It is time to turn the wheel of the year, the wheel of life, again. During the rites, celebrants are keenly aware that this fullness comes at the expense of descent into the darkness of the year. A bittersweet duality.
Some say the time of power lasts for three days, some say four, others believe a week from the time the solstice occurred. Regardless, it is a time to dance with great exuberance and abandon, no holding back. This is not a quiet, introspective time. Drum, dance, chant, move with abandon and willingness. Wield the power of the days and of the Mother Divine with confidence. Be sure to ask for what you wish to bring into reality until the next time of power. Be thoughtful in what you ask for as Mother Earth is at her most giving. Be one with all levels of nature. Be joy. Be sunshine. Be laughter. But most of all, be your true self. To both of the Mothers and all the the Devas, nature spirits, who are acting together to bring all things in this season into form, I humbly give great, great gratitude. Namaste.
*Universal Time
17 comments:
I like this. I like it a lot. More than a lot. I have to go read it again. But first must dance around a bit...
Great post Ronda.I knew about it and I should have done something on sunday,but I had guests and no time.If only there would have been one of my friend here..nevermind.I guess,time is for celebration but something isn't quite right,I feel suffocated,insecure.Hope that feeling goes away soon.But they do say that july is going to be not the best month for Pisceans..we shall see!Happy solstice dear Ronda!
great post ronda! you enlighten my ignorance in the summer solstice...i do enjoy dancing though, so...off in search of abandon. smiles.
...sorry Ronda. I was distracted by the new header. Marvelous window! And as one who's been in both hemispheres, I'll dance twice (once for winter, once for summer ) :)
wonderful, hopeful post
thank you
Megan: I am pleased that you like the piece.But, boy, that nasty ol' solstice sun gave you a spicy sunburn.
Candie: I hope you feel better soon.
Brian: If you can't find your abandon on the first pass, remember to look under the sofa.
Subby: Isn't that a marvelous window? Did you notice that Mt. Shasta is painted in the center of the large flower?
Mary: We all need a little hope right now, don't we? Thanks.
Hey Ronda - great post and beautiful windows.
In SF we celebrated both solstices by jumping into the frickin' cold Pacific ocean, then dancing around a fire on the beach. At summer solstice we burned a wicker man. For winter, we stayed up all night. It was wonderful.
Happiest summer to you!
Reya: You participated in some amazing celebrations! I love hearing about them. SF must have been (be) a hot bed of agrarain activity. My celebratory tales don't have that kind of WOW factor. But I do love it so. Happiest summer to you, too.
LMAO! I come here and it is like classical literature, and the I read my post about Nuts hurting! Thank God that some of you have some culture! I need more exposure to it! HAHA!
Hi Ronda,
I love this time of year and after reading this I can see why. When we lived in Panama we had two seasons, wet and dry. Dry season just meant that it would not rain every day, all day. Rainy season, it rained every day and sometimes all day. But everything grew all year round. Here in Southern California due to the sunshine, most things grow all year round too. The four seasons is what most people miss when living in these kinds of places. I know that you live in an area of CA where you experience the four seasons. So sometimes it is good to be reminded about the different seasons. Although in about a month we will be so hot and miserable here. I am hoping that we have a cooler summer, but know that we will probably not.
I tried to find the Mt. Shasta written in the flower but could not. And the picture would not enlarge because it is already so large. I really like that picture a lot, I love flowers and that is the one thing I am thankful for, that we have flowers growing all year round here. I am going to have to plant more winter flowers, but sadly they usually die in the summer, while the summer flowers can grow all year. I am going to have to research about the winter flowers a little bit more.
Oh, I have had a comment from an Iranian girl about my poem, I hope you are able to read it. I seriously had such a heavy feeling come over my body when I read it. And the poem was so hard to write. My left hand went numb while writing it and I am not sure if that was because it weighed so much on my heart or what they are going through to achieve something that we think very little about and just take for granted. In Panama we lived under the opression of Noriega and the fear we had to experience when we left the Canal Zone was not always fun. Which might be why their protests seem to affect me so much.
Well I think I am going to go visit Otin and see about those 'nuts hurting' that he was talking about.
God bless.
Somehow, there's something in the moment that encourages you to be yourself.
Otin: I know my personality changes from day to day, minute to minute. I am trying to find my voice with this writing thing. In person, I am this blend of wisdom and humor. I haven't quite learned how to portray that in blogging yet. I can be as reverent as I can be irreverent.
Sherry: We barely have four seasons up here. We have mainly winter and summer with a little fall and spring tossed in. Mt. Shasta isn't written in the flower, it is painted. On the right center, lower petals below the yellow center of the flower. If you don't look close, it just looks like part of the petal. It took me a number of times looking at the photo to see that it is there.
Dave: This is so true!
I'm dancing around to keep warm. I guess that means our days are getting lighter and I won't have to shower in the dark! (No actually I do have a light in the bathroom). Can't wait for the warmer days . .it's chilly down under! I love all the flowers!
How great to learn about other ways to celebrate midsummer. Sounds wonderful!
Hi! Ronda,
I knew once I walked into your house...that I would learn something "new" and very informative. I don't know about "dancing," but
I did learn a great deal from you, about the Summer Solstice or Midsummer's Night and the Eastern Hemisphere, marking the Winter Solstice.
Thanks, for sharing!
DeeDee ;-D
Baino: Oh, yes!!!! It does mean that the light and the warmth is coming. I know it is hard to beleive it but at that moment in time, you shift toward a new way. And I always say YEAHHHHH especially in the winter. In the summer, I know my days of light are numbered so it is kind of a love-hate thing.
Dot: I can't wait to read your blog about your midsummer celebration in Dublin!
Dee Dee: Back at ya, sistah! I always lots of movie stuff in your house.
Did you say passion? I'm intrigued.
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