A nourished Summer Solstice
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This month, here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Wheel of the Year turns once more, and we reach its radiant peak: the Summer Solstice.
For anyone in the southern hemisphere you are going into winter, here’s a winter solstice post there are others to if you search through the blog posts over the years.
Also known as Litha, the Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night of the year. It’s the point in the solar cycle when the Sun stands still in the sky, beaming down at its highest and brightest. In the Wheel of the Year, it represents a time of culmination, celebration, and full bloom, a moment to pause and bask in the golden energy of what has been growing and unfolding in our lives.
We've journeyed from the depths of the Winter Solstice, when we sat with the dark and the seeds of new beginnings, and now we stand in the fullness of light. From here, the days will slowly begin to shorten as we spiral inward again toward the darker months. But for now, we are invited to be in the light, to celebrate life, and to honour how far we’ve come.
Summer is often a season bursting with activity, joy, and outward energy. It’s a time when we feel called to be social, to explore, to celebrate. But it can also come with pressure, the need to do everything, to fit it all in, to make it perfect. Sometimes we’re so swept up in the high energy of summer that by the time we get to this point in the year, we’re already a little burnt out from spring’s surge of doing.
This is your gentle reminder: you don’t have to chase summer.
Let it meet you where you are.
Whether you’re in a personal season of winter, spring, summer, or autumn, there is always a way to align with the energy of the solstice.
If you're in an inner winter, use the high solar energy around you to celebrate your small wins and simple moments of presence.
If you’re in an inner autumn, this is a beautiful time to joyfully release what no longer serves, celebrating the spaciousness that comes from letting go.
And if you’re in your own personal summer, bask in it. But pace yourself. Because joy isn’t meant to be rushed, it’s meant to be lived.
One of the most overlooked aspects of summer is rest. We often associate summer with activity and adventure, but it’s just as much about savouring. To sit in the sunshine. To marvel at the long light-filled evenings. To enjoy what's already here.
We live in a culture that conditions us to “make the most of it”, as if the energy of summer is something scarce that might run out. But what if we let go of that pressure? What if we stopped treating summer like a fleeting commodity and started treating it like a moment-to-moment gift?
Let summer be a time of gentle celebration.
Not the kind you have to plan or prove, but the kind that lives in your body when you feel full. When you’ve achieved something meaningful, or simply witnessed the beauty of a flower in bloom. Let yourself linger in the glow. Fill your cup, not to overflow, but just enough to carry that warmth with you into the cooler seasons ahead.
The Solstice also invites reflection. As the light begins its slow return to the dark, we begin to shift our attention from outward growth to inner integration. This is the turning point—a time to ask:
What have I created or achieved this year so far?
What am I proud of?
What do I want to take with me as I spiral inward again?
Just like nature, we’re not meant to bloom forever.
We’re meant to cycle, to rise, to shine, to rest, to let go. So as we celebrate, we also prepare. We take in the solar energy, store it in our cells like golden memory, and carry it with us toward autumn’s harvest and winter’s rest.
Even as I write this on a rainy day in the UK, far from the stereotypical sun-soaked image of summer, I feel the presence of the Solstice. It’s not just in the sunshine; it’s in the light within. It’s in how we choose to show up to this moment, to honour our lives as they are, and to live with reverence for the turning of the Wheel.
So whether you're dancing barefoot under the sun or curled up in a quiet corner, let this be your invitation:
Celebrate. Nourish. Be present.
Let summer fill you, not deplete you.
And carry that golden light with you, wherever you go.
All my love
Hannah X