the summer solstice: lithia
Over a decade ago, I began my deep dive in search of meaningful milestone markers of Time & Season. A list of many of them can be found in my ritual blog, here.
Much of the work associated with my creating the Well-Seasoned Woman’s Studio draws upon the idea that every calendar year (AND, every LIFE!) can be divided into four sections or seasonal quarters, comprised of two solstices and two equinoxes.
Whether a solstice or equninox, the beginning of each of these quarters is marked by a “sky happening”— a specific point in the annual journey of the Earth’s rotation and tilt in relation to the Sun. This very predictable pattern of sky-happenings and earth-responses forms the basis for our own ability to discover, celebrate, and live out the truth of this ancient wisdom:
The Summer Solstice is the scientific name for the seasonal festival of Lithia/Litha (pronounced LEE-thee-uh or LEE-thuh), the threshold into the season of Summer. Taking time to mark the Summer Solstice is saying YES to Summer’s “seasoning”—it’s wisdom, energetic FLOW, and purpose.
At Lithia, the natural world is filled with maximum annual light; the Solstice is technically the longest day of the calendar year. At Lithia we celebrate the power & love that is released when things get heated up. We celebrate meaningful work—and the extended time to bring a creative project to fruition—i.e. our “get ‘er done” energy.
In the Well-Seasoned Woman’s world, when we cross the threshold into Summer, we're provided the opportunity of reveling in all things pulsing with Summer's unique energy.
In the long and lingering daylight hours, gardens are thriving, baby animals are maturing, fields of grain are shooting up and ripening, orchards are fruiting, and farmers are “making hay while the sun shines."
Even summer nights are super-charged with activity-- the fertile energy of bioluminescent firefly light and exuberant insect song, of frog chorus and fox prowling.
In the world of feminine archetypes, Summer is the Season of the MOTHER--for what other role is better defined by the stretched-out feeling of long hours, hard work, and sacrifice on behalf of bringing something immature to its maturity--than that of the archetypal MOTHER?
Who else can help us identify the places in our own lives where we are showing up when the heat is on than the universal Mother? Who else teaches us how to connect with our most primal, relational drive to nurture & protect what is vulnerable but the cosmic Mother?
No matter what time of the year our personal Summer is unfolding, we can all access MOTHER wisdom in the natural world surrounding us each and every Summer. Mama Nature has much to teach us about how to embody the goodness of the MOTHER--all we have to do is pay attention to what she is showing us!
the key themes of lithia worth honoring
Since Lithia is one of the “big four” seasonal thresholds of each calendar year, it’s worth investing a little time to mark its annual occurrence. Why? Well, because taking the time to mark such moments is a way of making meaning of them—of discovering the deep goodness of each season’s shifting flow, its gifts, and its purposes— so that these shifts don’t somehow escape our notice.
When honoring Lithia/the Summer Solstice, you’ll want to include at least several of these key ideas:
The wonder & goodness of Light
The sweetness of meaningful work, commitment, & sacrifice for the greater good
What is worth protecting & nurturing, i.e. “mothering” of all kinds
The beauty of full, fruitful expression
Fairy folklore
When my daughter, Victoria’s, cherry tree fruits, I KNOW Summer has arrived! P.S. The cherries are delicious!
I’ve found that a brilliant, thematic way to honor the transition from season to season and to deepen my experience of daily living into the current season is to keep a daily, affirmation practice.
To read more about affirmations for the Well-Seasoned Woman, check out this blog post and this one. I begin saying this affirmation aloud daily on the Summer Solstice and continue until the Fall Equinox in late September.
My work is my gift to the world, and I delight in the fruits of my labor.
Also: My gift is my work with the world, so all may delight in the fruits of my labor.
some ritual-making ideas for lithia honoring
Summer is the season that’s infused with the energy of our Social Instinct—which is ALL the things that keep us connected with who & what matters most to us…and to the continuation of our glorious planet!
Here is a list of ideas to spark the content of your Lithia/Solstice celebration. If you’re following the WSW’s 5-part ritual template, these ideas could be used as the content for #Step 4.
Set your circadian rhythms by sunrise & sunset. Take a minute to figure out when the sun is rising/setting & try to establish your own waking/sleeping cycles to correspond roughly with the Sun’s example. If this doesn’t work with your schedule, then maybe set a goal to be present for as many sunrises OR sunsets as you possibly can. Turn this into your daily ritual of beauty and wonder and awe.
Create a Summer Threshold mandala. Take some time to forage a variety of seasonal, natural elements in your yard or a local park, then clear a spot somewhere outside and create a mandala using the twigs, petals, buds, cones, seeds, leaves, etc. that you’ve discovered. This is about doing it, NOT doing it “perfectly”, okay? Have fun & give thanks for the bounty of Summer evident in your artwork.
This is one of the ritual mandalas I created on stump in my yard to celebrate the coming of a new season!
Create a Lithia altar on a small table or shelf or windowsill, adorning it with objects and/or symbols in keeping with Summer themes, like fruit, grass wheat, honey, Mama bears (or other animals), creatures of the fey, and of course, the Sun. Add some “fruiting” essential oils such as Lemon, Bergamot, Orange, and Lime as well as those that evoke a summer herb garden, like Mint, Sage, & Thyme. Add a drop or two of essential oil into a teaspoon of carrier oil (such as olive or almond), then dab on your wrists and ankles as you repeat your Summer/Mother affirmation [See above.]
Make & place in your yard/home a fairy/gnome garden. Summer is the season of the Fey—remember the Puck & the fairies from Midsummer Night’s Dream? Have fun creating a fairy garden & placing it outside, near the roots of a tree or in a nook somewhat protected from the elements. Below, my grandson, Jack, loves discovering all the evidence of fairies & gnomes at the local Fairy & Gnome Festival held annually near his home.
Prepare & share a yummy Lithia feast. Use your imagination to create some dishes/beverages that incorporate the fresh, seasonal gifts of Mama Nature—such as corn, berries, honey, sunflower seeds, and melons. The options are endless!
Spend some intentional, sensory time with Mama Nature. Go on a ramble along a hiking trail, or simply stroll through your neighborhood or garden, allowing yourself to be filled with wonder and joy at the sights, sounds, and smells of our glorious, magnificent, thriving planet!
