soul - stice

hands back in the ground. face turned to the sun. thoughts turned inward.

Solstice. new beginning.

travel

And so today I build my own roadways from there to there and back, where I enjoy the advantage of living in two worlds at once - the mundane world and the world 'out-there' where the sun never sets and adventure lurks in every breath, where destiny and free-will meet, and like past and future are irrevocably wedded.

(ref: Eileen Garrett)

elsewhere

And then they suddenly came to the wood. It was not far from their cottage, at the back. It looked quite an ordinary wood, except the trees were a darker green than usual.

"It's a magic wood!" said Fanny suddenly.

They stood beneath the trees and peered about. Small freckles of of sunshine lay here and there on the ground, but not many, for the trees were thick.

"It really is magic!" said Fanny. "I can feel magic about somewhere, can't you, Bessie? Can't you, Jo?"

"Yes," said the others...

(ref: Blyton, The Enchanted Wood)

summer solstice

This is a dual celebration. On the one hand it is a celebration of all that has become manifest durng the outward cycle of the sun, and on the other hand, it is a celebration of the return to the dark side of the year, the exploration of the inner world, inner wisdom and inner development. (ref: Kindred, 2007)

Also a time of icecream!

Summer Solstice in Australia 2009 - 22 December 4.47am

summer power

Summer in Australia is about power - the raw power of nature.

"We call this the place of the wild, the untamed, the unpredictable. It is often seen as the height of masculine or male energy, of assertiveness, thrust, push and growth, the linear and overt: the opposite of the dark embrace of [winter]. It is the place of power."

but what is power?

"The whole concept of power...is dangerous ground. It pulls without feeling at the roots, testing, testing our resolve and our ability to deal with the consequences of our actions, licking the air with its hunger...it reveals our weakness.

"To grasp our power is frightening. It is our ability to act, which means it's also our ability to make mistakes and to fail. Too often the [north] is avoided."

Mandela tells us: "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us."

 So, "...avoidance doesn't teach us. To learn, to grow, we must stop, find courage... we turn to look at the beliefs we hold about power. We look at the energy, the unpredicability, the force... It is the spark of our courage, fuelled by the oxygen of our thoughts and the old wood of our past experience, all of which make the fire that is our drive." (ref: Restall Orr, 2000)

Power in summer is the storm that rolls in after a hot day that tests even the most patient. We are afraid of the power of the storm- its unpredictablity, its destruction, its chaos. We can not stop it, redirect it, calm it or reason with it.

Sowilo

"This force is the lightning bolt that links heaven and earth and guides the vitki... It is the illuminating beacon that guides the seeker across a sea of consciousness... The sun rune means strength, energy, life force... the light of truth and enlightened consciousness. It strengthens the will, and helps one to gain access to inner guidance..." (ref: Paxson, 2005)

Be not afraid of yourself