The Last Night of Spring <3

Happy Summer Solstice Eve

Goodnight from Rockaway :) <3

It’s Saturday, June 20, the last night of Spring. The summer solstice is arriving soon, at 4:24am ET, and I for one am ready for a shift. A washing away, a cycle completed, a fresh introduction. And Midsummer, a time often regarded as sacred and magical, seems the perfect opportunity to start anew.

After a slow walk along the beach and a mint chip ice cream, I got into bed this evening and read about ancient and modern customs and celebrations surrounding tomorrow. Ritual baths, white gowns, crickets and candles, Mugwort beneath the pillow, bonfires and dancing all night, music and feasting, flower crowns and whimsy, herbs and wine, singing and leaping.

“For thousands of years, communal fires mirrored the sun’s power to ward off malevolent spirits. Revellers would leap over the flames to seek protection and good fortune.

Ancient druids and herbalists gathered plants like St. John’s wort, verbena, and yarrow during midsummer, believing the sun’s peak energy imbued these plants with enhanced medicinal and protective magic. These herbs were dried and used throughout the winter for healing and protection.

In Scandinavian traditions, collecting seven or nine different types of wildflowers and placing them under your pillow on Midsummer Eve is said to bring prophetic dreams about a future spouse.

In Celtic belief, the solstice was a powerful "liminal" threshold when the veil between worlds thinned. Fairies and nature spirits were believed to be highly active during this time, weaving enchantments through the forests

The Greek Klidonas involved collecting fresh sea water, placing personal tokens under a tree overnight, and reciting prophetic rhymes the next day.

Pagans make pilgrimages to local rivers, lakes, or “holy wells” to solicit blessings and leave offerings.

Solstice worshippers have historically gathered at sacred stone monuments, such as Stonehenge in the UK, to watch the sunrise, a practice that continues today.”

I feel happy to be here at the ocean where everything is innately restorative and cleansing. I’m thankful to feel enchanted by it all tonight, comforted by soft images of imagination, knowing that when everything changes from Spring into Summer, I’ll be somewhere deep in dreams, waking to what I wish will be a better world.

How will you observe the solstice? What are you excited for, hoping, wishing for?

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The moment I finished writing this little message, the sky outside became an orchestra of fireworks. We walked to the beach to see them. Here they are for you. <3

I think somehow, this is a good sign. :)

Wishing you all a Happy Solstice Eve, and if you’re reading this on Sunday, Happy Summer Solstice to you. <3