June Solstice Rituals: Honor your seasons
Looking To Celebrate Summer Or Winter Solstice? Use These Magical Rituals!
Summer & Winter Solstice
As the Summer Solstice quickly approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice quickly approaches in the Southern Hemisphere. We’re reminded of the cycling of seasons— a time to honor both the darkness and the light.
The sun shift’s her proximity to Earth. This causes parts of the world to experience different seasons throughout the year. The word Solstice translates to the “sun sitting still in the sky.”
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we embrace Summer Solstice around June 21st. Summer Solstice brings forth the longest days and the shortest nights. Our lives overflow with glowing sunlight, radiant energy, and abundance.
In the Southern Hemisphere, they embrace Winter Solstice around June 20th. Winter Solstice brings forth the shortest days and the longest nights. Our lives overflow with glowing moonlight, inward reflection, darkness, death, and rebirth.
Without each season, we wouldn’t be able to truly relish in the unique essence of the opposing season.
Creating a solstice ritual is a beautiful reminder to embrace the ever-changing energy of the seasons. It’s ceremony celebrating both the hot and the cold, the Sun and the Moon, the darkness and light.
Solstice celebrations and rituals have been honored for centuries in many cultures across the world.
You may have heard of winter solstice referred to as Yule, Samhain, or Soyal. Or you’ve heard of the Summer Solstice referred to as Litha, Midsummer, or Alban Hefin.
Each culture has its unique way of honoring the coming of Summer, or the coming of Winter. They worked with both energies and saw them as equals.
One season isn’t better than the other. Both Winter and Summer are essential puzzle pieces. They birth balance and contrast into our lives. Just like darkness cannot exist without light, Winter cannot exist without Summer.
Embrace Summer Solstice energies or Winter Solstice energies by creating intuitive rituals.
Grab a pen and your favorite journal, and write down any ritual ideas that are calling to you.
We’ll first dive into Summer Solstice rituals.
Rituals To Honor The Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice is an embodiment of Masculine, Solar energy.
It’s a season of doing and accomplishing. It’s when your energy is at its peak, making it easier to finish tasks throughout your long, light-filled days.
Ideas, inspiration, and plants are blooming. There’s an overflow of radiance, vitality, and energy that you can channel into ritualistic summer solstice activities.
How can you celebrate the summer solstice?
Summer represents spending time outside. Dedicate time to exploration and adventure while the weather is perfect.
✷ Hike through a pasture and collect wildflowers.
✷ Dive into a fresh body of water like an ocean, lake, or river.
✷ Bathe in the golden rays of the sun and let the sun kiss your skin.
✷ Traverse dense green forests and walk barefoot to ground into Mother Earth.
✷ Host a late-night bonfire to connect with the moon and the stars on a cool summer evening.
Your body may crave lighter, raw foods. Honor what your body’s asking for during the Summer season.
✷ Shop at your local farmers market for juicy, fresh summertime ingredients.
✷ Hand-pick your favorite fruits and veggies to cook an outdoor, summer solstice feast.
✷ Eat in-season fruits and vegetables like lemons, squash, papayas, corn, oranges, bananas, carrots, peppers, peaches, apricots, cantaloupe, mangoes, grapefruit, or sweet potatoes.
This is a beautiful time to adorn your altar with magical Summer Solstice items.
✷ Find yellow beeswax, or warm-colored candles to place on your altar.
✷ Decorate with fresh flowers like sunflowers, marigolds, or orange roses. Or with summer-thriving herbs such as lavender, mint, rosemary, and basil.
✷ Enhance your altar with citrine, carnelian, and garnet— they embody the abundant essence of the Sun.
What practices give you a sense of expansion, joy, and abundance? What is ripening in my life right now?
Play with summer solstice rituals that feel authentic to you, and practice gratitude for the abundance within your life.
Let’s transition into our favorite ways to honor the Winter Solstice….
Rituals To Honor The Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice is an embodiment of Feminine, Lunar energy.
It’s a season of release, dormancy, and darkness. It’s when your energy’s lower but your intuitions heightened. It’s the perfect time for inward reflection and rest during the short, dark days.
There’s an overflow of cool, brisk air, moonlight, and stillness with yourself.
How can you celebrate the winter solstice?
Winter’s spent inside, whether you’re physically indoors to stay cozy or diving deeper inward.
✷ Celebrate the silence.
✷ Allow extra time to spend with yourself in prayer, or meditation.
✷ Journal about your personal experiences with death and rebirth.
✷ Read a good book and curl up by the fireplace with a warm cup of tea.
Your body may crave lots of warm, nourishing foods. Now’s the time to bake homemade goodness in your kitchen. Use traditional recipes that have been passed down in your family, or get creative!
✷ Make drinks that warm and nourish your soul like tea, eggnog, or mulled wine.
✷ Cook with foods that have an emphasis on nature like nuts, elderberry, squash, potatoes, and meat. Finish with spices like thyme, sage, or oregano.
✷ Bake comforting goodies with traditional flavors like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and peppermint.
This is a wonderful time to adorn your altar with magical Winter Solstice items.
✷ Find purple, dark blue, green, or black candles to symbolize winter-time darkness.
✷ Decorate your altar with greenery like mistletoe, spruce, pine, or cedar.
✷ Enhance your altar with amethyst, citrine, or rose quartz. They’ll give you the boost of energy, self-love, and protection you need during the dark depths of winter.
Your winter solstice ritual is unique to you— your embodiment of death and rebirth in the natural world.
What practices give you a sense of peace, clarity, and inner knowing? How can you release the old, and invite in the new?
Whether you’re living in the Northern Hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere, ask yourself— how do you feel called to honor the cycling of seasons?
Honor your light within during the Summer Solstice and embrace your deep renewal during the Winter Solstice.
Written with love by Jill Wintersteen
FAQ’s
What’s the difference between solstice and equinox?
The Solstice represents the longest and shortest days of the year (Winter and Summer) while the Equinox represents Spring and Autumn (when day and night are the same length).
Who can celebrate Solstice?
Anyone! If you feel called to embody the energy of the sun and ever-shifting seasons, then have fun and enjoy!
What are the best crystals for banishing seasonal disorders during Winter?
Carnelian to invoke the energy of the sun and bring her warmth into your home.
Citrine acts as a beam of light during those cold, short, dark days.
Lapis Lazuli for when you journey deep into your spiritual development.
Rose quartz embodies love when you're feeling down or alone.
How do I know which hemisphere I’m in?
Anywhere north of the equator is the northern hemisphere (North America, Europe, and most of Asia). Anywhere south of the equator is the southern hemisphere (Australia, Antarctica, and most of South America.
Do Summer and Winter Solstice always occur on the same date?
No, it’s not based on the calendar and won’t always occur on the same day. Fun Fact: The June Solistice always coincides with the Start of Cancer Season. The Decemeber Solsitce alwasy concides with the start of Capriciorn Season.
Dive deeper into your solstice practices with the Cancer + Capricorn workbook bundle.
