June 21 - Summer Solstice

Another Summer Solstice has come and gone. Even this whole year, 2011 is already halfway over. Amazing!
First day of summer but we have been feeling the heat here in Texas for a few months already. High humidity and three digit temps. So back inside I go to hibernate til the fall or winter. Or at least try to get most of my gardening done in the early mornings or take my walks at that time.


Alban Hefin, (The Light of Summer or The Light of the Shore) as it is known by the Druids when we have the longest time of light. This was also known as the Festival of Joy. A colorful celebration full of music and dancing around a bonfire!
This day, we had 15 hours and 11 minutes of daylight and more and more cities around the U.S. are having Solstice parties! From the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio to Santa Barbara, California and of course Stonehenge itself in the United Kingdom, more and more are catching on and having a great time to welcome the longest day of the year!


So as the Winter Solstice was a time of mourning the death of the old year and the lowering of the light, the Summer Solstice is when we embrace the light and rejoice in this new year that is upon us.


Ever since June 21st, the Summer Solstice has passed, our days have been slowly getting shorter. This always boggled my mind a bit as I always thought it was the other way around? At least it seemed that way to me as I was growing up.


Seeing more and more people celebrating moments in nature like this, gives heart that we may once again start to revere nature and pay more attention to the natural wonders all around us and less and less on the material and not wallow in the anger and hate around the world.


It does seem like we are always looking for an excuse to party! But coming together and celebrating, sharing of our world and the wonders it holds, sounds like a great idea to me! Sometimes, it feels like we are coming full circle with our society, especially during times like this.


I hope that everyone was able to get out in the sunshine if you can, tilt your face up to the warming rays that glowed from the fiery star in the sky. Breathe in the magicke of the air and set yourself free upon the wind. Alban Hefin is about balance, rejoicing in the sun's light at it's most strongest. Perhaps find that balance within your life and take that time, to wander amongst the trees and be as one amongst nature and the natural world.