Welcome my sun-worshipping comrades to the summer solstice.
Also known as Midsummer, this day of days marks the point when our regal death star is at its furthest point from the equator, delivering unto us the longest span of sunshine and the briefest night we’ll see all year.
(The opposite holds for the Southern Hemisphere, where June brings with it the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.)
This year, the summer solstice arrives on Jun 20, 2024, 4:50 PM
All hail as daylight edges out darkness, the world blooms, pollen drifts and we look forward to warmth and welcome the onset of summer and the beginning of Cancer season.
Read on to find what the summer solstice means for you.
What is a solstice?
Solstice is a marriage of the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still,” and this is what appears to happen during a solstice from our vantage on Earth.
Equinoxes and solstices remind us that we stand within, not apart from, nature, these celestial points coincide with cardinal zodiac signs and the shifting of seasons.
When a solstice arrives, the sun reaches its highest or lowest point relative to our celestial equator, the imaginary band that mirrors our actual equator.
Summer’s pale, wind burned, stew fed, pine scented sister, the winter solstice, coincides with the longest night and shortest day of the year. Betwixt the two we observe the spring and autumn equinoxes wherein sunlight and night are evenly distributed.
What is the summer solstice?
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice announces the arrival of the warmest months of the year. At this point in time, the Sun seems to stand still at the northernmost point of the equator, also known as the Tropic of Cancer.
After this high helio holiday, the Sun will slowly start its journey south once again.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice always falls on June 20, 21 or 22. Marching on, as time is inclined to do, our hours of daylight will slowly wane.
Astrology 101: Your guide to the stars
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses?
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
How does the summer solstice affect us spiritually?
Our ancient ancestors lived with and by the rhythms of the natural world that surrounded them; using the sun, moon, and stars as both a mirror and a map.
The summer solstice has been observed since at least the Neolithic era, some 10,000 years ago and has long been associated with renewal, fertility, community and victory….and before Christianity rose like the boner kill it is, people were having a very, very good time.
Egyptians built the Great Pyramids so that the sun, when viewed from the Sphinx on the summer solstice, sets precisely between the pyramids of Khafra and Khufu. The spectacle replicates the Egyptian hieroglyph “Akhet,” meaning “horizon.”
Romans pre-partied the summer solstice with the ritual worship of Vesta, sacrificing unborn calves to honor the virgin goddess whose temple included a sacred fire that was never put out, an eternal burning metaphor for the sun itself.
Before Christianity rose like the starched collar boner kill it is, people who celebrrated the solstice were having a very, very good time.
Pre-colonizaton, in what is now America, almost all Plains tribes observed the The Sun Dance around the time of the summer solstice. Also known as Wiwányang Wacípi, The Sun Dance is a four day visionary ceremony and act of communal healing. The stone arrangement of Wyoming’s Bighorn medicine wheel and others like it, aligns with the solstice sunrise and sunset.
Constructed by the Mayans between 1000 and 1200 A.D., the axes of the step pyramid at Chichen Itza are oriented toward the rising point of the sun at the summer solstice and its setting point at the winter solstice. Durng the summer solstice, the north and east sides are illuminated while the south and west sides are covered in shade, visually dividing the pyramid in two.
For Scandinavians, Midsummer celebrations usher in the sweetness of summer via ecstatic dancing, singing, excessive drinking, cleaning house, lighting bonfires, skinnydipping in springs, and collecting flowers. These rituals arose from the pagan belief that Midsummer was a magical moment of pure potential and both the height of the fire and the pitch of human howling were thought to drive evil spirits away. On the eve of Midsummer, belief holds that a future lover can be seen by looking into a well at midnight or dreamed by sleeping with seven flowers under your pillow.
Perphaps the most famous monument to the movement of the sun is Stonehenge. Dating back 5,000 years, the mysterious stone circle in Wiltshire, England has for just as long, played host to pilgrims who come to see the sun rise above the Heel Stone on the summer solstice.
Regardless of your spiritual beliefs or practices, the summer solstice offers the opportunity to embrace a sense of culmination and give thanks for the ceaselss, life giving energy of the sun itself.
How does the Summer Solstice affect us astrological?
The summer solstice marks the beginning of Cancer season. When we wade into these cardinal headwaters. we turn within to understand who we are, and look back to see what came before, the ancient and the imagined, braided and bleached by the length of daylight.
Cancer is synonymous with the archetype of the mother and both the solstice and this season serve to remind us that it is never too late for light or to give live birth and tender, solar attention to who we may be.
In the words of the poet Tess Taylor,
“our patron star
whose ancient vista is the long view
turns its wide brightness now and here:
Below, we loll outdoors, sing & make fire…
Our earthly time is sweetening from this.”
Astrology 101: Your guide to the star
- The 12 zodiac signs
- What are the astrology houses
- Here’s what each planet represents
- Sun, moon, and rising signs: Get to know your Big 3
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Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports back on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture and personal experience
