Summer Solstice ‘07

21st Jun 2007

With the Solstice marking the official start of Summer on June 21st, we’ve now entered the waning half of the year. With the most active part of the year behind us, it’s time to begin seeing the benefits of all the things we’ve set into motion.

Summer is that magical time of warm nights by the fireside, laughter and spontaneity, when everything seems to be fully alive. In the months to come, we will begin to feel that instinctual pull to retreat inwards, to draw our energy close to us and hibernate for the winter. For now, though – we, like the flowers around us, are in full bloom. It’s time to connect with our tribes and communities and share who we are and what we have.

My tribe celebrates this point of the Wheel with a camping trip. It’s a celebration of all our hard work and a space of rest to prepare for what is to come. This year, we camped at Ripplebrook Campground in the Mt. Hood National Forest. The word Solstice literally means: “sun stands still”. During these three days out in the woods away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it does literally feel as if time “stands still”. We sleep, wake, eat and play by the sun and the moon. My family is so in sync with each other, we all know what our part is and we just do it. Things go very smoothly and it really has that “tribal” atmosphere to it. It really did feel like we were all alone out there - we booked half of the campsite just for our group - and there was only one other couple there besides the camp host. The camp host was so cool - he gave us some sage and showed the kids his Native American seismograph (a sculpture of rocks standing in a tower on a slab of flat rock).

The campsites are right on the river, so we can hear the water rushing by all night long. We put up our tent under a huge tree that had fallen over and then continued to grow upward again. It did rain just a little bit that first night, but we were totally shaded by the tree and stayed dry. Keith and I and the kids make a habit of arriving a day before everyone else. I’m always the organizer of the trip, coordinating all the details - and although I LOVE to do it, it is a lot of work - so it’s really nice to be able to set up my camp in quiet and chill out before things get really busy. The kids love to go off into the woods and explore for hours, which gives Keith and I some time alone in Nature.

The next day, my sister and her family arrived. She has a little 1 year old boy and this was his first camping trip. That was an adventure. LOL He was really good, I thought - although I could tell my sister was pretty frazzled by the end of the weekend. At one point during the trip, I took her to some hot springs that are nearby and she got a “hot stone massage” while her hubby and everyone else watched the baby. My grandparents were there too, and my Mom and her boyfriend. My grandpa told stories to the kids around the campfire at night, which they loved. Everyone had their own site to sleep in, but our site was the “main” site where we shared communal meals.

We had some family activities with the kids - my Grandma brought supplies for each of us to make a flowered headdress and we decorated a large wreath. We set up a beautiful altar between two trees at the main site. (pictured above) And then we reserved an additional site just for our ceremony. We went down there together and created the temple. It was so beautiful. The site was really rocky and mossy - so we put little tea light candles all around. There were several natural “altars” made from rocks and tree stumps, so we created an altar for each element. For privacy, we strung a clothesline between two trees and then hung beautiful celtic tapestries. We created a doorway between two tapestries and hung my friend’s broom over the threshold. It was just gorgeous. Later that day, the two ladies who were camping further down from us came by and told us how beautiful it was. It just felt so magical - like everyone in the entire campground was supporting us and loving us. My Mom’s boyfriend went down to chat with the camp host and told him that we were planning a ceremony after dark - to make sure we were clear in case we made nose (campground quiet hours are usually after 10PM - and we didn’t get started until 10:30 probably) We have this beautiful quartz crystal singing bowl that my Grandma bought for us and it can get really loud when it really gets going.

The ceremony was beautiful. With all the candles lit in the dark, and the fire in the center, and the river right there - WOW! We had sage burning as we walked through the threshold into the sacred space and all the elements there on the altars. I read some words about what it means to be a Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone and then honored each of them with a gift. I got these amulets for each of them that have a spiral that is all intertwined and connected - and told them that this represents us - how we are each on our own spiral of life, yet we are always journeying together. My Grandma told my Great-Granny (who is 88) what we were planning and my Granny wanted to write some of her words of wisdom down for us. She put it in a sealed envelope and told us not to open it until just the right time. My Grandma read it to us in the circle. It was so perfect. Simple and beautiful.

The last day, we did an activity with everyone - a group manifestation. We had everyone write down something they would like to manifest by next Summer Solstice. Then we rolled these up like little scrolls and inserted them into the wreath. My Grandma took the wreath home and she will keep it safe until next year. Then next year, we will get together again and read all the manifestations and reflect on how well they came true. Then burn the old ones and do new ones each year. The last day of camping was also Father’s Day, so we did something special to honor the men. The men in our tribe are so awesome. They support us every step of the way

For more information about Summer Solstice, including ways to celebrate it, click here.

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