Summer Solstice - approx. June 21st
The Sun is at his zenith, beaming loving and healing light onto everything he touches. Although at his strongest, the sun’s rays aren’t yet harsh like they will be in a month or two. Gaia is receiving the fertile, life-giving light and producing abundant resources to support the living beings on her.
Archetypes
Astrological Sign: Cancer
Cancer, represented by the crab, rules the home. A feminine sign, she is often associated with the mother archetype. The crab has a hard exterior, but a soft and sensitive interior. Much like a mama bear protecting her cubs. She is a powerful female figure, embracing the masculine in her role as both nurturer and protector.
Emotionally, cancer is very sensitive but hides that behind a tough exterior. What you see and what’s really going on beneath aren’t usually the same thing. In balance, Cancer embraces the strength of the sun and feels courageous and self-assured. Out of balance, the cancer hides away from the sun’s rays, leading to self-doubt and increased sensitivity to others’ actions.
Chakra: solar plexus
The seat of personal power and self-confidence, the solar plexus is your internal fire. It gives you the inspiration to act and the energy to carry it out. Flowing freely, this chakra will have you living your purpose. Blocked or excessive and you’ll be immobilized by self-doubt and lack of energy or overtaken by narcissism.
The eight chakras covered in this course with their associated color, element, sense, and location. Note the Crown does not have a sense and Soul Star has neither a sense or color.
Tarot: The Chariot
The Chariot represents momentum, expertly focused to bring about success through willpower and determination. It is a strong, masculine energy of action and control, bending events and outcomes to the will of the doer. The shadow side of the Chariot is uncontrolled momentum, the danger of too much power and speed. Used wisely, though, and this energy is the height of masculinity – strength and power skillfully directed and controlled – which meets the fertile summer fields of Cancer season on Mama Gaia. Together, these energies give birth to dynasties.
Exercises
Body: cool off
Stay cool. Many fruits are available at this time with their sweet juiciness hydrating our bodies and cooling us down. Enjoy them! If you want an efficient way to get lots of fruits into one meal, smoothies are a great way to pack in tons of nutrients and variety.
Emotions: Fire Element
Keeping cool is an important part of the summer season, including taking care of your emotional state. With a strong sun comes a strong fire element. This time of year, emotions can start to run hot.
For some, this may be beneficial and stoke the fires of their passion and inspiration. For others, particularly those with strong fire element in their constitutions, this time of year can increase irritability and anger. You may be more sensitive to criticism or even start to get burned out and depleted.
Water is a great way to douse too hot a fire. Try to incorporate at least one of these practices into your life daily:
Hydrating fruits and vegetables such as
cucumbers, melons, grapes, and pineappleCooling herbs and spices: mint, rose,
saffron, cilantroImmerse yourself in water. A cool bath, a
stream, lake, or swimming pool.
Mind: extremes — overthinking or reckless
A crab in its shell or a careening chariot out of control, which one feels more familiar? Overthinking or underthinking?
If you tend to think yourself into immobility, do something spontaneous. Just one thing! Spontaneous doesn’t have to mean dangerous or foolish. Next time you need to make a choice, don’t stop and write a list. Pick the first one you leaned towards. It can be scary, but trust never comes if you don’t practice it!
If you typically act without thinking, it’s time to examine your motives. Are you acting from trust and intuition or impatience and imprudence? The next time you move to act, stop and consider the why behind your actions. Are you choosing the easiest route? The most exciting? It can be hard to differentiate between intuition and the path of least resistance. And, often, they are one and the same. But sometimes doing things in what appears to be the easy way is anything but. When we look down the road at the consequences of our actions, when the fallout starts to stack up, suddenly we see the difficulties of what we thought was the easy route.
Spirit: The divine masculine
Embrace the masculine in a balanced and beneficial manner. Combining the intuition of the feminine with the energy of the masculine can lead to inspired action. Meaningful adventures and creative pursuits are what summer is all about. While late spring is about fun for fun’s sake, the beginning of summer takes it a step further by asking you to step out of your comfort zone. Try something new, go somewhere you’ve never been, explore a park or trail. Wonder at the beauty and unending surprises Mama Gaia has to offer.