(Winter Solstice/Yule for those in the Southern Hemisphere)

What is your most powerful experience of our Summer Solstice?  What would it be like experience unending daylight, for weeks?  You can find out…….

An island just voted to abolish time!  The island of Sommaroy, in Norway, is well within the Arctic circle, so when our star, the Sun, rises on May 18th, it stays up until July 26th.  In celebration, the islanders voted to abolish time during those days of light.  The same Atlantic current that warms the rest of Europe to a freakishly warm climate also warms Sommaroy, giving it a climate much warmer than other locales within the Arctic circle, such as Northern Alaska.  With those features, it’s on my Pagan Pilgrimage list!  Though I’m not sure if it will be more powerful during the Summer Solstice or the Winter Solstice.  Both?

It seems to me that the Summer Solstice (and all our quarter Sabbats, in fact) are gaining prominence every year.  Does it seem like that to you?  Perhaps it is true, and contributed to this cool article, which includes several Summer Solstice tidbits, along with a nod to us Pagans as well as mentioning the total Solar eclipse coming up on July 2nd.

Celebrations

The ways that many of us are celebrating were published a few weeks ago.  Some of us may be lucky enough to be celebrating at Stonehenge today, but for those who are not, remember that there are at least hundreds of other stone circles in Europe, and many others on every continent (except Antarctica, of course).   That includes the United States, where they are often known as Medicine Wheels – as well as many recently made circles, like the small stone circle we made in the woods behind our house.  Just a few years ago, I held my Summer Solstice ritual next to the ancient earth circle in central Indiana (which has a Summer Solstice notch).  Two years ago, I made a spiritual pilgrimage to Stonehenge.  Though it was not on the Summer Solstice itself, it was just a couple weeks after the Solstice, and I was deeply moved by watching the Sun rise over the heelstone.

In whatever way you are celebrating, Happy Summer Solstice!

This is an updated version of our annual Summer Solstice post.