Happy Summer Solstice!  Did you get a chance to see the eclipse (even if by simulcast)?  Here in Michigan, the fog thinned just enough to see the last stages of the eclipse from my house – nice!  Even better, Up North many areas had wonderful views of the Sunrise eclipse, such as the stunning photo with the Mackinaw bridge, above (and available for purchase at Lake Superior Photo).

There are online events today, and due to the weirdness of our time zones and spherical Earth, we can watch the Summer Solstice sunrise late tonight in the evening of the Summer Solstice!  What?  How?  Because to moment of the Solstice (when the Earth’s axis exactly points the most toward the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere or the most away from the Sun in the Southern Hemisphere) happens at 3:32 am on June 21st at Stonehenge, it will still be June 20th in the United States (11:32 pm) and will already be the evening of June 21st in Australia!  So the day we call the Summer Solstice is June 21 at Stonehenge (and locations East of Stonehenge) and the day we call the Summer Solstice is June 20 for locations West of Stonehenge this year.  (Also, it is Winter Solstice/Yule for those in the Southern Hemisphere).

Here are the online events:

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).  Three 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.