Happy Summer Solstice!  In case you missed the Stonehenge Summer Solstice Sunrise simulcast, you may be able to catch the Stonehenge Summer Solstice *Sunset* simulcast!  You can catch the Solstice Sunset livestream from Stonehenge, with coverage from 3:30 – 5:30 pm EDT *today*. (Also, it is Winter Solstice/Yule for those in the Southern Hemisphere).   Any Summer Solstice is the peak of the Sun’s presence on Earth, and this year is also the peak of the 11 year solar activity cycle, spawning auroras like we saw a few weeks ago!

This double peak is an especially powerful time to celebrate and invoke the power of our nearest star.  Though we don’t expect auroras today/tonight, we can be sure that more cosmic blasts are coming this year, and though they may not spark geomagnetic storms as strong as the recent one described on our Naturalistic Pagan blog here, some at least will get to see some auroras.

With this special Solstice in mind, let’s celebrate!  The previous post listed many online celebrations, and some in person events are likely near you as well.

Celebrations

The ways that many of us are celebrating were published recently.  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.