Summer Solstice Newsletter
Linda E. Savage, Ph.D. DD is a minister of Spiritual Science and a member of the ESP Lab for nearly 40 years and a member of the board. She is a Licensed Psychologist, Marriage and Family Therapist and AASECT certified sex educator who brings the wisdom of her 35 years of experience treating couples and individuals. As the author of Reclaiming Goddess Sexuality, she blends current clinical knowledge and ancient wisdom and has created a companion CD of guided meditations: Maiden, Mother, Wise Woman: Reclaiming Our Sexuality. Dr. Savage is recognized as a leading seminar leader and speaker. She wrote for the Huffington Post as an expert blogger on Spiritual Sex.
Merry Midsummer my Friends,
On June 20th when the Sun moves into Cancer, we celebrate the Summer Solstice in the Northern Latitudes. Also known as Midsummer, this Solstice (meaning ‘Sun stands still’) is when the Sun is at its peak; it is the longest day of the year and celebrated in some way in all cultures. The next day, on June 21st we have an auspicious full moon in Capricorn, making this particular Solstice more powerful. Summer Solstice celebrations have been a time for merry making for millennia. Not only is it one of the eight great spokes on the Celtic wheel of seasons but also Midsummer’s Eve is one of the three important spirit nights of the year; the other two are Beltane (May Day) and Samhain (Halloween). Spirit nights are times when the veils are thinnest between the seen and the unseen worlds and at Midsummer it facilitates communication with the word of Faerie who are guardians of nature.
In Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and rural England, the local people are fond of their Faerie folk. Shakespearean plays such as the Tempest attest to the popular folklore. Although the British Iles’ version of Faerie is the land of Puck and Pan and Faerie Queens, every indigenous culture worldwide has stories of “little ones” who all are seen as the guardians of the natural world. From the Machu Machu of the Andes to the Menehune of Hawaii, stories abound of sightings and encounters. Children are the most likely to see them because they have not filtered their perception to conform to ‘adult’ beliefs.
I find these stories fascinating because they shake up people’s conventional ideas about what is ‘real’ and it helps us return to the ancestral wisdom. During Midsummer you may choose to explore the parts of your identity that you have discarded like your childhood dreams. There is a chance for this exploration to reveal your deeper, truer self. The gateway for discovering and reclaiming these creative aspects begins with spending time with nature, meditating and letting go of the ordinary mind and giving reign to your imagination.
It is a crucial time for our Mother Earth with the destruction of habitats world-wide. For the sake of our continued wellbeing we need to connect with Pachamama and her guardians. Historically, plant life has evolved with us and has kept us healthy for our entire existence on this planet. Thankfully, herbal remedies are coming back and even superseding the most toxic pharma medicines with way too many serious side effects, manufactured by giant corporations that are fueled by greed and sustained by largely baseless claims.
Now there is a great remembering emerging globally, honoring the importance of medicinal plants as essential for our health and wellbeing.
Please find a way to dance with nature and feel your own magic.
Love and Blessings, Linda