Summer Solstice Rituals
- Flicky Wallace
- Jun 10
- 3 min read
Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year; the sun is at the height of its power. It's a time of abundance and celebration.
Traditionally, it's a time to stay up all night to celebrate the sun and to acknowledge the return of the shortening days. The wheel is an important symbol of Solstice celebrations. Unlike the winter Solstice, the wheel is moving for summer Solstice, reflecting all the energy and fertility at this time of year.
Below are some rituals you can practice around Solstice.
Gather and Celebrate
A big part of the summer solstice is getting together with people and celebrating the longest day. The wheel celebrations are a time to come together and give thanks for Mother Nature. Unlike many current celebrations—weddings, birthdays, etc.—the wheel celebrations are not about the individual. You don’t need to be a member of a religion or have achieved any life goal; everyone is included and invited! You just have to exist on this planet.
Come together with friends and community and gather around stone circles, sit up with friends and watch the sunrise, sit in a circle and discuss what you have learned since the winter solstice, build a fire and throw seasonal herbs on it, feast and encourage everyone to bring a dish, dance and party!
If you are wanting to keep it a little more low-key….
Charge up your water
Ideally, use spring water if you are lucky enough to have access to a well. Fill a cup with water, add your crystals and herbs, and leave it in the sun on the solstice to charge up with the midsummer sun. Then drink and hopefully feel revived!
Harvest your herbs
Herb leaves are at their most potent right now, just before they flower. Pick your herbs and dry and store them for winter. Ideally, leave them in a cool, dark place to dry out. Herbs lose their potency once dried, so add extra when adding them to tinctures, recipes, etc.
Roses
Roses are a symbol of the summer solstice, in particular the wild rose I call a dog rose. It's the beautiful light pink rose with a yellow and white center, and you see them growing all over the English countryside at this time of year.
Roses symbolise so many different aspects of love and femininity. They are the symbol of the Goddess Venus, Aphrodite, and represent love, motherhood, purity, and sexual energy, to name a few.
Roses were traditionally used to decorate shrines, sacred groves, and midsummer dancers at the solstice.
‘Ring a ring o' roses,’ the well-known nursery rhyme, is often mistakenly said to be about the plague. The part where they ‘all fall down’ is told to be about people dying in the plague; however, the rhyme is not about the plague. It's a dance traditionally performed at the solstice. The ‘posies’ are flowers reflecting a woman’s sexuality, and the ‘all fall down’ is the end of the fertile season. The dance was performed by five dancers who represent rose petals.
Elderflower and Honey Mead
Drink some summery beverages. Honey mead is considered by the Druids to be the divine solar drink of the sun and his gifts.
It's also the perfect time to pick elderflower and make a cordial. If you are with fellow celebrators, it's a nice idea to sit in a circle and pass around your chosen drink and thank the sun for all his gifts.
Tug of war
I actually can’t stand tug of war, but if you are not a party pooper like me, get all those born with winter and autumn birthdays on one side and all summer and spring birthdays on the other and battle it out.
Floral headband
Make yourself a beautiful floral headband and wear it for the solstice. A few tips on making a floral headband:
Pick flowers that will last a little while out of water. Anything from a hedgerow, although beautiful, will not last very long. Roses, nepeta, lavender, rosemary, and wax flower, to name a few, work well.
Choose to work with predominantly big-headed flowers or smaller-headed ones. The combination of them can be challenging; the little flowers get lost when used with bigger flower heads, and the headbands can end up being lopsided.
Bind the flowers as closely as you can together. This holds the flowers up together and makes it less obvious when they wilt.
Floral tape is a lot easier to use than traditional sellotape. It's thinner, therefore easier to bind around.
Tie off with ribbon to complete the look.
Happy Summer Solstice!
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