The Sun moves into Cancer on June 21st, and with it we mark the end of Spring and the start of Summer. Solstices are when the days and nights are longest. Equinoxes are when day and night are equal. This is all linked with the tilt of the Earth’s axis, and at these times witches mark the passing of the year, also known as The Wheel of the Year. As explained in our Summer Solstice post, cultures around the globe celebrate on these days and have for thousands of years. This is a ritual designed as a bare bones guide to constructing your own summer solstice ritual that you can customize to your heart’s desire. As witches, I believe that the most authentic practice we can have are practices we have made special to ourselves. The beautiful thing of not being part of any organized religion is being able to create a spirituality that is uniquely our own. This is intended to be used as a basic plan-of-action and some helpful correlations to the Summer Solstice in order to tap in to this regenerative time of year. Of course, use elements, correspondences and all else that are in alignment with your unique path. The more personal – and YOU – the better.
Ritual Bath
To start, begin by taking a ritual bath or shower. Set the mood by lighting some candles. Beforehand, you can put together a bath tea or wash incorporating herbs, flowers and leaves that correspond to the Solstice, such as basil, calendula, chamomile, daisy, heather, lavender, meadowsweet, mugwort, mistletoe, peony, rose, vervain, St. John’s Wort, sunflower, thyme, elder, oak, pine, rowan, fir that are local to your region or in line with your craft. You can add essential oils in fragrances like cedar, clove, frankincense, lavender, lemon, mint, myrrh, orange, pine, rose, sage to your bath or wash. Lay in the bath envisioning the rays of the sun purifying you. In the shower, let warm water run over you before pouring your wash over your head, allowing it to drip down your body. You can either choose to rinse off, or leave the remnants of the flowers and herbs on you, then rinse once the rite is finished.
Set up a Summer Solstice Altar
Everyone has different access to safe space, and as queers and/or witches, many of us are impacted by this reality. Some of us don’t have the space or allowance to conduct our practices. This can be for a myriad of reasons ranging from living in a witchcraft unwelcome environment to being unhoused to living in such cramped circumstances that having a permanent altar seriously compromises the viable real estate you do have (looking at you, city witches). Altars don’t have to be social media-perfect. We live in a world that’s overwhelmed by looks-focused imagery, constantly prompting us to reach farther and farther to unobtainable goals.
We don’t have to go to great lengths to set up a satisfying space to make magic. Making a mini portable altar allows us to be ritual ready in a pinch. You can reuse a small container, add in a crystal (clear quartz is always a good go-to) or a few others that correspond with the equinox, sabbat, spell or ritual. For Summer Solstice, rocks such as amber, carnelian, citrine, jade, lapis, and tiger’s eye all are correspondences. Small gems are usually less expensive than larger stones. I find that I can fit about four in my mini alter. You can include a tealight candle or an electric one. My mini-altar is an old tin can of Werther’s candy, and a tealight easily fits in it along with the rest.
As a city witch, I don’t have a great deal of space for a large altar. I use a nightstand cabinet in my living room for my altar. I typically include a few candles in corresponding colors. For Summer Solstice the colors are white, yellow and every shade of the rainbow! I always burn a tealight candle to reach out to the higher powers. Sometimes I adorn it with a couple wild flowers sourced from a local park, other times I buy a bouquet or just forget and don’t worry about it.
Ok, Let’s Get to the Ritual
Setting up is usually the most complicated part of the ritual. Now that that’s out of the way, here’s the bare bones guide:
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perform a smoke cleansing in your space if possible, if not envision a great ball of white light spreading around yourself and your space and skip to meditating
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meditate for about 5 minutes (shorter or longer depending on your threshold), as mentioned before, envision a ball of protective energy surrounding you
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call upon your guardians – the elements, the directions, ancestors etc. If you include deity veneration in your practice, you may also use this to call upon them after the guardians
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state the reason for this ritual
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perform anything you have in alignment with Summer Solstice, again personalizing this aspect is essential
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as Summer Solstice celebrates rebirth and renewal, it is an excellent time for performing cleanses of magical items
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I typically end a ritual with divination such as a tarot spread
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thank your guides, deities or elements and close the ritual – simple way to do so is to say your goodbyes while pointing your finger clockwise in a circle three times
Close out your Summer Solstice ritual with food, drinks and appreciation for nature, loved ones and whatever feels bountiful to you.
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