The Shadow of Summer Solstice

Last updated on: June 20, 2019 at 9:36 am by The Witches Next Door

The Shadow of Summer Solstice 2019-06-20T09:36:45-08:00 The Witches Next Door

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I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I must admit that I always have a bittersweet reaction to the Summer Solstice. Yes, it is the longest day of the year. It’s the height of the year; the pinnacle. And, within that height we hold the seed of its opposite. We celebrate the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemisphere is honoring the Winter Solstice. And it is this balance that pokes at my feelings of melancholy. From this point forward we lose daylight. Every day after the Summer Solstice it begins to get darker. This is the shadow of Summer Solstice.

Balance

What this really shows me is no matter what, the earth is in balance. The height of winter and the height of summer actually happen at the same time. They are two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other. And so it is imperative for us Pagans and Witches to honor that paradox while we celebrate the height of reality in our hemisphere.

Celebration

The other thing that this shows me is we can only celebrate the moment we are in. This moment is my only guarantee. We can’t know what happens tomorrow, or the next day, or the next Sabbat. All we have is today. We owe it to ourselves to celebrate the warmth of summer. We owe it to our one precious life to make the most of the longest day of the year.

The Shadow

My favorite of all of the esoteric laws I’ve read about is the Law of Paradox. This law states that two things in opposition to each other can both be true. It is this law that feels like the heart of the Solstice paradox. Summer and Winter existing together. We need to celebrate the Summer Solstice because tomorrow the light starts to slip away. We should celebrate the Summer Solstice because it is also the Winter Solstice. Celebrate the moment we are in. When you honor the pinnacle you are also honoring its shadow.

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