Category: 2019 Wellbeing

June 21, 2019 at 02:02AM Mission of the day: Spend time surrounded by flowers. Continue Reading… The summer solstice is a celebration of the longest day of the year, and it marks the height of the waxing season: a time when nature is blooming. Summer is synonymous with love, romance, and joy. Even the month of June was named after the goddess Juno, whose domain was love. Since this marks the moment that the sun begins to wane, cultures around the world have celebrated it by lighting bonfires to guarantee the sun’s return next year. Often, as part of these rituals, celebrants picked prized summer flowers and herbs—mugwort, chamomile, geranium, St. John’s wort, thyme, and pennyroyal—to throw on their festive bonfires. They believed these fires would banish sickness from their livestock and their families. For good luck, they jumped across the fire and even walked on hot coals, precursor to fire-walking ceremonies practiced today. In North America, Native Americans celebrate with a Sun Dance: offering a healing prayer to the Great Spirit and one of thanksgiving for the gift of the buffalo and for life itself. It begins with a period of fasting and purification. The ritual can last four days, as the participants dance to unify with Spirit and harmonize with all life. Looking to do your own solstice ritual that celebrates the love and abundance of Mother Earth? Here are a few simple ones to try today that are inspired by ancient, time-honored tradition: 1. Share the love. There

Read More