Midsummer Blessings, Solar Power Water Spells:

An anthology is a gathering of flowers...

Jun 21, 2023

I didn’t plan to write this letter to you all… but it kept writing itself in my head, between feeding, weeping, and napping cycles I’ve become accustomed to dancing through with my newborn! He lays by me snoozing and chirping in my sleep as I finally sit down to write. So much has been initiated and broken and become and un-become since Beltane, it makes me dizzy to recapitulate the days. Ultimately I wanted to send you Solstice blessings at this peak solar moment!

What has your spirit been dancing with since Spring cracked open? What has poured out of your cups? What sprouts are maturing from those seeds you tucked into the dark Earth?

As Summer Solstice approaches, I am making time for small rituals to support a resetting of sorts. Solstice comes from the latin “sol” meaning Sun, and “stit” meaning still. At the Summer Solstice we honor the peak of the Sun’s potency, and the longest day of the year. A day when the Sun is suspended somehow, honoring a moment saturated with Solar gifts. Traditionally this is a time for celebrating all the Sun bestows upon the Earth; how it nourishes, warms, brightens, dries, imprints, illuminates our lives. Rather than initiating something, Solstice is an invitation to honor what is. This Solstice, take time and space for yourself to practice rooting into your reality. Create a ritual that gives you permission to find joy in the present moment. Being radically attuned to the now is an act of rebellion in an age that idolizes progress. Shake away the need to be anything or do anything other than be in your brilliant body and feel the Sun’s blessings.

Specific to Celtic pagan traditions, the Solstice was both a celebration of the Sun and its relationship with Water. Sacred waterways and wells were dressed and offerings were made at these important sites during the Summer Solstice. Communing with water in ways that feel sacred and healing is encouraged at this energetically heightened time of year.

In many cultures, Summer Solstice is known as the most potent time for harvesting medicinal herbs, and for crafting potions. The Earth at the Solstice zenith has soaked up the most vital waxing essences of solar stuff, and so harvesting plants at the Solstice ensures that one is gathering a plant at its peak. By taking those peak potency plants and then infusing them into oil, or creating a tea, or tincturing, one is ensuring that the medicine will be at its strongest. It’s potion making time – whatever that means to you! Whether or not you have herbs to harvest from your garden, crafting an intentional elixir is a spell that can unlock the blessings of the Sun in your life.

Water + Sun Spells for Solstice

Make Sun tea and infuse it with your Summer Solstice dreams. Drink with joy!
Create your own flower essence (no need to pluck a flower for this one) and dance with the spirit of that essence all through the summer.
Go for an intentional dip. Swimming can bring clarity, release, and relaxation.
Take a magical bath. Include something indulgent and joyful in the bathing experience. Hint: oils, petals, music, crystals…
Craft a delicious cocktail or mocktail to enjoy on the Solstice.
Make offerings to a waterway (organic + compostable, please!), while envisioning that space as protected and well loved by all who interact with it.

The Summer Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) is marked by the movement of the Sun into Cancer. Cancer is the crustacean of the zodiac, a mutable water sign. It has a gentle and sensitive character that teaches us about self-care, care-taking, and the power that informs vulnerability. Make care a focal point of this season. In the spirit of Cancer season, I recommend turning to the subtle magic of flower essences to fortify your spells. A flower essence is made by capturing the energetic medicine of a plant (or place, or gem, or anything!) into water, which is then preserved with another medium (typically alcohol or vinegar.) When working with a flower essence, we become the student of that energetic medicine, and it imparts its meaning and healing upon us in mysterious and stimulating ways. Dancing with a flower essence is a beautiful way to deepen our relationship with any plant, as well as the subtle currents of energy that exist in all things.

Here are some of my favorite purveyors of flower potions:

Act intuitively when selecting an essence, and let the medicine work its magic. Each time you drop essence on your tongue or anoint yourself with it, take a moment to breathe into an intention, even if the intention is simply to be present with the magic of that essence.

The Sun + visibility ~

One thing that has been tugging at my sleeves of late is a project that I am very proud to be co-creating, and it feels like some pieces of it would like to be shared with you.

I’m currently working on an anthology on Modern Witchcraft, to be published in 2024. There are a host of incredibly magical babes working with me to bring this offering to life. There will be many voices and perspectives shared, making this a truly unique collection, and one that I hope will inspire those intrepid radical voices in the witchcraft community.

Something that has delighted me in the process of pulling together this project, is the origin of the word anthology itself. The Greek anthologia comes from the root words “anthos” meaning flower, and “logia” meaning collection or gathering. After so many years of gathering witches together, it seems so fitting to be collecting an epic bouquet of magical voices to share in an archival way.

Stay tuned for more flowers, more voices in witchcraft (I’ll share more material here as it coagulates!), and more ways to gather our collective magic. Until then, here are some inspirations and doodles to give you a sense of what is to come…

Hedge Spells

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