A Suggestion for Solstice Ritual
No overwhelming astrological insights necessary. This is my EdibleSpirit approved suggestion for a Summer Solstice/Strawberry Moon Ritual. More open than you think.
1. Light a candle and imagine yourself in a protective shell (shape, size and color of your choosing).
2. Take 7 deep centering breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Every time you exhale, imagine yourself letting go of anything you don't need. See it as grey or black smoke leaving through your mouth or the bottoms of your feet.
3. Call in your guides, teachers, ancestors, and the spirits of the land upon which you are doing the ritual.
4. State your intention: "This is a ritual to honor the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and the entrance of the sun into the sign of Cancer, home of the Mother. I (or we) are pausing to observe this moment, and to offer thanks to the ridiculous abundance of Mother Earth.
5. Since the full moon is an appropriate time to release stuff, and the summer solstice is a great time to prune away the weeds that have grown up around healthy intentions - LET SOMETHING GO! Write down 1-3 regrets or limitations that you no longer wish to subscribe to, especially related to your openness. If you've tried to be open and wish you hadn't, if you're beating yourself up about something, or frustrated by something that's holding you back, just write it down.
6. Place the paper inside a vase. Fill it with water, and place a bunch of flowers in the vase. Set the vase next to the candle. You can leave other offerings if you like (fruit, candies, or cakes, or anything that you love and would love to have offered to yourself)
7. Make a promise. Write down 1-3 ways in which you are willing to open yourself. To a new job? A new relationship? To some old part of yourself that you've been keeping quarantined. 1-3 ways in which you are promising to open yourself. Keep this on your altar, tack it on the wall, or give it to someone you trust who will remind you of the promises you've made when you need to be reminded.
8. Pause and ask your guides and ancestors if there are any messages you need to receive. Alternatively just let yourself feel your connection to Spirit, exactly as it is.
9. Give thanks to Mother Earth, to the sun, moon, stars, and all the cosmic energies in the sky. Thank your guides, your ancestors, your teachers and the spirits of the land beneath your feet. Bow deeply to your heart and let yourself connect with the center of every being everywhere. Then declare the ritual closed. Leave the flowers and offerings for at least 3 days, then release them in a body of water, or bury them in the earth. If you can't do those, just flush them or discard them with gratitude and respect.