Welcome to the summer solstice, fellow sun worshippers.
Also known as the summer solstice, this is the day when our majestic Death Star is at its furthest point from the equator, bringing with it the longest hours of daylight and shortest nights of the year.
(The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere, where June marks the winter solstice and the shortest month of the year.)
This year’s summer solstice will be on June 20, 2024 at 4:50 pm.
Sunshine breaks through the darkness, the world blossoms, pollen flies, we long for warmth, and we welcome the arrival of summer and the start of Cancer season.
Read on to find out what the summer solstice means for you.
What is a solstice?
A solstice is a combination of the Latin words for “sun” and “standstill,” and from the perspective of Earth, this is exactly what seems to happen during a solstice.
The equinoxes remind us that we are not separate from nature, but stand in it. These celestial points coincide with the cardinal zodiac signs and the changing of the seasons.
When a solstice arrives, the sun reaches its highest or lowest point relative to the celestial equator (an imaginary band that reflects the actual equator).
The winter solstice, the pale, wind-scorched, stew-filled, pine-scented sister of summer, coincides with the longest night and shortest day of the year. In between the two are the spring and autumn equinoxes, when daylight and night are evenly distributed.
What is the Summer Solstice?
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice marks the arrival of the warmest month of the year. At this point, the Sun appears to stand still at its northernmost point on the equator, or Tropic of Cancer.
After this period of high solar activity, the Sun will begin its slow journey south again.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice always falls on June 20, 21, or 22. As time goes on, the hours of daylight gradually get shorter.
Introduction to Astrology: Guide to the Stars
How does the summer solstice affect us spiritually?
Our ancient ancestors lived according to the rhythms of the natural world around them, using the sun, moon and stars as mirrors and maps.
The summer solstice has been celebrated since at least the Neolithic period, about 10,000 years ago, and has long been associated with rebirth, fertility, community, and victory. And, before the dramatic rise of Christianity, people were having a lot of fun on it.
The Egyptians built the Great Pyramid so that the sun would set exactly between the pyramids of Khafre and Khufu on the summer solstice as seen from the Sphinx, replicating the Egyptian hieroglyph “akhet” (horizon).
The Romans held ritual worship of Vesta before the summer solstice, sacrificing unborn children to honour the virgin goddess, and her temple contained a sacred fire that was never extinguished, as an eternally burning metaphor for the sun itself.
Before Christianity rose to power like the starched-collar murder that it is today, people who celebrated the summer solstice used to have a very, very good time.
Before colonization, nearly all Plains tribes in what is now America held a Sun Dance around the summer solstice. The Sun Dance, also known as Wiwanyan-Washpi, is a four-day visionary ceremony and collective healing act. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel and other similar stone placements in Wyoming are aligned with the sunrise and sunset of the summer solstice.
The Step Pyramid of Chichen Itza was built by the Mayans between 1000 and 1200 AD. The axis of the pyramid is oriented toward the rising and setting of the sun on the summer solstice. During the summer solstice, the north and east sides are illuminated, while the south and west sides are in shadow, visually splitting the pyramid in two.
For Scandinavians, midsummer celebrations herald the sweet arrival of summer through ecstatic dancing, singing, drinking sprees, house-cleaning, bonfires, nude swimming in springs and flower gathering. These rituals grew out of pagan beliefs that the midsummer solstice was a magical moment of pure potential, where both the height of fire and the height of human howling were thought to ward off evil spirits. It is believed that looking into a well at midnight on the eve of the midsummer solstice will reveal a future lover, or sleeping with seven flowers under your pillow will make them appear in your dreams.
Perhaps the most famous solar monument is Stonehenge. Dating back 5,000 years, this mysterious stone circle in Wiltshire, England, has been welcoming pilgrims who come to watch the sun rise over the Heel Stone on the summer solstice for just as long.
Regardless of your spiritual beliefs or practice, the summer solstice Embrace the feeling of the peak And we thank the sun itself for its constant, life-giving energy.
How does the summer solstice affect us astrologically?
The summer solstice marks the beginning of Cancer season, and as we step into this primeval source, we look inward to understand ourselves, to the past, to see the ancient and the imaginary, woven and bleached by the length of daylight.
Cancer is synonymous with the mother archetype, and the solstice and this season reminds us that it is never too late to give light, life, and gentle solar attention to who we are.
In the words of poet Tess Taylor:
“Our guardian star
The ancient scene is seen from afar
Its broad radiance is directed towards the here and now.
Below, we lounge outdoors, sing, build a fire…
This makes our time on earth sweet.”
Introduction to Astrology: Guide to the Stars
New York Post readers also love:
Astrologer Leda Wiggle She studies and unapologetically reports on the planetary alignments and their influences on each sign, and her horoscopes combine history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience.
