I can smell Summer

The Solstice is still a couple days away, yet the smell of early Summer is in the air. The drying of grasses, the warming of stone fruits on the trees, the scent of jasmine and roses and butterfly bush flowers. 

I love the smell of Summer. Fall is my favorite season, but there is something about the scent of the start of Summer that holds the promise of lazy hot days, extra time outdoors and vacations that hearken back to my childhood and the end of the school year. 

What are you doing to celebrate the Solstice this year? The Summer Solstice marks the official first day of Summer, it is the longest day. The sun reaches its highest point before the nights begin to lengthen once more. 
It is a day of celebration and marking of the coming heat of the season, the height of the growing season, and a time for play. 

One of my favorite things to do on the longest day is to greet the morning sun and say goodnight as it sets (the latter is often a challenge for me). You might sing the sun up or down, dance beneath the day's birth or death or just take the time to watch the changing of the season as the light moves in and out of its moment of splendor. 

This year in our Diving Deeper community we made wands to celebrate the Solstice, inviting that fire energy of the sun and the season to infuse our tools with their magic. 

On Wednesday (the 21st) I will be setting out some tea to brew with my summer intentions scrawled on paper and tucked beneath to infuse the elixir with not only the solar energy but my plans for the season.

Need a little more inspiration?
Erin LaFaive of Full Circle Herbals and I cooked up a digital Celebration Guidebook that is available here

For many years at the Summer Solstice my women’s circle and I would make our way out to the ocean to walk a labyrinth beneath the setting sun and feast together. 
The symbolism of walking into the labyrinth and out again invited us to move within ourselves, allow those shadowy places within to be illuminated (and perhaps transformed) and to make our way back out again as a process of integration. 

The Labyrinth is a sacred and ancient tool, place, practice. 
I am offering you a 2 hour class called the Gifts of the Labyrinth in which you will discover the magic of this sacred geometry. 

Together we will:

• Learn the history of the labyrinth
  
• The ways it can be used
  
• Go on an experiential and tactile journey to the heart of the labyrinth
  
• Discover the power of this magical, spiritual and meditative tool and learn to use it in your own life
  
• And practice creating one yourself
  

Join me Saturday July 22nd at 9 am PT to begin your journey within and back out again. 
Pricing for this event has been tiered.
Choose the price that supports your financial situation the best.
Register here
Retreat Rescheduled!
The Wise Woman Witchery Outdoor Retreat has been rescheduled for 2024. 
We will gather Friday June 7th through Sunday June 9th in Santa Rosa, Ca for three days of magic and community. 
If you are interested in joining us you can register for updates here. 
With Love, Blessings and a whole lot of Summer Magic,
Emily
PS You can also build on that Summer vibe by tuning into past episodes of the Witch Next Door podcast
Summer Solstice and the Sun Card
Summer Solstice 2020
Summer Magic 

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