Summer solstice rituals & living seasonally through summer

Journal prompts, rituals & how to live seasonally through the longer, brighter days

Hello, I’m Jodie. I write about life post burnout with themes of rest, living slower, healing and self discovery. Subscribe to support my work & to read more. Or, join our Slower Space community to access all content and the monthly journaling club!

Something I actively try and do now is romanticise my life. Some days it’s easier than others, but something that’s consistently made it happen, almost naturally, is living seasonally.

Seasonal living is the gateway to becoming more present, noticing what’s around you and celebrating it, offering you a way to mark the seasons and passage of time. I find it helps me reconnect, and put a line in the sand for anything I want to leave behind and move on from.

In a similar way I’ve written about seasonal living for winter and spring, with the Summer Solstice coming up, I wanted to share some accessible ways you can find some magic in it too. Trust that the suggestions in this post and any rituals don’t have to look a certain way or be fancy, whether you’ve done this before or are used to marking occasions in this way, you’re welcome here - see this as us celebrating it as a collective ❤️

Summer solstice

Summer solstice falls on Thursday the 20th of June this year. It’s the longest day and shortest night, and the start of the summer season. From this point the days will slowly start to get shorter again (up until the winter solstice in December). Sunrise is at a yawn inducing 4:44pm on Thursday if you did fancy waking up for it!

Celebrating the solstice goes back to our Neolithic ancestors, then ever since there’s been a fascination with it. I love the magic and different folklore and traditions, it gives us access to experience a sense of wander in the world, and again that marking of time that could be so easily missed if we didn’t actively seek it out.

If you’re interested in more on why we mark the Summer Solstice, I found this article particularly interesting. Anyway, onto some rituals!

Rituals To Mark Summer Solstice

There are so many things you could do to mark the occasion. Last year I went for a sunrise lake swim (although it was magical, this year I’ve decided to give the 3:30am start a miss). Instead I’m keeping it simple with a bonfire and nice dinner in the garden, and probably a morning nature walk… Here’s a few other ideas and things you can do:

• Get up 20 minutes earlier and enjoy your favourite morning drink outside

• Go for a picnic in the evening

• Have a bonfire and set some intentions for the second half of the year (it’s thought to bring good luck!)

• Walk barefoot to feel a sense of grounding - I’ve been doing this a lot lately in my garden/ local parks and it’s so calming!

• Go for a morning walk in nature, making note (mentally or physically) of what you see and hear

• Journal on the first half of 2024 and think about your intentions for the rest of the year (free guided session here!)

• Think about ways you can offer light and warmth to others

• Practice Yoga with Sun Salutations (saluting the sun). Here’s a replay of my Summer Solstice inspired Yoga class

• Gather with friends and enjoy gorgeous seasonal food

• Practice Yoga Nidra for deep rest to counteract the busyness

• Schedule in some quiet moments throughout the day to pause

• Practice a 5 minute grounding meditation

• Create a summer wreath/ forage and create a wildflower bouquet, there’s some ideas on this in this article.

Rest & Reset

If you want to practice authentic Hatha Yoga online, here’s a 60 minute class that brings in elements of the Summer Solstice through Sun Salutations and calming, regulating techniques to reconnect, ground and feel a sense of abundance.

This Yoga practice is for you if...

• You want an hour to rest and reset amongst the busyness of the summer months

• You would like to mark the Summer Solstice happening on Thursday the 20th of June

• You want to feel a sense of connection, calm and celebration ❤️

Living seasonally through Summer…

Typically, when we look at seasonal living, summer is a time for energy, abundance and tapping into those plans and ideas we maybe started thinking about at the beginning of the year/ through spring.

Nature shows us this; those seedlings we planted back in January are quickly growing or already in bloom. The signets and ducklings thriving. The bird song at its loudest. Our own ideas and intentions starting to take hold. Overall there’s more energy, for everything.

I love seeing this season as a time to get round to doing those things that I intended to do, but haven’t quite done yet.

There’s definitely this balance to be had though.

I love this time of year so much that I often get swept up in it all, then I find the busyness and longer days can leave me craving slowness and rest, so finding moments to ground and soften is something I’m slowly learning to include.

Here’s a few things I intend on doing to make the most of the summer months this year…

• Another camping trip in the Peak District

• Wild swimming

• Longer nature walks and hikes

• Picnics

• Reading outside

• Nature naps (honestly, one of the most healing things for your nervous system)

• More dancing! Whether at home or out

• Practice making my own sourdough loaf (it’s been on my list for ages, it’s time to make it happen)

• Attend a half day/ full day Yoga retreat

• Increase time spent doing my Asana Yoga practice (physical postures)

• Experiment with new seasonal recipes

• Go blackberry picking when the time comes

• More evenings outside

Seasonal summer foods to tuck into

(that are their most delicious as we head through the summer months, and a cheaper way to eat too as they’re more likely to be on offer!)

Finally, here’s some of my favourite foods that are perfect to get stuck into right now and as the season goes on

• Strawberries - honestly, they taste like sweets at the minute… Blackberries and raspberries come a bit later

• Tomatoes - so juicy, so delicious. I’ve grown my own from seed for the first time this year so I’m excited for those to come through.

• Garlic - garlic is it’s absolute best right now! I enjoy freezing some in ice cube trays with olive oil to take that goodness into the autumn/ winter. Again, I’ve attempted growing this so I’m excited to see how it’s turned out

• New potatoes - I’ve been loving this frittata recipe that makes use of seasonal produce

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anddd, that’s a wrap! Let me know if you plan on marking the solstice this summer and what your favourite ways to live with the season are…

Until next time,

Jodie x

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