How to flow with the seasons: Solstice magic + Rituals
Do you feel lots of movement at the moment? If so it is normal, we just celebrated the solstice and the change of season. The flow with the seasons is all about honouring and building rituals around this time.
It is about accepting the stage of the year (and life), where we are at and grounding into the season you currently reside in (whether that be winter or summer).
Keep reading this article if:
a) You're struggling to surrender to the cyclical aspect of your life and business and look to find simple and concrete ways to understand them
b) You're seeking new inspiration to bring intentional rituals in your life and business that honour the cycles of the seasons within and around you
a) You're looking to find more balance and harmony in the way you lead your life, your biz and your career but unsure where to start
c) You're interested in applying a traditional & holistic system to your life and biz.
I love to teach about the seasonal changes and how to embrace flow with it. You may remember my ayurvedic cleanse of the season for Spring and Autumn. As we enter winter, I wanted to share more about this topic with you.
I want you to be able to bring more balance between these two energies with simple practices to honour Yule (winter solstice) and Litha (summer solstice).
Why is it important to embrace the rhythm of the seasons in your life & business?
We are affected by many different cycles at once, all unfolding according to these different timings, you may wish to read more about it.
I’ve written about:
Our daily ayurvedic clock (24 hours cycle),
Our monthly with our menstrual cycle (~28 days)
The moon cycle (liked with your menstrual cycle) and how to embrace it in your business
The cycle in our lifetime with the wheel of life
So now it is about diving deeper in this rhythm annually - with the seasons.
When we bring awareness to these cycles, and where we are within them, we can work with them, rather than against them. We can trust those cycles and open a whole new level of opportunities and alignment. It unlocks our power and brings wholeness within and around us. Everything is as it should be. A reminder to stop trying to change what is not under our control, and seasons aren’t!
I’d love to honour one of my teachers again, Jane Hardwicke Collings who helped me embrace all of that in the last 5 years.
We live this same rhythm annually, following a solar cycle of the seasons, equinoxes and solstices.
With a change in season, it will be clear to you there is a change in the environment we live in. These various changes will look like nature (with flowers changing) and the hibernation of certain animals etc. As humans, we are part of the same ecology, and the body will be influenced by the change of season!
Let's start by establishing a conscious connection with the shift of the season:
What is your favourite time of the year?
When do you have the most creative or physical energy?
What season would you like to skip, and why?
What is Yule? On the 21.06 in Southern Hemisphere and 21.12 in Northern hemisphere
Winter Solstice is the celebration of Yule. It represents the longest night and shortest day of the year. It is the time for the rebirth of light!
It is the day equivalent to midnight either being fast asleep in your bed or burning the candle at both ends. It represents the dark and new moon, menstruation, the rite-of-passage of death and the life stage of Crone.
Which rituals to celebrate Yule?
Make lanterns and walk in with its light in the dark night
Spend time in bed, reading, drinking warm herbal tea.
Go to the snow
Journal on this prompt: How am I resting and allowing myself to ‘hibernate’ for this season?
What is Litha ? On the 21.06 in Northern Hemisphere and 21.12 in Southern hemisphere
Summer Solstice is celebrated with Litha or Midsummer. It is the opposite of winter. The shortest night and longest day. This is a celebration of the very height of powers from the sun and life. It represents light and warmth.
It is a day equivalent to midday or lunchtime. The need to refuel. It represents the Full Moon, ovulation and the stage of parenthood. The rite-of-passage for birth! The birth of children, projects and the like.
Which rituals to celebrate Litha?
Go on a retreat with friends and host a meal outdoor
Spend some time in the sun outside doing nothing, just sucking in its vibrancy and energy
Go camping in wilderness
Journal on this prompt: What is in “full bloom” in my life right now?
My experience with honouring the seasons
How I honour the change of season is always by going on a retreat. Just recently I went on a retreat to honour Yule, the winter solstice.
I love going on retreats or having rituals for the Beltane I did this to honour the transition. I like to facilitate these as well.
For Yule, I went into the Blue Mountains (just out of Sydney, Australia). As women we all came together to honour the change and spend time with each other. We made our own lanterns to celebrate the transition, to celebrate the dark moon, the Yule and the wheel of life. For Yule it is all about honouring death, the crone phase of life. We made lanterns with glass jars or paper. As we lit them we set intentions for the 13 moons of the year, it was time to honour our intentions.
Our intentions were for ourselves, our community and the world - three different intentions. I also want to express to you that during this change of season (Yule) it is important to rest. We need sleep and rest during this time. Yule is about connecting with the earth and rest. Go for a bush walk and connect with Yule and the element of earth. If you want to connect more with the element, see my “Align with the Elements” course!
Yule can be heavy energy. But then we have Litha. How I connect with Litha is by spending time in the sun. Have outdoor picnics and really embrace the exciting times and good energy. I also like to go on a retreat during this time!
Honouring each season! It really is magic!
Final thoughts
I’m all about honouring the change of seasons in my life and business.
If you still need to be convinced, I encourage you to read this extract from Katie Silcox and her book healthy happy sexy (about Ayurveda Lifestyle):
'As time passes, our state of mind as well as our physical body undergoes vast changes.
Seasonal changes have a direct influence on all of us creatures and change can be tough.
Traditional societies understood this and created season based rituals and celebrations to ease the shift.
By getting together, sharing food and honoring the changes, we experience a kind of quick catharsis that lift individuals' consciousness and makes it easier to change seasons.
Today we have less and less of these critical rituals, we warm our beds with electrical blankets in winter.
While these technological advances definitely have their advantages, the downside of our useful mankind devices is that they disconnect us from the intimate and languageless relationship between the human body and the natural world. This connection is crucial for our well being.’
As I mentioned, if you are curious to learn more about these practices and how to align with the flow of the seasons, join my Soul+Biz alchemy as I guide you through a blend of spiritual and strategy practices to grow your biz without burnout.