This Friday June 20th is the Summer Solstice, heralding the arrival of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of Cancer season. Civilizations across time have acknowledged the significance of this special day with festivities and sacred landmarks (hello, Stonehenge!) to mark this transition. This offers a sacred moment for us to align our cacao ritual with the sun’s invigorating blessings. 

Continue reading to learn more about this special time and discover a cacao ritual and nature altar to celebrate. 

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The Significance Of Summer Solstice + Cancer Season

Across time and cultures, the Summer Solstice is a day of celebration often including song and dance, and especially connecting the energies of fire and the sun. The Hopi celebrate Niman, a 16 day festival marking the end of the winter and spring season, in Ancient Egypt the summer solstice was celebrated as the new year, and in Norway, the goddess Sunna is celebrated with fires burning all night long.  The week of the Summer Solstice is the perfect time to bring your cacao ritual outdoors and connect with the solar energy to charge you in this coming season. 

This time also marks the Sun’s entrance into Cancer, the zodiac archetype of the crab and the mother. Cancer is concerned with home, family, and nurturance and is ruled by the Moon. Cancer offers a fitting balance for the energies of summer solstice by reminding us to tend to hearth and home, honoring our needs for rest, and balancing these amidst the beckoning of the sun’s heightened energies. 

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Summer Solstice Nature Altar & Cacao Ritual

Prepare your cacao to-go and set out into nature, ideally during the day under the solstice sun. Option to bring along friends for the journey!

Gather and forage nature items that you can arrange in a sun mandala for your altar. Using your intuition and asking the land, choose a spot that you will offer your altar to the land and sun.  

[If possible and desired, consider choosing a spot that you know will be undisturbed and if you like, you can return to and give offerings through the coming season.]

Once your altar is complete, raise your cup high to the sun and allow the solstice light to charge your cacao and your intentions with its enlivening radiance. Offer your first sip of cacao to the center of the mandala with a prayer of gratitude to the earth and the sun. 

With every sip of cacao, imagine that the golden solstice light is filling your entire being and giving life to the prayers you have offered. You might also like to imagine that this golden light is feeding a radiant sun in your belly/solar plexus chakra and charging you up with the vitality to support you through the coming summer season. 

For further reflection, journal on the following prompts: 

• Reflect on the gifts and challenges of your life in this past season since the Spring Equinox

• Consider what is shifting in your life as the tides of the seasons change 

• Identify any intentions for the unfolding summer  

• Consider what in your life needs the vital charging energy of the sun to grow

When complete, offer your final sip of cacao to your altar. 

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Solar blessings! 🌞