Blessed Litha and Summer Solstice

Wishing everyone a blessed Summer Solsticel

At the Summer Solstice, also known as Midsummer or Litha, the Earth rejoices in abundance and light, and so do we! It is a time for celebration of the sun, of fire, and of the bounty of the land. And yet, in a climate changed world, perhaps we also need to lament with the Earth. As Thich Nhat Hahn said, "What we most need to do is to hear within us the sound of the Earth crying."

Historically, Summer Solstice, or Litha, is almost always celebrated as a solar festival, a fire festival, or both. It is believed the word Litha derived from the Norse word for June, which meant 'light of the moon.' Although not a harvest festival, like the following seasonal celebrations, the summer Solstice was still a celebration of nature, of growing things in all their forms, and the crops now planted in the fields. The holiday often focused on fertility, abundance, prosperity, success, and good fortune to mirror the enthusiastic growth of the surrounding countryside. Most ancient cultures celebrated and honored the Summer Solstice in a similar fashion.

Now, let's talk about lament. First of all, what do I mean by lament. Lament is simply grief brought before the Great Mystery, carried in a vessel made from even the smallest shred of faith. Lament simply allows grief some space. Lament allows us to ask why, feel our sorrow, and sit with the lack of answers. In this way, lament binds us together, reminding us that when one member of a group suffers, the rest should carry that suffering too. Lament, then, is one way of respecting others, loving our neighbors. The human and the more than human. Richard Rohr writes,

"Lament is not despair. It is not whining. It is not a cry into a void. Lament is a cry directed to God. It is the cry of those who see the truth of the world's deep wounds and the cost of seeking peace. It is the prayer of those who are deeply disturbed by the way things are. We are enjoined to learn to see and feel what the psalmists see and feel and to join our prayer with theirs. The journey of reconciliation is grounded in the practice of lament."

On this Summer Solstice, I hope you are all able to spend some time on the land in celebration and lament with others, human and more than human, and with the Gaia herself. Below is a blessing from John O'Donohue.

Wild Blessings!

IN PRAISE OF THE EARTH

by John O'Donohue

Let us bless

The imagination of the Earth.

That knew early the patience

To harness the mind of time.,

Waited for the seas to warm,

Ready to welcome the emergence

Of things dreaming of voyaging

Among the stillness of land,

And how light knew to nurse

The growth until the face of the Earth Brightened beneath a vision of color. When the ages of ice came

And sealed the Earth inside

An endless coma of cold,

The heart of the Earth held hope

Storing fragments of memory,

Ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth

That offers ground for home

And holds our feet firm

To walk in space open

To infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence

And certainty of mountains

Their sublime stillness,

Their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden

Trusting the first warmth of spring

Until its black infinity of cells

Becomes charged with dream;

Then the silent, slow nurture

Of the seed's self, coaxing it

To trust the act of death.

The humility of the Earth

That transfigures all

That has fallen

Of outlived growth

The kindness of the Earth,

Opening to receive

Our worn forms

Into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth

For all our sins against her:

For our violence and poisonings

Of her beauty

Let us remember within us

The ancient clay,

Holding the memory of seasons

The passion of the wind,

The fluency of water

The warmth of fire.

The quiver-touch of the sun

And shadowed sureness of the moon. That we may awaken

To live to the full

The dream of the Earth

Who chose us to emerge

And incarnate its hidden night

In mind, spirit, and light