image @philipmackie
Happy Summer Solstice! (for those of you in the Northen Hemisphere anyway)
Often celebrated as the longest day of the year, the summer solstice (like its counterpart the Winter Solstice) takes its name from two Latin-language morphemes: sol (sun) and -stitium (stoppage). This meaning refers to the Sun’s apparent stillness in the sky, which is a trick of perspective, as the Sun doesn’t actually move, it’s the Earth speeding around in a wobbly circle like a big spaceship held together with gravity and cosmic glue.
Despite our persistent geocentric attitude, the Sun is the center of this galaxy. And on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 10:57 am EDT, we Earthlings will celebrate the solstice moment. Which is when, to quote National Geographic, “a planet’s poles are most extremely inclined toward or away from the star it orbits.” On Earth, that star is our Sun.
On this year’s Summer Solstice, Southeast Georgia will have 14 hours, 15 minutes, and 7 seconds of daylight, one second more than the day before, and two seconds more than the day after (you can see the specifics for your own home base HERE). It’s a perfect time to remember the Sun’s importance in our lives, both literally and symbolically.
In a natural sense, the Sun is the engine of our universe. Without it, Earth would be a lifeless hunk of rock, spinning and sterile in a cold empty sky. But with it, we have life. A brilliantly simple equation.
The Sun card in the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck
Such it is with The Sun card in the tarot. If you were looking for a yes, the Sun is about as affirmative as it can get. If you needed a jolt of optimism or vitality, turn your face toward it like a flower. If you've been feeling sluggish or out of sorts, let the heart of our very own personal star, our own solar combustion machine, energize you.
And if you've become disconnected from your playful, innocent, hopeful self, then The Sun has a special message for you. As creative folk, we appreciate the importance of joy in our lives and in our work. Those are hard to cultivate sometimes in the world of the one-star review and the hateful e-mail and the snarky blog post. Everybody's got a criticism, it seems, and some weeks, every single piece of it seems to be coming right at you.
The Sun shines on the crazy and the cruel too, even if they can't feel its warmth. Pity them that. But this does not diminish the radiance being bestowed on you. The Sun is an impartial and generous lover. And it loves you very much. Smile for it, won't you?
PS: You can get your own reading this summer, including my Cycles and Seasons reading, which is 30% off at my tarot shop.