Solstice: A Sensuous Bonfire Initiation into Love

The Zombies once sang, "It's the start of the season for loving." Of course their name was a bit of an oxymoron. Today there is no way to both awaken and remain a zombie! It is, with bells on, the season for Loving.

Stargazer Li says the burst of Gemini activity, beginning with the May 20th Solar Eclipse and June 5th Venus Transit, followed by a second New Moon in Gemini leading into the Summer Solstice, "brings much learning and an expansion of communications through words and stories that become integrated into our approaches to living our journey. What we think and say has the power to create, to crystallize something new. Being effortless and magical in our approach, relaxing into the experience of living our amazingness is the gift being offered. Let's be willing to receive it."

Earth-based spirituality pioneer and prolific author Starhawk writes, "This is the time of the rose, blossom and thorn, fragrance and blood. Now on this longest day, light triumphs, and yet begins the decline into the dark. The Sun King grown, embraces the Queen of Summer in a love that is death because it is so complete that all dissolves into the single song of ecstasy that moves the worlds. So the Lord of light dies to himself, and sets sail across the dark seas of time, searching for the Isle of Light that is rebirth. We turn the wheel and share his fate, for we have planted seeds of our own changes and to grow we must accept even the passing of the sun."

And planetary priestess Ariel Spilsbury, co-creator of my much-beloved Mayan Oracle book and card set, writes, "As a collective we now find ourselves perfectly poised and balanced, like a tightrope walker over the Abyss of the Unknown. We have practiced for lifetimes not going into fear, staying centered no matter what appearance arises, so that we can face this initiation of stepping through those appearances into freedom, not in some other lifetime, but in THIS one! Each of us is now facing our personal piece of shadow that is being vibrationally activated and amplified with the intention of clearing it for ourselves AND the collective mindfield of Earth, that we may transition personally and as a species, from the sleepy caterpillar into our awakened, soul butterfly selves. THIS IS NOT JUST A METAPHOR! 



This is actually happening alchemically now on Earth. Within the chrysalis, we are being re-tuned and rewired from the inside out, as a natural part of the vibrational process of evolution, which is dissolving in Solutio, the fractally repeating, shadow material that has dogged us over lifetimes, as a gift of Grace! That isn't to say that we aren't taking radical responsibility and supporting that process with our personal choices for freedom. If we are intending to become the freed butterfly, we are doing just that, through our vigilance in embracing IN LOVE the persistently attached shadow when it arises, rather than denying, judging and rejecting it! (I embrace my shadow, as I embrace my light!) In Alchemy this process is called Umbra-solis...the sun AND its shadow complete the Great Work. Please deeply consider that it isn't the 'getting rid of' or healing shadow, rather the full, loving embrace of it that will complete the Great Work we are engaged in personally and as a species at this time! This is the final clearing of the patterns that are no longer serving our LIBERATION! In this process, Light Itself Can Be Seen as the Final Veil! 



Feel the sensuous, energetic ripple from inside your personal chrysalis that is now inviting you to begin to birth your transmuting self into a new world! That evolutionary potential is being offered through the Divine Feminine portal that opened on the Venus Transit on June 5th 2012 that will be complimented by the male portal completion on Dec 21, 2012. What this open window of evolutionary potential represents, is the unprecedented opportunity to clear, forgive and embrace shadow and simultaneously birth ourselves into a new and expanded frequency of soul expression on Earth, entering the Mystery of the birth of the Blue Sun within our own hearts. 



The result of the birth of that inner blue fire will be the transmutation of our DNA and thus our blood into Sangreal, holy blood, literally changing the valence structure of our blood, so as to sing a Love Song to the Divine One! (If you wish to accelerate this process, watch the following video Solfeggio Harmonics - 528 Love hz). Remember that the heat and passion of Shakti, kundalini, the activation of the blue and gold dragon fire current of life force that moves up the spine, is that which is igniting the collective bonfire for the transmutation of fear into love on this planet. As we practice and embrace this transmutation, it will literally change the way we see reality, as the ecstatically flowing river of light that it actually is. In this moment, I invite you to stop and breathe in the alchemical, golden ecstatic, blue fire, dragon current, this river of light, to ride your blood into pure alchemical gold. Breathe that possibility in! Open to the golden alchemical frequency that is now available, whose intention is the loving release of whatever may still be residual in your being, that cannot stand in or contain this much light. Allow it to be lovingly consumed in the light of Divine Love! These are not just beautiful concepts or words. I encourage you to meditate to experience their truth directly and to personally experience and feel the frequency of alchemical gold light that is now available to transmute anything less than the vibration of unconditional love! 

Let us use the energy of the perfect balance of Summer Solstice as a powerful, planetary acupuncture point, to offer re-balancing to ourselves and Gaia. Celebrate together the powerful window of opportunity that the time we are alive in right now represents. We are entering a new world together ... As the star Maya say, together let us walk the Road of Awe, Xi balba beh into a new world!!

Summer Solstice: An Opportunity to Become More Whole

Summer Solstice celebrates the sun at the peak of its power. Both the sun (male energy) and the moon (female energy) are waxing, or increasing, now. June 21st marks the longest day and shortest night of the year, in the northern hemisphere. (Winter Solstice for our southern hemisphere allies). It's a stillpoint. A time to reflect. A potent moment to set your intention, because the manifestation momentum is strong.

The day goes by many names: All-Couples Day, Feast of Epona, Gathering Day, Midsummer, Litha, Vestalia. In ancient times, June was a popular marriage month, since summer offered a window between the sowing and reaping seasons. The June full moon was considered the best time to harvest honey from the hives, and newlyweds were fed honey during the wedding feast to encourage love and fertility. The tradition lives on in our modern post-nuptial getaway, the honeymoon.

How might we translate our ancestors' emphasis on love and union at Solstice to our lives today? In other words, how can we best live this light?

It's a grand opportunity to burn away old patterns that no longer serve our highest good, in order to become more whole. Whole, holy and heal originate from the same root. We can use the power of Solstice to assist us in integrating the masculine and feminine energies inside ourselves. The moment is ripe for sacred reunion. What do I mean by this?

Most books, films and songs that speak of love refer to romantic love between two people. We've been taught to look outside ourselves for completion, to seek the Other and to rejoice when we connect, or to keep searching.

What we're really seeking is a part of ourselves, which is why we often feel incomplete when we hook up with someone whom we hope will fill the empty place inside us. The wedding of the light and the dark, of the magnetic, receptive, lunar, "feminine" self and the dynamic, assertive, solar, "masculine" self, has to take place first within our own being. And yet — it's through relationship that we get there!

The beloved is a catalyst to help us merge the complementary aspects of ourselves. This is a radical idea, and challenging to hold. It turns everything we believe about romantic love on its head.

One of the ways to shine your own light more brightly is to celebrate yourself and each other, through whatever art forms call to you: music, dance, poetry, painting, comedy improvisation, theatre, ritual, chanting/singing, multimedia … and silence. Enlarge the lens you look through by asking, how can I expand this experience, become inclusive rather than exclusive?

This Summer Solstice, I invite you to sound the clarion call for your own companions of destiny — those who can see and honor your authentic self. The Mayan Oracle (a book and card deck based on the Mayan sacred calendar) says, "When you have been truly seen, you feel empowered, and remembrance of a shared sacred trust is ignited."

Acknowledge your connection with all life, and allow the simple to nourish you. Sitting beneath a tree, enjoying the sun on your feet and the wind in your hair, being thankful for life itself, is wholeness exemplified. The romance of living — and the wedding — begins first within you.

Beltane: Celebrate Your Planet, Yourself

May 1st is Beltane: a time for celebrating the beauty and sanctity of all life. Today is a moment for reclaiming your power, balance, and inner strength.

Beltane is one of eight Shabbats on the Wheel of the Year. The others include the Solstices and Equinoxes, Lammas (August 1st), Samhain (October 31st), and Imbolc (February 2nd). Beltane breathes renewal into our cells as we acknowledge the Nature Kingdom and the advent of summer. For our Southern Hemisphere allies, the Wheel of the Year is reversed: they now celebrate Samhain.

In the West, we often water down our sacred days to become mere children's celebrations: Samhain, ushering in the dark half of the year, becomes a specter of itself as Halloween; Imbolc, heralding the return of the light on February 2nd, morphs to Groundhog Day; Beltane becomes a chance to dance around the Maypole. Yet the deeper meanings reflect our lost connection with natural rhythms, with the seasonal shifts we actually embody.

As Samhain honors the power of death, so Beltane honors the cycles of life and rebirth. Beltane takes place in Taurus, the zodiac's most earthy, sensual sign, and focuses on exuberant sexuality: the pollinating of flowers, the lush cornucopia of fruit-bearing plants and trees, the reproductive cycle of the entire natural world, from birds and bees to humans. It's a celebration of fertility in all its forms — and thus we dance in homage to Aphrodite, the Goddess Herself.

Although traditionally observed on May 1st, astronomical Beltane arrives about the 5th, a nice sync-up with Cinco de Mayo, giving us an entire week in which to renew, dance the fire back into our beings, and open once again to a sacred reUnion of our masculine and feminine selves. Mythologist Kathleen Jenks provides a page rich in Beltane lore from around the globe.

Renowned ritualist Ffiona Morgan says of an anticipatory Beltane celebration, "As I walk through the blooming earth to join friends, I realize that passionate love takes many forms, and that the earth is my greatest lover. I bless my blue planet, vowing unchanging devotion and care for Her. Seeing Earth as a living, breathing female has changed me, and become the cornerstone of my commitment to Her." (from WeMoon Datebook © Mother Tongue Ink)

Recess and Reassess

With our focus on The Shift taking place worldwide, it's easy to forget we have the power to effect change at the very local level ~ within our own beings ~ by altering how we think. Simply shifting our emphasis allows "I feel depressed" to morph into "I feel deep rest".

I also realized the root of "recession" is "recess": it's summer, time to take a break and allow ourselves the deep rest and rejuvenation we deliciously deserve in these tumultuous times!

All the players I've encountered recently say the same, in their own unique ways. Visionary spoken word artist DreamingBear Baraka Kanaan, a modern-day Rumi, exhorts us, "Play hooky from your have-to's, Will you marry freedom with me? Let's elope into ecstasy…"

Clearly, the keynote of now is, "Ain't it awe-full?" READ THE REST!

Beltane: Celebrate Your Planet, Yourself

In the West, we often water down our sacred days to become mere children's celebrations: Samhain, ushering in the dark half of the year, becomes a specter of itself as Halloween; Imbolc, heralding the return of the light on February 2nd, morphs to Groundhog Day; Beltane becomes a chance to dance around the Maypole.

Yet the deeper meanings reflect our lost connection with natural rhythms, with seasonal shifts we actually embody. READ THE REST!

Beltane: Going A-Maying

Today heralds the official end of winter and advent of summer, in the Northern Hemisphere; for our Southern Hemisphere allies, it's the reverse. Personally, I'm reveling in the return of the Light and warmth! Here's a lovely article detailing the history of Beltane and why this is truly a time to say, "light my fire!"

Thanks to What Shines newsletter subscriber Eileen Balint for this fabulously perfect May Day offering:

The Springtime of Now

Yellow forsythia, periwinkle blue
Almond buds bursting, moist with pink dew.
SPRING shoots forth ... from Eros's quiver
Rushing and gushing like a raging river.
Woodruff nestled in shades of sublime
Beneath cedar and dogwood, blue spruce and pine.
Flaming red cardinals serenade the wild
Feathering their nests with the down of beguiled.
Annuals, complacent, cheery and tame
In bed with bohemian perennials just the same.
Wildflowers don't care where they seed or they grow
In the Garden of Eden, you go with the flow.
The Maypole decked with ribbons and bough
Spirals awareness to the threshold of Now.
"Life is the dancer and I AM the dance"
Spring is the lusty rhythm of romance
Caught off guard in the twilight is Presence,
By the fragrance of Being, we remember our Essence.