Summer solstice

Summer solstice circle is tomorrow (MONDAY) at 8pm

I run circles every 6 weeks in line with the Celtic wheel of the year, a framework from which to regain a sense of your cyclical self. If you want to feel more in rhythm with nature and join a gorgeous community of supportive women, upgrade to paid membership (£5 a month or £50 a year) - I’d love to have you.

The natural swimming pool at the beyond-words-beautiful retreat centre last week

I’m getting my head back into the rhythm of normal life after teaching on retreat in an utterly magical location in northern Portugal last week. I’m straight into a week of solo parenting, packing for a camping trip and prepping my daughter’s 10th birthday, as well as supporting a beautiful new mama and her baby who arrived at home in a birth pool at 4am this morning - joy!

The owners of the quinta (farm or country house) where we stayed grew a lot of their own food and drank water from a natural spring, which also filled the swimming pool. They made jams, preserves, kefir, puddings, curries, soups and salads from the fruit and vegetables and flowers that they grew, so they could enjoy their efforts throughout later seasons. It looked like bloody hard, rewarding work. And it was such a profound and beautiful lesson in living in relation to the land and in rhythm with the seasons, one rudely interrupted by coming home and being pressured into buying pesticide-sprayed strawberries in Sainsbury’s by my kids …

In Portugal the days were long but the sun came up a little later and sank a little earlier than here in the UK, and it made me reflect on the specific experience of the long summer days here in these northern lands. The Celtic festivals make sense to me - it seems sensible that we mark the seasons profound contrast to each other, that we marvel at all this light and celebrate our hard work at this time of year.

Tomorrow night we’ll come together for our circle to honour the summer solstice, the longest day/shortest night of the year. It’s a time of celebration, of considering where we might want to sparkle without forcing anything, to grow without reducing space for others. To recognise our - and everyone’s individual - contribution, to be brave and take a risk or two.

I’m so looking forward to being with some of you. It’s such a pleasure to remember the rhythms of the earth together.

I’ll provide a reminder when I send the Zoom details (which will come via Substack email and also go in this post tomorrow) of what to bring/prepare, but it’s here too if you want to get sorted:

1. I recommend you have a notebook just for your Celtic wheel sessions, so you can glance back at any intentions, journalling etc from the previous few sessions.

2. Come in comfort - clothes, blanket, something you like to drink, chocolate etc! That includes arriving just as you are - no pressure to be full of solstice vim (though if you are, that’s welcome too!)

See you tomorrow beautiful people,

Chloe

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