We are celebrating the Summer Solstice this weekend. Yesterday we had a lovely sunny day so we began by drawing down the power of the Sun and offering gratitude for the light and heat and illumination that the sun provides for us. Basically, we gave thanks for the source of all Life. Today we intended to have a bonfire but the weather has changed so we will light candles all around the house to honour the Sun and we will enjoy a meal with our guests.
It is so important to mark these days in our yearly calendar, even if we no longer live on the land or live an agrarian life. These festivals are part of our heritage and culture and all the benefits of these festivals, ( when we express gratitude for all we have; set goals and reflect on what we have set in motion and harvested, for example) surely never go out of style wherever we live and whenever we live. These festivals also remind us of our past, of our ancestors who DID work the land and observed the changes of the landscape through the seasons. Such festivals remind us of who we are and where we have come from.
Once upon a time in Ireland, primary school children commenced their history education learning about the stories from our huge canon of myths and legends. They learned of Cuchulain, “The Hound of Ulster”; of the warriors, the Fianna and of magical lands, the Tuatha de Danaan and other beings. This was the introduction to the history of our nation. Unfortunately, such stories are no longer taught, they are left to die away from the collective imagination. A few years ago, when I had just left teaching, the government decided to make history in the secondary school cycle, optional rather than compulsory. I protested against this because I knew that if we forget the lessons of the past, if we forget where we came from and who we are, we would be lost. The government went ahead anyway and now they are trying to persuade us there is no such thing as “Irish”, rather we are all mixed up rather like mongrels.
David Fleming very writes about this very fluently and explains what is happening around this topic of who we are and why it matters that we remember. He is not just talking about the Irish, but about all western societies. It is another existential threat that we are facing and must strongly resist.
The Plants can help us to make that resistance. When we ally with the plants we get the chance to look back along the line of history and to see what our ancestors were up to. They were using the plants as food and medicine of course; building and making clothes and tools but also making ceremony and ritual. It is ceremony and ritual that ground us in the moment and in who we are. It is ceremony and ritual that remind us we are humans, beings and not just parts of a machine that grinds on and on for the “economy”. Meadowsweet (and St. John’s Wort of course) begins to bloom in June, around the Summer Solstice, and her fragrance helps us to notice all the flowers that make our land so beautiful and adorned. We are reminded that this is a time to celebrate the abundance that the Sun is providing for us and we take time out to do that. We can make Meadowsweet into a sweet brew - a mead - for our community gatherings and celebration and then we remember - Oh yes!! this is who we are!
Meadowsweet is also associated with the Irish Goddess of the Summer Solstice, Áine. Her story reminds us that we can resist and overcome external pressure that tries to have us controlled, chained, imprisoned. We are as wild and free and sovereign as Meadowsweet and the other flowers.
Meadowsweet has great healing virtues as you can hear, being a diuretic, diaphoretic, pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic and has great affinity for the stomach but is also beneficial to joints and to the urinary system. Meadowsweet can also help with headaches, neuralgia, gout and rheumatism and erupting complaints such as measles and chickenpox. If you are interested in learning about herbal medicine and working with our wild plants, you can find my courses at The Hawthorn Academy.
You will also find my books, The Weed Handbooks on my website and I also offer the Wise Woman Way training training which is a transpersonal course following the Celtic Wheel of the Year. Using shamanic and druidic techniques we work with our Plant Allies and Irish Goddesses for healing, reconnecting with Nature and for discovering the Divine Feminine within.
The next festival is Lughnasadh at the beginning of August and I am at Studio Feasa to host a workshop to celebrate this ancient festival. Please note that there is free camping here thanks to the generosity of Roísín. I will also be at The Yoga Picnic in the the Draiocht Tents-sched on 5th July.
Thanks to Lol for music and editing and thanks to you all for watching and reading.
Wishing you a very happy and sun filled Solstice, hope you are having a lovely weekend xx
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