The Summer Solstice & Capricorn Full Moon
Happy Solstice and Capricorn Full Moon! Falling on the same day this year, June 21st, the wheel of time turns and we enter Summer, with its invitation to bask in the beauty of our lives and spend quality and lighthearted times with those we hold dear.
The Summer Solstice has long been celebrated by those who came before us with festivals and bonfires, as well as with long-standing shrines, many of which exist for this particular time that honors the expansion of the light in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, a lovely group of yogis I had the great pleasure of hosting for a retreat in Ireland in 2019 visited one such site called Newgrange in Brú na Bóinne. Those who built this amazing passage tomb in the Neolithic period likely did so over many generations, meaning that those who began the work and continued to carry it out over the years never got to see it finished in its entirety. And though this particular site likely aligns so that the sunrise on the Winter Solstice forms a direct line through the narrow entranceway and into the central chamber itself, many stone circles and similar structures exist throughout Europe and the Celtic Isles to commemorate this special time of year. These, too, exist with a similar premise of aligning with the Sun in a particular way at Solstices and Equinoxes, so that the light shines through "just so," bringing its energy of life and illumination, radiance and awakening to the structure and all those who remain within it, or those whose energy went into its making.
The Capricorn Full Moon has something in common with this, and for one thing, it doesn't always fall on the Summer Solstice, making this a really special year! Capricorn is an energy of fortitude and follow through, one of integrity and steadiness. It teaches us that sometimes we must walk the hard road, in the dark and alone, for longer than we might think or want to, until we get to the end of it. And then, just when we think we're finished, we have to walk back, but hopefully only after we've rested our feet, eaten a good meal, perhaps soaked in a hot spring or hot tub, and nourished ourselves in true Cancerian fashion. Oh, and add a little cookies and crying to this lovely Cancerian ritual of nurturance and care to ensure we have met our needs in exactly the right ways. For when there is a Capricorn Full Moon, the Sun in Cancer (and this year Mercury and Venus) oppose it, which is what makes it a Full Moon. We're invited to the axis of fullness in which we embody both sides of the spectrum in order to inhabit the place of dynamic balance in the center, for balance never really exists in the way our minds might want it to.
Now, what I'm getting at here is that Capricorn reminds us that walking the hard road is, well, hard. But it is also rewarding in ways that make us wise, but only if we choose the wisdom path. In a modern culture whose idea of hard work is changing immensely, Capricornian values like putting time, effort, and energy for extended periods into a desired outcome still holds merit, for as we might say in yoga, and perhaps in other traditions, "the process is the point." Choosing to walk the long and challenging road makes us into, hopefully not just grizzled old people, but strong elders of society who have powerful and inspiring stories to share and who have seen an intention through to its end in order to become the beings we know we came here to be. And though this path requires stamina at times, endurance at others, and a true perseverance that we sometimes have to dig deep to find, where we are led is what a part of us knew was possible all along, for the seeds of our own destiny were hidden latent within us, waiting to be given shape and form in the world of manifestation. But if we hadn't chosen the long road, we could never have known this.
The ancestors who worked in Capricornian ways thousands of years ago did so because they knew what they were working for was worth it, even though most also knew they'd never see its completion. To them, it was meaningful. It was valuable. It was so important that today, 5,000 years later, it still stands. And there are numerous sites like this, from Stonehenge to the Pyramids, passage tombs, and stone circles, that contain the blood, sweat, and tears of those who chose to put their constancy toward a goal that was important beyond everything else, even when the end was only something they could dream of.
And, yes, Cancerian wisdom is that which asks us to feel with all of ourselves as we're journeying through a challenging situation. It asks us to listen with our inner ears to know what our hearts want to say. It needs us to let the deep inner world come to life through its rich exploration of our emotions so that we know them from top to bottom, inside and out, and so that in the long journey toward what we deem is most important, we don't lose connection with the primal energy of water, which creates and sustains all of life. For if we miss this, Capricorn's shadow ensues, and we become rigid, hardened beings who have forgotten how to laugh, and whose tears have dried up from misuse. And with Venus and Mercury in Cancer opposing the Full Moon, we are meant to share our valuable emotional experiences with others, to sit with those we hold dear, and to share our hearts so that as we embark upon the journey of elder-in-the-making, we don't feel quite so alone.
During this Summer Solstice and Capricorn Full Moon, may you know the seeds of destiny that only you can manifest in your life. May you work hard in the ways that feel aligned to your deepest Self, nurturing yourself along the journey in only the ways that you know how, so that on the path to elderhood, you revel and bask in each and every moment, as delightful and challenging, beautiful and heart-wrenching, joyful and intense, as each of them are. For in this process, you will know, once again, why you are here.