Allow Yarrow to Romance You
Summer Solstice Spellbook
Outer Energies of the Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice is an astrological occurrence on the Celtic and Irish Wheel of the Year that falls mid-way between the agricultural and seasonal festivals of Bealtaine (marking the season of summer) and Lughnasa (marking the season of autumn). Solstice means stand-still and to our ancestors it appeared that the sun rose and set in the same place on the eastern and western horizons.
In Ireland, there are ancient neolithic sites, constructed with stones over 5000 years ago, that dot our landscapes all over the county. Many of these sites align with these astrological turnings. One of the neolithic sites in Ireland that has special alignment with the Summer Solstice is the Grange Stone Circle (part of the Lough Gur complex) near Limerick. This is one of Ireland’s largest stone circles and has satellite circles likely dedicated to the goddess Aine. My teacher Gina shared this sacred place with me over twenty years ago and I remember laying in the center of Grange stone circle (as I have done many times since) although my favorite part of visiting this site is traipsing through boggy fields where cows glance up interested for a moment then go back to chewing their cud. These satellite circles, ensconced by bramble and hawthorn, are the places of mystery and possibility for me, where the energy is still raw and electric, where the idle tourist will not venture to.
At the Summer Solstice, in the Northern Hemisphere, due to the cosmic positioning of the Earth, the sun is at their northernmost point. Tomorrow the sun will begin their dance slowly back to the south and bring the dark with theme. Today sunset at Gortshambo, Kinvara, the Burren, County Galway, Connacht, Ireland (my home!) is at 22:06 and sunrise tomorrow is at 5:08. Because of our northerly latitude, we have very long twilights and it is still not fully dark until near midnight. Thus, it is barely dark before the sun starts lightening the dawn sky at around 4 am.
Inner Energies of the Summer Solstice
How does the long light influence your body? Your mind? Your spirit? Your emotions?
As a herbalist who forages and grows many plants I co-create healing remedies with, I love the bounty the Earth offers at this time and evenso, I also find this time of peak light challenging. My body is definitely more tired and weirdly slow, sometimes. My mind seems to jump from one thing to the next: needing to harvest that herb, make that potion, weed that bed, visit that stand of elderflower to wildcraft, tend to the spring. My spirit, although lifted with the song of the birds and the vibrancy of nature and the feel of my body in the sea, aches for the deep dark long mornings and tucking in with a hot whiskey in front of the hearth fire before dinner. Emotionally, I can feel a bit blue and find myself more irritable in general.
Most anything you read about this time is about light, action, clarity, focus, busyness, manifestation. Yet when we are really present with the Earth, especially with wild nature, we see a slow down during this time, as well. The blossoms are spent and the inward, more invisible work of flower turning to seed or fruit is happening although not yet there. The trees have leafed so they are also in a place of beingness, of stillness. Even in our cultivated vegetable gardens, the harvest (except for some early greens, peas or radishes) is not yet here. So Summer Solstice, when the sun appears to standstill, can also be a time for nature to be still, after the frenzy of early Bealtaine. And so may we eschew what dominant narrative tells us and allow that in our own lives: a time of slowing and being still, like the trees.
Be Still and Let Yarrow Romance You
Yarrow is a herb that has had importance in the Irish Wisdom Tradition through the mists of time and specifically around this time of Summer Solstice and moving into late summer, as we approach Lughnasa. Dedicating a practice with a simple (the name of a single herb) taps into an ancestral way of learning, of experiencing the wholeness of the plant and how it engages with your body, mind, spirit and emotions. It is a way to slow down and let the herb beguile you in all the most wonderful ways. Join me, in this still time of the Summer Solstice, to connect to yarrow, to move into an intimate (and romantic!) relationship with this venerated plant, honoring their medicine and their magic.
Herbal Fast. As a way to slow down and be still, I invite you to spend time with yarrow over this next while. A practice of “fasting” with a herb, to engage your senses and be present with a simple (the name we give when we are working with one herb) herb, is an old way of learning and coming into relationship with that herb. Fasting in this case does not mean only ingesting that herb and nothing else. In fact, I do not recommend fasting in that way. Instead, it is working with a simple (single) herb in a myriad of ways and eliminating any other herbs from your diet/ practice at that time. My recommendation for a herbal fast (some cultures call it a “dieta”) would be to work with this herb over a period of 3 or 9 days.
Herbal Novena. Another way to come into intimate relationship with a simple herb is to weave that herb into what I call a herbal novena. A novena is a nine-day immersion of intention and focus that has been and still is practiced in my ancestral lineage of Ireland (often in regards to Mother Mary and the Christian tradition).
Instead of nine days, perhaps you will do this over nine weeks, allowing yarrow to lead you into the season of Lughnasa. Perhaps you will do this over nine days, a whirlwind romance that will ever change you! Perhaps you will connect in a few times a week, dedicating time to this new relationship and staying committed. However it aligns with your summer schedule is perfect.
Gather some yarrow to have on your altar and weave the spells of the Summer Solstice with them.
The Spellwork: Weave the spell of yarrow into your life during this season of standstill.
Whether you do a herbal fast or a herbal novena over a period of time, I have created a spellbook that includes an invocation to call in the plant spirit of yarrow and to each day deepen into your relationship with this potent and transformational ally through spells, rituals and herbcraft and reflection.
INVOCATION TO YARROW
Beloved yarrow, I invoke thee
May your warrior’s grace come to me
Leaves like feathers, in the air
Green of life, inspiration I hear
And through the fray, it’s hope not fear
Flowers open, white and pink
Passion radiant, courage I speak
Fairy fire: you hold, I seek
In the shimmering of waxing moonlight
Remembering the love burning ever bright
Through the mysteries, dark births light
Native grower on cliffs and plain
Beloved yarrow, through the ages you remain
Here to guide us through the days
May we remember the old ways.