summer solstice ☀️

summer is the season of sensuality and pleasure. think juicy ripe fruit and skinny dipping, sun bathing and heat. the solstice is celebrated all over the world, crossing cultural barriers and time- we celebrate the light and abundance of the season. while there are many rituals

dance is one way many people choose to celebrate and honor the sun gods. this growth gathering celebrated by focusing on pleasure and the strawberry, the fruit of our heart and inner child. three ways we can increase the amount of pleasure we experience are through breath work, sound, and movement. we incorporated all three into the night. we started our night by creating a mandala with fresh cut peonies, daisies, and roses from our gardens, crystals and ferns while setting our intentions for the next 6 months until the winter solstice. for me personally, harmony is what I’m needing more of in my life. keeping pace and balancing all the elements of relationships (both love and friendship), work, parenting, and rest. we started with a quick breath work exercise to lead us into our movement. to see how emotions feel in your body we took quick shallow breaths and clenched our fists as we looked to the ground, give it a whirl! you might feel anxiety or fear, anger or sadness in youe hips chest or throat. to feel the opposite we lifted our gaze, opened our arms and took 3 long deep breaths, swaying our hips and listening to our bodies. we danced, oh we danced! our bodies crave the fluid movement stretch. dancing to good music is one of my favorite ways to connect to my inner child & like Florence says, “for a moment when I’m dancing, I feel free“ free. what cultures around the world have known for eons is that when you’re dancing, you’re dancing with the universe, with spirit flowing through you. connected. we laughed as we imagined what people thought when they saw us moving and stretching in the grass, under the tree around our makeshift maypole. we watched the sunset behind the tall trees and we ate, we drank, we consumed blue lotus the flower of the sun god Ra. we reflected and pulled cards to have a moment with ourselves and each other. confirmed- we are exactly where we need to be.

menu/recipes:

drinks-

-homemade soda (recipe from a work friend!) fill a mason jar halfway with fruit of your choice, for this i chose strawberry, rhubarb, and raspberry. add 1/2 cup of raw honey and fill with filtered or distilled water. no tap water as it could have bacteria that inhibits the fermentation process. cover with cheesecloth and sit for 3-5 days- give it a good stir each day. mine took ~4 days to bubble over. strain the fruit and refrigerate! this is so good and refreshing and has that really nice fizz without all the sugar and funky stuff. -peony lemonade (by sarah swinko) fill a glass mason jar with peony petals, boil 3 cups of water (or enough to fill the jar), pour the boiling water into the mason jar, let it cool and put the lid on

(the water may change to yellow) steep in the fridge for up to 24 hours, pour the water into a pot while straining out the peony petals, add 2 Tbsp lemon juice (changes the color to pink) heat the water and lemon juice and add sugar (1/4 cup or more). once sugar is dissolves, store in fridge

-peppermint and lemongrass tea (by sarah swinko) cut freah mint and lemonbalm leaves into a pot, add water and boil for about 10 mins, pour tea and filter out leaves, repeat with the same leaves if you want more tea, add honey or sugar to taste before refrigerating

spreads-

-goat cheese, strawberries, basil, drizzled with honey over seed crackers

hummus

-garlic pesto (made by sarah swinko!)

1/2 cup sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup EVOO

4 cloves of garlic, handful of each: spinach, violet leaves, plantain, chickweed, and nettle (all greens not necessary, just adds more flavor and nutrients) process and add more oil, seeds, or garlic if needed

-guacamole 2 avocado, red onion, tomatoes to your liking, garlic shoots, s&p to taste, handful of cilantro

salads-

-minimalist baker cantelope salad

1 cantelope, pint of grape tomatoes, 1 large cucumber, 1/4 red onion. the juice of two limes, tablespoon of maple syrup, olive oil and apple cider vinegar, s&p to taste.

desserts-

dark chocolate

strawberry cake

check out the summer solstice playlist on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6tLxitCtY5v8onPkgKf7hd?si=NNGAH0DmSeaf1cLXUfGv3A