EP 87: Celebrating Summer Solstice

– with spells for rejuvenation and growth

In this episode of The Witching Half Hour or So, we are celebrating Fire! We are just days before the summer solstice. So I have spells and channelled wisdom for my ear bud coven.

 The energy the Summer Solstice is transformative. I want to share with practical spell work involving the fire element. I’ve got tips for transformative spells – perfect for this fiery season.

We can aligning with nature, the rejuvenating power found in  the long days of summer. Let’s  integrating joy and relaxation into our magical practice. This doesn’t have to be hard… we can use small, mindful rituals such as visualizing vitality and performing burning ceremonies for release and manifestation.

Tune in for solstice blessings, and practical tips to harness the abundance and energy of this time of year.

• 00:00 Welcome and Introduction
• 01:50 Living Rhythmically with the Summer Solstice
• 04:45 Magic and Spells for the Solstice
• 16:39 The Power of Joy and Manifestation
• 18:30 Conclusion and Invitation to Join the Ear Bud Coven.

transcript

 Hello. Hi, my beautiful coven. How are you doing on this beautiful day? If it is in the day that you're listening to this, I'm actually recording at night. Because we are in that time of the year when I end up staying up super late past my bedtime, and I don't even realize it, we are gearing up to the summer solstice.

I'm actually recording this episode only a few days to a week before it goes out. So you are in the same energy and time as I am when you're listening to this. Before we dive into Solstice Energy and what these fiery times of the year mean at this point in the wheel of the year, let me just introduce myself.

For anyone who is new, I'm Jodi Anne Psychic, witch medium. This is my podcast, the witching half hour or so. We're a totally independent podcast. It's just me in my bedroom with my dog at my feet recording in a little microphone. So everything you do helps. If you wanna show your love to the podcast, give me a review, hit the like button, share this with a friend.

The whole idea is to build community. To bring my more than 25 years of experience on the Pagan path to you, cutting through the chaos that you find on the internet, giving real practical tips and tricks from a practicing pagan and self-identifying witch. So let's talk about the Wheel of the Year today.

My Coven. Let's talk about it. This is summer Solstice. This is a time of year because I live rhythmically and I'm always trying to align with the energies around me that my personal schedule gets really crazy and wild. The sun where I live, 'cause I'm in Vancouver area up in Canada, so we get long days.

Right now we're not seeing the sunset until like eight o'clock at night. Let me just look that up. So I'm truthful to you. Okay, I just checked the sunset time on my Tide app for today is 9:11 PM and we haven't even hit the actual longest day of the year yet. So instead of it getting dark at night, it just gets Navy.

It doesn't quite get black until like late, like one in the morning sometimes, and then dawn is coming at five. So it's pretty neat actually. To be in the navies of the solstice season when you're watching the sky change color. We have very little dark right now. No wonder that fire rules this time of year, right?

We've got our beautiful sun visible for such long hours, just hanging out with us, blessing the earth. Producing growth. We've got things blooming in my yard right now. I've got little blueberries coming, raspberries coming when I go into the woods. There's all this life around this revitalizing the fruits of our labors.

The seeds that we planted in the spring, they're coming to fruition and there's still this feeling right now in this time of year if we're seasonally living and practicing as a seasonal witch. There's a feeling of fertile ground. So the magic you can do during the solstice is really good. You can do transformative work, release work because we have that element of fire, which stands for transformation, passion, growth, and I know that you know that part of growth is letting go, right?

We need to do the burning ceremonies. We need to do the releasing ceremonies. We need to do the tempering by fire. In order to level up in order to grow. So that's the release piece. But 'cause the sun is blessing us with the warmth and the vitality. We also have that growth thing happening, so we can do that magic where we're releasing and manifesting at the same time.

It's kind of like working in a garden. We're planting seeds as we're pulling weeds. We're doing both. We're excavating and building all at the same time. We have the energy to do that. So my beautiful coven. What I thought I would do today on our episode is give you some little spells you can do. And the reason I want them to be little spells is because at this time of year, I also feel it's very important.

To use the energy of the sun to revitalize. Now, maybe this is because I live in the lower mainland and I live seasonally, and I tune into what nature is doing. I live in a very wet, soggy, rainy climate where we have so much overcast lack of light that when I first moved here, I needed a sun lamp. I really needed extra vitamin D.

I still need to take care of myself in the winter because of the low light. I have acclimatized to this moderate rainforest that gets so much precipitation. So when the sun comes out, I feel like a little shrinking mushroom that needs the light. So I spend a lot of time in the summer just being of feeling the sun on my skin of spending time in nature.

Being a human being. And I do find that that still slowness, that tuning into nature and watching, you know, ladybugs and getting out on the water and feeling that freshness of nature around me is so healing. But the relaxing in the doing nothing actually revitalizes my creative workflow. I get a lot of inspiration.

I get a lot of ideas. I get a lot of creativity. I have this extra time in the day not just to work like I am at like 10 o'clock at night as it's navy outside working way with you, but I also get extra time to rest, to put my feet up at the end of the day and watch the sky change color. I don't wanna burrow down as much as I do in the winter.

So I wanna bring you some fire worshiping fire spells that you can do this summer during this bright fiery time for transformation and growth. And I'm gonna make them simple. 'cause I want you to spend some time enjoying it. I really wish that for you. I wish you so much this summer, this solstice, period.

Stretch out the rays of your beauty and just be, and let the grass tickle your feet and let the sun kiss your skin. And when you're doing that, like just breathe in my coven. Breathe in the warmth and goodness. That's where we'll start. I can feel that spell idea channeling right in and that message coming in for you.

So here we go. One of the ways that you can, while you're revitalizing really like in the moment, do a bit of energy work is just sitting on your lunch break on a bench. Where right when you get home from your busy day, spend some time in the sunshine. Like you don't have to be a sun worshiper like me and love this feel of the sun on your skin, maybe.

Maybe you burn easy. Get outside though. Get in the fresh air. Even just if it's too hot for you. If you don't like the heat, just like near a fresh breeze coming in your window, get quiet and breathe in. Like visualize and breathe in the energy of the sun. That vitality hold in your mind's eye. Things like bees, things like a blossoming flower.

Things that represent vitality and growth, and breathe in that I, that imagery, fill your whole body with that imagery. Pick a color that's fiery and beautiful, and with every breath, let that come into you. Right? Feel that coming into you. And with intention, bring that vitality to any place in your life that needs reviving.

And you can do this with somatic energy work. When you're sitting, it could be something physical. Maybe you have to work on your feet, and so your feet are tired, so you can bring that revitalizing there. Maybe you type a lot and so your wrists are tired. You can bring that revitalizing energy there. Or maybe it's something deeper.

Maybe it's a heart chakra wounds. Maybe you need to bring some more love to you, whatever it is, my dear coven. Picture it. And if it's an emotional thing, a spiritual thing, and not a physical thing, take a minute and feel into your body and like figure out where that emotion sits in your body and breathe that vitality into it.

So that's spell number one, energy work with fire. And when you're doing that energy work, you can even take it a step further and you can try to connect with that element of fire. You can level this up if you are not a 1 0 1 witch. If you're a 3 0 3 witch or a 2 0 2 witch, and this is not your first rodeo, take the time this summer and really connect through breath work and being in the sunshine, connecting with the energy and vitality of the element of fire.

Many of us think of the element of fire as something that has to be. Really destructive and catastrophic and phoenix fiery before it can produce great beauty and transformation in your life. But that isn't always true. Fire can be smoldering. Fire can be gentle in your life if you get to know that element and learn to work with it.

We don't have to be clumsy with our work. Right? We can be specific and amazing with it 'cause you were born powerful. You were born powerful. You can do this work. Awesome. Small spell number two. I wanted to talk to you about actual burning ceremonies because remember, we can do release work and manifestation work pretty much back to back in the summer.

I often like to take a breath between my release work and my manifestation work. I like to really feel that empty space and then plant, not in the summer. In the summer, I tend to move through things quite quickly. So what you can do is think about those blocks and we all have them, right? If you're on the spiral path, my love, and you're working through things and learning, you will find the things that no longer serve you.

You will find the blocks and they're coming up so you can release them, so you can move through them and transform your life. That's my belief anyway. I offer it to you. So take those things, whatever's blocking you, whether it's a fear or self-doubt, maybe there's an old message you picked up from someone in your life that you want to get rid of so that you can have different thoughts and you can move through life with more grace and ease.

Take that and write it down. It doesn't have to be a big story. If you're like me, I like writing a big story. Some of my girlfriends don't. You can do a picture of it. You can create anything, but create something on a piece of paper to represent what you're letting go of. And during the hot, beautiful, sunny days in the bright light, bring your paper out into the light.

Whatever it is, bring your problem to light. Let the sun shine on it and then light it on fire. Now do that piece safely. We talk about safe burning all the time. Here on the witching, half hour or so, have a bucket of water nearby. Maybe you can do it while standing in a stream, you know, maybe in the bathroom, over the bathroom.

Sink, light it on fire. If you have a safe witchy burning vessel, like a little coltran, you can burn it in there, and then you can take those ashes and you can brew them in your garden. You can take them to a natural space and you can do the planting of the ashes, knowing that new things will grow from the ashes.

Just like here in Canada, we have a tree. It's the Douglas Fir. And it is what we call, uh, pyro Loving and the seeds on a Douglas Fir, they have to get to be a certain temperature. It's insane. I'll put in the show notes. I'm not gonna remember it here. I don't wanna take the time to look it up for you, but I know the Douglas Fir is the first tree to grow after a forest fire because it takes that fire for its seed pods to open.

So it sets up the forest. It's the beginning of the forest. So as you burn the thing that no longer serve you, you are activating the seeds of something beautiful to come for you. And that's the magic there, right? Magic doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be high in ceremonial. I do a lot of magic in nature, and I do it all summer.

I started. My first outdoor spell this year was on the water. I took my paddleboard out during the New Moon in Gemini, and I made wishes on the Cottonwood flying. I. And I set intention for my new moon for what I wanted to manifest this summer and what I feel like I'm walking into the chapter of my life.

I'm stepping into. I did all that intention setting on the paddle board, under the setting sun, the sun's ray, hitting me that fiery energy of transformation and it, it wasn't a big ceremony, right? The sun was my candle. It wasn't a big ceremony. But it was there with my spirit helpers and friends grounded on the water.

All four elements present, setting my intention under the new moon, and there was seed pods floating all around me. The cottonwood was flying like crazy, right? So all those seeds I kept in envisioning like the seeds that I'm planting that are coming to fruition lean into nature. My coven sisters lean into it.

And use it to help you visualize what you're manifesting and what you're growing. I think that might be it. Today. I knew it would be a quick one 'cause it's the end of the day that I'm recording. I wanted to give you some real practical things. You could do this solstice. Little things you could do.

Solstice, in case you didn't know is June 20th and 24th. First, everyone argues whether it's the 20th or the 21st, I'm sure there's a calculator that'll tell you exactly when it is. I tend to believe that our ancestors who were watching the skies and the stars didn't worry about the exactness of it all.

It was the feeling. It was the moment. So if you celebrate solstice on the 19th, the 20th, or the 21st, or even into the 22nd, I'm pretty sure. That energy is still around. It takes a while for it to build, and this is a great time, Mike, right now, right before the solstice, as the energy is building and those days are getting longer, like setting intentions, doing the work even like every day, a little tiny thing, you could do a little mantra or a little blessing you could say for yourself.

As we go into this season of growth and abundance and fertility, just this time of lush abundance, and I'm gonna share one last tip with you. It just popped into my mind. I want you to think about the power of manifestation and the power of joy and the power of laughter. How when you see those reels on TikTok and Instagram of babies laughing, how it fills you with so much joy, like it's such a beautiful sound.

It's a powerful thing. Laughter, joy, fulfillment. Happiness is a powerful thing and it's something that we can use to fuel our spell work to fuel. Everything we do, so during the summer season, create some laughter, create some joy, lean into the lushness, leave, lean into the celebration. I invite you two to lean into it, to experience rest, to experience revitalization.

One of the things I've found is I'm. Often very full of ideas and creativity in the summer. And it's not because I'm working hard, it's because I'm plaguing hard. I'm out on the water. I'm out in the sun. I'm enjoying friends and family. I have some time when my kids are off, I take some vacation and rest.

And out of that lack of productivity comes. Invention and ideas and inspiration. So that's the other piece of magic I have for you. I invite you to lean into joy, to lean into happiness. Your joy is the spark of life that you can create out of a, you have so much power in your happiness, so invite you to go for a swim.

Feel the grass on your bare feet to ground into all the abundance and beauty in nature. And I think that's all I have to say. It's kind of a short one, but yeah. I hope that you really enjoyed the podcast. You can connect with me on Instagram or TikTok. I. It's under the witching half hour or so. You may have found me on Spotify or iTunes.

Please give me a review, drop a line, subscribe to the podcast. It really is one of the best things you can do to help us grow and reach more people in our community. I have a Facebook community. It's the witching half hour or so earbud, coven. You can always check out my website, Jodi Anne psychic medium.com.

I sometimes teach classes on there. I can be booked for a personal reading in there. Lots of information on there, show notes, all kinds of things. I wish you all the brightest solstice blessings. I will be out on the water doing a celebratory. Solstice paddle with a bunch of vital and beautiful women when we are in ceremony and when I am out on that board, I'm gonna be sending blessings to all of you in the earbud, coven, to just have the most rejuvenating summer.