Since the earliest times, the solstice of the summer sun has been many things to many people. After simple shelters, the oldest structures built by mankind on every continent but Antarctica have been ancient observatories that mark the solstices and the equinoxes. The ancient Celts believed it was crucial to the harvest to mark the passage of the sun, and that the solstices and the equinoxes were the only times that the souls of the recently departed could ascend into heaven. The ancient inhabitants of our region, the Chumash, believed the height of summer solstice to be a time of separation, when people briefly had the freedom to follow more individual pursuits rather than those of their clans and tribes. That way they could come back together in the fall to focus on how best to work together to face the challenges of winter.  
 
But the separation was not wanton or willful, or for the vain glory of it. It was not individualism for individualism's sake. These folks were not Libertarians, by any stretch. Quite the contrary. Ancient people in general and the Chumash specifically believed that the grandness of our individual gifts and talents became worthless if they did not serve the community. So this time of year are celebrating our individuality, we are celebrating the ways in which we as individuals fit together - how each separate individual contributes to the greater whole. In times of trouble - drought or disease, famine or war - it was believed that this separation was even more essential than normal to the survival of the tribe, for it enabled the people to come back together more clearly and strongly in the fall to face the coming of winter.
 
For contemporary Americans, this time of year is all about dads and grads. And given that we are a patriarchy, dad means more than literal fathers, it is also means our father figures, our leadership. For them, the leaders of our corporations, our cities and states, our counties and  country (and anyone affiliated with the NBA), the summer solstice is a particularly important time in the annual cycle because it heralds the end of one fiscal year and the beginning of another. Through that light, the summer solstice is the emotional equivalent of New Year's Eve. It is a time to let it all out, all that you have been carrying all year, and have a rockin' good time. It is a time for celebrating the triumphs and mourning the tragedies of the prior year. And then getting down to business.

For our graduates, the solstice is their coming out party, their debutantes' ball. It is the time when they are presented to their communities in a new light, as adults and therefore contributing members of the tribe. Or, as my uncle the Arkansas rice farmer used to say, when children turn from a liability to an asset. When I was younger I thought that was a brilliant summation of a stark Southern realist's take on one of life's rites of passage. Now that I have a child of my own that I am attempting to steer through that process, that statement seems like a gross oversimplification. While it is quite a noble goal, it is also quite the process. But I get the general gist.

 

So speaking of processes, this year the summer solstice  - the longest day and the shortest night of the year - occurs on Friday, June 20th. In addition to that, the 20th is also the day the sun moves from the sign of Gemini to the sign of Cancer. Looking to the energy of the planets and constellations is always a good navigational aid in finding your the way. And while these energies are complex, what follows are some of my favorite highlights.