Hi friends,
Last Thursday, the day after my birthday, I wandered down to the beach to sit at the edge of the water and pull tarot cards for another trip around the sun. Somewhere between the waves and the cards, it dawned on me just how close my birthday falls to the Summer Solstice and the beginning of a new season.
The season of light.
The season of fire.
The word solstice comes from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). Ancient sky-watchers noticed that for a brief moment the sun appeared to pause in its journey across the sky, hanging in all of its brilliance before beginning its gradual turn back toward darkness.
And perhaps that is what the solstice asks of us, too.
To pause.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, on June 21st, we welcome the longest day and the official beginning of summer. While our friends in the Southern Hemisphere are greeting winter and the longest night, we are standing at the apex of the sun—a threshold filled with warmth, energy, and possibility.
For centuries, cultures around the world have honored this turning point. Midsummer celebrations have marked the abundance of the earth and invited people to gather, feast, dance, and give thanks for the light that makes life possible.
In yoga, light carries deep symbolism. The yogic texts speak of jyotir—the inner flame that lives within each of us. Not the loud, flashy kind of light, but the quiet radiance beneath all the noise. The steady knowing that remains even when life feels uncertain.
And just as the sun reaches its peak, the solstice also ushers us into Cancer season—a season of nourishment, tenderness, and homecoming. After all the outward energy of spring and Gemini season, Cancer reminds us that growth isn’t only about becoming. It is also about caring. About learning how to parent ourselves with the same compassion we so freely offer others.
Which makes this halfway point of the year feel especially potent.
Andddddd … .Now is a beautiful time to pause and look back.
How are those seeds you planted during the Winter Solstice or at the start of the year doing? Are they beginning to bloom? Have some quietly withered? Do those dreams still resonate with your heart? Do you still choose your Word of the Year again and again? Are you still making your way forward, one shaky step at a time? And if the answer is no, perhaps that is okay too.
Nature is never rigid. The trees are not attached to last year’s leaves. Rivers do not apologize for changing course.
Maybe this season is inviting you not only to look back, but to cast your gaze forward.
Who do you want to become? How do you want to spend your days? How do you want to speak to yourself? What would nourish your path when this year comes to a close?
The solstice doesn’t ask us to have everything figured out. It simply asks us to stop long enough to notice. To honor the season we are in. To celebrate the joy, love, beauty, and abundance already present. To remember that light exists not only around us, but within us.
And perhaps most importantly— Pay homage to the seasons of your life.
Because nothing blooms forever. And nothing stays dormant forever either.
The wheel keeps turning. And so do we.
Happy Summer and Move with Love.
Xoxo,
Holly
INSPIRATION STATION
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