The summer solstice corresponds to the time of the year when the Sun rises highest in the sky and illuminates one of the two hemispheres for a maximum duration: it is therefore the longest day of the year. In the northern hemisphere, it occurs on June 21 or 22; in the southern hemisphere, December 21 or 22.
The ancients had developed a whole mysticism about the great cycles of the equinoxes and solstices. According to them, the alternations of day and night are the perfect reflection of the dance of shadow and light, of the balance between our personal shadow and our personal light, of the principle of Spirit and matter. The great cosmic cycles then resonate with our personal lives.
The summer solstice is a unique time of the year. Indeed, the longest day means that the light is the strongest. The day is the longest and the night the shortest. It is at the zenith of light and the nadir of darkness that consciousness can be most powerfully illuminated. The solar force of the Spirit radiates maximally in matter. Illuminated by sunlight, this is the time when the earth is most illuminated by the sun. Illuminated by the light of the Spirit, this is the moment when matter is most transparent.
The particular energy of this time of the year is an opportunity to harmonize with the principle of Spirit and clarify projects and questions, move forward on the path of our lives by finding the right information and a new comprehension. To be able to come into harmony with the cosmos, we must take a careful look at our lives during this solstice day. We need to sharpen our vision and perceive the reality around us differently. Because illuminated for a day by solar power, it is possible to clarify our lives.
“Hermes: Certainly, for such an inner vision of good is not like the dazzling radiance of the sun, whose light blinds and forces one to close one’s eyes. Inner meditation illuminates, and all the more so as one becomes more receptive to the current of rays offering understanding. It acts with great force deep within us and will never harm us, filled as it is with the divine.
The divine forces actively manifesting themselves are the rays of His Sun. The forces of nature are the radiant activities of the world. Manual dexterity and the desire for knowledge are the radiant activities of man.”
Corpus Hermeticum