Sunday is summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, and winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. It is also Father’s Day. We celebrate all fathers (and some mothers who are also fathers) on this longest day of light for the year. We celebrate the masculine (radiating outward) aspects within all of us, the “fathering” of newborns, and all men (fathers) who have, in ways great and small, impacted our lives.
At summer solstice the Sun in Cancer rests quietly for three days at the Tropic of Cancer before turning southward again. Since winter solstice, the light grew stronger each day. When summer solstice begins, inaugurating the three months of summer, paradoxically there is less and less light each day.
Summer solstice is also called Litha—Celtic for the month of June. Uriel, the summer Archangel, living and teaching in fields and meadows, protects the Earth.
The Sun’s golden power is celebrated at solstice. In early times there were bonfires at midnight to reflect the solstice as the longest day of light for the year. The crops are growing, the Earth is warm, and the animal kingdom (humanity is both animal and spirit) spends many hours in nature under the long day’s warming Sun. Summer is the exact opposite of the cold darkness of Yule.
Ancient people celebrated the Sun god at summer solstice. Their names (representing the disk, rays and power of the Sun): Amaterasu (Shinto); Ra and Aten (Egypt); Apollo (Greek); Lugh (like Mercury, Celtic). The feminine (heart) aspect of the Sun was revered through Hestia or Vesta (flames, Greek); Juno (Roman, June is named for her); Minerva (Celtic, goddess of Wisdom); Sunna (Norse, goddess of the Sun).
The solstice unfolds under a Sun/Saturn transit (Saturn is Father Time). We may feel very serious, aware of the passing of time. Monday, Jupiter trines Uranus in the early morning. We harmoniously expand into the new world. The forerunners (New Group of World Servers) “imagine” this world first. Then everyone “sees” it.
Plus Letters To the Editor
As one of the judges at the Dare to Pair Food & Wine Competition held April 26 at the Surf City Vintners complex on the Westside, I had a hard time choosing a winning dish. All 12 plates of food prepared by students in the Cabrillo College Culinary Program—each paired with a compatible wine—were outstanding.
It’s ironic that many visitors experience Santa Cruz primarily via car. This area is known for its natural beauty, we have the beach and the redwoods, and yet a vacation here can easily be reduced to a series of car trips—back and forth, here and there, point A to point B. That will certainly get you to a lot of great places in Santa Cruz, but I’ve noticed that a deeper theme has risen from the stories in this Visitor Guide.
Films this Week
Painter Hal Turner spends his own money and time covering graffiti in Aptos
Win a pair of tickets to the Northern Nights Festival Pre-Party at Moe’s Alley on SantaCruz.com
Singer-songwriter Ben Henderson got his start in Delta Activity, an explosive indie-prog-rock band, and Good Hustle, a spontaneous funk-rock trio that still occasionally plays. When he began his solo career, though, Henderson started writing heartfelt, passionate songs on his acoustic guitar. Eventually he wanted to do the same kind of songs in a band setting, and so a couple of years ago he started Brother Grand. This time, all he had to do was add one member: upright bassist Endika.
Lyrics Born finally finds the right groove on his latest album, ‘Real People’
