School’s Out for Summer

Although I have spent most of my life in Scotland, I grew up outside of Detroit. Most people think of music and cars when Detroit is mentioned – and with good reason. One of the many famous musicians from Detroit is Alice Cooper, and most everyone of my generation will know the anthem ‘School’s Out for Summer’. In the second half of June, it was a constant soundtrack in my youth and signalled the arrival of summer.

I am writing this at the end of June, as schools finish up in Scotland, and following the Summer Solstice workshop I offered on 22 June, the day after the official solstice.

We often think of the solstice as a day, but in fact it is an exact moment in time. This year it was at 3:42 a.m. British Standard Time on the morning of 21 June – when the north pole of the earth was most tilted toward the sun. We most often think of summer in meteorological, weather, terms – as June, July, August…as the weather warms and cools, either side of the beginning of astronomical summer at the solstice.

Humans began using the sun to track the seasons as early as Paleolithic era, known as the Old Stone Age, a period in human pre-history more than 50,000 years ago. Even then, humans understood the relationship between the seasons and available food. This knowledge underpinned our ability to establish settlements in which we farmed and domesticated animals.

Throughout the northern and southern hemispheres there are monuments that were evidently built for a purpose that relates to the summer and winter solstices – the dates when the pole is nearest to, and furthest from, the sun (21 June moved the global south into winter, as the southern pole was at its furthest point from the sun).

Stonehenge in the UK, the great pyramids in Egypt, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Machu Picchu in Peru, Newtongrange in Ireland, are all monuments that are illuminated in unique ways at the summer solstice. These structures were built between 1000-5000 years ago.

In ancient Egypt, the sun-king Ra was celebrated at the summer solstice, which coincided with the rising of the river Nile. This event was so signifcant because it was a crucial indicator to predict the Nile’s annual flooding. As such, it was celebrated as the ancient Egyptian new year.

In China, and in Chinese medicine, the summer solstice is the highpoint in the year for ‘yang’ energy, associated with warmth, growth and vitality. In ancient China, farm workers were given the day off to celebrate the Summer Solstice ahead of the upcoming harvest season.

June is named after the Roman Goddess Juno, who is the protector of birthing women and community. She represents the spirit of youthfulness, liveliness, strength, femininity and fertility. It is no surprise that June is the month most associated with weddings!

In most places in the northern hemisphere, June is a month with few formal holidays – though there are many gatherings and celebrations, feasting and bonfires to celebrate this time of abundance and the life-giving power of the sun; as well as ward off evil spirits and ensure a bountiful harvest at the end of the season.

Flower crowns feature in many summer rituals, including summer weddings. In Finland, midsummer festivities include lighting bonfires and wearing flower crowns to ward off evil spirits and promote healthy crops.

Trees are often in their fullness at the solstice, which for millennia has marked a pivotal moment in the human calendar. It is said to be the date when the Oak King yields to the Holly King, as the days will now begin to shorten.

Scientists have recently discovered that trees really do respond to this celestial shift, with changes in their growth and reproductive strategies occurring after the calendar’s longest day.

While we have long known that daylight offers important cues for seasonal activities like leaf and blossom growth, it has recently been discovered that a 30 to 40-day window of temperature sensitivity occurs for many trees, beginning on the solstice, and is used to decide how many seeds to manufacture the following year.

 If it is a warm period, they will produce more flower buds in the following spring, leading to a bumper crop of seeds in the autumn. But if it is cool, they might produce none.

This temperature window can also lengthen or shorten the length of time before leaves turn brown – maximising their ability to photosynthesize and grow when conditions are more favourable. This new understanding could prove particularly valuable as climate change continues to impact the natural world, and nature adapts.

And finally, the themes in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream are heavy on traditional summer solstice/midsummer lore. Mischievous and magical fairies who are able to influence humans, neither of whom are bound by their usual limits at this time because normal laws of nature and divinity were suspended. This tale reminds us that the ‘magical’ high energy of summer can give rise to chaos, can underpin infatuation and enable transformation.

The June full moon is known as the ‘Strawberry Moon’ in recognition of one of summer’s first crops, and arrived on 11th. Using the themes of summer as a metaphor for reflecting on life, what do you notice?

·       What is in your early harvest, in 2025?

·       What crops are bountiful, and how are they nourishing you?

·       What intentions did you have for summer, what did you plant, that didn’t make it above ground, or perhaps made it above ground but has failed to thrive?

·       What thoughts do you have about why some of your intentions are bearing fruit – even flourishing – and others haven’t?

·       What is the abundant, life-giving power of the sun illuminating for you?

Having taken stock of your plantings and gathered in your early harvest, it is time to select your ‘second planting’, succession or ‘follow on’ crops. With weather now gentle and summery, the conditions for growth are optimal. Now is a time to start thinking about the next lot of plants and do some successional sowing. You may wish to plant more of what is already showing itself to be flourishing, so that when the initial planting is starting to fade the succession crop will have picked up the baton.

Or you may wish to remove what has failed to flourish and replace it with an entirely different crop. One intended for similar soil and aspect to light or shade.

·       Under the strong and radiant midsummer sun…what is your heart’s desire?

·       How will you care for these follow-on crops – what do they need from you?

·       What do you imagine a flourishing crop in late summer could mean for you?

·       In this season of high energy, warmth, transformation and gathering abundance…what is your recipe for summer joy?

July’s full moon will happen on the 10th. This moon is known by Native American tribes as the ‘Buck Moon’ (regrowth of antlers begins), the ‘Thunder Moon’ (summer thunderstorms) and also the ‘Hay Moon’, after the July hay harvest.

Its energy is for grounding, motivation and a sense of achievement. It is often a period of shedding old patterns and embracing new possibilities…like a buck growing new antlers.

The energy of the buck moon is about embracing growth, letting go of what no longer serves you and stepping into a more empowered version of yourself.

How will you tend the soil in this next month, beneath the light of July’s full moon?