Summer Solstice Part 2

 

After experiencing 2+ days of high winds here, I finally got out to the Parowan Gap to do my Summer Solstice ceremony last night, Sunday the 22nd.  There were quite a few people out there as well, probably also waiting for the weather to calm down.  There is a forest fire burning in the mountains southwest of Cedar City, and the prevailing winds have been sending the dense smoke right into town.  Fortunately, the Gap is northwest of town, and the smoke in the air there was minimal.  You could still smell it a bit.  It reminded me of being near a campground with cooking fires burning.

Here is a photo taken from my back yard on Saturday night, the night before.  Quite dramatic.

As I usually do for the Summer Solstice, I prepare a medicine bundle as an offering to bury somewhere on that sacred ground.  My intent is to call in the monsoon rains, which is what I suspect the Fremont and Paiute Indians did there, too.  When I got there I just wandered around until I was guided to the correct spot to bury the bundle.   Imagine my surprise to find a sturdy post under a juniper tree with a metal box and a metal sculpture of Kokopelli on it!  Even though I have visited this area frequently, I had never seen that before.  Of course, that is where I buried my medicine bundle, under that juniper tree. 

Here are a few pronghorns up on a nearby hill.  BTW—they are the second fastest land animal in the world! The cheetah is number one.  

Further wandering as the sun began to set led me to a place where some intrepid soul had left an offering of flowers the night before.  I am happy that I am not the only one who honors this sacred place on this occasion.

Here are some photos of the progression of the sunset.

The real magic of this place involves the sun going down into the Gap, for solstices as well as equinoxes.  This whole process serves to concentrate the sun’s rays to make them more powerful.  As I was standing there, I called to me the powerful energy of the sun.  One of the newer members of my “team” then just showed up.  I had seen this being several times recently, but now I had more details.  He is a solar being from the center of our sun.  He is here to assist me in radiating my own solar energy out from my heart area to everyone and everything around me.  So nice. 

Finally, the sun slipped behind some clouds at the horizon. 

Happy Solstice everyone!  Hope you had a good one.