Summer First Aid And Safety Tips

Let freedom reign.
The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement.
— Nelson Mandela

Greetings Sun Worshipers

Happy Summer Solstice and Happy 4^th of July

I hope this letter finds you enjoying your summer in a healthy and safe way.

I wanted to do an issue on Summer First Aid and Safety so that we could continue our sun worship in a safe way and enjoy all that summer has to give us.

Enjoy the first aid tips and facts as well as the recipes for summer first aid remedies.

The summer began on June 21^st, the day we know as the Summer Solstice. I thought it would be interesting to share some lore on the summer solstice as we can always see the historical context that a lot of our daily rituals and practices have come from.

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.
—Celia Thaxter

Summer Solstice

Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning, “sun” + “to stand still.” As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky.

As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The Northern Hemisphere celebrates in June, but the people on the Southern half of the earth have their longest summer day in December.

Summer Solstice Celebrations

Awed by the great power of the sun, civilizations have for centuries celebrated the first day of summer otherwise known as the Summer Solstice, Midsummer, St. John’s Day, and Litha.

The Celts & Slavs celebrated the first day of summer with dancing & bonfires to help increase the sun’s energy. The Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light.

Perhaps the most enduring modern ties with Summer Solstice were the Druids’ celebration of the day as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth”, resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June.

Today, the day is still celebrated around the world – most notably in England at Stonehenge where thousands gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice.

Summer Solstice Fun Facts

• Pagans called the Midsummer moon the “Honey Moon” for the mead made from fermented honey that was part of wedding ceremonies performed at the Summer Solstice.
• Ancient Pagans celebrated Midsummer with bonfires, when couples would leap through the flames, believing their crops would grow as high as the couples were able to jump.
• Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called ‘chase-devil’, which is known today as St. John’s Wort and still used by modern herbalists as a mood stabilizer.

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.”
— St. Francis of Assisi

I hope you enjoy these folkloric facts as much as I do.  I would like to wish you all a very safe and happy summer.

I would also like to wish my husband Ahmed a Happy Birthday this July.
You are the sun in my life.

Peace, Love, and Light

Dr. Gabrielle Francis