Reconnect with your pets and the earth

Any Solstice is a great time to deeply reconnect with your pets and the Earth, but Summer Solstice this year is special, because it coincides with a full Moon. That hasn’t happened since the 60’s, and won’t happen again until 2046! Monday’s summer solstice is the longest day of the year, with the earliest sunrise and the latest sunset. The full Moon will rise low in the sky on Solstice night, and stay relatively low all night.

Here are some things you can do to celebrate Summer Solstice with your favorite furry, feathered, or beautifully scaled companion:

Rise with the sun Monday morning. The serenity felt during the sunrise of Summer Solstice is remarkable. Find a nice spot where you and your pet can watch the sky change as the sun rises, and feel the clarity flow through your mind. A simple sunrise breathing meditation or walk with your pet will help to spark your inner-child’s wonderment, awe, and joy.

Drink to the sun Monday morning. Enjoy a nice cup of cinnamon or ginger tea - one for you, and one for the sun. Make a celebratory toast. This is when you can give thanks for the warmth, courage, and strength the sun provides, and request sun-power to fill you with radiance and confidence for the rest of this year. Bask in the sun, even if just for a few minutes before you start your day. If you have a special plant, give it a drink of the sun’s cup of cooled tea-water.

Put all fears and worries on hold, all day Monday.

Solstice is a time of celebration. Place all of your fears and insecurities aside and just enjoy this day. Our ancestors knew that music and dancing is the height of energetic play, and we could learn a lot from their free spirits. Find some time, before or after work, to put some music on, and sing and dance with your pet. Don’t feel silly - this is your celebration.

You can purify and cleanse with water and crystals Monday. If you have crystals, you probably already know that the power of the sun revitalizes their energy, and light of the full moon purifies them. The combination of both sun and moon energies is the opportune time to recharge and cleanse your crystals. At the start of your day, lay your crystals out in the sunlight and leave them to bask in the rays of the moonlight overnight. Consider this a type of “supercharging” effect.

If you don’t have crystals, you can still purify and cleanse by finding a body of water like a river, lake, or stream, to take a night-time dip! Even a basin of water on your porch can be used to shake a few drops of Moon-purified water over you and your pet. You’ll feel the water cleanse, rejuvenate, and invigorate your soul.

Set your intention with the moon Monday night, before you sleep. The full moon holds significant manifestation powers, and one combined with the duality of the summer solstice sun is exceptionally powerful. This is the perfect time to set intention(s) for you and your pet, to bring in what you desire, and to release what you do not need. You can even write down the things you’d like to bring forth into both of your lives, as well as the things you must let go. Hold on to your list of manifestations, and burn the list of things you wish to release. Then, just bask in the moonlight, you and your pet, for as long as you can before bedtime.