Taking place in the UK at 5.30 am, the point of solstice is well placed shortly after the sunrise this year. The weather has been just as it should; heavy heat, the hedges dripping with blossom and the elder-flower trees laden with their creamy bounty…. in a good year June really is the Queen of months. My children are teetering on the edge of adulthood, long limbed and lazy at the end of hot afternoons, salty round the edges, beach warm and content, looking as if life will never scar them. I bless them in their innocence and hold the memories of this time, for it is this type of summer that I remember, before my life claimed me.
Another retrospective memory that I hold dear to my heart, is celebrating the Summer Solstice at The Stonehenge Free Festival. This free gathering was held between 1974 and 1984, being outlawed and violently disbanded by the authorities in 1985. Like many of the historical free festivals, they are often held up as rather idyllic events that are colored fondly by the past. They have no connection with the health and safety measures and profit margins of the current festival events that have become so incredibly popular. My children laugh at me when I say that I don’t want to go to the festival…. they think I am too old, that I would be shocked….. oh the innocence of youth…… if only they knew!!
After the banning of the festival at Stonehenge, and the violent confrontations in 1985, there was no gathering there for over 10 years, until in 1999, the laws were relaxed, and people were allowed to gather in the stones at mid-summer once again…. you can even book a “glamping pod” now and get a shuttle bus to the stones…. gone are the days of turning up after a day of hitchhiking and just setting up with all the other thousands of people camping a stones throw from the monument itself….. regular police are on standby, together with health workers and crowd control……. how times have changed.
So enough of my musings, here is the chart of the Solstice point this year, 2017, and Solstice Blessings to you all.
My name is Joanna Grant, I am an Astrologer, Tarot Reader and Writer, who lives on the 
beautiful Beara Peninsula in the South West of Ireland. My long knowledge of Astrology leads and informs my practice in offering guidance and empowerment, helping others to lead a more authentic and magical life. You can read more about me here.
If you would like to be kept updated on my Astrology & Tarot services, upcoming events and courses, please sign up to my mailing list “Sign Posts”. One person a month from my list will be randomly chosen for a free read with the Thoth Tarot worth €50.00.
Joanna-Kate Grant 
Reblogged this on Daily Astrology.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Lost Dudeist Astrology.
LikeLike