HOW DO I CONNECT WITH NATURE?
One of the simplest ways to connect with Nature is to simply observe the dynamic between the poles of Winter and Summer Solstices.
THE SUMMER SOLSTICE
Over the course of each year, the Summer Solstice is the moment of peak sunlight, the longest day of the year, standing in polar opposite to the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. When we were children, jumping on a trampoline, the bottom of the jump would be the Winter Solstice, and the top of the jump would be the Summer. The moment we reach one extreme we are already heading in the other direction. As such, one way of describing the Summer Solstice would be as the day with the most sunlight. Another way would be to say that the Summer Solstice is the return of darkness, and that every day after the Summer Solstice will be darker than the last. And as such, the Winter Solstice, can either be described as the darkest night or as the return of light. Each pole is a return towards the other.
Each Summer, as you look around, you will notice that nearly anything which grows in the ground is reaching up towards the heavens, stretching to the sky, searching for the sun, sometimes stretching, leaning, or tilting for the sun, seemingly yearning for the sun, budding, blooming, flowering, all for the sun. It can be mesmerizing, this symphony of colors, scents, tastes, and shapes. It is the cornucopia, the Garden of Eden. We are pulled out of ourselves, enraptured by the beauty of Mother Earth. As humans, and as beings of Earth, we too are called upwards, outwards, stretching towards the cosmos with our ideas, our joy, our community gatherings, our summer concerts and festivals, fairs and fireworks, we too expand outward along with the Earth herself.
THE SUMMER SOLSTICE SERUM(S)
One true beacon of the Summer Solstice is the appearance of Wild St. John’s Wort flowers across the Northern hemisphere. These tiny, yellow blooms appear for an extremely brief window of time only at the Summer Solstice. Each year, at this time, we hunt for them in the wild and infuse them into Olive Oil to act as the foundation for all three of our Serums (the Ryokan Serum, the Restorative Body Serum, and of course, the one which is named after this very phenomenon, the Summer Solstice Serum, which still remains our post popular offering). Much like the Cherry Blossom Festival, or the annual wine grape harvest, we view the making of these Serums as a "festival", a celebration of life and Nature, in particular, this one very brief moment of peak sunlight as captured by St. John's Wort, later captured by us into bottles.
HALWAY THERE
As we reach the halfway point between Summer and Winter (known as the cross-quarter) we are crossing the threshold between the season of growth/life and the season of decay/death. It is for this reason, on the veil of the seasonal shift, that we celebrate things such as Halloween and Day of the Dead which draw our attention away from the things which are physically manifest in front of us and instead draws our attention to “the other side”, the space between life and death, to our ancestors, and to the beyond.
As we look around us during this time of year, heading towards winter, we notice the opposite phenomenon we observed in Summer. Instead of reaching upwards towards the sun, all of the energy appears to be heading downwards and inwards. The flowers drop their petals, the seeds fall to the Earth, leaves twirl to the ground, the energy of the plants become stored in the roots, beneath the surface, for protection, preservation, and rest. In some areas a heavy blanket of snow covers the ground, creating a further whisper, to really drive home the point. As humans during this time we too go inward, we retreat, we cozy up by the fireplace, we remuniate on the year behind, and the year ahead, and if we are so inclined, we pray.
THE WINTER SOLSTICE
This Winter Solstice time, as well as the Summer Solstice, are very holy times of year, and with just a pinch of mindful awareness, these experiences can be felt inwardly. We are already living these rhythms unconsciously, and yet, their powers are left unharnessed without our awareness. Austrian spiritual scientist and social reformer Rudolf Steiner (founder of Biodynamic farming and Waldorf education) described this seasonal flow as the great in-breath and out-breath of Planet Earth. In the Summer she breathes out, expanding, and in the Winter she breathes in, centering and condensing. Recognizing this natural dynamic between the polar solstices is enough to change the way you live your life, approach work, play, and family. There is free medicine in simply being in rhythm with Mother Earth’s in-breath and out-breath each year, as disconnection from Nature is the underlying challenge of our time.
THE BALANCING ACT
One way we celebrate this balancing act is by wild harvesting St. John’s Wort to act as the foundation for all three of our signature Serums. Although the Serums are all intended for year-round daily use, one can find additional benefit from using these Serums in the darker, winter months. When the outer sun is no longer high in the sky, and when everything seems at its darkest, this is the time to stoke the fires of your own inner sun through reflection, contemplation, studying past masters and prayer. A beautiful way to complement this, is to enjoy one of our Serums and take a moment to connect with this inner and outer Sun. St. John’s Wort is a snapshot of Summer Solstice sunshine, which is why using it during the winter months can literally feel like you are applying “sunshine in a bottle”.
Click here to view the Summer Solstice Serum, Ryokan Serum, or Restorative Body Serum for more information.