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Celebrate the summer solstice with a witch’s guide to pagan beauty rituals

TextGrace McGrade

We mark the moment Mother Earth’s orbit around the sun reaches its greatest distance from the equator with some pagan inspired beauty rituals

Grace McGrade is an intuitive astrologer and priestess based in Los Angeles. She is the Co-founder of ASTRAL ORACLES, an open source spiritual community, and author of Palpable Magic; a website exploring prose about sex, love, Los Angeles and the occult.

As the days lengthen in the Northern Hemisphere, we approach Litha, also known as the summer solstice. The summer solstice is a celebration of the longest day of the year when Mother Earth’s orbit around the sun reaches its greatest distance from the equator. A mystical tradition, honoured by the ancients across continents and cultures, particularly amongst pagans, the summer solstice is remarked as a celebration of the union between the heavens and earth. Imagine the earth is a woman and the sun is her lover. The summer solstice is the day they meet, suspended in the sky, to co-create, in the fullest, freshest, fruition of summer. It is a day where our proximity to the sun, being our source of light, is most intimate. The sun is also our source of information, our connection to our own personal power and life force. It is a time for reclaiming our own ability to bring things to fruition, a time to celebrate the manifestations of nature and see our own glittering visions actualised. Traditionally celebrated by bonfires and fire, the summer solstice is a perfect time for magic of all kinds, particularly those involving the sun (so morning rituals) and invoking gratitude, as our bodies align with the power of the sun and connect us to our own inherent creative capacity to design our lives.

Here are some pagan inspired beauty rituals to help you celebrate this summer solstice:

Cleanse with rose water and witch hazel

Wake up early and watch the sunrise. As you do your beauty routine, imagine that you are invoking the Divine Feminine, the Goddess of all living beings. Anoint and douse yourself in rose water (for beauty and upliftment), witch hazel (to cleanse your pores and enhance intuition) and clouds of sage (for clearing). Place your left hand on your solar plexus, located at your abdomen, and announce all the ways you are organically, immaculately beautiful. Tell yourself and tell the sun.

Steep your make-up in the colours of the sun

Wear make-up in hues of red, orange or gold to pay homage to the sun, as a means to honour the celestial ruler of the solstice. The sun represents our cosmic will, and these uplifting colours will connect you with your personal power. Wear flowers in your hair, particularly sunflowers or wheat, which correspond with the solar energies of fruitfulness and abundance.

Connect to the sun through candles

Light a red, orange or yellow candle while doing your morning routine to enhance your personal vitality, and connect you to the element of fire and the sun. Play your favourite music, allowing this fiery energy to flow through you, increasing your own personal fire and lifeforce. Pay tribute to the sun by dancing exuberantly, being blissfully rowdy and warm.

Visualise your own golden sun

Around midday, visualise your own golden sun, about seven inches above the top of your head, sending healing golden energy into your crown, through your neck and parting at your shoulders, then finally streaming through your fingertips. When you can feel the golden sun energy moving out of your hands, place both hands out in front of you. Invoke and announce gratitude for the earth, for the sun, what you have, and the innumerable blessings you haven’t received yet, but which are on the way. Brag about things you don’t have yet and thank the sun.

Bathe in petals

Collect the petals of seven different flowers and draw a bath with them. Add Epsom salt for cleansing and purity, orange slices for happiness, and a tablespoon of honey for abundance and success. Visualise the water cleansing you of worry and pouring golden energy into your power centre, the solar plexus. This will fill you up with lofty purpose and infinite potential.

Charge your crystals

Utilise the power of the sun to charge your crystals in a bowl of water. Set intentions into each crystal and keep them with your make-up or skincare tools to add some everyday beauty magic into your routine. If you have a crystal face roller, even better.

Make a pouch

Make a pouch of mugwort for psychic protection, chamomile for happiness, lavender for love and daisies for luck. Sleep with it underneath your pillow to bring happiness and prosperity.

Sip some pure cacao

Celebrate traditionally with a bonfire. Ditch the alcohol and keep it high vibrational, by drinking pure cacao with cinnamon, a shamanic heart opener used in rituals, to bring about a state of bliss and love. Dance your heart out in celebration of the cosmos.

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