This June I am celebrating the days between the summer solstice on June 20 and the beginning of July with a simple, soulful, meditative ritual.
Join me as I turn over an oracle card every other day, share its meaning for this season, and reflect on how that message can be embodied in our everyday lives.
This simple ritual is a tool for celebrating + welcoming the season of fire + light. Meant to help us commit to a few moments of meditation to discover and celebrate the flame within each of us.
Join me in soaking in the light of the sun + discovering how we can radiate fire + passion in our everyday lives. Now that we're in full bloom, just like the earth, it's time to burn brightly. It's our season to shine + glow + radiate.
Hello, you.
I’m a day late with my letter. And my excuse is the heatwave that’s moving over Sweden right now. The temps are soaring and I find myself inspired to do nothing else but simply bask in it all. My pace is slow and my love of these summer moments grows with each passing day of sunshine and warmth. For, I know that they can be over as quickly as they arrives.
In Sweden, we are never guaranteed a warm, sunny summer; so when those days are here, it’s best to just live them to the fullest.
So, yesterday, instead of coming home from work and writing you, my love and I, sweltering in the heat, packed a tote bag and headed out to her sister’s place for a swim and a bbq. I know you understand why that became my top priority. 😉
But, now it’s Thursday and time to return to my ritual. Ahhh. So, now. Hello. Again.
I did pull my card yesterday morning before work. And, before I turned it over, I could feel that it would be different. Perhaps it was because this card is the halfway mark of these little 7 solstice letters to you.
Anyway, the card was most certainly a whole different vibe.
I loved it when I turned it over. I loved that we finally had one of the literary witches of the deck greeting us. The only thing was that I had never heard of Shirley Jackson. Like, never.
So, after sitting and scribbling a few feelings and thoughts down about the card, I did a Google deep dive. And, whoa. This woman was interesting.
Before reading anything about Shirley, I felt the energy of a woman who broke the norms. Someone who straddled the suburban life and the call to be her own person. there was also a dark, mystical mood surrounding her. And that painting of the house on the wall haunted me. Turns out, I was kind of spot on.
Shirley, an American author, wrote gothic, haunting, supernatural fiction stories in the 50s. From what I can tell, it was a way for her to escape, channel, and survive the suburban life that gave her both a sense of comfort and a sense of captivity at the same time.
In any case, according to an article in the New Yorker, Shirley was interested in the supernatural (she is the one who penned The Haunting of Hill House - now a Netflix series that I love), proclaimed that she was an amateur witch, and used her dry humor to write essays about her life as a housewife and mother. Needless to say, she was not taken seriously as an author during her life. And often seemed a bit odd (and maybe even dangerous or threatening) to others.
Sadly, as I read a little more about her, I discovered that struggled with her mental health for many years, seemed quite unsatisfied with her life, and often felt both trapped and somewhat happy at home; but, she also embraced her darkness, dared to be true to her self, and created her own unique, gothic magic through words and stories. An article I read explained that Shirley she was interested in witchcraft less as a “practical method for influencing the world than as a way of embracing and channeling feminine power at a time when women often had little control over their lives.” A true wild, witchy, literary feminist, if you ask me.
So, what does Shirley Jackson have to teach me this summer?
I’m not quite sure. Except to become a student of her mysterious, courageous, creative, feminist ways. To lean into all of the sides of my life, both the struggles and the joys - to marry the mystical with the ordinary. And to continue to document it all.
Could it be that this summer calls me to double down on my own unique voice - and to dare to write and share even more - and to claim this as my own magic?
Whatever the message, the little that I have now read about Shirley Jackson inspires me to dig deeper, to perhaps read a biography about her, and to, of course, dive into her own publications.
Have you heard of Shirley Jackson? Do you know anything about her? Have you read any of her books or essays?
I’ll admit that a summer letter about a spooky, gothic, self-proclaimed witch from the suburbs in 1950s Vermont seems a bit off. But, this is the message that was waiting for me today. And, the time around the solstice is actually filled mystical, liminal energy. So, somehow, something feels very timely with discovering such a powerful, often forgotten, author right now. If anything, I feel inspired by Shirley’s norm-breaking, feminist, witchy side and the way she channeled all of life into creating stories of power and hope.
As the sun blazes down on Sweden this week, at the height of its power, perhaps Shirley’s own moody, mysterious, authentic power burns in my soul as well, making a mark on my spirit and daring me to be true to my inner power.
“I am the captain of my fate. Laughter is possible laughter is possible laughter is possible.” - Shirley Jackson, the last words written in her journal before she died.
Here’s to marrying the mystical with the ordinary.
xoxo. liz.