Manifest Your Personal Magic With This Summer Solstice Journaling Activity

Tomorrow (Thursday, June 21st) will be the longest day of the year, a.k.a. the summer solstice.

Do you celebrate the summer solstice, Dumplings? As a resident of southern Texas, I find that the solstice seems like just another hot day, honestly. Furthermore, because we don’t have very dramatic sunrise-nightfall shifts over the course of the year (unlike northern states), I don’t feel compelled to bask in the glory of a long day.

Grumbles of a reluctant Texan aside, I’m all about making something special with what I’ve got. This year, I do want to ritualize the longest day of the year in part because hitherto, the year has been a rather un-ritualized one. While raising my baby, I’ve noticed the months flowing unfettered into one another at a greater pace than usual—so I’m very ready to shake things up, even if subtly.

As goop informs me, this time of year “signif[ies] the psychological apex of extroverted attention and the beginning of growing introspection,” and, as a Pisces, I am instructed to “Let your hair down. Swing around some giant oaks while talking to your spirit guides, divine muses, or angels.”

Spirit guides. Introspection. Hair.

Hmm, I’m in.

As a way to confer with my divine muses and look inward, I’ve planned a journaling activity. Words are, after all, as presidential hexer Lana Del Rey states, one of the “last forms of magic.” So let’s make some magic.

Summer Solstice Journaling Activity

Do something active and unstructured that really gets your blood pumping. If you can’t swing around any giant oaks (same, tbh), go for a brisk walk, a jog, or a swim. Do some free-flowing yoga or just dance like no one is watching. This type of movement has a way of helping you feel unstuck, unstagnant. Once you’ve cooled down a bit, get ready to write.
Unplug. This activity is best done on real paper without any devices around to tempt or distract you.
As the solstice is a time to release sadness and fears while embracing the fullness of life, consider the fullness of you. Be generous with yourself. Think big.
At the top of the page, write: What is my magic?
Without attention to grammar or neatness, write freely about the special gifts you give to the world.
Feel free to write about the version of yourself that you want to manifest—but don’t stray too far from who you really are. Rather, consider your best qualities and how you’d like to supercharge them.
Next, answer the question: What is getting in the way of my magic? This is a space where you can reflect on what deflates you, what keeps you from being your highest self. These can be thoughts, work-life obstacles, fears, past trauma, practical difficulties…what comes to mind first may say a lot (but keep digging).
Finally, ask yourself: How can I manifest my magic in the coming months? Think of your answers to the last questions. Consider how you can put your strengths toward your either overcoming or enduring something challenging. We often think of how others would solve situations—or how we would solve them if only we were different. If I was an extrovert…If I were wealthy… But the focus here is who you actually are. Can you magnify the magic you already have? It doesn’t matter what someone else would do. It matters what your highest self would do.
Finally, give yourself a mantra: a single word, a list of a few words, or a phrase, and carry it close to your heart as the days darken.