Throughout the world, many ancient sites from Egypt to South America align with the Summer Solstice. Most of the UK's megalithic monuments align more primarily to the Winter Solstice, but some - including Bryn Celli Ddu in Wales - have a summer alignment.
This is a guided visualisation in which you imagine that you are travelling to a temple sacred to the sun. I have tried to write it so that you can visualise a temple anywhere in the world. It can be one that exists now, one that used to exist, or one from your own imagination. Before starting the visualisation, you can start to think about where you want to visit or you can just see what comes to you.
Summer Solstice Visualisation: The Sun Temple
Find somewhere safe, where you will not be disturbed. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take three deep breaths in and out and relax, then visualise the following in your mind's eye:
Visualise that you are walking through a landscape, travelling to a temple sacred to the sun on the day of the Summer Solstice. It is a sacred route. Look around you, what landscape are you travelling through? What is the path like, that you are walking on? Are you alone, or are others also on this route? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell?
Spend some time visualising your journey as you travel along the route to the Temple of the Sun.
After some journeying, you see that you are starting to approach the temple. You see it in the distance at first, on the horizon, but appearing to grow larger as you move towards it. What does it look like? How does the landscape change? What sounds, sights and smells are there now?
Walk on, towards the temple. Spend some time visualising your approach until you stand before its outer boundaries.
Look up at the temple. What does it look like? What is happening? What are the sounds and smells of this place?
You see that the entrance to the temple itself is guarded. Only those who pass their scrutiny and behave appropriately will be allowed to pass. Spend some time preparing yourself before you walk closer.
When you are ready, walk up to the entrance guardian. Great them, and go through the rituals required to enter the Temple of the Sun. Answer any questions, do what is asked of you and perform any actions necessary to pass through into the temple.
You have passed the scrutiny of the guardian and pass through the entrance.
What sights greet you inside? Look around, look down, look up. Then, find the way inwards to the sacred space at the heart of the temple.
You enter the sacred space where the sun will align at the moment of the solstice. You have arrived in time, and must now wait. Look around you. Are you in light or darkness? What can you see? What can you hear? What can you smell? Are others with you? What do you do as you wait?
Slowly a focused ray of light from the sun enters the sacred space, moving slowly over the ground and highlighting the features of this sacred space. What does it look like? What is happening? Watch and do what you know is the right thing at this time and in this place.
The sun reaches its zenith. For a moment it seems as though the sun is standing still, as though time is standing still, as though you are connected through space and time to all those who have been in the sun's sacred space in the past and in the future. It is a magical moment and you know that if you make wish now, it may come true. Make a wish, in the light of the sun.
At last, the stretched moment ends. The ray of sunlight starts to move again over the ground. You watch as its last focused ray leaves the area of the sacred space.It is time to leave. You walk out of the space and through the temple, back to the entrance. You pass the guardian and leave the temple behind you. You head back along the route you travelled, to the place you started from. Stop and look around you once more at the landscape, then prepare to return to normal reality.
Shake your arms and legs and open your eyes to the real world.
The photo at the top shows a shaft of light in Bryn Celli Ddu. The photo is copyright Pat and Plant yr Yd Coven and was sent to me with permission to use on A Bad Witch's Blog some time ago.
You can find more guided visualisations in my book Pagan Portals - Guided Visualisations.
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