A Solstice Adventure in Northumberland
“a sweatlodge in Northumberland" - Powered by Dall-E 3. For this year's summer solstice, I found myself back in Northumberland, immersed in a familiar yet ever-evolving fire and ice celebration that culminated in a powerful sweatlodge ceremony under the full moon. This wasn't my first dance with the solstices here – I had held the same roles, fire keeper, stone carrier, and holder of the space, during the previous winter solstice. Returning in the summer sun, it felt like we, the participants and the land itself, had book-ended the time in between the solstices. The event was a beautiful tapestry of contrasting elements. There was fire, ice, glass and arrow-breaking and the juxtaposition of these elements felt symbolic, a reminder of the delicate balance in nature and within ourselves. As the full moon rose on the Saturday and the long summer day was beginning to turn to dusk, casting an ethereal glow on the land, the focus shifted. My role transformed into that of t...