A Community of Women: Solstice Sisters
The traditions that have emerged over the years have been gifted to us by the Goddess. Each one made its way to our circle through the heart of a sister. We have shared our traditions and our ceremonies for over three decades and we are rich in herstory. The Women’s Summer Solstice gathering has taken many forms, and she is a living entity. She grows, she learns lessons, she grieves. But she is fiercely joyful and every tradition we engage in, we do so with the love of our sisters in mind. We honor and give thanks back through the generations for the wisdom passed from woman to woman, teacher to student, heart to heart. We honor the native people who walked this land before us and give thanks the Mother Earth for holding us.
Below are some of the traditions and common teachings our community has embraced over the years.
She Who
She Who is a gourd filled with earth that came to the gathering for the first time in 1993. She was filled with earth from the land where the women had gathered. The Flying Turtles presented her as a thank you to the woman who had planned the event. Since that time, each year, the contents of She Who are emptied into a large bowl and mixed with pinch of soil from each woman attending. The soil comes from around the globe, mixed, remixed, added to and enriched by every woman who attends our gathering. At Closing Ceremony a new woman will feel the call and stand up to hold the gourd for a year. It is a responsibility and a cherished honor. Every woman attending takes a pouch of this potent prayer-saturated earth home with her.
First Bloods
Girls who are celebrating their first moon time. Usually it means that they had their first menstrual cycle sometime during the previous year or two. They are recognized during the Rights of Passage Ceremony and spend the night together in the Moonlodge. There is a sweet ceremony in the morning as they emerge.
Archetypes
Dress to represent one of six archetypes for ceremonies, and throughout the weekend!
Maidens: Girls that are just blooming. They are either soon-to-bleed or have recently reached menarche. Colors: white, pink, or red. Season: spring. Direction East. Element: air.
Mothers: Women birthing and creating (not just through pregnancy.) Nurturing careers, or nurturing babies, mothers work with the creative energy. Moon blood is in full richness. Color: red. Season: summer. Direction: South. Element: fire.
Queens: Women who are shifting. They are taking their gifts out to the greater community, or turning focus (finally) inward and on self care. Moon blood is stormy–short cycles, long cycles, no cycles. Color: blue and gold. Season: fall. Direction: West Element: water.
Crones: Women who no longer bleed. Cones are the keepers of the wisdom. They are our teachers. Color: purple. Season: winter. Direction: north. Element: earth.
Fairies: Girls and women who are open to the magic. Wings, bubbles, giggles, and all things sparkly are often present. The presence of fairies around our campsites and Solstice ceremonies is a much-loved tradition. Young and old are encouraged to don wings, headpieces, wands, body art, and any other fairy-inspired attire throughout the weekend. The tiniest of Solstice Fairies have often been seen in service by gathering women to ceremony with bubbles and flitting around and about the circle. Please come prepared to take part in the magic! Color: green.
Amazons: Women who hold the boundary. They are the protectors, the Spiritual Warriors. An Amazon wears whatever makes her feel strong and powerful. Color: brown.
Herstory – the story of how our gathering began
Gathering since 1988, this event has nurtured generations of women and girls. The event is a living entity, and she changes with the times.
1988: A group of seven women called the Flying Turtles, following the guidance of one woman’s vision, divided up the tasks and planned the first Women’s Summer Solstice gathering. 75 women attended the retreat at Chinook Learning Center on Whidbey Island, participating in rituals, workshops and the healing tradition of the sweat lodge.
1989: 200 women attended the second gathering!
1992: The original seven women gave the gathering to the community in the closing day Giveaway ceremony, hoping someone else would now take up the task of continuing it for the women’s community. A single woman took on the goal of planning the event for everyone else. In recognition of her commitment to the community as a whole, the Turtles presented her with a gourd containing earth from the grounds. It was a daunting venture to say the least, but she spent the next year making Solstice 1993 happen.
1993: She had a dream in which she learned that the gourd held the vision of the gathering, and so she formally named the gourd “She Who Holds the Vision” or simply “SheWho.” A group of women stepped forward to help her plan the next year. The new group of women added their own tradition of choosing themes for each year’s celebration.
1996: After 3 years, all but one of these women were exhausted with their efforts to keep the gathering going and they passed the gathering back to the community to keep it going. A small, 5-year-old girl, who had attended for each year of her life, insisted Solstice must go on and volunteered to take charge. Inspired by the child’s courage, several women stepped forward to help her.
1998: Recognizing the need for a different and sustainable leadership structure, members of the community were asked to participate more fully in the weekend event, from moving wood to building altars to cleaning up after the celebration. Another beautiful and momentous event happened in this year as well. A small girl, who had come to Solstice when it first began and had attended each year since, was honored for her passage into womanhood during the Theatre of the Goddess menarche ceremony. She represented the first child of our community who has been raised in the Goddess tradition and honored all her life for her femininity.
2001: We moved to a different location to allow more flexibility in scheduling around other June events, such as Father’s Day and Pride. This change in venue also allowed us to begin providing all meals for attendees.
2002: 153 women and children attended our 15th gathering, where we participated in a world peace prayer honoring those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001, and those who continue to live and strive for peace between nations.
2012: We celebrated our 25th anniversary with a massive gathering of 220 participants with the theme of Illumination.
2013: The Dark Year. A time of challenge around diversity in our community, our event had a “dark moon” year. With tensions within the community registrations were too low to hold the event without financial loss. A few women remained on the council and were left with the decision to let the gathering come to an end.
2014: Calling our Circle Together. Once again, Spirit called out to one soul and she answered. A small council was re-birthed and they brought the women together again.
2015: Nurturing the Garden of Our Sisterhood – Our Sisterhood came back to life with renewed energy and more love than ever. We were back – stronger, healthier and united in love!
2016: As I Am — This year we based our theme on a song by Summer Osborne. Self acceptance and self love!
2017: Sister Soup; Filling Our Sacred Bowl The masks first came to WSS in 2017. The intention in their creation was a one-time ceremony, but the masks had a different plan. You can learn more about the masks, and The Women’s Wheel of Life: Thirteen Archetypes of Woman at Her Fullest Power.
2018: Dance in a Circle of Women; Weaving the web of Sisterhood – We celebrated our 30th year! We explored the interweaving of the archetypes of our tradition: the Crone, the Queen, the Mother, the Maiden, the Fairy, and the Amazon.
2019: Filling Our Hearts with Sisterhood: Strength for the Journey The gathering continued to grow in traditions and many women claimed this was the best gathering ever held. It was rich and warm and full of magic. The Theatre of the Goddess was re-envisioned into a ceremony that includes a procession through the woods, harkening back to the origins as practiced in the early days of Solstice.
2020: Uplift Your Voice! This year we had to learn to flow with change and adapt. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we moved our gathering online. It was no replacement for the real thing, but it was a much needed connection of sisterhood and support.
2021: Sanctuary of Sisterhood (post pandemic gathering)
2022: Step into the Flow
2023: Carrying the Flame of Sisterhood