DECOLONIZING SUMMER

Summer is the only season that naturally embodies fire without the necessity of burning wood to invoke an external flame. The main source of heat needed to fire our homes, cook our food, warm our bodies, energize us, dispel stagnation, and ease tension is sitting high in the sky radiating eternal warmth. Ancient civilizations around the world recognize the sanctity and primordial essence of the Sun as a key principle in creation stories. Without the Sun we would not grow and neither would any other life form. The summer solstice is the Earth based practice and worship of the Sun's highest point in the sky before it makes it's descension moving from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern. During the summer solstice, we are celebrating the Sun at its strongest and most potent. Various rituals involving flowers, herbs, and fruits are practiced to give thanks to our solar deity. During this time the Sun infuses all of life on Earth with it's golden heating liquid essence. All one has to do is harvest leaves, seeds, oil, fruits, and herbs to nourish for complete meals. The Sun has already prepared the foods to be fresh and ready to eat off the stalk or vine. Pluck your fruits fresh from the bushes and trees during summer for a thirst quenching and invigorating taste of the medicinal foods the Earth has to offer during this season.

Summer asks that we meet this time of year with a willingness to push past discomforts all the while balancing rest and knowing when enough is enough. To decolonize our summer seasonal observances we first want to greet and meet the Sun daily. First thing in the rising as our ancestors have always done. For Indigenous people the Sun keeps the time of the day while the Moon keeps the time of month and the seasons mark the years. When the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky, it is time to rest, to move indoors or find the shade of a tree. There is no warrior on Earth as great as the Sun. After the Sun moves into the West we begin to come alive again! Dancing, cooking, planting, and cleaning.

Depending on your geographical location the summer can mark monsoon season when the heavy rains are too much for the soil and the Earth cannot retain the moisture because of how hard and dry the soil has become beneath the powerful Sun. In some areas a campfire is completely prohibited because the lack of humidity in the air and so cooking by fire is only done during winter, making it an essential summer practice to spend time by a river or prepare raw foods. So many of our ancestors in the Global South have heavy fruit dependent diets and otherwise make food by fire at night when the temperatures cool or due to the tropical rainforest they live in, fire dangers are rare. Where ever it is that one lives, we still have to be mindful of how the heat will impact our gathering of nourishment and the preparations that follow.

Summer is naturally a great time to dry and store for the winter months ahead. The Sun's warmth makes it very easy to dry out certain herbs, fruits, and even meats to be relied upon during seasons of starvation. The Summer embodies plentitude, there is an abundance of fresh fruits, wild game, and herbs. Where there is moisture, rainfall, river water, and irrigation there will be an abundance of food and crops that can be eaten and stored for later. Summer is the heartbeat of the plentifulness that Mother Nature and Sky Fire provide.

For the Indigenous folk herbalist and land steward this is the time when our annuals thrive, it's the time when herb farmers are cultivating their most sought after herbs, it's also the time when the medicinal herbs dry the easiest so there's less risk of mold or contaminants. The Sky Fire and the heat that permeates all around is the perfect condition for drying those medicinal herbs.

It's also the time that our domestic chores are accomplished easiest as well. You can put the clothes to dry on the line typically without concern of rain or mildew.

Some think of summer as a time to adventure and explore, there may be Indigenous traditions relating to this time of year as a fairly reasonable season to travel between tribes and villages because there's less chance of weather related risks and also because various regions specialize in specific goods. For example on the Coast of Ghana during my visit it was difficult to find Cacao farmers because the Cacao mostly thrived in the North, more inland. The terrain, customs, tribal traditions, and languages vary greatly between the coastal region of Ghana and the inland tribes.

Yet with all of the excitement, we must also face the facts that in our world today, climate change is causing the melting of glaciers and the seas are warming beyond repair, endangering the coral reefs. If we can only practice one thing to decolonize our summer seasons, let it be to find perfection in our imperfections and mirror the same appreciation for diversity as nature. We are all perfectly unique and the industrial complexes that are causing the Earth to warm at unprecedented rates thrive in their destructive ways when we continue to purchase items and consume beauty products, purchase sweatshop clothing, and eat out of season and not locally.

If all we can do to decolonize summer is love ourselves the way we are and one another, then I think we have the potential to slowly regenerate this Earth.

Tips on Decolonizing your Summer:

1. Eat seasonally and purchase from local farms - eating out of season requires a larger carbon footprint think about the gas it takes to drive or ship the produce from overseas

2. Use fruits, honey, flowers, and herbs for your wellness and self care practices. Opt out of those spa days that otherwise use chemical additives, heavy metals, toxic polishes, and plastic hair. Driving to the spa as often as we do also emits carbon exhaust from our vehicles and requires oil from the Earth Mother in the form of gasoline and petroleum.

3. Buy second hand or sustainably made!!! Shop if only necessary investing in Earth friendly fabrics like linen, hemp, and organic cotton. Avoid buying anything mass produced. Support items that are made by local crafts people.

4. Avoid outdoor adventures that require you pay a large corporate company and steer away from the manicured lawn vibes. If the park is manicured it likely means they spray chemicals to get rid of the weeds. Ask your local parks & rec committees if they spray and if yes, find. a way to make them stop.

5. Visit a local body of water and bring offerings. Thank the rivers, oceans, lakes, and springs for keeping the Earth cool. Bring honey, flowers, seeds, and melons to give thanks.

6. Self love & self acceptance is essential and the most important tip. When I think of summer I remember the bbq's, the parties, and going out, pool parties, and showing off skin. Yes to having fun but no to toxic beauty supplies, no to regular late nights with little rest, no to ignoring my inner voice and spiritual needs over the desire to be seen. Yes to sweating and yes to movement. Yes to rest being an act of self love. Yes to acknowledging the natural beauty that is is all around us, and enhancing our own beauty with nature.

   
   

The Sun doesn't need any other planet or any other being in the multi universe galaxy to tell it when to shine. Same with us we can shine in our authentic souls any time and summer allows our glow to become effortless. Tap into the solar rhythms and give thanks for your melanin as our ancestors have always done.