It’s the first day of school summer break.
The sky is blue, with a blur of promise that the suffocating heat will soon stifle the soothing, gentle morning breeze. The trees are green and juicy, the grass is soft under my bare feet, and the blooming flowers are mixing their scents with that of ripe raspberries.
The birds have been singing since the break of dawn, which is at silly o’clock in the morning these days, and I’ve been up with them since then. Not that I mind—there’s such serene beauty in a summer morning; a beauty I never knew while the first day of school summer break was still the day I looked forward to all year—because way back when, the opportunity to finally get some rest was something I cherished with all my being.
On a day like today, I’d stay in bed until well after the heat had already beaten the freshness out of the breeze, and then probably have ice cream for breakfast. Moving slowly, enjoying the peace of having nothing on my schedule, and allowing myself to be slowed down by the haze of the heat and the overdose of sleep (and probably sugar).
The reason for my reminiscing is that I’d like you to remember what it felt like to be that free. To be transported right back into a first day of your summer holiday, with all your worries behind you, and nothing but weeks of freedom and Magic ahead.
Do you remember what that felt like?
To not feel guilty for doing nothing.
Embracing that nothing, rejoicing in the idleness and the infinite possibilities of day that begins as a clean slate. A blank page. All yours.
When I bring that feeling back into my body—while I still find the serenity of early summer mornings to be awe-inspiring—I’m reminded that the true Magic of summer is the freedom it brings with it.
When we were younger, we knew this, but as we grow older, we collectively forget, so I’ll spell it out:
This feeling of freedom is your cue to slow down.
Why?
Last week, on Summer Solstice, the Sun entered Cancer, the first of the water signs. As a result, you might have been feeling a pull to go under, inwards, to retreat and rest. Deeply. To restore before you reset.
Don’t ignore that pull.
While winter is the season associated with deep rest and introspection, Cancer, governed by the Moon, is famous for being the zodiacal ruler of emotions.
I’m not telling you all this to teach you about astrology. I just want you to understand why, if you really tune in with yourself, which is what this zodiacal season is perfect for, you will find that what you truly, deeply crave right now, is peace, safety, and nurture.
Giving yourself permission to slow down during the first half of the summer allows you to recharge at a completely different level than you do in the winter.
If you follow the energy and your inner Knowing (which is also prominent this time of year), you’ll come out on the other side refreshed, rejuvenated and brimming full of sparkling energy that will allow you to shine when the Sun enters Leo at the end of July. In fact, you’ll load up on so much energy it’ll last you until next spring.
And you know you need that. It’s been too long since you’ve last allowed yourself to really slow down and unwind.
Not for an hour, or a day, but at least for a few weeks.
Now, before your mind starts coming up with all sorts of excuses—yes, of course I know we have lives to live and mouths to feed.
But I invite you to rethink your reality, and drop everything that isn’t absolutely essential.
Replace the shoulds with what you actually feel like doing, the things that deplete you with those that fill you up; whatever that is for you.
You might no longer be eligible for a school summer break, but you can still choose to allow yourself to feel as free as you once did—even (preferably) without ice cream for breakfast at noon.
Besides, if you take me up on this invitation, you won’t just be sitting around—or better yet, lying in a hammock—idly, though it might look like that on the surface.
You’ll be doing important inner work by allowing yourself to slow down. You’ll be giving yourself the time and the space to feel into what it is you desire, what you want your Life to be and who you would like to become.
And having this clarity to move forward with in a few weeks, even if it does require for you to temporarily slow down, is worth so much more than aimless action that wears you out and leads you nowhere.
So, slow down.
Notice that the days are lighter and brighter, the nights full of Magic.
Let the summer heat slow down the pace and remove all excess; the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the thoughts you think.
Allow everything that restrains you and weighs you down to fall away.
Simplify.
Spend time in Nature.
Move.
Walk barefoot.
Swim naked.
Breathe deeply.
Laugh loudly.
Love freely.
Rejoice.
And if you need some inspiration on how to make the beginning of this summer unforgettably Magical and emerge out of it as the shiniest, healthiest, most energized version of yourself, here’s a free guide you can download: