Solstice and cannabis – a mystical partnership

The summer solstice is upon us, the longest day of the year and the shortest night. Around the world, people will be baking and partying in the sun. Since ancient times, summer solstice traditions have included gathering with family and friends to celebrate the return of light, life, fertility and the prospect of a good harvest.

Seattle hosts a naked bike parade every year with thousands of spectators. Visit the annual Fairbanks, Alaska Midnight Sun Festival for a 12-hour street festival and enjoy live music from over 30 artists. Finland celebrates the summer solstice, called Juhannus. Traditionally, this was a privileged time to celebrate marriages and Finns used to cast fertility or love spells at this time.

Marijuana has been associated with the solstices since ancient times, from the Greeks to the Vikings to Egypt. CAnnabis is represented in ancient religion, paganism, and spirituality around the world.

Photo by David Gabrić via Unsplash

In Viking culture, cannabis was associated with the Norse goddess of love, Freya. The harvest took place during an erotic festival in their honor, just as cannabis is harvested today at the time of Samhain, the Celtic pagan festival that gave birth to Halloween. According to tradition, Freya resided in the flowers of the plant, and one had only to ingest the buds to be influenced by this divine feminine power. It is the female marijuana plant that gives cannabis the high.

The ancient Greeks used medical marijuana to help people. They also used it in veterinary medicine to treat wounds and wounds in horses. Its use spread throughout the Mediterranean via trade routes.

Ancient Assyrian medicinal tablets preserved in the Louvre mention an ointment made from cannabis, and Mesopotamian recipes for epilepsy also included cannabis. In addition, some Mesopotamian documents indicate that the early Christians used “sacred oil” to treat various diseases

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Shamanic and pagan cultures use cannabis spiritually to contemplate religious and philosophical issues, enter a state of enlightenment, and perhaps make discoveries about the mind and subconscious. These uses all point to the effectiveness of cannabis as a holistic healing agent, rather than just a recreational or medicinal one—perfect for a summer solstice activity.

More practically, there is a connection between the summer solstice and the cannabis growth cycle. Traditionally used to measure the growing seasons of this ancient plant, the solstice is still used today, even in the age of high-tech indoor cannabis cultivation. Long, warm summer days provide the perfect environment for growing marijuana.

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If you’re planning to spend this day in the sun, maybe you’ll meet friends and family and start a new journey.