Solstice & Litha
Blooming with Aligned Possibility // 6.16.25
Monday Mettā
Mettā: Loving friendliness, goodwill, and kindness directed both inward and outward.
May I be satisfied in this moment as I am. May all beings be satisfied as they are.
A bite-sized loving reminder that you are beautiful and lovely just as you are. Of course you can reflect, learn, and grow. But as you pause and say these words, remember, you have inherent love for yourself. You may have to dig deep, through layers or walls or hard exteriors to find it, but it’s there.
May you be satisfied in this moment as you are.
✨
So glad you’re here.
🌞🪻🌳You won’t hear from me next Monday as I will be off celebrating all things solstice and mid summer.
Intuitive Tarot Card Reading
Use your intuition to guide you to a specific card below. Choose the card with the crystal on it that calls to you. At the end of this newsletter, you’ll see the cards flipped over, with a reading for each one. The card that you choose here will have your reading for the week.
Choose your card, then scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter for the reveal!
Card 1: Kyanite Choose this card for a message about communication.
Card 2: Labradorite (polished) Choose this card if you’re feeling overworked.
Card 3: Labradorite (raw) Choose this card if you’re feeling insecure.
Summer Solstice (June 20) and Litha (June 24)
On Friday, June 20 or Saturday, June 21, depending, the Northern Hemisphere will experience the longest day of the year. The solstice occurs for a brief moment in time when the Earth tilts as close as we can to the sun. In U.S. eastern time, it’ll be at 10:42 pm on Friday.
I have been loving the light as the days have grown longer—waking up with the sun to meditate and reading on the porch until it gets dark. Though it feels counterintuitive, and a little sad, our days begin to shorten on Friday. But the warmth of the light will linger long into September.
Litha, the Celtic celebration of midsummer, is also coming up! Occurring on June 24th each year in many countries, Midsummer Day is a great day to get married, as love reigns supreme on Litha and as June is the month of love!). Litha is celebrated under different names in many different traditional cultures, including one of my favorite names: “Dew Holiday” in Lithuania, where folks party all evening and wake up with the morning dew. It’s a magical time to take in the summer’s bounty by dancing, feasting, and bonfire-ing.
(Though we are celebrating the beginning of summer through the solstice, Litha is meant to represent the midway time between planting and harvesting. Hence, the name mid-summer.)
The new moon is also right around Litha: June 25. To me, this only adds to the magic of the season. To celebrate all three June wonders (solstice, Litha, new moon), find a bit of nature and be in it! Pick flowers, bask in a patch of sunshine, bask in the dark glow of evening, and go for a walk. Enjoy these long and magical days.
Workshops, Classes, and Ways to Connect
How would you like to bloom?
This September, I’m holding a mini-workshop called Aligned Possibility. Two packed, live, group sessions on how to bring to bloom an idea, goal, or dream. Basically, it’s a workshop on manifestation, lead by someone who generally refuses to use the term :)
The workshop is highly personal, and will focus on your own goals or dreams, with clear and connected ways to move towards them. You will work with me and each other to gain perspective, new ways of thinking and speaking, and powerful processes you can take with you and use over and over again.
The details:
Wednesdays, September 10 and 17 from 6-8pm eastern time. Bring dinner!
Both sessions will be live and neither will be recorded.
The cost is $200.
Interested? More to come. Email me with any questions or …
Miraval Berkshires: You can always find me in real life at Miraval Berkshires: I teach weekly in-person workshops on how to read tarot and how to practice using your intuition, as well as a weekly yin yoga class and a Thursday evening class on the soul. I’d love to see you there! Respond to this email to learn more.
Would You Like to Listen to Me Instead of Read Me? If you’re looking to hear more from me, here are a couple of recent podcasts to check out:
With Gratitude,
As part of my loving-kindness community, here are three beautiful ways you can support this newsletter:
🌱Make a micro-donation or become a paying member of this Substack. Subscribe to pay for this newsletter for $5/month or $50/year. Paying subscribers have access to my entire archive.
(Alternatively, donate any amount below.)
🌻Book an intuitive or tarot reading with me or learn more at alignedandawake.com
💌Forward this newsletter on to anyone who might want a little love! Ask them to subscribe! Tell them you love them!
Thank you thank you!
Much love and gratitude,
Rachel xo
PS! I make a great gift! Interested in gifting a private yoga, a tarot or an intuitive soul reading to a friend? Simply respond to this newsletter!
Your Tarot Reading, Revealed!
Card 1: Kyanite // Nine of Swords
Sigh. Perhaps things are feeling out of alignment when it comes to communicating—not just with others, but with yourself. Doing too much will overwhelm you, at the moment. This card asks you to pause and take things in small doses. One step at a time. One thought, one comment, one email at a time.
Card 2: Labradorite (polished) // Knight of Pentacles
What you may not know about the Knight of Pentacles is that he’s the only knight in the tarot deck at full stop. The other three (Knights of Cups, Wands, and Swords) are moving, each horse racing faster than the other. So a thoughtful message here is to take a pause. You already have what you need. You don’t need, right now, to collect more. If you needed permission to take a break (one never needs permission but if YOU need it), this is your permission.
Card 3: Labradorite (raw) // King of Swords
The King of Swords reminds us to be clear, in three ways: with our words, with our thoughts, and how we listen. Your insecurities are probably coming through your thoughts… so it’s even more imperative to be clear about what words you use when you’re thinking and how you listen to yourself. Try to catch yourself thinking about yourself. And when you do, ask: is this the most accurate and clear way I can think about myself? If it isn’t, try to reframe.
Rachel Barker's role as writer and intuitive is to facilitate the reader’s introspection, awareness, and reflection. Whether to make a particular choice or take a particular action is entirely the responsibility of the reader.
Thank you for permission to pause!