Following the Signs: A Summer Solstice in Steamboat Springs
The Hawk’s Arrival
We were blessed to host twenty-eight beautiful souls for our Summer Solstice Celebration on the farm here in Steamboat Springs on the 20th of June, and the experience was nothing short of magical.
For decades, Summer Solstice has been a sacred marker in my calendar. Back in South Africa, friends, family and soul tribe would gather each year to honour the Sun, celebrate community, and immerse ourselves in practices that invited us to embody the Lightness of Being. It is a tradition woven deeply into my heart, and one that has accompanied me through many seasons of life.
To continue that tradition here, thousands of miles from the land I once called home, felt both deeply familiar and entirely new.
When I first began walking these lands a few months ago, I sensed that I had entered into a relationship with something far greater than myself. One evening, whilst wandering at sunset, a magnificent red-tailed hawk descended from the sky and landed almost directly at our feet.
The moment felt less like a chance encounter and more like an introduction.
An offering.
A welcome.
A sign.
In that instant, I understood that part of my purpose here would involve working with the consciousness of the land itself; listening deeply, clearing what felt burdened, and supporting the healing of ancestral imprints and unresolved histories that still seemed to linger within the fields, buildings and waterways.
The months that followed were not always easy.
Sacred work rarely is.
There were moments of immense grace, moments of resistance, moments when the task felt impossibly large and others when invisible hands seemed to guide every step.
Gradually, however, the land began to soften.
Or perhaps I did.
Preparing the Ground
And so when the opportunity arose to host our Summer Solstice gathering here on the farm, I felt a deep sense of joy. It was as though all those months of preparation, prayer, clearing and devotion had quietly been leading towards this moment.
Supported by the beautiful communities of Harmony Yoga and Noon Hill Dairy, alongside a team of earthly angels and ancestral guidance that seemed ever-present throughout the process, the day unfolded with remarkable ease and beauty.
People arrived from all corners of Steamboat Springs.
Some came seeking connection.
Others came seeking healing.
Some simply followed a feeling they could not quite explain.
Together we gathered in ceremony, movement, meditation and celebration beneath the vast Colorado sky.
The feedback afterwards was deeply touching.
Again and again people spoke of feeling held, restored, expanded and connected.
Gifts of Grace
As the yoga and sound journey concluded, gifts began appearing in my hands with such generosity and kindness that I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude.
One offering in particular felt especially meaningful.
A bottle of Blue Lotus oil.
Only days earlier, my previous bottle had fallen and spilled, anointing the floor of the new yoga studio I had finally finished clearing and claiming as sacred space within the farmhouse. At the time, I remember wondering whether the unexpected offering of the oil to the floorboards was somehow ceremonial in itself, a blessing for the room and a consecration of what was to come.
Now, without any prompting, Blue Lotus returned.
Not through effort.
Not through intention.
Simply through grace.
As though Spirit had quietly whispered:
You are supported.
There is more where that came from.
Trust.
The Mirror We Do Not Expect
Perhaps the most unexpected moment of the day came through a conversation with a radiant woman who approached me after the sound journey.
She carried herself with a quiet strength that immediately caught my attention. Grounded, balanced and deeply present, she shared some of what she had experienced during the meditation and sound healing.
Then, almost casually, she asked whether I was aware that I had incarnated as a shaman in previous lifetimes.
“Fifteen of them,” she added matter-of-factly.
I stared at her.
Speechless.
Whilst I searched for words, she looked genuinely puzzled by my surprise.
Then, with a small shrug and perfect comedic timing, she replied:
“Oh. I thought you knew.”
The simplicity of her response left me laughing.
And yet somewhere beneath the humour, something deeper landed.
Not because I require validation from another person regarding my path, but because there are moments when life offers us mirrors that reflect aspects of ourselves we may have quietly known all along.
Moments when what has lived as intuition suddenly steps forward into clearer form.
Around the Fire
As evening settled over the farm, the celebration naturally gravitated towards the fire pit.
Drums emerged.
Voices joined together.
Stories were exchanged.
The woman who had shared her insight earlier, along with the beautiful souls who had gifted me the Blue Lotus oil, gathered beside me as I sang Savage Daughter into the twilight.
Spirit drums accompanied the song.
The fire crackled.
The mountains stood watch in the distance.
For a moment, time seemed to dissolve.
There was only community.
Only presence.
Only gratitude.
Where the Soul Recognises Itself
Whilst there are still moments when I feel the ache of missing beloved friends and family back home in South Africa, experiences like these remind me how profoundly blessed I am.
To be here.
To continue this sacred healing work.
To walk these mountain lands.
To deepen my relationship with my ancestral lineage within this territory.
To feel so clearly guided, protected and supported.
And perhaps most importantly, to witness the gradual arrival of a new soul tribe gathering around this work.
The Solstice has always marked a turning point.
A moment when the Sun reaches its fullness before beginning its journey homeward.
This year, standing amongst the mountains of Colorado surrounded by beautiful hearts, I realised that perhaps I, too, have crossed a threshold.
Not leaving one home behind for another.
But learning that home is something far more mysterious.
Home is where the soul recognises itself.
And on this Summer Solstice, beneath the vast skies of Steamboat Springs, I felt that recognition everywhere.
Reflection & Practice
As you move through this Solstice season, I invite you to spend a few moments reflecting on your own journey.
Where in your life have you been following the signs?
What unexpected gifts has Spirit placed in your path?
What land, community, relationship or calling is inviting you into deeper belonging?
Sit quietly beneath the sky, place a hand upon your heart, and ask:
Where does my soul recognise itself most fully?
Then listen.
The answer may already be waiting within.
With love,
Natalie Rosanne
Christ Light Yoga
