We gathered together in the beautiful setting of Vikki's home in Burgess Hill to celebrate Summer Solstice. The sun shone, the breeze whispered through the trees, and all were at peace. Vikki held a very peaceful and sacred space, whilst keeping the afternoon light enough, so that nobody felt uncomfortable if the moment changed into laughter for any reason.

The garden had been set out in readiness with a labyrinth, beautiful altars and relaxing and colourful seating. Women arrived and were greeted with introductions and given refreshing, ice cold, lemon water whilst they unwound ready for the ceremony ahead.

A guided meditation started the afternoon, which instantly took us into our own 'space', whilst still being part of the group. Those who wanted to share their journey did so, before moving on to the next part of the afternoon.

We were each given a piece of paper, to write down anything we would like to be rid of in our lives. No doubt this was many and varied amongst us, and could include habits, jobs or maybe even physical items. Once our list had been made, the paper was scrunched up ready to put inside the beautiful clay Goddess that was placed at the start of the labyrinth. That was the section for 'out with the old', then came time for 'in with the new'.

A basket of coloured thread and an abundance of pine cones were then presented for us to choose from. The choice of coloured thread was to relate to anything we would like to bring to us for the coming seasons. Again, this could be anything from a job, something spiritual or something physical. However we chose to do so, these threads were then woven around the pine cone to create a physical representation of our forward plans. They not only felt very positive, they looked good enough to use as decoration around the home as a reminder of the ceremony and our goals.

Now came the labyrinth. The air was silent, as some women continued their work, each woman in turn placed their scrunched up paper into the clay Goddess, and took their beautifully decorated pine cone with them as they took their turn walking the labyrinth. Walking the labyrinth is a very private moment, so silence was maintained whilst each woman 'went within'.

The afternoon closed with another meditation. We were then offered a half apple to eat, each cut in half to present the layout of the pips creating a pentagram.

The afternoon was bonding, rewarding and empowering. Thank you Vikki for an excellent afternoon and a great way to celebrate Summer Solstice.