SUN WORSHIP
Oh, how I love the Sacred Sun! The energy of joy, vitality, life, + light. How we can trust it, every day, to rise for us without fail.
To feed and to fuel us, to be the source of life to the earth and all of her inhabitants. We could not survive without the Sun!
I am such a sun child. I feel most beautiful when I am beneath the sun, soaking in those golden rays, feeling warm and kissed. My energy is fueled
by the sun. When it’s bright and sunny, I feel energized and motivated! When the days are dimmer, my energy is a bit lower,
I feel quiet and more reflective. I love those days too, knowing the sun is still there lurking behind the clouds.
Each morning I rise to greet the Sun. Gently smiling, raising my arms up tall, taking in the first light, opening the curtains, grateful for another day of life.
ancient sun worshiping
The history of sun worship dates back centuries, each indigenous culture worshiping their Sun God or Goddess. Ra (ancient Egypt), Surya
(Hindu), Helios (Greek), Tezcatlipoca (Aztec), Sulis (Celtic), and beyond. Many ceremonies are still practiced to praise the sun. The indigenous
people of the Americas honor the Sun and earth’s harvest bounty at the traditional Sun Dance Festival around Summer Solstice. The indigenous
Tamil people of South India pray to the sun during the Tamil (harvest festival) after a year of crop farming.
If you practice an Earth based spirituality, we also celebrate and honor the sun through the celebration of seasons and seasonal holidays -
honoring the waxing and waning of the sun. The Spring and Autumn Equinox marks the time of year when the sun’s light is equal to the night’s
darkness, where we are in perfect balance. The Summer Solstice marks the time when the sun is closest to the Earth, it is at its peak and in full
expression, and it is the longest day of the year. The Winter Solstice marks when the sun is furthest from the Earth, the light is dim and soft,
and it is the shortest day of the year - a time where we honor the sun as it wanes.
Photo Spirit Weavers Gathering by Dominoe Farris.
a programmed fear of the sun
I’ve always felt that sunscreen did more harm than good, before I even knew about the harmful ingredients it contained. A thick white paste filled with unknown substances that you slather all over your body to block you from the gorgeous sun!? Why oh why would I want to block myself from the healing sun? My body craves the sun - pure sun, without a chemical filter. I will wear some natural, zinc oxide mineral cream occasionally on my face + chest if I am spending long, long hours in the sun, but other than that I feel that it is healthy to take in the sun. I know aging + wrinkles is of concern to many when it comes to sun bathing, but I am not convinced that it is solely the sun that is the culprit here. Another fear is of course skin cancer. A review study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in February states, “Sunscreen is a multibillion-dollar industry, and its efficacy in the prevention of skin cancer is often taken as fact,” the authors note. “Despite this, there are only four prospective studies that examine sunscreen’s role in preventing skin cancer, and none of these studies examine the efficacy of sunscreen in preventing skin cancer in otherwise healthy individuals.” I am definitely in support of a 100% organic, mineral + zinc based sunscreen - but I also feel that perhaps we’ve been so conditioned to fear the sun that we apply it before allowing ourselves to take in the sun at all!
“Properly aired and sunlit, skin becomes velvety, supple tissue, absolutely immune from anything of the nature
of pimples, acne, and incapable of infection. Sunshine is the finest cosmetic. Skin, well-pigmented in response to
sun-bathing, becomes firm and strong, but at the same time delicate and soft. Followed, by a filling out of the
exposed skin and a smoothing away of wrinkles results from sunbathing. Increased beauty is the outcome.”
- written by an English physician in 1929 in Sunlight and Health.
(Much different advice than what we receive now! Found via Living Libations)
I went to a dermatologist last year, for the first time since my teens, to get some of my moles checked. I made the huge mistake of literally going to the beach all morning, soaking in the sun and swimming in the ocean, and catching a cab directly from the beach to my appointment - classic sun child move! She took one look at me and said “Why are you so tan? You shouldn’t be this tan.” and it was all downhill from there. She told me not only that I need to wear sunscreen head to toe every day but to also wear long sleeves and pants to protect my skin from the sun at all times. WHAT? She then tried to prescribe me some sort of cream for my “dry skin” that works as an SPF 50 as well - I tried to tell her it was salt from the ocean, but she wouldn’t listen and continued to write the prescription. I told her no thank you and that I only use organic skincare she responded with a rude, “Well I’m sorry to tell you but that will never work.” and handed over the paper. The fear she attempted to place upon me about the sun was shocking - and her trying to push a prescription on me was infuriating. I left questioning everything, and for a few weeks, I was actually afraid of the sun for the first time ever in my life. I felt so out of alignment with my truth. Of course, not all dermatologists are this intense, but it made me realize how extremely programmed we have all become to fear the sun and to reach for sunscreen at all times, without any questions asked. The Skin Cancer Foundation says on its website that “anyone over the age of six months should use a sunscreen daily — even indoors.” Wow, indoors? So we have to fear the sun that much that we need to wear sunscreen indoors to be sure we don’t get ANY sun whatsoever?
“Today most doctors and dermatologists wax weary about ultra-violet hazards, while public health campaigns advocate for the avoidance of the sun. They tell us to shun the sun and fear exposure from even short jaunts, like walking from the parking lot to the mall. While the sun remains the same, we sure have changed. In pursuit of healthy, beautiful skin, we now avoid the sun and inject fillers into faces, apply chemicals to acne, and spray on fake tans filled with DNA damaging dihydroxyacetone. We have been lobbied into a loss of sunlight. It is true that our skin can be vulnerable to sunburn, and repeated sunburns can cause visible damage. Yet, our interaction with the sun need not be "all or none!" If we are wise, we can enjoy a healthy and happy relationship with our ancient friend, the sun.” - Nadine Artemis of Living Libations
creating a healthy relationship
with our beloved sun
I was elated when one day, a few years ago, I stumbled upon an article that Nadine Artemis from Living Libations wrote about the healing of the sun and the actual causes of “sun damage” - and it brought to fruition all that I felt! She basically explains that malnutrition, a damaged skin barrier due to chemicals, and overexposure with a lack of Melanin are the main causes of a poor interaction with the sun.
Her insight + wisdom just makes sense to me. From personal experience I feel her truth deep down in my bones. Here I share with you what she wrote on her steps to approach the sun in a wise way that allows you to create a healthy relationship with its medicine…
A Wise Interaction with the Sun by Nadine Artemis
“1) Upon the altar of sunshine, what we ingest determines how our skin responds to sunlight. Skin cells must be strengthened and nourished internally with real food and water to receive the full blessing of interacting with the sun. Well-nourished skin responds better to sunlight, and sun-ripened food is more nutritious. We can create an internal SPF with an antioxidant-rich rainbow diet of sun-grown Super Power Foods, herbs, and luscious fats brimming with nutrients -- all contributing to our internal sunscreen. Summer is a great time to indulge in sun-ripened fruit, vegetables, and herbs that build an internal SPF. Take tomatoes, for example; researchers in the UK have demonstrated a 30% increase in sun protection after eating a tomato-rich diet. 16mg of lycopene, the red antioxidant found in tomatoes, seems to be the key.i Other SPF foods include: watermelon, green tea, turmeric, red, green, and yellow peppers, watermelon, and berries. Also, save room for chocolate! Pure, unprocessed, and unadulterated chocolate has 4 times the amount of phenols and catechins as teas, and these compounds protect the skin against sunburn.
Many of the skin issues that are called “sun damage” are really the result of malnutrition. The recipe for wrinkles and dark spots is our current standard diet of processed food produced in the shadows of pesticides and factory farming. The transfats, plasticizers, bromide, formaldehyde, coal tar derivatives, color and flavor additives, and fluoride, commonly found in processed foods create reactions in our bodies that trigger collagen breakdown, inflammation, age spots, and hyper-pigmentation. The rampant use of polyunsaturated-fatty-acids found in every processed food item impairs intercellular-communication, suppresses immune functions, damages our DNA, and on top of all of that, is linked to wrinkles and hyperpigmentation.
This is the difference between cooking with PAM or coconut oil. Organic healthy fats and essential fatty acids, direly depleted in the North American diet, are really needed to amplify the benefits of the sun’s rays. Cold-water fish, meat and dairy from pasture-raised animals, and nuts, as well as coconut and olive oils are beautiful sources of dietary fats.
2) Recover your skin's integrity. The skin’s outer layer is a thin coating of oils that provides natural anti-bacterial, anti-wrinkle, and sun-screen protection. The integrity of this layer is damaged by soaps, scrubs, chemical peels, and synthetic moisturizers. (These things also disrupt vitamin D production.) Washing and moisturizing the skin with essential oil serums and botanical oils, as well as dry brushing, regenerates the skin's top layer, supports the collagen, and feeds the skin’s immunity.
3) Sun yourself wisely. Start slowly but surely, and start in the spring so that you may create a protective tan with phased in exposure. Melanin, the tanned-skin pigment, produced in the spring prevents sunburn in the summer. Melanin is our ancient biological mechanism of photo-protection designed exclusively to support our relationship with the sun. Melanin in the skin transforms 99.9% of absorbed UV radiation into heat that is easily dissipated, allowing us to sidestep radiation damage that contributes to cell damage. Far more effective than sunscreen, melanin lingers in our skin long after the sun’s rays have set.
There are many, many reasons to avoid synthetic sunscreens, and here are two that may be new to you:
Sunscreens made from synthetic ingredients create a false sense of security by disabling our skin's early warning system – the sunburn – which keeps us from indulging in too much sun too fast. Most sunscreens only block UVB rays, the rays that cause sunburn, but not UVA rays. Over the long run, people wearing synthetic sunscreen unknowingly overexpose their skin to UV radiation. Unfortunately, sunscreen prevents them from receive any of the benefits of exposure…
UVB rays blocked by sunscreens are the rays we depend on for vitamin D. The interaction of sun on skin is the human form of photosynthesis; sunlight in the form of UVB rays touching the skin activates our bodies production of vitamin D. Scientists are only just beginning to discover how desperately our bodies need skin-made D. In North American, the rate of vitamin D deficiency is soaring -- over 75% -- and research attributes the host of rising health issues, including heart disease, osteoporosis, juvenile diabetes, MS, and cancer, to the epidemic of D depletion.
The best time of day for sunning is morning to solar-noon. Bare as much skin as you dare. The dosage depends on the condition of your skin and your natural skin pigmentation. Tune in to your innate warning system; if skin starts to feel warm, seek shade. Start with a few minutes a day and build-up. Remember to flip!”
sun worship oil
“Botanical oils preserve the juiciness of your sun exposure. Plants, too, require wise interaction with the sun. Almost all plant oils offer some degree of ultraviolet protection to their own tissue – and ours. Plant oils do offer a range of protection that can gracefully extend our time in the sun…” - Nadine
I did an extensive amount of scientific research as well as plant meditations to bring together the most effective and nourishing plants + oils to support the skin barrier and allow one to soak in the suns rays in good health! I wanted to create something I would love to wear daily to constantly keep my skin nourished and repaired under the sun. Wether I’m intentionally sun bathing or walking around a city. For the lovers of the sun that wish to bask in the rays. This is not a replacement to a sunblock - I do wear some zinc on my face + chest if I am in the sun for an extensive amount of time, and if you have fair skin I don’t recommend this as a total replacement for you if you are sun bathing.
Allow your skin to be fed, nourished, & harmonized with the sun. This powerful infusion of plants + oils penetrate the skin to deeply moisturize, protect from free radical damage with antioxidants, prevent redness + swelling with anti-inflammatories, boost elasticity + firm collagen, repair + even out skin tone, & naturally protect from UV rays. This oil is to serve as a harmonizer with the sun, allowing you to soak in the rays while maintaining a healthy skin barrier.
Red Raspberry Seed Oil - contains polyphenols prevent skin pigmentation & firm collagen, a high spectrum of Vitamin E tocopherols that heal scar tissue, and repair skin, boost elasticity. elegiac acid protects & prevents skin damage, DNA mutations, + pigmentation, neutralizes free radicals, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial. Under a spectrometer, raspberry seed oil absorbed both UVB and UVC rays while scattering UVA; it may provide an equivalent of SPF-25.
Shea Nut Oil - rich in essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, creates an emollient barrier to moisturize and allow your natural oils to regain health, increases collagen, anti-inflammatory (reduces redness and swelling of skin) antioxident, protecting against UV rays and free radicals, sinks into skin easily, prevents peeling.
Carrot Seed Oil anti-septic, antioxidant, repairs skin damage, tightens skin, stimulates new tissue growth, evens skin-tone, contains Apigenin that prevents UVA + UVB induced skin carcinogenesis
Hibiscus speeds up cell turnover to even skin-tone, tighten, and lift. high in antioxidents with anthocyanocides that protect against free radical damage.
… to name a few!