Weaving our Way Back

As we crossed the threshold of the solstice this weekend, we arrived at the longest day, light stretching itself across the land, grasses high, everything bursting into bloom. It’s a time that calls us outward, to gather, to move, to celebrate.

And yet, just beneath the surface of all this brightness, there’s a quiet remembering.

The year’s turning point has come. From here, the light begins its slow return to shadow.

Summer is radiant, yes, but it’s not all joy and ease. It brings heat, growth, the stirrings of transformation. And often, that intensity draws us back to the work we began in winter, the deep inner tending, the quiet truths uncovered in long nights and bare landscapes.

Solstice is both a peak and a mirror, reminding us that light and dark are always in relationship, and that the insights born of darkness are what allow us to meet the world in wholeness.

At Amanita Rising, we’re living into that dance.

This season, we’re celebrating a lesser-known truth, Amanita muscaria is a solar fungi.

Just like St John’s Wort, who blooms on the longest day and is famed for capturing the sun’s essence, Amanita muscaria stores solar energy in its bright red flesh. It holds onto that brightness and transforms it into medicine we can access in the darker months. It is, quite literally, light in the winter.

Amanita muscaria is especially rich in vitamin D, particularly vitamin D2, the plant-based form that supports mood, immunity, and energy. For those of us in northern climates, or anyone who feels the pull of seasonal shifts, this makes Amanita muscaria an extraordinary ally. It bridges the gap between sunlit days and long winter nights.

As we look ahead to late summer and early autumn, when the first Amanita muscaria fruit again in the forest, we honour the path that begins now, every step we take in conscious presence, remembering, and care. These sacred mushrooms have walked with humans through countless generations, offering insight, clarity, and a connection to something vast and mysterious.

So we invite you to pause and ask:
✨ What are you growing in the light?
✨ And what are you carrying from the dark?

Our work continues through every season, through ritual, reflection, community, and connection. We’re gathering new voices, planting seeds for autumn offerings, and preparing to welcome those who feel the call to sit with Amanita muscaria and meet themselves more deeply.

✨ For those who unsure of how to take your first steps -  our free Introductory course will guide you on your way.

✨ For those who are ready to dive deeper into healing we have our Inner Child short course.

✨ And for you who feel called to facilitate the journeys of others, sign up to our 2026 Facilitator Training intake.

Until then, walk gently into the light, and don’t forget what the darkness taught you.

Updates: 

It’s festival season so Elle is out and about sharing music and Amanita muscaria wisdom. Tracey and Elle are soon giving a special talk on Amanita muscaria at Paradhis festival in Cornwall, and you can also catch Elle talking at these other festivals too:

• Power of Plants - Shropshire, July 11-13th.
• Healing in the Woods - Essex, August 22-24th.
• All Things Fungi - Suffolk, September 12-14th.

With warmth, wildness, and wonder,

The Amanita Rising team

As always, you can reach out to us with questions via email at [email protected].