Summer Solstice Letter from Cressida Pryor
June 20, 2026

Dear FOI Friends,

We approach the Summer Solstice now with many emotions, hopes and fears…

For the Summer Solstice is not just a celebration of external light, but an invitation to look within. Just as the sun nourishes the earth and encourages plants to bloom, we too are in a season of growth. Let this midsummer season be a time to nourish our spirit, acknowledge the goals and passions we have cultivated this year, and rest in gratitude for our own journey. May the outward brightness of the sun be mirrored in the everlasting peace and love we carry within our souls, minds and hearts.

I am reminding at this time of year, and find great comfort in, a prayer I know as the ‘Potters Prayer’…I’m not too sure where I found it but have had it for many years, hand written on a scrap of paper which I now cherish.

I lived as a potter’s wife for over twenty years and know very well the heavy work involved and the anxiety and excitement of the whole process…throwing the pots to a standard size and weight…drying them uniformly so they don’t split…firing a kiln…each firing is unique, the conditions affected by so many variables, how the ware is stacked and loaded…

And then the happy accident of an unexpected glaze reaction and the disappointment of a poor result…and doing all of this to put food on the table…

The Potter’s Prayer:
Divine Mother Centre me,
Hold me in the still calm point
Form me gently with a firm and tender grip
Fire me with your divine Spirit
Glaze me with your glory.
I am an empty vessel.
Fill me with your love and wonder,
Wisdom and trust; that I may be a fragment of you.
Divine One, use me.
Let me crack and chip in your service
Completed by my brokenness.
For we are all most wonderfully made.

With thanks to the writer, or maybe writers, and apologies for not knowing your name.

May we all prosper and shine in these long days, reaching out when we can to those with a gentle and tender grip.

May we empty ourselves of inflated ego and be aware of our shadow self that we often project onto others without realizing. That we may own our own cracks and chips with humility, gratitude and respect for we and our beautiful planet are most wonderfully made…

With Solstice Blessings,
Cressida, FOI Steward