☀️🌻Litha🌻☀️
(Northern Hemisphere) June 19-23
[2021- June 20th *see info]
Litha, Summer Solstice, Midsummer, Witches Lesser Sabbat
A time when the life of Gaia is blooming and Summer is in full swing. This is the height of the Wheel of the Year; the turning point of Light to Dark halves of the year. This really should be a greater Sabbat, but who am I but a humble Crone that attempts to write without biases. The Sabbats can be celebrated on the day of, a few day, a week, or weeks, it is all based on your path and personal preference. (Remember this- Your Craft, Your Way please)
Based on where one lives the Sacred 8 Sabbats are flipped around for the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. It’s all based on the Equator, the Tropic Of Cancer. Litha is one of those Sabbats that is celebrated in June for the Northern Hemisphere, whilst in the Southern Hemisphere we celebrate our Winter Solstice and Yule during December. For the Southern Hemisphere Litha the date is December 21, 2021. Litha is also known by the names of: Midsummer and St. John’s Day.
The Summer Solstice and Litha is when the Day is the longest and the night is the shortest. In the Southern Hemisphere the Winter Solstice and Yule the day is the shortest and the night the longest. Litha is a time to honor Father Sun or the Son of the Goddess. The Solstices both share a similarity of both of them revolve around Fire. Regardless of the Pantheons that you follow and honor the Solar Godform is honored now.
Litha is about a celebration of the abundance of our hard work, our “crops we have sown”, growth, maximum strength & power of the Sun within you & upon you. The Earth is full of life, the springtime animals born are growing up; as we continue & grow- or as our Intentions set on Beltane are growing/grown. On Litha it’s customary to hold a Bonfire Ritual, or a Cauldron Fire and toss in your intentions to bring forth or to banish. Our ancestors did this for luck, protection, fertility, and many other reasons also. The term Solstice in Latin means, “Sun Stand Still” roughly. We too should stand still for a bit before we start preparing for the Dark Half of the Year.
Here are a few correspondences of Litha as follows and some ideas to celebrate:
🌎☀️🐝🌻🌞🌽
Deities: the dance of the Holly King and Oak King, the Oak King is honored now and the Holly King stands down, Ra, Apollo, Hestia, Father Sun, Horus, Lugh, Sol, Brigid, Gaia, aka Mother Earth & Mother Nature, The Fae, Epona,
Crafts/Altar: Sun wheels & pictures of the sun, Sunflowers, make a New Besom (some make a separate new on on each Sabbat, or certain ones), burn Fire correspondences incenses (cinnamon, palo santo, the Sun, bees, Summer Solstice herb pouches to toss into the bonfire/cauldron fire, a Pagan Summer Solstice wreath, and candle with herbals and color correspondences of the Sabbat, make pinecone wish fire starters, make Corn Husk Dolls, earth stone circles to mimic Stonehenge,
Flowers/Trees: Sunflowers, Oak, Roses, St. John’s Wort (some feel that on Litha is the only time to harvest it on- hence the name St. Johns Day, Daisies, Star Flower,
Magick focus: Solar magick, healing, love spells, divination is excellent due to the veil being thin
Colors: Yellow, Gold, Red, Amber, some say Rainbows, Orange
Crystals/Gems: Amber, Citrine, Sunstone, Moss Agate, Peridot, Jade, bloodstone, some calcites,
Dance of the God & Goddess: The Goddess is pregnant with the God and the God is about to be a Father
Metal: Gold, Bronze,
Activities: Gather herbals from your garden, St Johns Wort is said to be picked on this day only/or to have the strongest association, Fires (See above), make Sun Water, many Handfasting Ceremonies are performed on this Sabbat, watch the Sun rise at Stonehenge (bucket list), bake a Sun shaped bread, singing & dancing with your coven mates, we celebrate the end of the Waxing year and welcome the Waning of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere & reversed for the Southern Hemisphere), hold a Summer Solstice festival, a Coven feast, make flower crowns, make a sun catcher, craft solar crosses, decorate your home altar garden, dress in the colors of Summertime, give offerings to the Gods or Mother Nature, help others that need some assistance you can give, Draw down the Sun Ritual, take a connected walk outdoors, feed & give water to wildlife in your yard all year long with homemade feeders & make homes for the birds & possibly the bees, candle magick for the successful dark half of the year coming
Foods/drinks: Honey, Mead, oranges, lemons, pinwheel sandwiches (symbolize the wheel of the year) red and yellow peppers, red dried chills, ginger, onions, honey, salmon fish (add Fire/spicy items), fennel, lemon balm, basil, hyssop, Litha Honey Cakes, lavender, mugwort (CAUTION HERB), rosemary, lemon balm, lemon verbena, berries, cheese, peppermint, sage, thyme, yarrow, catnip, honey bread, vervain,
Animals: Bees, dragonflies, butterflies, birds, dragons,
Lastly if you are celebrating Litha our Summer Solstice or Yule our Winter Solstice; Have a Blessed Celebration and Sacred time!
(It’s all based on the location from where you live and the line of the equator - see above.)
❤️🧙🏻♀️🖤
