🐚☀️Let’s Talk About Litha!🐚🌞 (Patreon)

Let’s talk about Litha! Litha, also known as the Summer Solstice, is on June 21, 2023. Gardens are in bloom, bees are buzzing and hummingbirds are visiting! Pools, sprinklers, barbecues and more bring on the celebration of Midsummer, which is also called Litha. This sabbat celebrates the summer solstice which is the longest day of the year. Get outside and enjoy the sunshine! Here is a introduction written by Patti Wigington of Learn Religions discussing this the magic of Litha! How do you like to celebrate?

Rituals and Ceremonies

Patti Wigington says “Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Litha, but the focus is nearly always on celebrating the power of the sun. It's the time of year when the crops are growing heartily and the earth has warmed up. We can spend long sunny afternoons enjoying the outdoors, and getting back to nature under the long daylight hours.

Here are a few rituals you may want to think about trying. Remember, any of them can be adapted for either a solitary practitioner or a small group, with just a little planning ahead. Before you get started with ritual, think about preparing your household altar for Litha.

Hold a Midsummer Night's Fire Ritual, and celebrate the season with a big bonfire. Prefer to spend some time alone at the summer solstice? Not a problem! Add some simple Litha prayers into your summer solstice rituals this year.

Are you headed to the beach this summer? Take advantage of all of the magic it has to offer! If you have little Pagans in your family, you can get them involved in the festivities too.”

Traditions, Folklore and Customs

Interested in learning about some of the history behind Litha? Here's some background on Midsummer celebrations—learn who the gods and goddesses of summer are, how they've been honored throughout the centuries, and about the magic of stone circles! Let's start with a quick look at the history behind the celebrations of the summer solstice, as well as some of the customs and traditions of Litha.

Many cultures have honored gods and goddesses of the sun, so let's look at some of the Deities of the Summer Solstice. There's also a seasonal legend of the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King.

There's a ton of solar magic and myths and legends out there, and many cultures have worshiped the sun as part of religious practice throughout time. In Native American spirituality, the Sun Dance is an important part of ritual.

The summer solstice is also associated with festivals such as the Vestalia, in ancient Rome, and with ancient structures like the stone circles found all over the world.

This is a great time of year to get outdoors and gather your own herbs. Want to go wildcrafting? Be sure you do so respectfully and responsibly.

Last but not least, if you are looking for some summer reading, be sure to stock up on some awesome witchy fiction.

Handfasting Season is Here

June is a traditional time for weddings, but if you're Pagan or Wiccan, a Handfasting ceremony may be more appropriate. Find out the origins of this custom, how you can have a fantastic ceremony, selecting a cake, and some great ideas on gifts for your guests!

In a historical context, handfasting is an old tradition that has seen a resurgence in popularity lately. There are plenty of ways to have a magical ceremony that celebrates your spirituality as part of your special day. You may even want to invite some of the deities of love and marriage to be part of your ceremony!

If you're not sure about how to have a handfasting, make sure you've got someone who is legally able to perform it, especially if you're looking for a state-licensed marriage. You can use a basic handfasting ceremony template as a structure for your ceremony, and you might want to consider a Pagan-friendly custom like broom-jumping as part of your celebration.

Crafts and Creations

As Litha approaches, you can decorate your home (and keep your kids entertained) with a number of easy craft projects. Celebrate the sun's energy with an elemental garden, a fiery incense blend, and a magic staff to use in ritual! You can make magical items as well, like a set of Ogham staves for some summer divination. Want to keep your home decor simple? Whip up a Litha blessing besom to hang on your door as a welcome to your summer guests.

Feasting and Food

No Pagan celebration is complete without a meal to go along with it. For Litha, celebrate with foods that honor the fire and energy of the sun, and a tasty batch of Midsummer mead.

Setting Up a Litha Altar by Patti Wigington

Litha is coming up for the Northern Hemisphere and Yule is coming up for the Southern Hemisphere! If you’re looking for some ideas to decor your altar for either sabbat, keep reading! These are two great resources that give good suggestions. How’re you decorating your altar for Litha or Yule?

It's Litha, and that means the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Midsummer is the time when we can celebrate the growing of crops, and take heart in knowing that the seeds we planted in the spring are now in full bloom. It's a time of celebrating the sun, and spending as much time as you can outdoors. Try to set up your Midsummer altar outside if at all possible. If you can't, that's okay -- but try to find a spot near a window where the sun will shine in and brighten your altar setup with its rays.

Colors of the Season

This sabbat is all about the sun celebration, so think of solar colors. Yellows, oranges, fiery reds and golds are all appropriate this time of year. Use candles in bright sunny colors, or cover your altar with cloths that represent the solar aspect of the season. If you have the opportunity to do an outdoor altar, consider painting a piece of furniture, such as a table or cabinet, in bright colors to reflect the solar theme. Don't forget the lights—candles, citronella lamps, and even twinkly string lights are available in every color, so bring that solar energy out even when it gets dark in the evening!

In chakra work, the color orange or red-orange is related to the sacral area, which is associated with creativity and inventive ideas. Using colors in orange tones is a great way to revitalize your passion for art, music, and other creative ideas. Yellow is tied to the solar plexus, and our need to develop a healthy self-esteem. If you're doing Litha rituals or working to improve the way your feel about yourself, and give your confidence and personal power a boost, you can't go wrong with shades of yellow!

Solar Symbols

Litha is when the sun is at its highest point above us. In some traditions, the sun rolls across the sky like a great wheel—consider using pinwheels or some other disc to represent the sun. Circles and discs are the most basic sun symbol of all, and are seen as far back as the tombs of ancient Egypt. Use sun masks or equal-armed crosses, such as the Brighid's Cross, or even the swastika—remember, it was originally a good luck symbol to both the Hindus and Scandinavians before it became associated with the Nazis.

Think about some of the other things that represent the sun to you. Are you growing a garden? Pluck a basket of fruit, or a bowl of vegetables, sun-warmed and fresh, to place upon your altar. Are you creative? Use watercolors to paint an image of the sun, flowers in a field, a beach, or other images that represent the sun's power and energy to you.

A Time of Light and Dark

The solstice is also a time seen as a battle between light and dark. Although the sun is strong now, in just six months the days will be short again. Much like the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King, light and dark must battle for supremacy. At this sabbat, darkness wins, and the days will begin to grow shorter once more. Decorate your altar with symbols of the triumph of darkness over light—and that includes using other opposites, such as fire and water, night and day, etc.

Other Symbols of Litha

Pick some midsummer flowers from your garden—or buy them from the local farmer's market—and display them in bowls and vases around your house. If you've got outdoor flowers of your own growing, great! Make sure you give them lots of water on hot sunny days.

Make some Gods Eyes in sunny colors to hang up around your home, and on your doors to greet your guests. They're easy to make, and you can use any color you like. Reds, golds, yellows, and oranges are seasonally appropriate this time of year.

Are you growing Sunflowers? They'll be well on their way to being tall by the time midsummer arrives, so harvest a few to decorate inside your home. Be sure to leave some outdoors though; birds love sunflower seeds as a summertime snack!

Oak trees and acorns are associated with solar power and energy, and they'll be flourishing at this time. Get out there and pick leaves and acorns, and bring them indoors to decorate your altar.

Sources:

https://pixabay.com/photos/sunflowers-vase-bouquet-flowers-1719119/

Wigington, Patti. "Celebrating Litha, the Summer Solstice." Learn Religions, Feb. 16, 2021, learnreligions.com/guide-to-celebrating-litha-2562231

learnreligions.com/setting-up-your-litha-altar-2562243.

https://www.learnreligions.com/guide-to-celebrating-litha-2562231