Thirteen things about Litha Today we celebrate Litha, also known as Midsummer, Summer Solstice, Alban Heruin, Sun Blessing, Feill-Sheathain, Vestalia, Thing-tide, All Couples Day, Feast of Epona, Saint John's Day, Ivan Kupala Day or Gathering Day. The Summer Solstice is the longest day and the shortest night of the year. It is a day to honour the sun as it is in its height of power. From now on, the light will begin to wane and the darkness will predominate. Since ancient times Litha has been celebrated with gatherings, singing, dancing and feasting. It is a time to celebrate in childlike joy and also to prepare for the coming time of harvest.
On Midsummer, the Holly King defeats his twin brother the Oak King and begins his annual reign. On Yule, the Oak King will defeat the Holly King and reign until Midsummer.
Our modern calendars are quite misguided in suggesting that ‘summer begins’ on the solstice. According to the old folk calendar, summer begins on May Day and ends on Lammas (August 1), with the summer solstice, midway between the two, marking midsummer. This makes more logical sense than suggesting that summer begins on the day when the sun’s power begins to wane and the days grow shorter.
Midsummer is a time to absorb the Sun's warming rays and it is another fertility Sabbat, not only for humans, but also for crops and animals. Witches consider the Goddess to be heavy with pregnancy from the mating at Beltane - honour is given to Her. The Sun God is celebrated as the Sun is at its peak in the sky and we celebrate His approaching fatherhood - honour is also given to Him.
In Nordic and Germanic traditions, this is a night for general divination and vision questing, a time when the power of the sun makes it easy for humans to access the unseen worlds. To this day Midsummer is a prominent Scandinavian holiday, and prophetic dreams play a large part of their folklore. The Danes used to place the toxic herb St. John's Wort under their pillows to induce these dreams. Mugwort is just as potent, and non-toxic, and used by Celts and the English in the same manner.
Midsummer is also when the realm of the Fairies is most astir; Fairy Magick is very powerful now. So take care when performing spells at this time esp. at night. The Fairies can be very mischievous and unpredictable. Put out gifts for the Fairies: milk and cream, cakes and honey, coins, ribbons and colorful stones... Catch a jar of fireflies if you can. The green glow represents Fairy Fire deep in the heart of the forest. Make wishes on them and just before dawn set them free to carry on with their business and to carry your wishes to the Goddess.
A curious Litha custom includes cutting down a fir tree and decorating it in ways similar to a Yule Tree. Decorations include ribbons, colored eggs, hoops, bows, garlands of flowers and bells. On the night of Litha, the summer tree was thrown into the fire and burned.
Other Litha customs included carrying an ember of the Litha bonfire home and placing it on one's hearth and decking one's home with birch, fennel, St. John's Wort, orpin, and white lilies for blessing and protection.
"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."
Stonehenge is the one thing above all others which springs to mind when "summer solstice" is mentioned in Britain. Stonehenge is a perfect marker for the Summer Solstice - the midsummer sunrise dawns over the magnificent Heel Stone, and creates a shadow that reaches deep into the heart of five pairs of sarsen stone trilithons (two upright stones with one laid across the top) arranged in a horseshoe open towards the rising sun. It is watched by thousands from within the inner circle of the People's Temple - today as in the past.
Litha is also a time of maturing and maturity. The maturity of the Sun's power, the maturing of the Child within the Womb of the Goddess and the maturing of the grain in the fields. It is our creativity and our fertility which has also come into maturity and we celebrate this as well. Fertility can also be celebrated at Litha as well as Beltane and many rituals include the plunging of a spear or lance into a cauldron or running water to enact the sacred union.
Midsummer Eve is the evening of herbs. The herbs and flowers gathered this night are considered exceptionally potent. St John's wort, burdock, thorn, and nettle , harvested on Midsummer Eve are hung on doors and windows and placed around the home for protection. Houses are decorated with fennel, orpine (also know as Sedum, live forever, stone crop), St. John's Wort and birch branches. Royal Fern (Raithneach na Ri) seeds which are gathered on midsummer are said to make the possessor invisible. They who find Royal Fern blossoms on Midsummer's eve become wise, lucky, wealthy and and all around happy folk. Women wear braided circlets of clover and flowers, while men wear chaplets of oak leaves and flowers around their heads. In times past livestock were also decorated with garlands made of flowers, foliage, and oak leaves.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of my favourite works by Shakespeare. He captures all the magic of the occasion in a fairytale setting.
sources: Google, Wikipedia, Witchvox, Midsummer by Anna Franklin.
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