Litha — The Summer Solstice
What Is Litha?
Litha is the Pagan celebration of the Summer Solstice. It’s the time of year that the Northern Hemisphere is tilted closest to the sun. According to the solar calendar, this is the beginning of the season of summer. It’s the longest day as well as the shortest night of the year. The date usually occurs between June 20-23 (or December 20-23 in the Southern Hemisphere). In 2023, Litha falls on Wednesday, June 21st.
Legend says at sunset, all the portals between worlds open and all the magickal beings of the Fae Realm cross into our world. When faeries, sprites, and forest elves come to our realm, we have a higher possibility to be able to connect and communicate with them.
Midsummer is also the time to acknowledge and appreciate Hecate as the keeper of the keys of all creation and along our personal journey, as she is the gatekeeper of all things. A few ways to include Hecate in Litha workings and crafts include a gratitude ritual, working on our individual power, and seeking her assistance in shadow taming and healing.
History of Litha
Midsummer was embraced with hilltop bonfires. It was a period to honor the barrier between the earth and the heavens. The lighting of a gigantic bonfire is an ancient tradition woven in a Celtic custom of lighting fires in honor of Áine, the Queen of Munster. Festivals in her honor were usually in the village of Knockainey, County Limerick (Cnoc Aine = Hill of Aine ). Áine was the Celtic equivalent of Aphrodite and Venus. The festival was ‘christianized’ and continued to be observed across the centuries.
The Romans, who had a festival for everything you can even think of, remembered this time as sacred to Juno, the wife of Jupiter and goddess of women and fertility. She is also known as Juno Luna and bestows women with the liberty of menstruation. The month of June was named after her, and since Juno was also the goddess of marriage, her month continues to remain a popular period for weddings. This time of year was also dedicated to Vesta, goddess of hearth.
Not only does Litha represent the polarity between land and sky, but Litha is also a time to find the balance between fire and water. European traditions honored this season by setting large wheels on fire and then rolling them down a hill into a large body of water. It is unknown, but it is suggested that this may be because this is when the sun is at its highest power as well as when it begins to weaken. Another reason this may have been done is that the water diminishes the heat of the sun, and the act of destroying the sun wheel into water may ward off drought.
This is the season of warmth and light. Crops are able to grow in their fields with the heat from the sun, but also require water to keep them alive and healthy. The strength of the sun at Midsummer is at its most vigorous, and the earth is fertile with the abundance of life growing all around.
In some traditions, Litha is the time of year when there is a battle between light and darkness. The Oak King is the ruler of the year between winter solstice and summer solstice, and the Holly King is the ruler from summer solstice to winter solstice. During each solstice they battle for power. The Oak King may be in rule of everything at the beginning of June, but by the end of Midsummer he is defeated by the Holly King.
For contemporary Pagans, this is a day to honor the inner power and brightness within ourselves. Find a quiet spot to yourself and meditate on the darkness and the light, both in your personal life and the world as a whole. Honor the changes from the turning of the Wheel of the Year with fire and water, night and day, and light and dark.
Litha is the perfect time to celebrate outdoors if you have children. Have a barbecue, and then right after take them swimming, or even just turn on the sprinkler for them to run through. Maybe even have a bonfire rater that night, as long as it is safely done with the kids. Let them stay up late to say goodnight to the sun, and embrace the night with sparklers, s’mores, storytelling, and music. This is also one of the best Sabbats to craft some love magic or celebrate handfastings, because June is the month of family and marriage.
Ways to Celebrate Litha
A Midsummer Night Fire Ritual
A tremendous bonfire with a Midsummer Night Fire Ritual to honor the fertility deities is a perfect way of celebrating Litha. The summer solstice is all about the fiery aspect of the sun. Since it’s the longest day and shortest night of the year you should stay up late and have a bonfire. Invite friends and family over and make it more festive. Prepare an offering to the deities of your choice, along with fireworks and sparklers after twilight.
Host a Barbecue for Friends and Family
Have a barbecue with friends and family. To make more of a connection with Litha, decorate with corresponding colors to the sun — yellows, oranges, and reds. Feast on a variety of summer foods, such as watermelon, burgers (veggies burgers are also an option), salad and honey cake. Add some outdoor activities as well like volleyball, sprinklers, and a pool (doesn’t have to be a fancy, big pool.) These are perfect ways to get into the heat of the season and celebrate the balance between Fire and Water. This also helps welcome friends and family to celebrate the season with one another.
Dance — Move your body!
Litha is a mystical time of year. Why not host a drum circle or spiral dance to get connected with the magick of the season? You can perform this with a few people, but the more the merrier! A drum circle and spiral dance are not only entertaining as well as a stress reliever. They are also purposeful in raising energy. Invite some friends over for the Midsummer celebration. Make sure to provide some refreshments. Maybe even ask for your friends to bring drinks of any kind of their own (if allowed.) All of the movement after a while can be exhausting, and it’s good to stay hydrated while having fun.
Get Out in Nature
Go for a walk in the woods. Hike in the mountains. This can be a group endeavor or done in solitary, depending on what you wish. Embrace the setting of nature — all of the sights and sounds. If you want, take lots of pictures. If you have children with you, plan a scavenger hunt. Don’t pick live plants, unless you will use them for witchcraft. If you want to learn more about the nature surrounding you, grab a field guide to local plants to learn to identify the plants and other forms of nature in the woods. If you are by yourself or with a small group of friends, try out a nature meditation in a quiet atmosphere.
Help Others
You can donate to a local charity. However, you do not have to have money to do help anyone in need. If you have a yard sale, donate whatever’s left to a homeless shelter. Anything you are wanting to get rid of can benefit someone else in life, whether that be food, clothes, blankets, or even cleansing necessities such as soap. Spend time at a children’s hospital and craft fun activities for them. Volunteer at an animal shelter — donate dog and/or cat food while you are there. Plan a neighborhood cleanup and pick up all of the trash within the area off the ground and properly dispose of them, recycle what you can. Also, you don’t have to coordinate a big project. You can help others by simpler tasks. Help an elderly neighbor clean their home. Offer to babysit for your neighbors with a newborn baby, so they can get some rest for a few hours. Bring groceries, especially comfort foods like soup, to a person you know of to be ill. You can help others in many different ways. With longer days, we now have more time to help one another!
Read a book
You doesn’t always have to be in constant motion during Litha. Litha is also a good time to rejuvenate. If you’re much more of a slow-paced type of person, reading a book definitely helps calm the mind — especially in the chaos of summertime. Try to read outside during dawn and dusk, before the extreme heat kicks in. Keep books around you at all times. So, for whenever you start to feel stressed and need some time to step away from it all, you’ll have a book with you. If you need to keep up with a schedule to hold yourself accountable to reading, sign up for your library’s summer reading program, or join a book club. If you can’t find a book club in-person to join, either join one online or create one of your own. Also, try to read a variety of genres. Maybe in the morning you read a fantasy novel, and then at night you read a book on witchcraft to grow your practice.
Spiritually Grow
Spend some time connecting with yourself and your spirituality. Learn a new practice to help you grow. Take a class in a spiritual practice, such as tarot, lenormand, astrology, reiki, yoga, or anything else that appeals to you. Create a schedule to help you focus on your studies and and where to go from there. You now have plenty of extra daytime this time of year. Use it to your advantage!
Honor The Season
Many ancient cultures celebrated the summer solstice by honoring the sun by performing rites and rituals. Embrace the importance of Midsummer your own rituals and prayers that acknowledge the sun and its majestic power. Construct your altars with symbols representing the season — solar symbols, the Sun tarot card from your favorite deck, corresponding colored candles and crystals, midsummer herbs and flowers, and more.
Litha Correspondences
Colors: Blue, gold, green, orange, red, white, and yellow. All the joyful and vibrant colors.
Crystals: Amber, diamond, emerald, jade, lapis lazuli, and tiger’s eye.
Herbs: Chamomile, goldenrod, holly trees, lavender, mint, mugwort, oak, parsley, St. John’s wort, thyme, vervain, and yarrow.
Flowers/plants: Carnation, daisy, elder, fern, honeysuckle, ivy, lily, and rose.
Incense: Cedar, frankincense, lavender, lemon, myrrh, pine, and sage.
Foods: Early summer fruits and vegetables, fennel, honey cakes, lemon balm tea, red wine, and strawberries.
Symbols: Fey, fire, magick, protection, and the sun.
Goddesses: Astarte, Demeter, Freya, Hathor, Juno, and Vespa.
Gods: Lugh, Prometheus, and Ra.
Resources
“Litha ~ the Summer Solstice - Terianne’s Cauldron of Readings, Magick & Mayhem.” TeriAnnes Cauldron of Readings Magick Mayhem, www.teriannetarot.com/litha-the-summer-solstice/. Accessed 28 May 2023.
Wigington, Patti. “The History of Litha, the Pagan Summer Solstice Celebration.” Learn Religions, 3 Apr. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/history-of-summer-solstice-holiday-litha-2562244.
Chamberlain, Lisa. Wicca Wheel of the Year Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to the Sabbats, with History, Symbolism, Celebration Ideas, and Dedicated Sabbat Spells. Wicca Shorts, 2017.