The Wheel of the Year

Litha

Southern Hemisphere Date: Dec 20-23

Northern Hemisphere Date: June (20-23)

Also known as Midsummer.

This is the longest day of the year, and a time of joy and strength for the light. It is a time when the powers of nature are at their fullest. In the past this was often marked with bonfires and celebrants staying awake through the short night. To leap over the bonfire was to assure a good crop; some said the grain would grow as tall as the leapers could jump.

In Australia

Due to fire restrictions in Australia throughout summer, celebrations for this Sabbat tend to be quite different from those throughout the rest of the year. No candles can be lit, no cauldrons burned, and no open flames are allowed outside throughout much of the country. Litha falls in the dry stifling heat of summer in the southern part of our land, but in the north, Litha falls in the hot, wet season, and represents fruitfulness. In Australia the Sturt Desert Pea is a sacred flower of this time. This is a time of ascendancy of the God, at his most powerful now, while the burgeoning Goddess brings forth the bounty of the Earth.

Litha is : An Ancient Solar Celebration:

Nearly every agricultural society has marked the high point of summer in some way, shape or form.

On this date – usually around June 21 or 22 (or December 21/22 in the southern hemisphere) – the sun reaches its zenith in the sky. It is the longest day of the year, and the point at which the sun seems to just hang there without moving – in fact, the word “solstice” is from the Latin word solstitium, which literally translates to “sun stands still.”

The travels of the sun were marked and recorded. Stone circles such as Stonehenge were oriented to highlight the rising of the sun on the day of the summer solstice.

Modern Witches

Litha has often been a source of contention among modern Pagan and Wiccan groups, because there’s always been a question about whether or not Midsummer was truly celebrated by the ancients. While there’s scholarly evidence to indicate that it was indeed observed, there were suggestions made by Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, that the solar festivals (the solstices and equinoxes) were actually added later and imported from the Middle East. Regardless of the origins, many modern Wiccans and Pagans do choose to celebrate Litha every year in June.

In some traditions, Litha is a time at which there is a battle between light and dark. The Oak King is seen as the ruler of the year between winter solstice and summer solstice, and the Holly King from summer to winter. At each solstice they battle for power, and while the Oak King may be in charge of things at the beginning of June, by the end of Midsummer he is defeated by the Holly King.

This is a time of year of brightness and warmth. Crops are growing in their fields with the heat of the sun, but may require water to keep them alive. The power of the sun at Midsummer is at its most potent, and the earth is fertile with the bounty of growing life.

For contemporary Pagans, this is a day of inner power and brightness. Find yourself a quiet spot and meditate on the darkness and the light both in the world and in your personal life. Celebrate the turning of the Wheel of the Year with fire and water, night and day, and other symbols of the opposition of light and dark.

Litha is a great time to celebrate outdoors if you have children. Take them swimming or just turn on the sprinkler to run through, and then have a bonfire or barbeque at the end of the day. Let them stay up late to say goodnight to the sun, and celebrate nightfall with sparklers, storytelling, and music. This is also an ideal Sabbat to do some love magic or celebrate a handfasting, since June is the month of marriages and family.

The Altar

As with all Pagan Sabbats, we set up altars. These altars are usually set up in one home but can also be set up in an outdoor setting, preferably in a forested area.

Because Midsummer is a boundary holiday, Midsummer and Litha altars are set with clear boundaries. This is often done with a piece of string or a cord across the altar, although any sort of boundary separating is possible.

The altar usually includes symbols of the sun (such as children’s drawings of the sun), since this is a holiday marking the sun’s longest day. Sunflowers -because they follow the sun across the sky — are particularly popular as symbols on Midsummer altars.

Decorate with summer flowers and fruit, place sprigs of oak and holly on the altar to represent the Oak and Holly kings. Milk is often substituted for wine in ritual.

Candles:

Candles are generally lit for the entire day, symbolizing the long reign of the sun at Midsummer. These are often 24-hour candles, although many people simply use the waning candle to light the next candle so that a candle remains lit at all times for the holiday.

Candle colors:

blue,
yellow-gold candle to represent the sun.
Orange,
gold,
green

Burn a red candle in cauldron (to be half-filled with water during the ritual)

Incense:

Lavender, musk, violet, tangerine, rose

Burn the nine herbs in the midsummer fire or in a cauldron on your altar: betony wood (or basil), chamomile, fennel (or lavender), lemon balm (or dianthus), mullein, rue, St. John’s wort, thyme, and vervain.

Oils:

violet, rose, orange, lime, thyme, citronella

Stones:

ruby, garnet, diamond, seashell, Herkimer diamond, clear quartz crystal, amber, citrine, cat’s-eye, yellow topaz, yellow tourmaline, gold, silver, peridot, carnelian, calcite

Faery:

Salamander

Altar cloth:

red or gold

Deities

You may wish to include your deity of choice on your altar.

GODDESSES: all fertility goddesses, including :