Summer Solstice/Litha marks the beginning of Intense Energy Period

Our up coming Summer Solstice marks the start of a few months of intense energy ahead of us. The solstice not only represents the longest day but the time that our beautiful sun's rays are shining most directly and vertically down upon us. We can benefit from this wonderful energy and use this time, building upon the enhanced energy that we feel within ourselves and emanating all around us.

You can make sun water at the time of the Solstice, sun water made at this time is especially potent and can be used for all sorts of remedies and energising uses. Find out how to make it here

Following on quickly from the Summer Solstice we  have full moon on July 2nd and then a trio of three super moons in a row in August, September and October

The July full moon on the 2nd is the Full Buck Moon, Thunder Moon or Hay Moon, named for the abundance of nature at this time of year. This moon follows hot on the heels of the Litha or the Summer Solstice, our earth will literally will be crackling with super charged energy.

The Supermoon in September comes the closest to us for 2015, being only 357,098 km or 221,890 miles away.

What is a super moon

Why do Supermoons Occur?

Why does the super moon affect me?

Litha Summer Solstice Blessings, Free e cards for friends and family

So it's the Summer Solstice or Litha this weekend 21st June 2014. A lot of us are not fortunate enough to live near to our closest family and friends. Or perhaps we have a lot of Pagan friends that we have met over the internet who we would like to send a Litha greeting to.

I have therefore made a couple of free e-cards for you to send to your family and friends that you are not able to be with this Litha, please feel free to right click on the image and send your Litha greetings via the internet. Send a little love this Summer Solstice!

Although I can't be with you on this longest day of the Summer Solstice I send you love and warm wishes to light your days. May your heart be filled with sunshine and happiness today and all days.

Litha Summer Solstice Blessings to you. May the sun's rays penetrate your crown chakra and fill your whole body with warmth and strength whilst like the sunflower you remain constantly rooted and grounded upon our Mother Earth. 

Enjoy the wonderful light that the longest day brings into our lives this summer solstice. Wherever you are enjoy the friends and family you have near you and send out thoughts and good wishes to those that cannot be with you on this wonderful day.

Litha blessings to you all, AstarteAlison

Ten fun facts about the Summer Solstice or Litha

Ten fun facts about the Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year and is  generally celebrated on the 21^st June. So those are facts that you knew already! Below are a few facts that you may or may not know about this wonderful time of year, a celebration of the wonderful strength of our amazing sun.

The common name used amongst Pagans for the Summer Solstice is Litha. Other names for Litha include: Lithia, Alban Hefin(Gaelic for light of the shore), Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia(Roman), The Feast of Epona(Ancient Gaulish) Thing-Tide, Sank Hans Aften(Denmak) and St. John's Day. If you have heard of any more I would love to hear from you!

The word Solstice comes from the Latin ‘solstitium’ meaning 'Sun stands still' because the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south stops before changing direction.

Litha is often synonymous with Midsummer and is said to be associated with Faeries or the fey folk. Offerings of milk and honey were often left out for them.

Transformed by Ruth Calder Murphy

As well as faeries there were thought to be evil sprits around at this time of year therefore our ancesters wore garlands of herbs and flowerflowers to protect themselves. The most popular of these was St Johns wort which was known as ‘chase’devil’

Litha was known as Sankt Hans Aften in Denmark and was an official holiday until 1770.

Litha was celebrated with bonfires as a reflection of the sun. Folk would jump through the fires and it was said that the height that they jumped would be the height of their crops the following year.

The Chinese celebrate this time of year by honouring Li the Goddess of Light

The Druids celebrated the day as the wedding of heaven and earth. They believed this to be a very sacred day, seeing the wonderful long day as a blessing given to us by mother earth. Handfasting ceremonies became very popular during June and even today it remains popular to have a June wedding.

The full moon that occurs near the time of the Summer Solstice is often termed Mead moon, name for the drink made from honey, often served at handfasting ceremonies.

In Poland the night of merrymaking - also known as St. John’s Night or “Noc Świętojańska” - is still observed in some areas and some Polish communities in the United States

Litha Summer Solstice, free e-card and fire blessing

Litha Blessing

May the sparks of the Litha fire carry your desires up into the universe.
May you draw strength from the fire's flame and comfort from it's warmth.
A blessed Litha to you and all those near to you, may you always be warm and imagine the the soft glow of the fire on your face.

Feel free to send this free e-card to any of your friends or family who you think would appreciate it, or simply print it out to enjoy yourself. Simply right click on the image to save it to your computer. 

Enjoy the warmth and togetherness that this Solstice fire festival brings to you and your family and friends this June. Celebrate with light, candles, fire and warm colours. Above all celebrate with love, warmth and togetherness. Enjoy this longest day of Litha and bask in the light that our wonderful sun brings to our amazing planet.

Tendrils of love and fire to you, Alison xx

Litha Summer Solstice Blessing free e-card and affirmation

Litha Summer Solstice Blessing

On this day of the longest sunshine, I send you love and light and warm wishes.

Litha Summer Solstice Blessing

May your day be filled with love and joy and happiness, as the sun fills the day so may your heart be overflowing with love.

The Pagan Wheel of the Year now turns to Litha, the summer solstice and we celebrate this day of the everlasting sun.

Feel free to send this free e-card to any of your friends or family who you think would appreciate it, or simply print it out to enjoy yourself. Simply right click on the image to save it to your computer. You are free to use this image as you please, I would just ask that you credit me if used for anything other than purely personal use.

I hope that you have a wonderful and joyous Litha filled with sunshine and laughter. Enjoy the wonderful light that we experience at this time of day, absorb the light into your soul that it may always burn there brightly.

Dancing rays of brilliant Litha Solstice sunshine to you, Alison xxx

Litha, Summer Solstice Honey Cake

Litha, Summer Solstice Honey Cake

Honey is a wonderful food to represent Litha. One of the names often given for the Full Moon at Litha is Honey Moon' or ' Mead Moon' as this is a time when the  bee hives are rich with honey. The honey can be used in many ways, one of which is to ferment it and make into a traditional Midsummer drink called "mead", hence the name 'Mead Moon'.

Baking a cake at Litha would be a fabulous way to celebrate with friends and family and using honey is particularly pertinent to the season. I am particularly minded to think about bees when there is such a threat to their very existence at the moment.  

"Scientific evidence that common pesticides are harming bees has risen in the last year and, along with huge public protests, culminated in the European commission (EC) imposing the ban on three neonicotinoids. Bees and other insects pollinate three-quarters of the world's food crops but have suffered steep declines due to habitat loss, disease and pesticide use."Guardian May 2013

So if you do make this cake, spare a thought for the bees that made this cake possible, and pray for their continued existence on our planet as they are so important to us.

Here is a very simple recipe for Litha Honey cake. 

8 oz Margarine

8 oz Honey
3 Eggs
12 oz Self Raising Flour

Cream margarine and honey.
Add eggs with a little flour and beat well.
Fold in rest of flour
Put in greased 8" cake tin and cook about 1 1/2-2 hours in medium oven,
or until skewer comes out clean.

You could drizzle with a little honey icing- 20z icing sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and a little hot water . This will perfectly finish off your Litha honey cake.

A yellow bow around the cake and perhaps some bees to decorate it would look lovely, share with your friends, family,  and neighbours so that everyone may take part in the 

joy that is the Summer Solstice

Photograph bbcgoodfood.

Symbols and Associations for Litha

Symbols and Associations for Litha

Symbols: Fire, Fey, Magic, Protection, and the Sun.

Nurturing and love are key actions related to Midsummer. Now is a good time to pay special attention to protecting your home and nurturing your loved ones.

Traditionally people stayed up all night on Midsummer's Eve to welcome and watch the sunrise. They lit bonfires were lit on tops of hills, by holy wells, at places held sacred to honour Sun. At Litha fire represents the Sun at the peak of its strength.

Incense: Lemon, Myrrh, Pine, Rose, and Wisteria.

Food: Vegetables that are in season, salad greens, hot and spicy food to reflect the fire of summer, lemons, oranges, summer fruits, pumpernickel bread, ale, carrot drinks, honey, mead.

Mead is regarded as the drink of the sun, with magical and health restoring properties.

Colors: Blue, Green, Gold, Yellow, and Red.

Gold and green are particularly appropriate for Litha. Not only do they represent the sun and the verdant forest, but they represent the colors of Faerie Fire Magic.

Summer fairy by O-l-i-v-i

This beautiful picture in wonderful Litha colours is by o-l-i-v-i.deviantart.com

Use these lovely summer colours to bring warmth and light by wearing the colours and using them to decorate your house.

Goddesses
: Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Juno, Vespa, Venus, Aphrodite, Yemaya, Astarte, Freya, Hathor, 
Demeter, Ishtar, all Mother Goddesses

In ancient Rome, Juno was the goddess who watched over women and marriage. Together with Vesta, the protector of virginity, these two mighty goddesses were sacred to Roman women. The month of June was named for Juno with the feast of Matronalia.

Gods:
Father Sun/Sky, Oak King, Holly King, Arthur, Zeus, Prometheus, Lugh, Ra, Sol, Gods at peak power and strength

Similar to the Roman god Mercury, Lugh was known as a god of both skill and the distribution of talent. Animals/Mythical Beings
Wren, robin, horses, cattle, satyrs, faeries, firebird, dragon, thunderbird

There are myths, legends, and even Shakespearean wrote that Midsummer is a time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest. Use this to seek out fairies

Gemstones:
Lapis lazuli, diamond, tiger’s eye, all green gemstones, especially emerald and jade.

Tigers Eye Pentacle Earrings available astarte-moon.co.uk

Wear a gemstone if you are able today to signify your Litha celebrations or place one in a place special to you.

Herbs:
Anise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, wild rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender, 
fennel, elder, mistletoe, hemp, thyme, larkspur, nettle, wisteria, vervain ( verbena), 
St. John’s wort, heartsease, rue, fern, wormwood, pine,heather, yarrow.

Mistletoe and St. John’s wort were often used as house protection, why not make a wreath to do the same for your home?

Trees: Oak, Holly, Fir

Tree worship has long been important at Litha. The Oak King who has ruled the waxing of the year represents strength, courage and endurance, and therefore the Oak has always been particularly significant at Litha.

Sourceshttp://www.astarte-moon.co.uk/shop/

How to make energizing sun water and bring abundance into your life.

You can make sun water in a similar way to making moon water. See my post on moon water for further information : moon water. Leave still or mineral water in a glass or ceramic bowl (yellow would be great to echo the beauty of the sun) covered with film or mesh from dawn until noon as this is when the sun is rising and will give your water the most energy. You may like to say a simple prayer as you put out your water. For example you could say

‘Mighty sun, beam your powerful rays down onto this water of mine. Fill this water with your strength and energy that we may benefit from your amazing power. Blessed Be’

If the day is more cloudy then you should leave your water for up to eight hours. If you don’t have a garden you can leave your container on a window sill, preferably east facing:the direction that the sun rises. You can make sun water at any time along the wheel of the year however the summer months are a more powerful time to make this water because of the increased strength of the sun. Litha or the summer solstice and Mabon are therefore ideal Sabbats on which to make your sun water.

You can add citrine if you wish to additionally charge the water. Citrine is a stone of abundance, it is used to attract happiness, wealth and laughter into your life. Citrine strengthens personal power and acts to combat any negative energy that is around you, either from people that you come across or excess electrical energy for example from televisions. Further information on Citrine and other crystals can be found on the Astarte-Moon website here: http://www.astarte-moon.co.uk. Tigers Eye would be another good crystal that you can use in your sun water. Tiger’s Eye is a very good grounding and balancing stone.  It is helpful for resolving inner conflict and blocked creativity, Tigers Eye energises you and lifts your mood.

Keep the water in a glass bottle once you have made it to maintain it’s purity. Plastic bottles slowly leak chemicals into the water so they are not a good idea.

There are many ways in which you can you can use this sun water. You will find that it has a different energy to moon water if you have made this before.  Your sun water will be charged with a happy, fun-loving energy. You can use the water as an energiser in baths. Adding sun water to your drinks will give you more energy throughout your day.  A wonderful way to start your day is with a yoga Salute to the Sun exercise accompanied by a glass of your sun water with a slice of lemon. Imagine the power of the sun as you are doing your salute to the sun and feel the sun’s rays filling you up as you drink the water, this will keep your energy levels topped up throughout you day.  The yoga sun salutation is an excellent way of awakening and balancing all your chakras. The name sun salutation translates to Surya Namaskar in Sanskrit which means praising of the sun. On a physical level the sun salutation improves, circulation, flexibility and stamina. It also increases blood flow to your heart. Diagram www.stylecraze.com

In addition I keep any small glass bottles that come my way then I can give my friends and family either the sun or moon water that I have made that month.  Cleansing your crystals with sun water will re vitalize and energize them

You can use your sun water to splash on the centre of your hairline to open your Crown chakra and clear your aura when you feel tired or doubt yourself. The crown chakra is often associated with the sun, the more activated the crown chakra is the more energy you will feel that you have. The energy will often appear as a golden halo of light, often termed a sun-circle. Strengthening the crown chakra in this way acts as a powerful detoxifier. It removes negativity and deep emotional blocks and gives you emotional strength and courage. Imagine that you are wearing a lovely golden crown full of sunlight and the sun’s amazing power.

Enjoy the energy that this sun water will bring to you and your friends and family.

Sunny blessings to you, Alison

Sources: www.stylecraze.com

25 Ways to Celebrate Litha! How will you celebrate the summer solstice?

25 Ways to Celebrate the turning of the wheel to the Summer Solstice.

Watch the sun rise and set on this longest midsummer day.

Keep a candle burning all day as a lovely homage to the power of the sun.

Celebrate solar energy at Litha by decorating your home with yellow, gold, orange, and red.

Cherry Quartz Sun Catcher

Go outside into the countryside or your local park and enjoy being at one with our mother earth.

Make or buy pretty Sun-Catchers to hang in your windows to welcome the sun into your home at Litha.

Leave out milk and honey as an offering to the Fae folk

Make a list of everything you wish to manifest during the next six months

Practice candle or fire divination.

Make a sunny Litha decoration from dried oranges.

Deck your house with Birch, Fennel, St. John’s Wort, Orpin and White Lilies, traditionally popular at Litha.

Tie Vervain, Rosemary, and Hyssop with white thread and dip the tips into a bowl of spring water and sprinkle the water around the house to chase out negativity.

Have an outdoor breakfast picnic to welcome the summer Solstice.

Make a pledge to our Mother Earth, Gaia, for something that you will do to improve the environment and then begin carrying it out

Go bird watching. Take a guidebook, so you will know what you are looking at. The birds may bless you with a feather.

Paint images of the sun or make sun models from discarded packaging and hang them up around your home.

Wear gemstones in green or warm colours such as tigers eye or malachite.

Tigers Eye Pentacle Protection Earrings

Make solar water by leaving a bowl of springwater under the midday sun for a few hours and then use to drink or cleanse your crystals.

Lavender is abundant at this time of year, collect some, hang it upside down and then make into herb pillows for restful sleep.

Leave any crystals or items of jewellery you would like to imbue with the sun’s energy out in the sun for a few hours during the day of Litha.

When you get the opportunity at some point during the day of the summer solstice, stand with your feet firmly grounded and raise your arm and palms upwards towards the sun. Imagine the sun’s vital energy coursing through your body filling you with love and light.

Burn sun oils and incense such as Orange Essential Oil and Frankincense to welcome warmth and light into your home.

Build a fairy house with your children to welcome the fae folk into your garden.

Bring roses into your home, as this is the Goddess flower for this time of the year.

Make a garland out of garden flowers, or a daisy chain.

Tie a bunch of Fennel with red ribbons and hang over the door for long life and protection of the home.

However you spend this long midsummers day of Litha, alone or with friends or family, enjoy it and try and spend some time in Mother Nature. Sing and dance if you feel like it, do whatever comes naturally to you to celebrate summer and enjoy the day.

Litha blessings to you, Alison xx

Sources: 

Cassandra Eason:Pagan in the City: How to Live and Work by Natural Cycles in the Everyday World Glennie Kindred:Sacred Celebrations : A Sourcebook
http://www.astarte-moon.co.uk

Litha, Summer Solstice; Wheel of the Year Customs and Traditions

Litha, or the summer solstice is arguably the most well known of all the Pagan festivals on the Wheel of the Year. At Stonehenge it is said that the Heel stone marks the midsummer sunrise as seen from the centre of the stone circle. We know therefore that the Summer Solstice was seen as a time of great significance to our ancestors. The word “solstice” is from the Latin word ‘solstitium’, which literally translates to “sun stands

Wheel of the Year Oshuna DeviantArt

still.” Litha translates as ‘the opposite of Yule’ in Saxon tradition. Litha is the polar opposite of Yule on the Pagan Wheel of the Year, December 21st. While Yule represents the darkest day of the year, Litha represents the day with the most sunlight.

Other names for Litha include: Lithia, Alban Hefin(Gaelic for light of the shore), Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia(Roman), The Feast of Epona(Ancient Gaulish) Thing-Tide, Sank Hans Aften(Denmak) and St. John's Day. Litha is a celebration of the longest day, a day in which the world is bathed in light and warmth and since time began people have given thanks to the sun. The summer solstice of Litha is one of the four 'quarter days' of the year, also termed 'Lesser Sabbats'. Litha is usually celebrated on June 21st but varies somewhat from the 20th to the 23rd depending upon the Earth's relation to the sun.

Like Beltane, Litha is also a celebration of fertility. The Goddess is heavy with pregnancy from the mating at Beltane. Godesses Ceridwen and Demeter were significantly

Denis Savoie Photography

worshipped at this time of the summer solstice, being both archetypal mother Goddesses.  The Sun God is celebrated as the Sun is at its peak in the sky and we celebrate His approaching parenthood. This is the time that the God reaches his full maturity but he knows that after the festival he will begin to loose some of that strength.  Fires were traditionally lit on beacons and wheels thrown down the hillsides to seek to delay the moment when his power will start to wane.  Litha sees the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King. The Oak King rules the waxing half of the year from Yule to Midsummer; the Holly King rules the waning half; from Midsummer to Yule.  At this time of Litha  they duel and the Holly King will defeat the Oak King. The Celtic name for Oak is 'Duir' which means 'doorway', we are going through a doorway into the second half of the year, ruled by the Holly King. 

On midsummer’s eve people traditionally stayed up all night to watch the sunset and celebrate the longest day.  Candlelit processions took place on this day, this is the origin of our modern day carnival processions.  The Norse especially loved lengthy processions and would gather together their animals and families and parade with torches through the countryside to the celebration site.

Celebrations involving fire featured quite strongly at Midsummer.  Giant effigies of the

Corn Mother, the Green Man and dragons were carried through the town and later burnt on the Midsummer fires. People believed that the Litha fires possessed amazing power, and that prosperity and protection could be gained by jumping over the Litha bonfire. It was also common for courting couples to join hands and jump over the embers of the Litha fire three times to ensure a long and happy marriage. Some people believed that whispering a wish to a pebble and tossing it into the Litha fire helped to ensure the wish will come true. Blazing gorse or furze was often carried around cattle to prevent disease and misfortune.

Villages were alive with celebrations of this longest day often with Morris dancers, singing and storytelling. Once the Litha bonfires have died down the embers were commonly placed around the fields and orchards to protect the crops and to ensure an abundant harvest. Often people would take an ember from the Litha bonfire home with them for luck and protection of their home. Homes were often decorated with birch, fennel, St. John's Wort, and white lilies to bring luck and protection to the property. Mistletoe was also collected although not bearing berries as yet. Mistletoe was a very sacred and important plant to the Druids.

Midsummer is one of the times when the Fey folk emerge and therefore a perfect time to see them. Sometimes they play pranks on mortals, as made famous in Shakespeare’s pay ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Old tales also recount the tale of the “faerie rade” a procession of Sidhe and other fey folk riding magical steeds across the countryside. Many people believe that Litha is one of the times of the year when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest. This makes Litha a prime day for engaging in contact with Faeries. Honouring the Fae folk by leaving offerings of milk, honey, and pastries is a long standing tradition among many people. Some traditions stated that Litha was also the best day to wait inside a Faerie Ring to see if a Faerie would come and bless you.

Many people made protective charms or amulets at midsummer from Rue, Rowan and Basil, tied together with gold or yellow ribbon.  These were held over the Litha fire to imbue them with the strengthening qualities of the fire’s flames.

Litha was and still is celebrated in different ways by different cultures all around the globe.  The Celts would light balefires all over their lands from sunset the night before Midsummer until sunset the next day. In Cornwall up until the mid 18th century the number and appearance of fires seen from any given point was used as a form of divination and used to read the future. In Ireland, this day is dedicated to the faerie goddess Aine of Knockaine. 

In parts of Northern Europe June 21st is "The Day of the Green Man. In the Italian tradition of Aridian Strega, this Sabbat (Strega Witches call them Treguendas rather than Sabbats) is known as Summer Fest - La Festa dell'Estate. Scandinavians celebrate this holiday at a later date and call it Thing-Tide.

Roman culture honored the goddess Juno at Midsummer. Juno is the goddess of childbirth, women and marriage. The month of June is named in her honour, and to this day June is a popular month for weddings. Midsummer was also a sacred time to honor Vespa, the goddess of the hearth. The matriarchs of Roman families would enter her temple and leave offerings for eight days in hopes of bringing luck to ther family.

Litha is known as Sankt Hans Aften (St. John’s Eve) in Denmark and was an official holiday until 1770. Midwives and healers in this country would use this day to pick herbs and plants that would be used to heal others throughout the coming yea

This is a superb time for rising early and gazing at the early morning rays. Watching the sunrise and the sunset is a wonderful way to celebrate this longest day of the year. If you can keep a candle burning all day this is a lovely homage to the power of the sun. Celebrate solar energy by decorating with yellow, gold, orange, and red. The most important thing to do when celebrating Litha is to get outside and enjoy the wonderful sun.

Litha blessings to you, Alison xx

Both of these produce some wonderful work and I would really recommend you checking out some of their other work:

Sources: Fabulous Wheel of the Year the wonderful: http://oshuna.deviantart.com/

Amazing girl in cornfield photograph the very talented http://denissavoie.com/

Siusadh Ceanadach A Ceremony for Every Occasion: The Pagan Wheel of the Year and Rites of Passage