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
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| 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
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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
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