Litha, also known as Midsummer, is the Pagan celebration of the Summer Solstice.

This is the longest day of the year (depending on where you live on the Earth) and is when the North (or South) Pole is at a maximum tilt on it’s axis toward the Sun.

This happens twice yearly, and depending on where you are located, one of these tilts will be the shortest day of the year (called the Winter Solstice/Yule) or the longest day of the year (Summer Solstice / Midsummer). In other words, while us Northern Hemisphere folks are celebrating the longest day of the year, the people on the Southern Hemisphere are celebrating the Winter Solstice which is the shortest day of the year. Crazy right?!

I’m not sure why my little brain never thought about the fact that it isn’t summer everywhere when it’s summer where I live, ha!

In Paganism, and many offshoot practices including Wicca, Litha is one of the Sabbats in the Wheel of the Year. These Sabbats were eight festivals that marked the agricultural and solar divisions of the year. It was basically a way of linking the physical science of the seasons and their affects on the crops and raising food, with the belief in God & Goddess who would reside over and bless their respective seasons.

Goddess, who represented new life and fertility, would reside over the Spring and Summer seasons, looking over crops and the herds of animals grown for sustenance. While in the winter, the God of the hunt and death (aka Horned God) would be called upon to bless the hunters and gatherers when there was no food to be grown in the fields due to the colder climate.

The four Major or Greater Sabbats are markers to break up the year into parts of a cycle that complete what is called The Wheel of the Year.

Those Sabbats are:

Beltane – May Eve (Opposite side of the wheel is Samhain.)

Litha (Midsummer) – The Summer Solstice, longest day of the year. When the shift of power went to the Holly King (Opposite side of the wheel is Yule.)

Lughnasadh (Lammas) – August Eve, a mid-point between Beltane & Samhain. (Opposite side of the wheel is Imbolc.)

Mabon – The Autumn Equinox when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length. (Opposite side of the wheel is Ostara.)

Samhain – November Eve. (Opposite side of the wheel is Beltane.)

Yule – The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. When the shift of power goes back to the Oak King (Opposite side of the wheel is Litha/Midsummer.)

Imbolc – February Eve, a mid-point between Samhain & Beltane.(Opposite side of the wheel is Lughnasadh/Lammas.)

Ostara (Candlemas) – The Spring Equinox when the Sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length. (Opposite side of the wheel is Mabon.)

Now that you have a brief introduction into the the Sabbats and how they were used, let’s dive into Litha itself, and how it was celebrated, and how you can celebrate too!

As explained at the beginning of this post, Litha is the celebration of Midsummer, which is the longest day of the year. It was believed in Pagan tradition to be the time when the Oak King handed over the reigns to the Holly King. The Holly King would then reign the land and bring about shorter days and eventually the colder months, until the Winter Solstice (Yule) where the Oak King would take back over and bring things into warmth and spring and longer days to complete the cycle of the year.

Typically, bon fires were lit to assist the Sun in it’s journey across the sky as it changed course and into shorter days. There were also picnics and gatherings under the sun, in the grass and meadows where celebrations included summer foods, flowers, and music.

When it comes to celebrating Litha yourself, as with anything in magick, look for symbols and things that remind you of the feelings you want to invoke. In this case, what are the things that are particular to this time of year? This might vary from location to location, as different places have different things that grow, different animals that inhabit the lands and so on. So don’t be afraid to change things up if some of the items I’m providing on the following lists don’t work for you. Your practice is YOURS, and it can be mutable and flow as long as it feels good and works for you.

Foods used in Litha celebrations

Fresh herbs like Fennel, Basil, Thyme, Honey, fresh fruits, Elderberries, fresh veggies & greens, iced herbal teas, light wines and mead.

Flowers and Herbs used for Litha altars and decorations

Chamomile, Oak, Elderflower, Fern, Rose, Mugwort, St. John’s Wort, Daisy, Yarrow, Nettle.

Crystals for Litha Altars & Ritual

Citrine, Ruby, Carnelian, Orange Calcite, Sunstone, Emerald, Jade

Dieties associated with Litha

Danu, Aine, Theros, Aestas, Damia, Aphrodite, Epona, Rhiannon, Etain, Horus, Astarte, Freya, Ishtar, Helios, Llew, The Holly King, Lugh, Sunna/Sol, Ra, Zeus, Thor, Amaterasu, Aten, Apollo, Hestia, Juno, Sulis Minerva,

Animals associated with Litha

Robins, Bees, Horses, Butterflies, Fireflies

Magick/Spells/Ritual/Manifestations

Litha is the best time to perform love magick. It’s also a great time for protection rituals.

Celebrating Litha with Kids

When my kids were little, we made Litha all about fairies. It was something fun to do with them during the summertime. We would hand make and add fairy garden items to our houseplants. One year we even made fairy wings and wore them while watching Fern Gully.

Fairies are associated with Litha because in Irish Mythology, the Goddess Danu, who was known as the Celtic Earth Mother Goddess, was celebrated during Midsummer.

This is because Danu was also known as the Universal Mother of Tuatha De Danaan which was a tribe of ancient people in Ireland. They were believed to have invaded Ireland and ruled until being defeated in a war on Midsummer’s day. The myth tells that after they lost the war, they retreated to the hills and eventually became the Faerie folk.  

This is why it’s believed that the Faerie realm is most accessible during Midsummer!

And that about wraps up what I have for you about Litha/Midsummer. However you choose to celebrate (or not) I hope you learned something new and that you have a wonderful Midsummer filled with Love!

References:

The Modern Witchcraft Guide to the Wheel of the Year – Judy Ann Nock

The Witch Book; The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca & Neo Paganism – Raymond Buckland

http://www.learnreligions.com

http://www.pagangrimoire.com

http://www.mabonhouse.co