Litha marks the longest day of the year and the shortest night of the year, the Summer Solstice. We celebrate the God making his descent until he eventually is reborn at Yule. As bonfires represent the strength of the Sun, this is a great sabbat to celebrate with a raging bonfire. We take this time to be thankful for the amount of light and warmth we've been given and to look forward toward the autumn and the coming harvest sabbats.
•God and Goddess Form
God is in his highest power
Goddess brings abundance to the Earth
•Romans - Juno
Romans celebrated this time as sacred to Juno, the wife of Jupiter and goddess of women and childbirth. She blesses women with the privilege of menstruation. The month of June was named for her, and because Juno was the patroness of marriage, her month remains an ever-popular time for weddings
•Romans - Vesta
This time of year was sacred to Vesta, goddess of the hearth. Matrons of Rome entered her temple on Midsummer and made offerings of salted meal for eight days, in hopes that she would confer her blessings upon their homes.
•Scandinavians
Scandinavian countries and in the farther reaches of the Northern hemisphere, Midsummer was very important. The nearly endless hours of light in June are a happy contrast to the constant darkness found six months later in the middle of winter
Ways to celebrate
•Altar Ideas
Sun and Moon symbols
Earth symbols
Flowers
Fruit
Mirrors
Seashells
Sun water
Candles
Honey
Alcohol
Live plants
•Magick
Luck and prosperity spells
Strengthening relationships rituals
Cord-cutting
Love magick
Happiness spells
Good health spells
Sex magick
Fire magick
Candle spells
Group magick
•Recipes
Summer abundance salad
Couscous salad
Summer solstice salsa
Ale bread
Beets baked with orange
Leg of lamb with herb rub
Rosemary shortbread cookies
Chocolate tomato cake
Fruited wine
Fruit soup
Melon madness
Cherries jubilation
•Crafts
Sunshine wreaths
Viking boats
Cinnamon brooms
Gifts for the birds
Love sachets
Hazel divining rod
Wooden wand
•Celebration Ideas
Perform a fire ritual and connect to the element
Light a red and/or yellow candle to celebrate the sun
Forage for herbs for magick and medicine
Go on a nature walk and look for faeries
Make sun water
Wear yellow, orange, red, and gold
Watch the sunrise
•Subtle Rituals
Bake honey cakes
Light a candle to symbolize the sun
Eat summer fruits like strawberries
Go on a nature walk
Honor the longest day of the year watching the sunrise
Decorate your home with Summer flowers
•Correspondences
Intentions
Agriculture
Change/s
Divination
Endings
Fertility
Life
Light
Manifestation
Power
Purpose
Strength
Success
Unity
Archetypes
•Male
The Faery king
Fire gods
“leafy” gods
Green George
Jack O’ the Green
The Green Man
The Holly King
The Oak King
Pan
The Seven-Year King
Sun gods
Thunder gods
•Female
Earth mother
The Faery queen
Goddess in the form of the Mother
Goddess of fertility and pregnant goddesses
Love goddesses
Sun goddesses
Deities
•Gods
Agni
Amun-Ra
Apollo
Baal
Balder/Baldur
Belinos
Bochica
Hadad
Helios
Hoder/Hodur
Hu
Huitzilopochtli
Hyperion
Janus
Jupiter
Kupalo
LleuLlawGyffes
Llew
Lugh
Marduk
Maui
Mithras
Odin
Orunjan
Perun
Prometheus
Ra
Shamash
Sol
Taranis
Thor
Thunar
Vishnu
Woden
Xiuhtecuti
Zeus
•Goddesses
Aestas
Aine
Amaterasu
Amaunet
Anuket
Aphrodite
Arani
Artemis
Astarte
Athena
Aurora
Bast
Bona Dea
Brigid
Cerridwen
Eos
Epona
Frigga
Gaia
Hathor
Hera
Hestia
Iarila
Inanna
Ishtar
Juno
Rhiannon
Saule
Sekhmet
Solnste
Sul
Sunna
Vesta
Yemaya
•Colors
Gold: Energy, power, prosperity, solar deities, strength, success, the God, the sun, wisdom
Green: Abundance, calming, fertility, growth, new beginnings, prosperity
Orange: Adaptability, communication, courage, creativity, energy, optimism, success
Red: Anger, courage, creativity, desire, energy, fire, lust, passion, sexual love, strength, willpower
White: Cleansing, divination, healing, innocence, peace, protection, purification, truth
Yellow: Communication, creativity, dream work, happiness, intelligence, learning, protection, psychic ability, the sun, willpower
•Herbs
Cinnamon: Energy, love, power, prosperity, psychic ability
Foxglove: Faery energy, healing, protection
Mistletoe: Fertility, healing, love, protection, strength
Mugwort: Clairvoyance, divination, dreams, psychic ability
Rosemary: Love, memory, protection, purification, wisdom
St. John’s Wort: Happiness, healing, protection, purification
Vervain: Healing, magick, power, protection, purification
Yarrow: Healing, love, marriage protection, psychic ability
•Trees
Elder: Blessings, faeries, healing
Hazel: Fertility, luck, protection
Oak: Life, protection, strength
Rowan: Clairvoyance, divination, protection
•Flowers
Chamomile: Calming, communication, determination, harmony, intuition, prosperity, purification
Daisy: Love, luck, omens
Heather: Awareness, generosity, growth, protection
Lavender: Healing, love, peace, purification, sleep
Marigold: Healing, peace, protection
Meadowsweet: Harmony, love, peace
Rose: Attraction, love, peace, protection, sex
•Crystals & Stones
Carnelian: Courage, healing, peace, protection, sexual energy
Citrine: Abundance, balance, protection, psychic awareness
Diamond: Courage, healing, protection, spirituality, strength
Emerald: Love, memory, protection, psychic powers
Jade: Healing, longevity, love, prosperity, protection, wisdom
Peridot: Prosperity, protection
Tiger’s Eye: Courage, energy, luck, prosperity
Copper: Energy, love, luck, healing, prosperity, protection
Gold: Prosperity, protection, success, wisdom
•Animals
Bees: Abundance, messengers from the spirits, new life, sweetness
Bull: Fertility, power, strength
Butterflies: Rebirth, the soul
Cow: Abundance, mother goddesses, wealth
Hawk and Eagle: Solar birds, power, strength
Horse: Power, strength, sex, swiftness
Swallow, Wren
Summer birds: Rebirth, renewal, warmth
•Scents
Cinnamon
Heliotrope
Lavender
Lemon
Newly grown grass
Orange
Peppermint
Pine
Rose
Sandalwood
The scent of flowers
•Symbols & Tools
Balefire/ Bonfire/ Fire: Goodwill, purification
Cauldron: Abundance, divine inspiration
Faeries: Creativity, life, transformation
Rosettes/ Roses: Fire, sun goddesses
Sacred Wells: The Goddess, water
Solar Cross/ Sun Wheel: Symbol of the movement of the sun marked by the solstices
Spinning Wheels: The Goddess is thought to spin the world and the rays of sun on her spinning wheel
Spirals: Sun’s path through the year
Wand: Power, strength, will
•Tarot
The Empress
The Emperor
The Sun
Strength
•Food & Drink
Berries
Cheese
Cinnamon toast
Grapes
Honey
Lemons
Oranges
Peaches
Pears
Pine nuts
Pumpernickel bread
Spinach
Summer squash
Sunflower seeds
Sun-dried tomatoes
Ale
Lemonade
Mead
Milk
Mint tea
Sun tea
Wine
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