Litha is celebrated around December 21st-23rd, or when the sun enters Capriorn. It also known as the summer soltice or midsummer and is when the sun is at its highest in the sky, and represnts to us the longest day and shortest night. Summer begins on Beltane (Oct 31st) and ends on Lughnassadh (Feb 2nd), with the Summer Solstice midway between the two, marking MID-Summer.Our Northern Friends celebrate this day in June, when the Sun enters Cancer.
A day we truly celebrate in our household, Litha is the day my eldest son celebrates his birthday, having been born in 1993 on Dec 22nd, just 21 minutes before the sun entered Capricorn.
The Christian religion converted this day to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet (not unlike the Greek God Pan)
At Litha, the tale of the Oak and Holly King, the light and dark lords, is told. The Oak King represents the waxing year, Mid Winter to Mid Summer, while the Holly King represents the waning year, Mid Summer to Mid Winter. They are both necessary because without decay and destruction no new growth can begin. Twice a year they meet each other and fight. At Yule it was the Oak King who won the battle. At the Summer Solstice, although light is at its strength, it also is the peak of the Oak King's reign, he is conquered by his darker twin, the Holly King, and the inevitable journey towards the darkness and the depths begins.
This sabbat is a time to celebrate both work and leisure, it is a time for children and childlike play. It is a time to celebrate the ending of the waxing year and the beginning of the waning year, in preparation for the harvest to come. Midsummer is a time to absorb the Sun's warming rays and it is another fertility Sabbat, not only for humans, but also for crops and animals.
Litha is considered one of the best times to perform magicks of all kinds and is considered a time of great magickal power. Especially effective magick and spells at this time include the performance of those for love, healing and prosperity. Tradition has it, that if you accidently step on a St. Johns Wort flower on Midsummer night, you would be transported to the realm of the Fey.
Midsummer is the traditional time of year to harvest your magickal and medicinal herbs. Cut them with a scythe or boline, by the light of the Moon. Leave an offering for the rest of the plant, and try not to harvest more than 1/3rd of the plant so that the rest will remain healthy and vigorous.
One of the names for the Moon at Midsummer is "Honey Moon" as this is a time when the hives are rich with honey. The honey can be fermented and made into a traditional Midsummer drink called "mead".
The Midsummer fires are traditionally kindled from Oak and Fir and herbs are thrown into the fire to prevent sickness, bad luck and to help the crops grow.
They are:
St. John's Wort, Rue, Vervain, Mistletoe, Lavender, Thyme, Fennel, Plantain and Mugwort.
Colours: Blue and green
Herbes: Frankincense, lemon, myrrh, pine, rose and wisteria.
Foods: All garden vegetables and fruits
Deities: Apollo, Balder, Oak King, Holly King, Sul, Isis, Hestia.
Symbols: Oak leaves, acorns, bees, honey, floating candles, cauldrons, marigolds, ivy.
