Other Names: Summer Solstice, Alban Heruin (Druidic religions), Alban Hefin (Caledonii), Midsummer,
Midsummer Night, Midsummer Night's Eve, Gathering Day, and Feil-Sheathain
Litha Colours: Green, gold, yellow,
blue.
Litha Deities: All Harvest Lords. Aprhodite/Venus, Ra, Blader, Freya, Odur, Anu.
Litha Symbols: Solar Disk, Mistletoe, Feathers, Blades.
Litha Herbs: chamomile, cinquefoil, elder flower, fennel, lavender, mugwort, thyme, and vervain may
be burned; hemp, larkspur, pine, daisy, lily, rose, St John's Wort, and wisteria may be decorations.
Litha Incense:
Frankincense, Lemon.
Litha Offerings: flowers, nuts, St. John's Wort.
- At Litha, the sun is at his highest and brightest, and the day is at its longest.
- The Lord of Light has fought the powers of darkness, and is triumphant, ensuring fertility of land.
In doing so He sows the seed of His own death.
- The wheel turns and the Dark God (Holly King) begins to wax in power as the Light God (Oak King) wanes.
- The Goddess shows Her death - in - life aspect.
- The Earth is fertile, flowers and friut are in bloom everywhere.
- The Goddess reaches out to the fertilzing Sun God at the height of His powers. At the same time She
presides over the Death of the God. The Goddess dances Her dance of Life and Death, the Sun God loves Her, and dies
of His love.
- Litha is a time of the fulfilment of love.
- June is the luckiest month to marry.
- Litha is the time of the mead / honey moon. It was traditional for newlyweds to drink mead daily for
a month after the wedding, hence why a post wedding holiday is called a honeymoon.
- The days after the Summer Solstice grow shorter, and the time of greatest abundance is yet to come.
The promises of the Goddess and God are still to be fulfilled.
- It is a time of beauty, love, strength, energy, rejoicing in the warmth of the sun, and the promise of the
fruitfulness to come. It seems a carefree time, yet in the knowledge of life is the knowledge of death, and beauty is
but transitory.
- We celebrate life, and the triumph of light, but acknowledge death, and the power of the Dark Lord which
now begins to grow stronger.
- At Litha our physical energy is at its peak, and we are active and strong.
- Games involving a show of strength, such as tug of war, wrestling etc. are common and appropiate here, and
are often staged in summer fayres, which can be considered as a remnant of pagan customs involving the battle between light
and dark Gods.
