Now is high midsummer sun
But living time is never done.
Cease all sorrow, stop all strife,
Come hopeful hearts and a happy life.If you mind Midsummer Day
Luck and love will come your way.
Joy and gladness, good and true
Come to me and go to you!
from A Midsummer Song, by William G. Gray, Seasonal Occult Rituals
Happy Solstice to all!
Happy Litha (Summer Solstice) to those of us in the northern hemisphere, and Happy Yule (Winter Solstice) to our friends below the equator!
On this day (above the equator) at 5:13am Eastern time, the Sun, giver of life, reaches its zenith in the sky. Today, the Shadow is smallest, the bright Sun illuminates all. From this day forward, She diminishes, the Days Grow Shorter, and the harvest season beckons.
And for our friends below the equator, after this day, their days lengthen as their year moves towards Springtime.
The word solstice is Latin, meaning ‘sun standing still.’
This is because twice a year, the Sun appears to rise and set in exactly the same place on the east and west horizon respectively. It pauses there for a couple of days, and then, its arc begins to move. Thus, the daylight hours slowly diminish (in the Northern Hemisphere) or grow longer (in the Southern Hemisphere).
Throughout the world, the ancients were tuned to this event: it is an unmistakable point from which the rest of the yearly calendar may be accurately reckoned.
This date has had spiritual significance for thousands of years as humans have celebrated the life-giving powers of the Sun.
The Celts celebrated with bonfires, and then the Christians attempted to replace Litha with the feast of John the Baptist. It is also the festival of Li, the Chinese Goddess of light. It is still a huge holiday in Scandinavia, Latvia, and Estonia (where it is second only to Christmas).
Say a prayer for our friends in Ukraine, too, where for centuries it has been an extremely popular time for weddings, magic, and delight.
Solstice rites are associated with diverse cultures and sites the world over, including Stonehenge in England, Casa Rinconada at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Carrowkeel cairn in Ireland, the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, the Caracol Tower in Mexico, and the Pyramid of Khufu at Giza in Egypt.
The Summer Solstice is a quarter sabbat and, besides being known as Litha or Midsummer, it is called Alban Hefin or Alban Heruin in other Celtic and Druid traditions.
Birthing the Darkness
Today is the ending of the waxing year and the beginning of the waning year, in preparation for the harvest to come. In the mythical cycle, this is the end of the reign of the Oak King, and the beginning of the Holly King’s rule.
From this day forward, the days grow shorter, and the Sun’s light declines, until Winter Solstice, when its growth, and the dominance of the Oak King, are rekindled once more.
But for now, we celebrate the peak of the daylight. Midsummer is when all that lives radiates with the Sun’s warming rays. This is a fiery celebration of fertility, not only for humans, but also for crops, animals and all beings.
Some Witches consider the Goddess to be heavy now with pregnancy from Her mating at Beltane; others see that She is now in Her great nurturing and Mothering splendor. In all cases, we honor Her.
The God is also celebrated, as the Sun is at its peak in the sky and we celebrate Him as the good Father, a giver of light and life – Honor to Him, as well!
Litha: A Time of Great Magical Power
Besides Beltane, this is one of the most active times for our Faery cousins. Those who are wise in the ways may wish to leave them special offerings of cream, honey, or hand-made treats. Not in exchange for favors, mind you, but as gifts to acknowledge and honor them — pure, simple, and no strings attached.
It is also an old tradition that couples who became enchanted with one another at Beltane are now given the opportunity to make a more permanent commitment at Litha. They may do so by jumping the bonfire (or a burning cauldron fire) into which nine blessed herbs have been cast.
And all forms of Sun magic are going to be amplified. Herbs and other natural items used in magic are especially charged with powerful life-enhancing properties at this time.
This is a particularly effective time for love, healing, and prosperity spells. It is also ideal for working your most profound and global spells, with the full force of Sol carrying you.
Harness this magical energy to perform blessings and protection spells for your pets and home. Hanging boughs of fennel and honeysuckle bring sweetness and protection.
Midsummer’s Day is a traditional time to gather herbs from the magical garden or from the wild (in a mindful, responsible manner only – never wild harvest a plant that is threatened or stressed) to use in potions, dream pillows, poppets, and other forms of spellcraft.
As you gather your Green Allies on Midsummer’s Day, please leave an offering, and you might chant this, thrice before and thrice after:
Herbs of magick, herbs of power,
Root and bark, leaf and flower,
Work for me when charms are spoken,
Potions brewed and curses broken!
May The Sacred Source of Life Bless Us, Every One
May our Great Awakenings now gather irresistible momentum! May the glory of the Day Star shine forth in full majesty, exposing and cleansing the poisonous wounds in our institutions.
May the old shadow spells of fear and powerlessness now melt away like mist that dissolves under the bright beams of the Solstice Sun. May we vigorously invoke the noble sunshine to protect our body politic from miasma and vendetta.
Despite the foul threats now stealing through our world under a fog of war and lies, fill your being today with the Sun’s climax of power. Yes, even if it is a cloudy day. For it is there for you now, and can remain within your heart, so that it may “be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out.”
May all the children of Earth now rise up as one family, and re-dedicate to the urgent healing and empowerment of all who have been oppressed, dispossessed, and cravenly treated.
Like the warm rays of the Sun, may we reach out, heart to heart, in kindness to all that lives, especially our holy Mother Earth.
Here is common sense to try,
Do as you would be done by.
Here is counsel to fulfill,
If you harm none, do what you will.
Now be gladsome, light, and gay
On this good Midsummer Day.
from A Midsummer Song, by William G. Gray, Seasonal Occult Rituals
In the ways of our ancestors, we honor the Turning.
Blessings this day, to you and to all Beings!
This post first appeared on Beth Owl’s Daughter — Inspiring Enchantment & Illumination With Tarot & Intuitive Guidance, please read the originial post: here
