Jun 12, 20236 min read

Exploring Litha

Updated: Oct 5, 2023

We are arriving at the first day of summer! Or, as it is commonly known in many Pagan circles, Litha... or Midsummer... or the Summer Solstice... or--well, you get the idea. What is the story behind our contemporary observations of this sabbat and how do we incorporate that into our celebrations?

Below, I will cover

A Brief Summary
History & Background
Celebrating
Resources & Further Reading

Let's begin!

A Brief Summary

Names: Litha, Summer Solstice, Midsummer

Date(s): Typically sometime between June 20th and the 22nd in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, this day usually lands on December 20th, 21st, or 22nd.

Observances: The Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night of the year. The strength of the sun has peaked and after this, it will begin to wane with days becoming shorter, although still remaining longer than the night until Mabon. While the ancient peoples were looking forward to the arrival of their crops, they were also spending this time showing appreciation for the sun and all its gifts as well as accepting that it would now begin dying out for the year.

History & Background

In every video and article in which I cover the history of the sabbats, I like to discuss their different names as each one has at least two and they usually hold a good amount of meaningful and historical context. The "Summer Solstice" is kind of a, well, literal description, so there's not much purpose exploring that further.

Many calendars from various Indo-European cultures (although not all ancient cultures) contained only two seasons which were defined as the light half and dark half, or summer and winter. According to those calendars, the Spring Equinox would have been considered the Summer Solstice (just as the Autumnal Equinox would have been considered the Winter Solstice), which would mean that the day we now view as the Summer Solstice in contemporary times would have fallen in the middle of summer, making it Midsummer. The name Litha was adopted because it was the name of an extra-long month on the Anglo-Saxon calendar that roughly lined up with our contemporary calendars' June and July.

The worship of celestial bodies--especially the sun--in the personified form of gods and goddesses is one of the oldest form of religious practice and expression. One very common attribute across the Indo-European sun deities that represented the perceived movement of the sun (because we know now that the sun wasn't actually moving) was the solar wheel or the sun cross.

Side note: If or when you Google this, be aware that you will find several forms. One of which will be the swastika and several others might be recognizable as also having been appropriated by Nazis and Neo-Nazis (because Nazis like to ruin everything and have zero creative ability, so they just steal things and make everything look bad).

The solar wheel, in its various forms, is over 5,000 years old. Although its form has changed into various different versions over time and different cultures, it's even still used today. While it used to represent solar or sky deities, and sometimes it still does, the representation shifted as we entered the Christian era to be one that honored the literal celestial body of the sun and the changing of the seasons.

In ancient literature, mythology, and iconography, sun and/or sky deities were often represented by or associated with the wheel. Consider all of the mythology that exists of a sun deity moving across the sky in something like a carriage or pulling the sun in a wagon. Pagans in southwestern France celebrated by taking a wooden wheel (sometimes stuffing it with hay), setting it on fire, and rolling it downhill toward a river or other body of water on Midsummer Eve. If the wheel went out before reaching the water, it was believed a bad crop was promised that year. The opposite was true if it burned all the way down. The charred pieces were often reassembled in the temple of a sky god.

This custom was not limited to France. The burning of the wheel eventually became a tradition all over Europe and was even still practiced well into the Christian era. Right up to the beginning of the 20th century, in fact.

As always, we can't talk about the history of the sabbats without discussing the Christian crossovers. As the Christians worked toward adopting Pagan holidays and altering them to fit their mythos, the Summer Solstice celebration became The Feast of St. John the Baptist about 500 years after the death of Jesus and John the Baptist. It was celebrated every June 24th with theatrical performances, bonfires, a parade, and feasting. As similar as this was to many other Pagan festivities, it seems that the only thing that changed was that the aspect of the sun was removed and replaced with St. John the Baptist.

On a final note, something I like to bring up with every sabbat and when mentioning its historical relations to Christianity, we often have a "chicken or the egg" scenario. Did ancient Pagans celebrate this sabbat in their own way and Christians adopted those customs? Or are neo-Pagans currently pulling from past Christian influence? Honestly, we don't always know. Much of the documentation simply, sadly, does not go back far enough, is riddled with gaps, or was taken down by unreliable narrators. In regards to the ancient Pagan celebration of Midsummer, it is unknown how far back the Pagan customs we are aware of date.

While some Pagans prefer to keep all Christian-related things out of their practice, many of us are okay dealing with the overlap that exists, but that is an entirely personal choice. Things became so intermingled, so slowly over time that not only is there no definitive line and no exact answer from historians, but there is a lot of meaning that resonates with Pagans no matter the true origin. In my practice, I simply take God out of it and I work with what's leftover.

What we do know is that fire had a very special place in this sabbat, as a representative of the sun, and this is where there is a decent amount of overlap between Beltane and Midsummer. In addition to the flaming wheel and bonfires, torches were also often lit and used as decoration for the Summer Solstice festival. While during Beltane, fire and its smoke was used to promote good luck and protection, during Midsummer they were used for purification and blessing as well as driving away evil entities and influences.

There is also some written evidence mentioning bones and other "impurities" being tossed into these Midsummer fires, so we can deduce that it was also used as a means of letting go.

As always, I am only providing a brief overview of the history of this sabbat. To learn more, check out the resources listed at the bottom of this article.

Celebrating

Here is a jumping-off point for forming your celebrations. Please keep in mind that these lists are here to help but they are not definitive! You should absolutely put your own spin on how to decorate and celebrate based on how this sabbat works into your life and spirituality.

Decorations

Colors: Light blue, red, green, yellow, gold, white
Flora: Potpourri, dried herbs, seasonal fruits and flowers
Other: Seashells, images and symbols of the sun (including fire)

Activities

Do some shadow work
Meditate/journal on both the light and dark - In yourself as well as the world around you
Have a picnic
Go berry picking
Make a crown of flowers
Fill yourself up with fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables - I would recommend a fruit salad
Leave out cakes and honey as offerings to your chosen Spirit(s)
Watch or read A Midsummer Night's Dream
Light a bonfire, torch, or candle to honor the sun

Rituals, Spellwork, & Magick

Try out my ritual to connect with the energy of this sabbat
Divination for love
Perform or recommit your initiation
Burn symbols of things you need to release - Better yet, toss them into your Midsummer bonfire, if you have one
Intentions: Personal growth, healing, prosperity, love, release/letting go/symbolic death