Summer Solstice & Litha Sabbat

Welcome back to my new virtual corner, here Elhoim, and here is a new post made for you.

The wheel of the year continues to turn, and as long as the wheel turns, we who live in it will find all the reasons and motives to celebrate it.

The wheel of the year is the calendar for the celebration of sabbats and cosmic events that influence the rhythms and movements of mother earth, each occasion is a reason for celebration and/or veneration, between solstices and equinoxes our wheel moves and allows us to celebrate together, and in different ways, the natural events that influence the passing of days (light, climate, vegetation, tides, and thus even the economy, our daily routines, and our state of mind.)

During the last weeks of June, we celebrate the Summer Solstice in the North and the arrival of winter in the South. This energetic moment marks a powerful change for all of us in the way our daily routines begin to influence everything around us, the warmer days or colder days directly influence the way we dress, the food we find available in the market, the hours of sleep, and all this has an enormous weight on our moods, without leaving aside the fact that all these routines influence our magical rituals, and for many, perhaps even the way in which they manifest or express their own individual power.

“The Summer Solstice, one of the four minor (or lesser) sabbats observed by Witches and other Pagans, occurs approximately on this date each year. The traditional herbs associated with the sabbath include: chamomile, cinquefoil, elder, fennel, hemp, larkspur, lavender, mugwort, roses, saint john’s wort, wild thyme, and verbena”

~ GERINA DUNWICH,

Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination.

Summer Solstice

Ostara and Beltane have just happened, even the flowers that emerged with the last full moon are in sight, and squirrels and seasonal birds are moving around. The days have gotten warmer and the mornings have that bright golden hue that reminds us that the horned god watches us from the window and watches over us from a safe distance.

Summertime is perfect to visit local parks, rivers, and beaches, to collecting seashells and sacred sand.

The Summer Solstice is here and it is time to celebrate it, this Wiccan sabbat is a time of sowing light, because the next festival, Lughnasadh (Lammas) is coming very soon.

This is the most beautiful moment to focus on celebrating the presence of the sun in our lives, the daily light that accompanies us and warms the path, the light that is reflected in the butterfly fairies in each park and on the surface of the waters. , the rivers, the beaches, and the lakes.

The importance of adapting the Celebration to your Life, and not the other way around.

“Litha, also known as Midsummer, is the celebration of the Summer Solstice. It typically occurs on June 21, opposite of the winter solstice. A fire festival, we see the gods in their full glory after the death, sleep, and rebirth that occurred during fall, winter, and spring. Litha is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere when the sun is far north as it is ever going to get.”

~ Temperance Alden, Year of the Witch: Connecting with Nature’s Seasons through Intuitive Magick.

Following Temperance Alden’s instructions in her best-selling Year of The Witch, I have created my own Year Wheel. For me, the month of June was for many years a month of study, of going on vacation to visit my uncle to take extra math classes during the vacations, and later, they became (June and July) my months of much preparation, constant physical training in military school, and living in a tropical country with eternal summer, celebrating the arrival of the solstice does not make much sense.

Venezuela is located on the dividing line of the equator, although it is «geographically» (or rather, geopolitically) a South American country, we are not so far down the hemisphere as to receive or even perceive the arrival of winter at that time, In any case, we are closer to the north, because the days do feel warmer, throughout the country except in the Amazon, which is an absurdly prosperous season for the vegetation in the humid forests.

Although I read in all these old books on Wicca (written mostly by men, that we are not the best to understand or talk about natural cycles), that it was time to celebrate the arrival of summer, nobody in my coven celebrated it, for us it was just one more day of the month of school vacations, probably just another day to visit one of our hundreds of beaches full of tourists, sunbathing, and eating tostones (a typical dish served on the beaches of Venezuela, consists of baked ripe plantains and later covered with huge amounts of grated white cheese, ketchup, mayonnaise, and sometimes caramelized onions).

For me personally, the two weeks before the summer solstice, and the two weeks after, are a time to remember the beaches, the typical food of my country, and folk music (more out of nostalgia than pleasure, huh!).

It’s my season to prepare baked arepas, fried empanadas with cheese, dulce de leche, sweet pawpaw slices, guava taquitos, beet salad with potatoes, and bean soup with pork and lots of cilantro.

collect flowers and keep them very dried, like roses, sunflower, chamomile, and marigold, and seal it in a bottle for the next year using candlewax.

Books, Rituals, and Charms

Thus, there are hundreds of books with hundreds of well-crafted rituals to celebrate the solstice and take advantage of its energy. I like to focus on very recent books (with a more modern perspective) and especially those written by women (who are born experts in everything related to natural cycles, right?).

As far as rituals are concerned, those who have been initiated and ordained into the Wiccan religion conduct their celebrations in covens, some in public and some in private. For those who are not Wiccans, the sun and the hot days invite them to go out and walk through the parks, through the mountains, and visit natural places where they can appreciate the magical and mystical splendor of natural light bordering all things that exist, and remember that each particle of that light has traveled incredibly long distances for a long time to reach us, to nourish us, and to warm our soul, heart, and skin.

If you are at home, white and gold candles, herbal incense (not floral), and a banquet with food that represents the vegetation and the power of the solar corona, such as corn, wheat, oranges, and seasonal fruits, juices of fruits to connect with the earth, especially those juices that you can prepare yourself at home, like a delicious orange juice with carrots, or a pineapple juice with melon and passion fruit.

Spend the day making drawings that represent the sun and the solar gods, as well as those horned gods of the ancestors, looking for a way to pay homage to them and honor their memories and their presence in our days. It is a simple and creative way to disconnect for a moment from the mundane and focus on connecting with the rituals of those who came before us.

To complement your search on this topic, I recommend your read this other incredibly good post: https://www.learnreligions.com/history-of-summer-solstice-holiday-litha-2562244

with love, Elhoim

Author of ‘The Magical Art of Crafting Charm Bags’ and ‘Manifestation Magic’.

Books to Check:

• GERINA DUNWICH, Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination.
• TEMPERANCE ALDEN, Year of the Witch: Connecting with Nature’s Seasons through Intuitive Magick
• TUDORBETH, The Hedgewitch’s Little Book of Seasonal Magic.
• DEBORAH BLAKE, Midsummer: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for Litha.
• JUDY ANN NOCK, The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick: Your Guide to Crafting Charms, Rituals, and Spells from the Natural World.

Beltane, celebrating fire and light, 2022.

Beltane or Beltaine is a fire and light festival celebrated on April 30/May 1, halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

«The Wheel of the Year» also symbolically reflects the traditional female cycles of life, from maiden to mother to crown, before her rebirth again»

~Zoe Howe.

Beltane, or as we have called it for years in my virtual space, the Sabbat of light, is one of the most powerful moments of the Wheel of the Year when we celebrate (after the complete exit of winter a month ago) the solar fire and everything that it symbolizes, heat, life, light, the illuminated paths that allow us to dance and pilgrimage between the worlds, the sacred path of the gods, and we venerate the almighty Horned God who is preparing for summer.

It is the celebration of light, heat, fire, and the sun. Solar deities such as Helios, Apollo, Lugh, and many others gain enormous devotion in those days and it is common to find them being named over and over again, not only in virtual posts like this one but (more importantly) in multiple rituals and celebrations in the parks.

In Wicca, we not only celebrate the cycles of nature on the outside, but also all those cycles that we live internally, the manifestation of the internal sacred fire, sexuality, fertility, virility, sensuality, and all forms of expression. of the fire of the horned god.

“Beltane, one of the four major sabbats celebrated each year by Witches and other Pagans, is observed on this day. The traditional herbs associated with this sabbat include almond, angelica, ash tree, bluebells, cinquefoil, daisy, frankincense, hawthorn, ivy, lilac, marigold, primrose, roses, satyrion root, and yellow cowslips”

~ Gerina Dunwich.

The month of May is full of folklore and all kinds of magical myths, such as the purifying rain of May that cleanses our souls and our thoughts, the fire of May that illuminates the path of those who have departed, and the light of May that comes straight from the high realm of the oldest gods. It is a month to celebrate divinity, fairies, and all forms of life in nature, which is why Beltane is one of the most important Sabbats, we are not only celebrating life and natural cycles, but also light and fire. that will accompany us throughout the rest of the year.

Right now, those seeds that we have previously sown in the first moments after winter are beginning to emerge seeking to reach the warm sunlight. For this reason, we relate the Beltane celebration periods with the abundance of grain and cornfields.

While there are many books on the subject, my favorite passage to explain the Beltane celebration is found in Chapter five: «The Rise of the God, The Realm of Sun and Fire» in Judy Ann Nock’s recent title «The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick: Your Guide to Crafting Charms, Rituals, and Spells from the Natural World», where she, as the author, fully and briefly explains the myth and folklore related to the Beltane celebrations and their associated male gods like Belenos, Beli Mawr, and Lugh, as well as a powerful and extensive meditation to be performed in this cycle, charms, spells, candle making, and many other ways to celebrate.

“The Sun God pierces the darkness with blinding rays; he is called by many names. To the ancient Celts, he was known as Belenos, the Shining One, and by the Welsh name Beli Mawr. His name is the root of Beltane, and his worship was widespread.”

~ Judy Ann Nock.

Beltane is a celebration of fertility and life, light and fire, abundance and prosperity. We are celebrating that just like our ancestors, we have survived the cold winter and its long nights, the cycles and the rain have passed, the fields, the gardens, and all our plantations are nourished and the sun feels warmer every day, it is time then to collect what we have previously sown and hugged each other on this holiday.

*Wheel of the Year
It is the wheel of annual celebrations for most Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches, as well as all those who identify as Neo-Pagans. Said wheel describes the annual cycles of sabbats and their various celebrations that embody the natural cycles and terrestrial movements, made up of eight festivities, including the solstices and equinoxes.

light candles at home was for many years my own-individual way to celebrate Beltane because my complicated schedule, and is so valid as yours, search for ways to bring and represent light at home.

Recommended Readings:

~ TEMPERANCE ALDEN, Year of the Witch: Connecting with Nature’s Seasons through Intuitive Magick. Weiser Books.

~ GERINA DUNWICH, Herbal Magick: A Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore, and Divination. Weiser Books.

~ EMMA KATHRYN, Witch Life: A Practical Guide to Making Every Day Magic. Llewellyn Books.

~ ZOE HOWE, Witchful Thinking: The Wise Woman’s Handbook for Creating a Charmed Life. Llewellyn Books.

~ JUDY ANN NOCK, The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick: Your Guide to Crafting Charms, Rituals, and Spells from the Natural World. Adams Media.

~ MHARA STARlING, Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales. Llewellyn Books (especially for those in search of information about Calan May: May Day, an annual Celtic festival that we talk a lot about but know little about.)

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~ Manifestation Magic: 21 Rituals, Spells, and Amulets for Abundance, Prosperity, and Wealth.

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