Celebrating the Magick of the Summer Solstice
Harness the Power of Litha to Ignite Success and Abundance
Happy early Summer Solstice, Dear Readers! This year, on June 20th, we arrive at the magick of summer aka Litha aka Summer Solstice aka Midsummer. While this marks the longest day of the year, it also means we are transitioning into the days becoming shorter and shorter as the Wheel of the Year starts to spin toward fall. Litha is an ancient Celtic celebration of the Summer Solstice that is now celebrated and embraced by Pagans and modern-day witches. Litha is all about the joy of living, celebrating light and love. It is also said fairy folk are in their highest power on this day and time of year along with Nature Spirits.
How to Celebrate Litha
Gather for a bonfire, bake cookies or bread, create a flower arrangement, brew a simmer pot, spend time in nature! You can also brew some coffee or tea and let it sit in the sunlight to charge your beverage with the Sun. You can charge your crystals and divination tools in the Sun, but make sure your crystals are sun safe! You don’t want to accidentally leave your crystals basking in the sun for the color to fade, so double check before leaving them out for an extended period of time. Craft with some flowers, spend time visualizing/meditating, create some Sun water with the intention of new energy.
All holidays of the Wheel of the Year are a great reminder to devote some time to your hobbies and passions, spend time connecting with your ancestors, and practicing gratitude for all the riches you have.
Altar Decorations
The colors to adorn your altar with are red, orange, yellow and green. Crystals to use are carnelian, citrine, honey calcite, amber, jade, moss agate or any other red, orange, yellow and green crystals you own. Some Litha symbols to dress your altar with include dragon flies, toads, birds, butterflies, and/or horses. Plants to use for offerings and décor are sunflowers, ferns, dandelions, and/or holly. Leave some strawberries, lemons, honey or freshly baked goods as an offering to your ancestors and spirit guides.
A Spell for Success
Harness the power of Litha to ignite success and abundance!
Slice an orange or lemon (to represent the Sun) in half and place on a fire safe plate/dish. Sprinkle cinnamon (for success) on top and place a yellow or white candle into the orange or lemon. Take a bay leaf, write your intention on it, (for example: I welcome in love, luck and abundance) and place in the orange/lemon or next to it. Think of your intention as you light the candle. Sit with the candle thinking of your intention and write a list of gratitude. *Always practice fire safety and do not leave your candle unattended while it burns*
A Simmer Pot Recipe
Lastly, I wish to leave you with a simmer pot recipe. I like crafting a Litha Simmer Pot to bring a refreshed and renewed energy into the home. This is one of my favorite ways to celebrate and it’s pretty accessible! With ingredients, it’s best to use what you have on hand, so if you do not have all the same ingredients, it’s okay to substitute for others! Look up the properties of the ingredients you switch out. Simmer pots last hours and can last days. Once you have your pot filled with water and the ingredients of your choosing, place the heat on high until the water begins to simmer and bubble. Reduce (!!! Do not forget to reduce the heat please!) the heat to low/simmer and allow it to sit and fill the kitchen and the rest of your home with its beautiful fragrance and magick. This is another great way to cleanse your home using air and water and remove stagnant energy. Once you simmer the water down to the bottom of the pot, it doesn’t mean the pot is done! You can reuse and refill your pot for days. I usually extend the life of my pot for 3-4 days. Do what intuitively feels right to you. Remember to never leave your pot unattended if the burner is on.
When you’re done with your pot, remove the ingredients. Any liquid remaining, you can place into a bottle and distill with water to create a room spray. Kindly discard your ingredients by thanking them and returning them to the Earth (if suitable/safe – reminder to not dump or bury salt into the Earth/water) or throwing them into the compost/trash.
Ingredients:
· Add Sun water if you created any (charging water in the sunlight as you would with Moon water)
· Rosemary for purification
· Mint for healing
· Garden/Cooking Sage for health and protection
· Chamomile tea for abundance
· Lavender for calming energy
· Sea Salt for cleansing and protection
· Lemon for joy and happiness
· Cinnamon sticks for abundance
· Fresh berries for love and healing
· Sunflowers to represent the Summer Solstice for Sun energy
How will you celebrate Litha this year? Blessed Solstice, friends!
xoxo, meg