Other
names holiday is known as: Midsummer, Summer
Solstice
Magick
associated with Litha: daring, fulfillment,
healing, love magick, male magick, overcoming fears,
physical endeavor, purification, sensuality,
sustenance, turning point, and worldly affairs.
Altar
decorations: blades, chalice or cup,
faeries, flowers, fresh herbs, fire symbols, fruit,
gold jewelry, mistletoe, oak leaves, potpourri,
roses, seashells, spirals, summer flowers, sun
symbols, thunderbird.
Colours:
blue, gold, green, red, tan, and yellow.
Foods:
ale, fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit wines,
homemade jams, mead, oranges and lemons, pumpernickel
bread, salads.
Herbs/Incense/Oils:
carnation, chamomile, cinnamon, cinquefoil, copal,
daisy, elder, fennel, fern, feverfew, five finger
grass, frankincense, hemp, honeysuckle, ivy,
lavender, lemon, lily, meadowsweet, mint, mistletoe,
mugwort, myrrh, oak, orange, pine, rose, rue,
saffron, St. John’s wort, thyme, verbena,
vervain, wisteria, and ylang-ylang.
Stones:
diamond, emerald, jade, and tiger’s eye.
HISTORY
OF LITHA
Just as the Pagan mid-winter
celebration of Yule was adopted by Christians as
Christmas, so too the Pagan mid-summer celebration
was adopted by them as the feast of John the Baptist.
Occurring 180 degrees apart on the wheel of the year,
the mid-winter celebration commemorates the birth of
Jesus, while the mid-summer celebration commemorates
the birth of John, the prophet who was born six
months before Jesus in order to announce his arrival.
Although
modern Witches often refer to the holiday by the
rather generic name of Midsummer's Eve, it is more
probable that our Pagan ancestors of a few hundred
years ago actually used the Christian name for the
holiday, St. John's Eve. This is evident from the
wealth of folklore that surrounds the summer solstice
(i.e. that it is a night especially sacred to the
faerie folk) but which is inevitably ascribed to 'St.
John's Eve', with no mention of the sun's position.
It could also be argued that a Coven's claim to
antiquity might be judged by what name it gives the
holidays. (Incidentally, the name 'Litha' for the
holiday is a modern usage, possibly based on a Saxon
word that means the opposite of Yule. Still, there is
little historical justification for its use in this
context.)
St.
John himself was often seen as a rather Pagan figure.
He was, after all, called 'the Oak King'. His
connection to the wilderness (from whence 'the voice
cried out') was often emphasized by the rustic nature
of his shrines. Many statues show him as a horned
figure (as is also the case with Moses). Christian
iconographers mumble embarrassed explanations about
'horns of light', while modern Pagans giggle and
happily refer to such statues as 'Pan the Baptist'.
And to clench matters, many depictions of John
actually show him with the lower torso of a satyr,
cloven hooves and all! Obviously, this kind of John
the Baptist is more properly a Jack in the Green!
In
England, it was the ancient custom on St. John's Eve
to light large bonfires after sundown, which served
the double purpose of providing light to the revelers
and warding off evil spirits. This was known as
'setting the watch'. People often jumped through the
fires for good luck. In addition to these fires, the
streets were lined with lanterns, and people carried
cressets (pivoted lanterns atop poles) as they
wandered from one bonfire to another. These
wandering, garland-bedecked bands were called a
'marching watch'. Often they were attended by morris
dancers, and traditional players dressed as a
unicorn, a dragon, and six hobby-horse riders. Just
as May Day was a time to renew the boundary on one's
own property, so Midsummer's Eve was a time to ward
the boundary of the city.
Customs
surrounding St. John's Eve are many and varied. At
the very least, most young folk plan to stay up
throughout the whole of this shortest night. Certain
courageous souls might spend the night keeping watch
in the center of a circle of standing stones. To do
so would certainly result in either death, madness,
or (hopefully) the power of inspiration to become a
great poet or bard. This was also the night when the
serpents of the island would roll themselves into a
hissing, writhing ball in order to engender the
'glain', also called the 'serpent's egg', 'snake
stone', or 'Druid's egg'. Anyone in possession of
this hard glass bubble would wield incredible magical
powers. Even Merlyn himself (accompanied by his black
dog) went in search of it, according to one ancient
Welsh story.
Snakes
were not the only creatures active on Midsummer's Eve.
According to British faery lore, this night was
second only to Halloween for its importance to the
wee folk, who especially enjoyed a ridling on such a
fine summer's night. In order to see them, you had
only to gather fern seed at the stroke of midnight
and rub it onto your eyelids. But be sure to carry a
little bit of rue in your pocket, or you might well
be 'pixie-led'. Or, failing the rue, you might simply
turn your jacket inside-out, which should keep you
from harm's way. But if even this fails, you must
seek out one of the 'ley lines', the old straight
tracks, and stay upon it to your destination. This
will keep you safe from any malevolent power, as will
crossing a stream of 'living' (running) water.
Other
customs included decking the house (especially over
the front door) with birch, fennel, St. John's wort,
orpin, and white lilies. Five plants were thought to
have special magical properties on this night: rue,
roses, St. John's wort, vervain and trefoil. Indeed,
Midsummer's Eve in Spain is called the 'Night of the
Verbena (Vervain)'. St. John's wort was especially
honored by young maidens who picked it in the hopes
of divining a future lover.
There
are also many mythical associations with the summer
solstice, not the least of which concerns the
seasonal life of the God of the sun.
Altogether,
Midsummer is a favorite holiday for many Witches in
that it is so hospitable to outdoor celebrations. The
warm summer night seems to invite it. And if the
celebrants are not in fact skyclad, then you may be
fairly certain that the long ritual robes of winter
have yielded place to short, tunic-style apparel. As
with the longer gowns, tradition dictates that one
should wear nothing underneath -- the next best thing
to skyclad, to be sure.
The
two chief icons of the holiday are the spear (symbol
of the Sun-God in his glory) and the summer cauldron
(symbol of the Goddess in her bounty). But it is
interesting to note here that modern Witches often
use these same symbols in the Midsummer rituals. And
one occasionally hears the alternative consecration
formula, 'As the spear is to the male, so the
cauldron is to the female...' With these mythic
associations, it is no wonder that Midsummer is such
a joyous and magical occasion!
