Litha Altars, Ritual Ideas + Midsummer FAQ ☀️

The summer solstice is almost upon us! :sunflower: Let’s see those Litha altars!!

Here’s a quick altar I prepared today and the Spells8 Grimoire!

:arrow_forward:Video: Litha Divination with Playing Cards

For this video, I did some research about the connection between Litha and traditional divinations. I found the book Midsummer Magical Celebrations by Anna Franklin super useful and with lots of ideas for Litha rituals.

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Litha FAQ

Why is Litha also called Midsummer?

The term derives from European farming because the date marks the midway point of the growing season. I also read that in the past, they only had two seasons: summer and winter, and June would have been the point of halfway through summer, hence “Midsummer”. :sunny:

What day is Litha?

June 21st is a standard date to celebrate Litha. The exact date will vary depending on your tradition and whether you choose to celebrate precisely upon the Summer Solstice. The exact date of each solstice changes by a few days each year – for the same reason that we have years with extra days, our calendar isn’t perfect! :earth_africa:

In the Southern Hemisphere, Litha corresponds to the Solstice as well, around December 21st. But right now, you may be celebrating Yule! :christmas_tree:

When should I set up my Litha altar?

Anywhere between June 19th and June 25th, or even earlier. As soon as you start feeling the heat of the Summer, you know it’s time to organize your altar and begin setting up the Litha decorations!

What to do for Litha?

Decorate your altar with these symbols: Sun wheel, Fire, Sunflowers, Roses, Daisies, Crosses, Torches, Triangles as symbol of fire, the Tarot card “Sun”, the Sword of the sun god Ra, lemons, seasonal fruits and flowers.

Visit this post for more ideas and you’ll find a :arrow_forward: guided Litha ritual including a fire-jumping solitary ceremony for good luck! :fire:

Who is the goddess Litha?

There is no goddess Litha! If you’re wondering where the word Litha comes from. It’s hard to tell! The meaning and history of the name Litha in paganism is obscure.

It may be related to līþe (“mild”) probably cognate with Serbo-Croatian Polish lato, “summer, year”).

What to do with Litha ritual remains?

The following morning after you’ve celebrated Litha with a prayer, ritual or feast, clean up any candles, herbs, or ritual remains. You can keep the decorations and flowers up until they begin to wilt or whenever you need to use the space for something else. The next sabbat, Lughnasadh, occurs about 6 weeks later.

Litha Prayer

"Farewell to the waxing year, Season of fertility and growth. :herb:
*Welcome to the waning year, Season of harvest and wisdom." * :sunny:

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How beautiful and how nice! Thank you for all the info!

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Thank you so much for all of this great info, @Francisco! Your altar looks gorgeous- I love the inclusion of summertime flowers and fruits :blossom: :two_hearts:

A fun fact for everyone- we have a local Summer Solstice celebration here in Poland! The festival is called “Wianki” (wreaths) and it is a celebration of the Slavic pagan goddess Kupala- a Slavic deity of love and the harvest.

The ceremonies include floating wreaths down a river :national_park: and jumping over bonfires :fire:. If anyone is interested in learning more about Wianki, a good website is here!

From what I can find, it looks like the city of Krakow will celebrate Wianki online this year due to the current pandemic situation. Even in times of uncertainty, it is possible to celebrate and honor ancient traditions! :sparkling_heart:

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:sunflower: A very happy and bright Litha to all!!! :sun_with_face:

It looks like the summer solstice will happen at 11:43pm for those of us in Central Europe Time. Sending warm thoughts and well wishes to all! :heart:

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Happy Solstice to you too!! :bouquet::sun_with_face:

Me and my daughter are making an evil effigy to burn on the firepit for later :smiling_imp:

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Happy Solstice everyone :relaxed: :sunny: :herb:

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Happy Litha, everyone!! :fire: :pray:

It’s supposed to rain here but now I discovered I’m a ceraunophile :cloud_with_lightning_and_rain: I think it’s going to be a great celebration!

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Belated Litha celebrations today :tada::fire:

Me and Connie made a “monster” stuffed with sage lavender and rosemary. He’s currently burning on the bonfire to symbolise the cleansing of negativity :purple_heart:!

Happy Litha everyone! :bouquet: Were just about to toast some marshmallows :yum:

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I just woke up from a short-yet-long night with bonfire celebration and all! :fire: Being the shortest night of the year I thought maybe I could stay up all night… didn’t happen.

It didn’t rain a lot and we found plenty of things to burn! We even thought about doing the ancient “rolling a flaming wheel downhill” thing but decided against it for obvious safety reasons…

Happy Solstice, everyone! :sunflower:

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It sounds like everyone had a fun and successful solstice! :sunflower::two_hearts: May the blessings and vitality from Litha carry us through to the next Sabbath. Lughnasadh/Lammas will be the first week of August- and it’ll be here before we know it! :heart:

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Happy Litha :fire: :sunrise:
Earth - Are you grounded? Are you in nature?
Air- Imagination? Do you have focus ?Do you read ?Do you listen to documentaries?
Fire :fire:- Are you strong are you passionate are you inspired are you intense?Are you unpredictable are you bold?
Water :sweat_drops:- Do you love do you trust your family do you receive love ?do you listen ?are you emotional?
Do you share compassion ?Do you share empathy Do you share sympathy?
Spirit- Are you balanced by the light in the dark are you being a light for your community? Do you meditate? :woman_in_lotus_position:
Who did you call upon? I called upon Hecate that she would light my way and that she would be the torch bearer during my time here on this earth!
There are many Gods to call upon like Hermès, Mother Gaia, Oak King, Odin, Aries :aries: Fire


May you feel the sun in your path we’re ever you go, “wise ones” As above so below”
May you kindle the fire :fire: and be a lite!
So mote it be
Thank you!
Jeannie

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Francisco,
Happy Litha, & Travel Witch and the whole coven! Thank You :blush: for all the light you all share! Thank you for all the warm blessings! Thank you for being a friend!
Abs53 Happy Litha!
Jeannie

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Many blessings back to you too, @Jeannie1- thanks for the positive wishes and the insightful elemental exercise you shared, it looks awesome! :star_struck:

Hope you enjoyed a wonderful Litha! :sun: :heart:

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Travel Witch, aw your welcome :pray:t4: !
Jeannie
:heart::fire:

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Thank you, Jeannie!! I hope you have a perfect Solstice!! You deserve it. Your spirit shines like a million suns! :sun: :sun: :sun:

Happy Litha! :pray:

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Happy Litha to all. May it bring blessings, love and light :candle::rotating_light: :sun_with_face:

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Thank you, Walter! You too! :sun: :raised_hands: :pentagram:

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:sunflower:Francisco,
You lifted me up thank you Francisco!!!:blush:

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Happy to hear that! :innocent:

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Way cool! Thank you for the information. So many cool ideas. I will be implementing this.

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