Litha

We’ve reached that time of year where there is officially no ‘night’, meaning that the darkest the sky gets is called ‘Astronomical Twilight’.

The word Solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), or ‘Sun Standing’ because at the Solstices, the Sun’s declination appears to stand still; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun’s daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.

The Summer Solstice is an astronomical event that happens in a moment. It happens when the Earth’s tilt on its axis is leaning the closest towards the Sun, before it starts tilting back again. The Summer Solstice marks the longest day, which in Crawley is Thursday, 20 June 2024, 21:50 BST. The summer solstice is the moment the Sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the northernmost latitude it reaches during the year. After the solstice, it begins moving south again.

Crawley: June Solstice (Summer Solstice) is on Thursday, 20 June 2024, 21:50 BST

There are usually a number of online rituals you can take part in if you are unable to get out and about. English Heritage will be live streaming the sunset and sunrise from Stonehnge on their YouTube platform so check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/c/EnglishHeritage

If you want to see in the sunrise on the Solstice, check the times for where you live here https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/london

Litha or Liða
Litha is a Midsummer celebration often merged Summer Solstice celebration, and is a celebration of the Goddess and God at the height of their power: the King and Queen of fertile lands where they rule over the growing fruitful Earth, like a growing pregnancy. Litha marks the zenith of the Sun and the day of the longest light and usually celebrated with fire. In many places across Scandinavia, the practice of lighting a bonfire on midsummer is still celebrated. You may choose to celebrate this with a fire ritual of your own, or perhaps use the time to meditate.

It is a good time to draw down that the energy from the Sun at the height of its power, and use it in your magick. And when the sun goes down, this is the best time for divination!

Litha usually starts around the time of the summer solstice. I say ‘usually’ because it also happens when the sun moves into Cancer, (which is on 21st June). Litha this year starts on Thursday 20th June 2023 and is celebrated over several days, including the first weekend after.

In Old English, June and July were collectively called Liða (pronounced lee–thuh). The Old English character ð having the voiced th-. There are many theories as to what ‘liða’ means. Today’s pagans use the word to refer to Midsummer; however, the Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede mentions in his treatise De temporum ratione that ‘liða’ means ‘calm’, or ‘navigable’ in both the month and the serenity of the breezes, and the waters are usually navigable.” The fact that the Old English word for ‘to sail’ is ‘līðan’ would seem to support Bede’s statement, indicating that June and July were knows for calm waters and weather. On its own, June was sometimes also referred to as ‘Ærra-Liða’, which is ‘first Liða’, and July ‘Æftera-Liða’, or ‘after/second Liða.’

líða is an Old Norse word that appears in the modern Icelandic and Faroese languages today, and means ‘suffer’ or ‘feel’ as it did in Old Norse.

Ideas

Why not set up your altar outdoors? If this is not possible, bring some of the outdoor greenery inside. Use bright yellows and colours of the sun, along with rich greens to decorate your space with. This can include candles, flowers and greenery found on your walks.

Go for a walk in the woods if you can! You can also honour the the Green Man with oak branches and leaves, or using oak bark in your incenses;  we stock this in the shop.

Drop into the shop for all of your Litha supplies!