Summer Solstice

Many apologies for the delay in getting this post out!

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 Wednesday, 21 June 2023, 15:57 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.

Summer Solstice dates:

Crawley: June Solstice (Summer Solstice) is on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, 15:57 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 will start on Wednesday 21st June 2023 and is celebrated through to Saturday 24th June 2023.

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. This indicates that the meaning hasn’t really changed much within language evolution of Old Norse as it has done in Old English, and suggests Old English has Old Norse roots.

In Store

I still have two jars of my handmade Litha incense available in my pop-up shop in Crawley County Mall.

Frankincense Resin

Patchouli Resin

Sandalwood chips

Dragons Blood

Dried lavender

Dried rose petals

Dried daisies

A little dried mint

A dried thistle

Lavender essential oil

Geranium essential oil

There is about 7g of incense per jar, and it’s tightly packed in. You can always add your own ingredients to this to make your incense more personal.

As a kitchen witch I collect jars and recycle them into other things (like spell jars), and I was grateful when several small jam jars made their way to me.  I never charge for recycled jars, so this keeps all of our costs down. Please ensure you place your charcoal on a heat proof surface before buring and keep away from children, pets and clothing.

Want to be able to find us in person in 2023?

Here is a little itinerary:

13th June – 5th July – I’m back in Crawley County Mall for The pop-up shop in The Collective.

6th July – 9th July – We’ll be on the Crawley Continental Street Market in Queens Square!

10th July – 16th July – Annual Leave. Online orders will be processed as normal. 

17th July – 13th August – I’m back in Crawley County Mall for The pop-up shop in The Collective.

14th August – 18th August – Annual Leave. Online orders will be processed as normal.

19th August – We’ll be at Crawley Pride!

21st August – 22nd October – I’m back in Crawley County Mall for The pop-up shop in The Collective.

26th – 29th October – We’re back for the final Continental Street Market of 2023, in Queens Square.

30th October – 24th December – We’re back in the County Mall for the Pop-up shop in The Collective for Christmas.

Blessings

Saranne