Midsummer
Summer Solstice
June 20 – 23
Midsummer or Litha, is a celebration of light. This is a solar/ fire festival that marks the astrological day of the summer solstice, which occurs on or around June 21, when the sun enters the sign of Cancer, the crab. Cancer is the only astrological sign that is associated with the moon. If you combine that lunar influence with the ultimate strength of the sun, you have quite the magickal wallop.
The day of the summer solstice has the longest daylight hours and the shortest nighttime hours of the year. As the sun reaches its highest position in the sky, we are at the climax of the sun’s power. This is the greatest day of the sun’s magick, even though it is bittersweet— for as soon as the day after the summer solstice, the sun’s power gradually begins to decline, with nighttime hours slowly and inexorably increasing. After today, we are in the dark half of the Wheel of the Year, which may seem confusing, but truly the daylight hours are decreasing now, and the sun will start to reach its zenith at a lower point in the sky from now until December and the winter solstice.
The sabbat of Midsummer is a potent and magickal date. This is a great time for fire magick, bonfires, garden witchery, herbal and green magicks, and the best night of the year to commune with the elemental kingdom and the faeries.
This is a time of celebration in nature: everything is green and growing. Nature is celebrating her achievement!
Fire festivals and fireworks are complementary; it all goes with that theme of fire magick for summer. At this time of year, your spellworking themes may include asking for the blessing and assistance of the faeries or working green magick with the garden. Prosperity, health, and abundance spells are appropriate at this point in time as well, since the light is at its peak and all of nature is at its most lush, vibrant, and green.
If you like to work with the more traditional fire theme of this sabbat, consider building a small ritual fire in your outdoor fire pit or chiminea. Bonfires on Midsummer have been lit by people from all over the world, from many magickal customs, for centuries. The bonfires were classically lit at sundown on Midsummer’s Eve. So set up your fire and get ready to go! If you like, you can toss a few herbs or oak leaves into the flames as an offering to the Old Gods.
If you are unable to safely have an outdoor fire, then light several bright yellow candles and group them together inside of a cauldron, and enjoy the effect that several flickering flames make inside of that cauldron. Another idea that I started with my coven years ago was to pass out sparklers; after our rituals are complete, we light up the sparklers and dance around the gardens with the lightning bugs. When the sparklers are finished, we drop them into a bucket of water. Celebrate the summer solstice and put your own personal spin on things!
Source
Seasons of Witchery: Celebrating the Sabbats with the Garden Witch
Ellen Dugan
Witches Of The Craft® 