Litha In A Week: A History of Litha

Can you believe it? Litha's coming up in one short week! It really sneaked up on me this year, and between everything going on in life and things still to come, I feel ill-prepared this year.

But that doesn't mean you should feel the same! ;)

Just like last Sabbat, when I talked about Beltane the week before the actual holiday, I'll be doing a week-long series on Litha: Its history, gods and goddesses, practices, ritual outlines, recipe ideas, and so forth.

So let's get this week kicked off with some history, shall we?



Litha is one of two solstices in the Wheel of the Year, celebrated around 20-22 June (this year, it falls on 21 June), on a day where the sun reaches its peak in the sky. The longest day of the year, it can appear on this day as if the sun were just hanging in the sky without moving. Appropriately, the word "solstice", from the Latin solstitium, literally means "sun stands still."

Whether this holiday was celebrated by ancient civilizations is still up for debate among modern Wiccans and Pagans, creating some pretty interesting discourse that either support or reject Litha... or regard it with a shrug of their shoulders. We can blame Gerald Gardner, the founder of modern Wicca, for these heated debates: He asserts that the solar festivals (which would include Litha, Mabon, Yule, and Ostara) were actually added later and imported from the Middle East.

Regardless, though, there exists some scholarly evidence that Midsummer was celebrated, and many Wiccans and Pagans do celebrate Litha every June.

I'll go further into the mythology surrounding Litha in a later post (when gods and goddesses of the solstice will be the focus), but in brief, some Paganism traditions tell the story of the discord between light and darkness, where the Oak King is defeated by the Holly King in an epic battle to rule the seasons.



With the Holly King comes a time of brightness and warmth, where the Earth basks in the sun's glow and, in return, she blesses us with growing life and seemingly endless bounty.

But this brightness is not simply limited to that seen in nature, but also seen within ourselves. Litha is a wonderful time to discover one's own inner power and brightness, to reflect on the balance of light and dark in the world and within ourselves, and to find ways in which we can share our inner light with others.

As to what you can do during this holiday? Head outside! No matter what you do -- a barbeque or big ol' bonfire, running through sprinklers (go on, you know you want to feel like you're a kid again!), swimming in a local lake or pool, lighting fireworks when the sun retreats -- know that this day is for sharing, feeling, and experiencing the light!