The summer solstice – referred to as Litha by many practitioners – occurs on June 21st, ushering in the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere (winter in the Southern). The summer solstice also coincides with the beginning of Cancer season, lasting until around the 22nd of July. This fire festival is held on the longest day of the year, as opposed to the longest night of the year on the winter solstice. Also known as midsummer, this is a time of solar celebration and great magical power.
Summer solstice celebrations have long been observed all over the world. Geshi is the word for summer solstice in Japan, and is a major moment in the ancient calendar marking the time of year when the day is the longest and night the shortest. Geshi is associated with purification. According to nippon.com: “(the) purification ceremony is staged at Futami Okitama Shrine is Ise, Mie Prefecture, where worshipers enter the Ise Bay to bathe in the waters as the sun rises between a pair of “married rocks” (meoto iwa) just off the shore.”
Okitama Shrine, Ise Bay. Ise, Mie Prefecture
The Chankillo observatory complex on the coast of Peru was discovered by archaeologists to have structures designed to align with the sun during the solstices. The giant pre-Columbian city Chichen Itza was made by the Mayans in what is now in the Tinum Municipality in Yucatan State, Mexico. In Chichen Itza, archaeologists have discovered the remnants of objects as well as humans that were sacrificed for the Maya rain god Chaac. The Mayans constructed the buildings of Chichen Itza in both shape and orientation to commemorate the winter and summer solstices and to tell the time of year. The Mayans believed their deities were represented in the stars, therefore the sun’s rotation throughout the year was essential to their religious practices.
By AgainErick - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2921570
The Great Pyramids of Egypt were constructed so that when looking from the Sphynx, the setting sun can be observed right in-between the two pyramids on the summer solstice. Summer solstice marked flood season for the Nile, which was necessary for crop growth. Ancient Egyptians solstice celebration: Night of the Teardrop – was when gifts were bestowed to Isis and Osiris.
Summer solstice in Egypt
Midsummer celebrations were observed in Ancient Great Britain and Ireland. 5,000+ year old Stonehenge aligns with the sun on the summer and winter solstice. Great festivities are held on these days at the site. For the Celts, midsummer was replete with hilltop bonfires, celebrating the time for crops to grow, and honoring the liminal space between Earth and the spiritual realm. The custom is rooted in ancient history when the Celts lit fires in honor of goddess, Áine (pronounced Anya) Chlair: Queen of the Fairies. Midsummer rituals involved spreading the ashes from the fires they burned in her honor onto the fields, to bless crops with abundance and fertility.
Celebrating the solstice at Stonehenge
The Romans celebrated summer solstice as a day sacred to Juno, goddess of women and children. This holiday was also sacred to Vesta, goddess of the hearth. In Austria and parts of Germany, setting bonfires and lighting torches along the mountainous terrains is still practiced today. The Slavic water goddess of flowers, trees, herbs and sorcery – Kupala – was frequently honored this time of year, as not only sun deities but water deities are also frequently venerated around this time in different parts of the world. The Latvian legend of Midsummer Night’s Eve tells of those who spent the night awake next to the bonfire in search of a magical fern flower told to bring good luck. This legend was eventually adapted as a play by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595/1596). As with many pagan holidays, the Church appropriated midsummer festivities, moving them to June 24th, which they renamed St. John’s Eve.
Roman goddess, Vesta: goddess of the hearth
In Sweden, Midsommar festivities take place starting on Midsommar eve June 23rd, with celebrations, summer holidays and get-togethers extending through the coming days. Since the late Middle Ages, it has been a tradition in Sweden to dance around a decorated Midsummar pole called ‘maja’ that is decorated with flowers and greenery. This was considered a magical time of year when plants took on healing powers and were used in divination. It was traditional for young women to pick seven different kinds of flowers in silence. If the silence was broken, the magic wouldn’t work. The flowers were then placed under their pillows which would allow them to dream of their future husbands. It was also traditional to walk barefoot through the dew at dawn on Midsummer as a ritual to stay in good health. Wreaths of flowers were worn to symbolize fertility and rebirth. Often, these floral wreaths were dried in order to keep their magic through the coming year.
Vintage photo of Midsommar Festivities
For many practitioners of New Orleans Voodoo, St. John’s Eve on June 23rd , is considered the most important holiday of the year. As in other summer solstice traditions, St. John’s Eve is celebrated around the days of the 23rd featuring festivities centered around light and fire. St. John’s Eve honors Voodoo priestess, midwife and herbalist (not to mention local icon) Marie Laveau. On this day, head-washing ceremonies (a tradition which she started) are done. In the 1830s, Laveau began hosting annual feasts on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain (also referred to as St. John’s Lake) marking a bold shift from the days when enslaved people were not allowed to gather in big groups and were forced to hide their practices from view. This is a time for charity work, as Marie Laveau was famous for giving to the less fortunate and creating pathways out of poverty.
Marie Laveau
The Wiccan and/or neo-pagan holiday, Litha, foretells the coming of days gradually shortening once more as time moves along the Wheel of the Year. Litha is a colorful time of year when all the colors of the rainbow are represented, positioning ideally with Pride month. In Wiccan lore, the Goddesses’ consort – The Oak King – is at his most exalted state. He wears antlers like the stag who is roaming the forests this time of year. The Oak King rules over sun and the summer, and symbolizes abundance, love and fertility. The element of Litha is fire, representative of the energy of the Sun.
Wiccans at a solstice celebration
Summer Solstice is a day to celebrate the energy of the Sun, and the beginning of the Waning Year. This is a time for welcoming the sun’s power as it showers us in its rays, igniting our inner strength. We are at the height of the Solar Year, with all its life-giving energy at peak level. It’s time to bask in the light and celebrate our achievements. This solar charge sparks the fires within, illuminating all that has been hiding in the shadows.
The term “shadow self” was first put into use by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung to describe the side of us that we were shamed for during childhood and that we learned to suppress. For example, many queer people are shamed from a young age for not performing what is considered the right gender roles they were assigned at birth. As queers in a heteronormative society, we are conditioned to tamp down our authentic ways of self-expression. In this way, we begin to develop shadow selves that are often extensions of the parts of us that have been traumatized, becoming more distorted over time as negative emotions begin to take over in association with our traumas. Thus, our shadow sides are often considered our “dark” sides. By engaging in shadow work, we are better able to integrate our dark, damaged bits with our whole selves. Summer solstice is an ideal time for engaging in shadow work, and many practitioners use this time to work on healing and renewal – both big themes for this time of year.
The tarot card for the Summer Solstice is the Sun. The energy of the Sun shines light on this time of expansion, and focuses around themes of the Self. It’s a time for us to charge ourselves in the glow of all that nourishes us; for us to hold gratitude for our nearest and dearest and all the ways in which our community gives us sustenance and how we give back. The Sun’s energy extends the opportunity for us to use this moment to explore personal power, and what inspires and guides us toward our Truth.
Regardless of how you refer to it, summer solstice marks a time across the Northern Hemisphere of much joy and celebration. I typically set up an altar in my apartment. At summer solstice, I meditate on the lightness and darkness in the world, as well as my own life. This is time for celebrating the turning of the year, in celebration of fire and water, day and night, as well as other symbols of dark and light that hold personal meaning. Summer solstice is perfect for doing smoke cleanses to purify yourself, your residence, space and magical items.
As a solitary practitioner, for summer solstice I engage in an evening of ritual, smoke cleansing, followed by tarot and oracle divination work. If possible, it’s a great time to meet up with other witchy friends – either your coven or like-minded friends, and celebrate the beginning of summer outdoors. Going swimming, having a bonfire and/or barbecue at the end of the day is the full summer solstice vibe. Whether solitary or as a coven, take this moment to say goodnight to the sun and celebrate the solstice into the night with sparklers, storytelling and music.
The Sun card tells us to embrace life and bask in the joy of the sun. Through this, we are able to find a new perspective. Now it is time to reap the rewards of the hard work that has paid off. It’s time to do something fun, and embrace the childlike sense of wonder that illuminates the beauty of the world around us. This energy liberates and transforms the fire locked inside. This fire has always existed, but the world has a way of forcing us to dim our shine. Take the time on this day to light that internal fire and let yourself look at the world in a whole new way, with optimism, energy and wonder.
Here’s to a gorgeous, regenerative summer solstice that aids us in connecting with the light within to be beamed out to the world at large.
Summer Solstice Associations
Colors: white, yellow, the rainbow
Elements: fire, water
Animals: bees, butterflies, cattle, horses, robins, wrens, snakes, sea creatures, the stag
Herbs and flowers: basil, calendula, chamomile, daisy, heather, lavender, meadowsweet, mugwort, mistletoe, peony, rose, vervain, St. John’s Wort, sunflower, thyme
Trees: elder, oak, pine, rowan, fir
Fragrances: cedar, clove, frankincense, lavender, lemon, mint, myrrh, orange, pine, rose, sage
Crystals: amber, carnelian, citrine, diamond, jade, lapis, tiger’s eye
Food/Drink: mead, salmon, fresh salad, grilled veggies, cheese, bread, new potatoes with dill, pickles, charcuterie, infused drinks, strawberry cakes, beer, wine, tea
Sources:
https://www.chichenitza.com/blog/solstice-in-chichen-itza
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/voodoouniverse/2015/06/st-johns-eve-the-darker-side-of-solstice/
https://www.outdoorapothecary.com/summer-solstice/
Cunningham, Scott. 1993. Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. Woodbury, Minnesota USA. Llewellyn Worldwide.
Dorsey, Lilith. DATE. Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens: The Divine Feminine in the African Religious Traditions. Red Wheel/Weiser. Newburyport, Massachusetts USA.
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