Litha is a fire festival celebrated on the summer solstice between June 20th and 24th. This is the longest day of the year, which means it is also the shortest night. It is the height of celebration, as the triumphant sun shines bright and majestic, full of passion and success. Litha is a symbol of light, love and happiness, as well as, warmth and the power of the sun. We rejoice in the seasons and the source of the light that is the basis of life. While we honor the sun at it's most powerful, and recognize that we have many long days ahead of us, we are also aware that days are about to start getting shorter.

How to Celebrate

At this time, we celebrate that we can be in active daytime mode, the peak of summer. Here are a few ideas to help you celebrate.

1. Go Outside

Take time to participate in your favorite outdoor activity. Whether you love long bike rides, going to the beach to lounge in the sun, or hiking up the side of a mountain, be sure to get outside and do something in the sun. Become extra aware of the sun and how it makes you feel when it touches your skin.

2. Decorate your Altar

While you're out and about, you may wish to collect some pieces of nature to bring inside to decorate your altar. Sunflowers, mint, basil, lavender and sage are all wonderful herbs and flowers for Litha. Be sure to only collect things that have already fallen from plants or plant something new if you harvest something from a living plant.

Use bright citrus colored fabric and ribbons to cover your altar. Light candles in these colors as well. Burn fruity or floral incense. Crystals for Litha include high energy stones like citrine, sunstone, garnet and carnelian. (Charge these crystals in midsummer sunlight as well).

3. Host a Garden Party or BBQ

Fire up the BBQ and grill a couple of veggie burgers in the late setting sun. Take advantage of the late hours of sunlight and invite all your friends over to grill with you. Bonus points if you make it potluck style and people bring food they grew themselves. 

4. Light a Bonfire

Extend the power of the sun, long after it sets by lighting a bonfire. This could be an extension of the garden party or BBQ you have with your friends or something you do privately. Burn sacred wood and herbs in the bonfire to enhance the magic. Let the fire go out naturally and collect the ashes for use in rituals throughout the year or in your garden as a fertilizer.

5. Create an energy bag

Collect herbs, crystals and other things that are associated with vibrancy and life. Stuff them into a small drawstring bag. Leave this bag out in the sun to collect energy for you to use in spells and rituals at a later date. The energy at Litha is the most powerful sun energy of the whole year, but this bag will not hold it indefinitely. It can be recharged with regular sunlight though.

6. Perform a Nighttime Ritual

Since the night is so short and still warm, this is a great time to perform rituals outside at nighttime that you normally couldn't perform. This is also a perfect time to perform larger spells on those big topics that need a lot of power.

7. Meditate Outside

You may be catching onto a theme here: do everything outside at this time of the year. This includes meditation. The way the sun hits you can really enhance your meditation practice. Spend time focusing on harvesting the peak of the sun's energy and what it has manifested in your life. Begin preparing for the sun's power to fade and how this will effect your choices and energy level.

Bonus: Acts of Service

• Give money or time to a solar energy project

• plant trees (especially ones which will provide fruit or berries to feed birds and wildlife)

• Volunteer at a food kitchen

• Volunteer at an animal shelter

Crystals

My top ten choices of stones that can be helpful dealing with the many emotions and themes of this season would be Carnelian, Yellow Topaz, Tigers Eye, Citrine, Sunstone, Green Aventurine, Emerald, Jade, Peridot and Rose Quartz.

Themes

• SPIRITUAL FOCUS: abundance, cleansing, creativity, divination, fertility, fire, growth, healing, inspiration, love, motherhood, opportunity, power, success, sun god energy, warmth

• MAGICAL FOCUS: abundance, empowerment, energy, fertility, growth, health, increase, light (longest day of the year), love, motherhood

• SUGGESTED WORKINGS: bidding farewell to the waxing half of the year, celebrating the sun, connecting with the earth and/or growing things, green magic, harvesting herbs (especially healing herbs), honoring the pregnant goddess/the god at his peak, weddings and handfasting, working with the faeries

Colors

• Gold - energy, power, prosperity, solar deities, strength, success, the god, the sun, wisdom

• Green - abundance, calming, fertility, growth, new beginnings, prosperity

• Orange - adaptability, communication, courage, creativity, energy, optimism, success

• Red - anger, courage, creativity, desire, energy, fire, lust, passion, sexual love, strength, willpower

• White - cleansing, divination, healing, innocence, peace, protection, truth

• Yellow - communication, creativity, dream work, happiness, intelligence, learning, protection, psychic ability, the sun, willpower

Guide to Litha Correspondences

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What are some of your Litha traditions? Tell me about them in the comments below.