Summer Solstice Spiritual Meaning
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A magical and fruitful time of prosperity! The Midsummer Solstice is the longest day of the year, filled with light and wonder. The flowers are in full bloom, the bees are buzzing, the animals are raising babies, and there is abundance everywhere we look.
We all feel a strong sense of community and excitement, with an itch to get outside to enjoy the bounty of Mother Earth. It’s so easy to be eternally grateful during the summer–this is just a happy time filled with love and prosperity.
During these warm months, we are guided to embrace our extroverted side and spend as much time outside as possible. From here on out, the days will slowly get shorter. Now is the time to enjoy the abundance of nature while it’s here.
The seeds we planted in the spring are literally coming to fruition, both the mental seeds of growth plus the seeds of crops and plants. Now is the time where we are able to reap what we sow on a physical and spiritual level.
In this blog post, I’ll share with you several easy ways to celebrate the Summer Solstice, plus a bit about the historical magic of Litha.
Summer Solstice Rituals
Normally, we associate the summer with big gatherings with our loved ones. Because we are unable to do that right now, we have to get creative. There’s always video chatting, speaking over the fences, or even social-distancing block parties.
Aside from gathering with friends and family to enjoy the sunshine together, there are lots of things we can do to celebrate the summer.
If you want to learn even more about the magic of Litha, plus all the other sabbats on the Wheel of the Year, check out this wonderful book! I reference it all year long and I just love its suggestions and lore.
Have a Bonfire
One of the most traditional celebrations of summer includes enjoying a roaring bonfire. You could have one every night, or only on midsummer’s night. A roaring fire helps us embody the energy of the Sun! It also helps us honor the light of summer, as the days will start getting a bit shorter from here on out until the Winter Solstice.
You could even save a bit of the ashes from your bonfire to use in future spells and rituals. I have a cute little jar filled with wood and ash from a bonfire that blazed on the Summer Solstice of 2016 which was also a full moon. That happens about once a century, so it certainly is a magical trinket!
Enjoy the Sunshine
Just be safe about it! Get yourself out in the sunshine for a little bit. Enjoying the beautiful weather is the easiest way to celebrate Litha, even if we have to celebrate it apart from all our friends. There are plenty of daylight hours on Litha, spend one of them out in the sunshine.
Be sure to open up all the blinds and curtains in your home, too. Allow your space to fill up with the warmth of golden light from the heavens!
Play with Happy Crystals
Any crystal that is green or yellow would be excellent to keep with you during your Litha celebrations. Crystals like sunstone, citrine, yellow calcite, moss or tree agate, and aventurine all make excellent choices. You can even let all your crystal friends charge up in the sun on this day.
Related Article – Cleansing Crystals with the Sun
Practice Sun Salutations
Of course you can do this at any time, but they’re especially fun to do on the longest day of the year. If you’re unfamiliar with a sun salutation, it is a sequence in yoga that anyone can do. It’s difficult to explain how to do it in words, so here’s a link to a wonderful YouTube video that is challenging but fun to do! If you don’t want to do 108 sun salutations, 5-12 of them would be more than enough to reap the benefits and get a fresh burst of energy.
Enjoy a Feast
Have a celebration for the abundant harvests! Eat plenty of herbs, fruits and vegetables. Make delicious iced teas and sangria with fresh herbs and fruits picked from the garden or your local farmer’s market. You could also cook up fresh summer breads, desserts, salads, and anything else that’s in season. Experiment with fancy cocktails too, if you’d like.
Help the Honeybees
In your garden, you can plant perennial wildflowers that are local to your area. These will attract the honeybees and help them pollinate the remaining crops through the rest of the season. Bees are an ancient symbol of Litha, so respect them during this time and they will continue to provide for our ecosystem.
Honeybees are an endangered species that humanity cannot afford to lose. If we don’t have bees to pollinate our crops, we will exhaust our food supply in a matter of a few years. Click here to learn more about how you can help save the bees.
[mailerlite_form form_id=10]Pick Fragrant Fresh Flowers
Bring the outside inside with a beautiful flower bouquet. Pick colors that you love and make you happy. Make it as simple or as elaborate as you like. But never harvest more than a third of what naturally grows outside. And be sure to thank Mother Earth for her botanical gifts!
Connect with Friends, New and Old
This is an outgoing season that encourages us to bond with people. Go out there and make new friends! Safely, of course, in light of the pandemic. You could also check in with people you already love. See how they’re doing, learn more about their dreams, and listen to their concerns. Build those bonds!
Hug an Oak Tree
Oak trees are powerful symbols of fertility and life. Because the Oak King is powerful now, you can hug a nearby oak tree to honor Him! Does it seem silly? Maybe! But this is a fun season filled with joy and playfulness, so why not embrace it? Literally. You can learn more about The Goddess, The Oak King, and The Holly King in this book.
Watch the Sunrise and/or Sunset
Look up what time the Sun will rise and set on Litha so you’re well prepared. Watch either one or both! That way you could be awake for the entirety of the solstice. The veil is thin on the eve of Midsummer’s Night, especially at sunset, making it easy for the fae (fairies, pixies, gnomes, and the like) to pass from their realm to ours to share their blessings and enjoy the abundance of life.
Manifesting Rituals
Manifesting energies are powerful during the summer months. The Earth and Universe are quickly bringing new life and miracles, making this a great time to practice deliberate manifesting.
Related Article – 5 Manifesting Misconceptions
Make a Fairy Garden
The night before the solstice, leave a little offering for your fairy friends. They will rejoice and bring with them abundance and good luck. You could make an elaborate fairy garden, fairy house, or leave some sweet treats like honey, milk, or nuts, or anything shiny that they can play with. Make sure it’s done before sunset! The fae will find it easily once they pass through the veil between worlds.
Refresh Your Altar
For your Litha altar, use bright colors like gold, purple, or yellow. You could also use green and red, all colors found abundantly in nature. Anything citrus or fragrant would work well, too. Be sure to use items that make you feel happy, as this is a season of pure love and joy.
Related Article – How To Create A Sacred Space
Summer Solstice Traditions
The Celctic goddess Danu represents Earth, abundance, and fruitfulness. She is considered the Mother goddess who has nurtured all other gods and goddesses. She gave birth to all life in the land, and is strongly associated with flowing water. She brings her many children magic, transformation, abundance, wisdom, and inspiration. Litha is Her time to shine. She ignites an inner fire, bringing all of us closer to the Divine and our most authentic way of life.*
Litha is a celebration of the Sun. The Sun is the life force of the Earth and its power is at its strongest on this day. Not just because there are the most hours of daylight, but also for the bountiful harvests the Sun is able to make possible.
The Sun’s warmth gives us the power to flourish. It also unites all the planets in our social system. The Sun’s energy is so strong that we feel its warmth from millions upon millions of miles away. Litha is a sabbat where we recognize and honor this celestial body because without it, life would not exist on our planet.
Humans, plants, and animals all need the Sun to survive and thrive. We have been grateful for its energy for many thousands of years. That is why it’s important to witches and ancient Pagan cultures to partake in fun activities that honor the life bringing star.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you’ve learned something new, and feel inspired to spend the longest day of the year outside honoring the Sun. I know that’s why I’ll be doing 😉
