Coven of Cythrawl
Litha
Litha, also called Midsummer and Summer Solstice, (Druids call it Alban Heruin) celebrates the abundance and beauty of the Earth.
This is the longest day of the year, and will fall somewhere between the dates above depending on when the Sun is at its northern most point. The God is at His peak of manhood and from this day forth alas, will start to die as the wheel continues t turn.
From this day forth, the days will wane; growing shorter and shorter until Yule. The trees and fields at this time are full and prosperous. The young animals and birds are learning to live and frolic in the fields and trees. This is a time of the Faery, when a festival called the Feast of the Faery is held.
It is believed that at twilight on this day, the portals between worlds open and the Faery Folk may pass into our world. Welcome them on this day and they may bless you with their wisdom and joy. This is a time to look internally at the seeds you've planted that should be coming to full bloom.
"The young maid
stole through the cottage door,
And blushed as she sought the Plant of pow'r;--
Thou silver glow-worm, O lend me thy light,
I must gather the mystic St. John's wort tonight,
The wonderful herb, whose leaf will decide
If the coming year shall make me a bride."
In addition to the four great
festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the
two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the
four "quarter-days" of the year, and modern Witches call them the four
"Lesser Sabbats", or the four "Low Holidays". The Summer
Solstice is one of them.
Technically, a solstice is an
astronomical point and, due to the procession to the equinox, the date may vary
by a few days depending on the year. The summer solstice occurs when the sun
reaches the Tropic of Cancer, and we experience the longest day and the shortest
night of the year. Astrologers know this as the date on which the sun enters the
sign of Cancer. This year (1988) it will occur at 10:57 pm CDT on June 20th.
However, since most European
peasants were not accomplished at reading an ephemeris or did not live close
enough to Salisbury Plain to trot over to Stonehenge and sight down its main
avenue, they celebrated the event on a fixed calendar date, June 24th. The
slight forward displacement of the traditional date is the result of
multitudinous calendrical changes down through the ages. It is analogous to the
winter solstice celebration, which is astronomically on or about December 21st,
but is celebrated on the traditional date of December 25th, Yule, later adopted
by the Christians.
Again, it must be remembered that
the Celts reckoned their days from sundown to sundown, so the June 24th
festivities actually begin on the previous sundown (our June 23rd). This was
Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Eve. Which brings up another point: our modern
calendars are quite misguided in suggesting that "summer begins" on
the solstice. According to the old folk calendar, summer BEGINS on May Day and
ends on Lammas (August 1st), with the summer solstice, midway between the two,
marking MID-summer. This makes more logical sense than suggesting that summer
begins on the day when the sun's power begins to wane and the days grow shorter.
Although our Pagan ancestors
probably preferred June 24th (and indeed most European folk festivals today use
this date), the sensibility of modern Witches seems to prefer the actual
solstice point, beginning the celebration on its eve, or the sunset immediately
preceding the solstice point. Again, it gives modern Pagans a range of dates to
choose from with, hopefully, a weekend embedded in it.
Just as the Pagan mid-winter
celebration of Yule was adopted by Christians as Christmas (December 25th), so
too the Pagan mid-summer celebration was adopted by them as the feast of John
the Baptist (June 24th). Occurring 180 degrees apart on the wheel of the year,
the mid-winter celebration commemorates the birth of Jesus, while the mid-summer
celebration commemorates the birth of John, the prophet who was born six months
before Jesus in order to announce his arrival.
Although modern Witches often
refer to the holiday by the rather generic name of Midsummer's Eve, it is more
probable that our Pagan ancestors of a few hundred years ago actually used the
Christian name for the holiday, St. John's Eve. This is evident from the wealth
of folklore that surrounds the summer solstice (i.e. that it is a night
especially sacred to the faerie folk) but which is inevitably ascribed to
"St. John's Eve", with no mention of the sun's position. It could also
be argued that a Coven's claim to antiquity might be judged by what name it
gives the holidays. (Incidentally, the name "Litha" for the holiday is
a modern usage, possibly based on a Saxon word that means the opposite of Yule.
Still, there is little historical justification for its use in this context.)
But weren't our Pagan ancestors offended by the use of the name of a Christian
saint for a pre-Christian holiday?
Well, to begin with, their
theological sensibilities may not have been as finely honed as our own. But
secondly and more importantly, St. John himself was often seen as a rather Pagan
figure. He was, after all, called "the Oak King". His connection to
the wilderness(from whence "the voice cried out") was often emphasized
by the rustic nature of his shrines. Many statues show him as a horned figure
(as is also the case with Moses). Christian iconographers mumble embarrassed
explanations about "horns of light", while modern Pagans giggle and
happily refer to such statues as "Pan the Baptist". And to clench
matters, many depictions of John actually show him with the lower torso of a
satyr, cloven hooves and all! Obviously, this kind of John the Baptist is more
properly a Jack in the Green! Also obvious is that behind the medieval
conception of St. John lies a distant, shadowy Pagan deity, perhaps the
archetypal Wild Man of the Wood, whose face stares down at us through the
foliate masks that adorn so much church architecture. Thus medieval Pagans may
have had fewer problems adapting than we might suppose.
In England, it was the ancient
custom on St. John's Eve to light large bonfires after sundown, which served the
double purpose of providing light to the revelers and warding off evil spirits.
This was known as "setting the watch". People often jumped through the
fires for good luck. In addition to these fires, the streets were lined with
lanterns, and people carried cressets (pivoted lanterns atop poles) as they
wandered from one bonfire to another. These wandering, garland-bedecked bands
were called a "marching watch". Often they were attended by morris
dancers, and traditional players dressed as a unicorn, a dragon, and six
hobby-horse riders. Just as May Day was a time to renew the boundary on one's
own property, so Midsummer's Eve was a time to ward the boundary of the city.
Customs surrounding St. John's Eve
are many and varied. At the very least, most young folk plan to stay up
throughout the whole of this shortest night. Certain courageous souls might
spend the night keeping watch in the center of a circle of standing stones. To
do so would certainly result in either death, madness, or (hopefully) the power
of inspiration to become a great poet or bard. (This is, by the way, identical
to certain incidents in the first branch of the "Mabinogion".) This
was also the night when the serpents of the island would roll themselves into a
hissing, writhing ball in order to engender the "glain", also called
the "serpent's egg", "snake stone", or "Druid's
egg". Anyone in possession of this hard glass bubble would wield incredible
magical powers. Even Merlyn himself (accompanied by his black dog) went in
search of it, according to one ancient Welsh story.
Snakes were not the only creatures
active on Midsummer's Eve. According to British faery lore, this night was
second only to Halloween for its importance to the wee folk, who especially
enjoyed a ridling on such a fine summer's night. In order to see them, you had
only to gather fern seed at the stroke of midnight and rub it onto your eyelids.
But be sure to carry a little bit of rue in your pocket, or you might well be
"pixie-led". Or, failing the rue, you might simply turn your jacket
inside-out, which should keep you from harm's way. But if even this fails, you
must seek out one of the "ley lines", the old straight tracks, and
stay upon it to your destination. This will keep you safe from any malevolent
power, as will crossing a stream of "living" (running) water.
Other customs included decking the
house (especially over the front door) with birch, fennel, St. John's wort,
orpin, and white lilies. Five plants were thought to have special magical
properties on this night: rue, roses, St. John's wort, vervain and trefoil.
Indeed, Midsummer's Eve in Spain is called the "Night of the Verbena (Vervain)".
St. John's wort was especially honored by young maidens who picked it in the
hopes of divining a future lover.
And the glow-worm came
With its silvery flame,
And sparkled and shone
Through the night of St. John,
And soon has the young maid her love-knot tied.
There are also many mythical
associations with the summer solstice, not the least of which concerns the
seasonal life of the God of the sun. Inasmuch as I believe that I have recently
discovered certain associations and correspondences not hitherto realized, I
have elected to treat this subject in some depth in another essay. Suffice it to
say here, that I disagree with the generally accepted idea that the Sun-God
meets his death at the summer solstice. I believe there is good reason to see
the Sun-God at his zenith -- his peak of power -- on this day, and that his
death at the hands of his rival would not occur for another quarter of a year.
Material drawn from the Welsh mythos seems to support this thesis. In Irish
mythology, Midsummer is the occasion of the first battle between the Fir Bolgs
and the Tuatha De Danaan.
Altogether, Midsummer is a
favorite holiday for many Witches in that it is so hospitable to outdoor
celebrations. The warm summer night seems to invite it. And if the celebrants
are not in fact skyclad, then you may be fairly certain that the long ritual
robes of winter have yielded place to short, tunic-style apparel. As with the
longer gowns, tradition dictates that one should wear nothing underneath -- the
next best thing to skyclad, to be sure. (Incidentally, now you know the REAL
answer to the old Scottish joke, "What is worn underneath the kilt?")
The two chief icons of the holiday
are the spear (symbol of the Sun-God in his glory) and the summer cauldron
(symbol of the Goddess in her bounty). The precise meaning of these two symbols,
which I believe I have recently discovered, will be explored in the essay on the
death of Llew. But it is interesting to note here that modern Witches often use
these same symbols in the Midsummer rituals. And one occasionally hears the
alternative consecration formula, "As the spear is to the male, so the
cauldron is to the female..." With these mythic associations, it is no
wonder that Midsummer is such a joyous and magical occasion!
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