Wiccan Reads--Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice, by any other name is called Midsummer or Litha. My personal preference is to call this Sabbat Litha. Depending on your tradition or your calendar, Litha occurs June 21st this year. A fire festival, Litha is notable for festivities involving bonfires (as a lot of sabbats do), celebrations, blessing crops and gardens, rejoicing in Summer's Light and Warmth. Winter is months away, the Earth is flourishing and the God and Goddess are in their superb and beautiful aspects. This is a great time to get together with those you love and plan a ritual, celebrate with a BBQ or picnic, plan a bonfire, gather flowers and herbs to toss on the fire, with good intention. In other words, eat, drink and be merry.

A helpful book that you can find at most bookstores or online is Midsummer; Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice, by Anna Franklin, copyright 2002, published by Llewellyn Publications, St Paul, Minnesota 55164-0383.  Llewellyn's website

In this book you will find the origins of this festival, old customs, new customs, magickal tradtions and spellwork, recipes, herb craft, rituals and an abundance of useful information in the Appendixes. Llewellyn Publications offers books on all the sabbats, and it is definitely worth looking into, especially for a solitary practitioner of the Craft.
 
I so enjoy this Sabbat. I think it is my favorite. (if you read back through my blog, though, you will find that every sabbat I write about is my favorite). It is light and bright, happy, fun. A celebration of this awesome time of year on our beloved Earth is just downright sweet!!

image credit:  morganarose.com