Summer Solstice Litha

I Love the Summer Solstice also known as Litha, it is a Sun Festival or Fire Festival if you like.The Holly King vanquishes the Oak King to begin his reign.
You can learn more about them here The Oak and Holly King
The Goddess is now the Mother giving us more than what we need.  Crops are in full growth and the garden is bursting with life, their is an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

  The Summer Solstice marks the end of the waxing year and the start of the waning year, when the sun’s power begins to fade and the days grow shorter.

Colours of Litha: Blue, Green Gold Yellow, Orange and Red

Animals and Mythical Beings:   Cattle,  Robin, Wren Horses,   Faeries, Dragons Satyrs

   

Foods: Honey, Fresh vegetables, Lemons, Oranges, Summer fruits,Bread.

On Midsummer Night, Elves, Sprites, and Faeries abound, making this a great time to commune with them. William Shakespeare's Mid Summer Nights Dream is all about the Faery Realm at this time of year.
Now I know some people will throw their hands up in horror when I say this, but I don't like Shakespeare, I find it hard to understand. I have read many of his plays and studied them for exams but I still find the language hard to understand.
So at this time of year I read stories about Faeries and re-acquaint myself with some Faery stories from childhood I have a Grimm's and Hans Anderson story books. My Husband Colin got them for me as my books were thrown out by my Mother many years ago and when he found out he bought me the Fairy Story Books that I had loved so much as a girl.
I have a book that I read and yes it is a children's book but it is fun to read and full of magic.
A Midsummer Nights Faery Tale, I read it each year before the Solstice and it always puts me in the mood for the celebrations. Midsummer Nights Faery Tale
I love little Sneezle he is so sweet,  that is him below.

 World of Froud

Why is Litha also  named Mid Summer?
Using the old calender that our ancestors used Summer begins at Beltane May 1st and ends at Lammas August 1st. This makes Litha or the Summer Solstice midway between the two hence Mid- Summer.
If you think about it this makes more sense than the more modern suggestion that Summer starts June 21st as it is from them that days slowly get shorter as the Sun's power wanes.


My Activities for Litha 2014
Each year I like to do something different and this year I have decided to make something new.
A God's Eye

How to make a God's Eye

I will post a picture of my own God's Eye when I have made it.

I love Faeries so will make  new ones and this time they will be a little different  Yarn Faeries made from a Yarn Doll pattern I found here Yarn Dolls   
I am going to add wings and if I can find them some artificial flower petals that I have in my card making items.

For my Kitchen I will decorate a wooden spoon. I love wooden spoons and use them a lot but I do not have one that is decorated so will decorate one for Litha. I will add a picture of my spoon later.

My Litha Meal
Dinner  is going to be Ravioli from Marks and Spencer with a salad.

Now why did I chose this?
 This year I chose a ready meal something I rarely use but as my Husband has not been well and is only just getting his appetite back he likes Ravioli so I am going with that and making a nice fresh salad to go with it.
It is low calorie and I am doing my best to lose weight and this meal means I have something tasty.
Dessert will be a Lemon Cheesecake, individual ones not a large one.
Drink will be Sparkling Elderflower.

Celebrating each Sabbat helps to keep you in touch with natures cycles. I like to make things for each sabbat and enjoy either cooking something or creating a menu that reflects the sabbat.

Blue Faery

My Yarn Faeries

I did not make legs for my Faeries as I wanted them look as if they had a dress on.

Lavender Faery

Rose Faery

 I can make more Faeries each year and hang them on some twigs that I have and use them as a decoration for Litha.









This is my God's Eye

I like to use what I have and for this I used drinking straws. I used six straws in total, I kept two straws whole and split the others down the middle. By cutting then down the middle I was able to push them onto the whole straw making them strong enough to use. Then I created the cross as instructed on the website and made the God's Eye, I added the bead in the middle as I thought it looked nice.

I will make more of these as well and add them to the branches each year it should make a colourful decoration.

My Spoon
 I am not an artist but I do my best and try to make things look pretty.

 

My Kitchen Spoon

This is the top of the Spoon The symbols  and colours represent
Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

I chose these as we cannot do anything in the Kitchen without them. The Earth supports plants as they grow, Air or Wind helps pollinate plants and makes trees grow strong, Fire or the Sun helps plants grow, Water feeds them. The Elements are part of all life so I thought it appropriate to have them on my spoon.

This is the middle part of the Spoon handle and each silver dot represents the Full Moon so there are 13 in all.

This is the bowl of the Spoon, see I said was not an artist.
I used wood glue to add the sliver of wood to the bowl so I could add the Key and Symbol, I wanted it raised so it is visible.
To me the Key is a symbol of the home and opening doors, so I added a Key as I am a Hearth Witch and as I learn new things I open the door to understanding.
The Symbol below the Key is the symbol of my Magical Name. The design and I say that loosely, is a vine and flowers, well sort of, it looks better from a distance.

The Spoon is a visual reminder of my chosen Path and something that I will see every day as I work in the kitchen. I give my tools Magickal Names you don't have to but I like doing it, for me it makes the tool extra special.

Candle Magick

So what is candle magick?
Well we have all used candle magick, if you have ever had a Birthday cake with candles and made a wish as you blew them out the flames, then you have performed simple candle magick.

The difference between the birthday wish and candle magick is this. With candle magick you are focusing your intent for a specific thing, it can be anything from needing extra money to pay a bill or to send positive energy to a friend in need.

 How do you perform Candle Magick?

It really is not that hard and once you have the basics you will soon find ways to do this that suit you. Always remember to believe your spell will work, you don't want to add negative energy to your spell.
You will find various sites that state you must have a certain coloured candle well  let me tell you a little secret  'The candle has no idea what colour it is'.
I use white candles a lot as they are easy to get and they reflect the spectrum of colours.

The important thing to do is Cleanse your candles to rid them of any negative energy they have picked up. Remember they have been handled many times by various people and you have no idea what sort of day they have had so it makes sense to cleanse the candle.

Cleansing:
Cleansing a candle is no different to cleansing anything else so use the method that you prefer. I like to use Salt, Incense, Water and Flame.
I also place the candle on my Altar and ask the God and Goddess to bless my candle, this is something I like to do and not something I have read about.
Search around and read how to do this and find a way that you feel happy with there are many ways to cleanse items.Do what feels right to you.
This shows you one way to Cleanse items.
How to Bless Consecrate and Cleanse Altar Items

Once the candle is cleansed you need to dress it, this is done with various oils.

Dressing a candle
First of all choose the oil you want to use I will go into this later on for now I want to tell you how to add the oil to the candle.
First of all I like to add the oil to my hands and then to the candle.
This is important
I always add essential oil to a base oil before I use it and always make sure it safe to use on the skin.

Take the candle in your hand and rub the oil onto the candle.
You do it this way:
1) To attract something to you: Rub the oil from wick to base, then from wick to the middle of the candle.
Do Not rub the oil up and down the candle go in one direction only. You can ask the God and Goddess to bless the candle or meditate on your intent, you can do both.
2) To repel or banish something rub the oil from the middle to the top then from the middle to the bottom of the candle again Do Not rub the oil up and down the candle.

Now a word on Colours
As I said the candle has no idea what colour it is so if you don't have a green candle to attract the money to pay a bill or red candle for strength to cope with something what can you do?
The answer is simple use a white candle and add a red or green card under the candle holder, the colour is for you to focus on.
I have added sites about Candle Magick at the bottom of this posting you will find more about colours and their meaning there.

Now for the Oils
Essential oils are usually added to a base oil and then added to the candle. Unless you are lucky enough to have a selection of Essential oils and lets face it they are expensive, you will probably not have the oil you want to use.
So what are you going to do? Well I use herbs, so for example I want to attract a little extra money to pay that bill and I need Cinnamon for Prosperity and I have no Cinnamon Essential oil. I do however have Cinnamon in my Spice rack, so I use that by adding a pinch to the base oil.

Base or Carrier oils are used as essential oils are not normally used directly on the skin so make sure you use a base oil. Now these are many and varied and all have their own uses. Use the one you like and can afford. Personally I go with a light olive oil as I always have that to hand but if you want to use a carrier oil.
I have added two links one for Essential oils and one for Carrier oils.
Magickal Uses of Essential Oils

Carrier and Base oils

What sort of candles do you use?
In practical terms any, it all depends on how much you want or can afford to spend. You can get candles called Spell candles these are usually around 6 inches long but any candle will do. Shorter candles are used as they are left to burn down so having a shorter one makes sense.

How to use Tea lights
Yes even tea lights can be used  they come in a variety of colours and some are even scented. I use white tea lights a lot and devised my own way dressing them. So far I have not found a site that tells you how to do this, I may be wrong but I have not found one.
A tea light has no up or down so you may think they cannot be dressed for spells. However I came up with this idea:
I use the oil and essential oil or herbs as normal and to dress the candle. Take the tea light out of the foil container rub the oil onto the candle using my finger Clockwise ( Deosil) to attract things to me, or Counter Clockwise  (Widdershins) to repel or banish. I do this on the top and sides of the tea light then put it back into the foil and I am ready to go.
Now this is a little trick I use to allow my tea light to burn down and be useful as well. I pop it under an Oil Burner that has oil and water in the top usually with a corresponding room fragrance oil. For example if I am using Cinnamon to dress my candle I use a Cinnamon room fragrance oil.
You can get oils for oil burners from just about anywhere and some are fairly cheap so you can have a selection of them and your spell candle can sit under the oil burner and fragrance the room as well.

Oil burners some in all shapes, sizes and designs these are my Oil Burners

 Inscribing your Candle
You can add symbols or words to your candle as well. This can be done with your Athame or Boline I however I prefer a smaller tool that I find easier to use and keep it for that purpose alone.
I use this

That's right a pen that no longer works, it does the job perfectly and is easier to use than an Athame or Boline.

When to perform your Spell
Some sites tell you to perform a spell on a set day or Moon phase this is fine but not always practical as you may need to perform a spell at a different time to the one suggested.
I work spells as and when needed rather than a set moon phase, after all I may need that extra money for the bill when the Moon is Waning and your meant to perform the spell  during a Waxing Moon . So how do you word your spell? ask that any obstacles be removed allowing you make it possible to pay the bill.
So don't wait for the correct moon phase use what you have and think about how to ask for what you need in a different way.

Sites I found useful about Candle Magick.

Candle Magic

Candle Colours and their Magickal Properties

The Art of Candle Magick

Candle Magick


You may like to make what is called a Working Candle I found it on YouTube and have made one for myself.

This is my Working Candle you can just see the carvings in it if you look closely and this is how you make it.

How to make a Working Candle part 1

How to make a Working Candle part 2


I love Candle Magick it is easy to do and candles are plentiful so you are never stuck trying to find something special.