snakingriver: *Summer Solstice/Litha Celebration and activities:* Litha is a time for healing of all

snakingriver: *Summer Solstice/Litha Celebration and activities:* Litha is a time for healing of all kinds, and protection rituals. Some work can and should be done alone, but there is room for more social gatherings. Gather family and friends together with some drums and rattles, and dance the whole night through. Go berry picking. Go bird watching. Burn a Wreath in bon fire. Wreaths of Vervain and Mugwort were burned in ancient times at the end of the festivals to burn away bad luck. Place roses on your altar, as this is the Goddess flower. Leave out milk and honey as an offering to the Fae. Make a seashell charm to hang around your neck. Create a fire divination, stare into the fire and look for forms in the leaping flames. Create a ritual to bring healing and love to Mother Earth. Make protection amulets for friends and family: Examples: Witches Ladders 1. Use feathers in colors that correspond with your need 2. Braid a yard each of white, black, and red cord for Goddess 3. Chant while braiding: “Maiden, Mother, Ancient Crone Your powers to these cords please loan” 4. Add feathers to chain as it grows Make a quill pen to use in your Book of Shadows: 1. Scoop out the back of the quill and remove the core 2. Cut a tiny notch on the front of the quill 3. Cut a slit on the front of the quill from the notchdown 5. Cut the tip of the quill to form a point *Midsummer Symbolism:* Symbolism : Nurturing and love are key actions related to Midsummer. If you haven’t yet done so, Litha is a good time to perform your Self-Dedication Ceremony to witchcraft. Great time for herb gathering. Longest day of the year, marks the time when days begin to get shorter again. Symbols: fire to celebrate the power of the sun, sun wheels, god eyes, mother goddess, ripening fruits, sun dials, feathers, and swords, blades. Deities: Father Gods and Mother Goddesses, Pregnant Goddesses and Sun Deities. Goddesses Aphrodite, Astarte, Freya, Hathor, Ishtar, Venus and other Goddesses who preside over love, passion and beauty. Athena, Artemis, Dana, Kali, Isis, Juno, Apollo, Dagda, Gwydion, Helios, Llew, Oak Holly King, Lugh, Ra, Sol, Zeus, Prometheus, Ares, Mother Earth, Father Sun, the fey, fairy folkand Thor. Magick: Healings, growth spells, empowerment spells, and love magick are all incredibly potent at this time Tools: drums, rattles, bonfire, mirrors for reflecting the sun or bonfire. Colors: white, red, maize yellow or golden yellow, green, blue and tan. Stones: all green gemstones, especially emerald, jade, tigers eye, lapis lazuli, ruby, diamonds, amethyst, malachite, golden topaz, opal, quartz crystal, azurite-malachite, lapis lazuli. Animals: include robins, wrens, all Summer birds, horses and cattle. Herbs: chamomile, cinquefoil, elder, fennel, hemp, larkspur, lavender, male fern, mugwort, pine, roses, Saint Johns wort, honesty, wild thyme, wisteria, oak, mistletoe, frankincense, lemon, sandalwood, heliotrope, copal, saffron, galangal, laurel, ylang-ylang, Basil, Betony, Dogwood, Oak, Rue, vervain, trefoil and verbena. Incense: frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood, lemon , pine, jasmine, rose, lotus, or wysteria. Foods: fresh vegetables of all kinds and fresh fruits such as lemons and oranges, pumpernickel bread as well as Summer squash and any yellow or orange colored foods. Barbecued food especially chicken or pork. Midsummer is also the time for making mead, since honey is now plentiful. Traditional drinks are ale, mead, sweet wines, fresh fruit juice of any kind and herb teas. Element: fire Flowers: sunflower and rose Follow me @snakingriver aka The Witch of Sea Cliff for all things witchy. JOIN SPELL SCHOOL THE ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL FOR WITCHCRAFT AND DIVINATION ARTS. SEE HASHTAG Spellschool for Details! -- source link

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