The Litha 2012 Altar

I had a lovely time putting together my altar for Litha, as well as putting a few permanent pieces on the altar. Here are some photos!

The Altar from the front and the top. I particularly like the view from the top because you can see nearly all of the different elements.

The four corners:

North/Earth – Earth holds a deer skull that was found in the forest. A deer rib which was found in the different area of the same forest. A cat skull from my cat who was killed by a cougar, in my backyard as wel as some of her teeth. These are the permanent pieces for this corner. I also have a blue flower dish which holds Litha Incense.

East/Air – Holds a small frosted glass votive candle in the shape of a bird, which holds all of my feathers. A small blue and white dish which we use to burn loose or cone incense, both of which are permanent. There would have been a stick incense holder as well, with a faerie on the end, but, that one is out of commission and I was unable to glue it back together. It will be up there soon enough.

South/Fire – Is permanent home to a red cinnamon apple candle, a red inspiration candle, as well as a red fire element candle which is not pictured.  The Candle holder in the back glows a lovely yellow when used, which I thought would be a fantastic way to signify the sun.

West/Water – Has three shells, one large white one (in the back), one small one (in the front), and one much smaller snail shell in the front, as well as a small wooden bead. I’m not sure where it came from, but it still evokes water in my mind. I also keep a large glass and metal tankard which holds an offering of water. For Litha, I wanted another type of libation, so I poured a glass of lemonade and mixed it with mint mead.

Center/Spirit – This is where I keep most of the seasonal goodies. In the center I have roses, and lavender, surrounded by rose petals, which is in turn surrounded by stones such as Agate, Fire Opal (my daughter’s ring), Citrine (my ring), Amber, Tiger’s Eye and others. I also have two cars from The Heart of Faerie Oracle deck. On the left is The Green Lady and on the right, The Green Man. In front of the flowers I have a small hand sculpted and painted Green and Blue Goddess statuette, which has a small silver sun propped up against her pregnant belly. None of these are permanent additions.

Litha 2012

It is still early, or late, or something… I dunno. It is Litha today, and I here is my plan for the day

• Harvest Roses, Lavender, and Rosemary for the Altar. __Done__
• Make Litha Incense __Done__
  2 Parts Rose Petals
  2 Parts Lavender
  2 Parts Rosemary
  2 Parts Cedar
  1 Part Cannabis Leaf
• Wake up the little at 5:25 AM for a Litha Sunrise Ritual. __Done__
• Start sun tea for tonight’s gathering. __Done__
• Organize the altar __Done__
• Do a Litha Oracle reading, focused on my business.
• Clean up. __Done__
• Shop for some yummy Litha type foods: __Done__
  (Lemon Cake, Yellow Zucchini, Strawberries, Oranges, Ginger candies, Carrots, Ice cream, Apple Cider, Lemonade, Orange Juice, Corn)
• Snuggle with wifey __Done__
• Nap. __Done__
• Move necessary items into the living room and kitchen respectively. __Done__
• Party! __Done__

There will be photos of a good bit of the above with their own individual posts linked, eventually.

Litha Information

Litha, (also known as Midsummer or the Summer Solstice) is next week on June 20th and I must say, I’m excited. It’s one of my honey’s favorite holidays and I’m sure she’s excited, as am I! Here is some Litha information we got from a website awhile ago, which has since been taken down.

---

Midsummer
Can take place between June 19th and the 22nd
Longest Day of the Year

Ablan Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-Couples Day, Feast of Epona, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Oak Festival, Sonnewad, St. John's Day, Summer Solstice, Sun Blessing, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide

A new holiday adapted by neo-pagans to celebrate the middle of summer. The origins of the holiday originated in Wales where the celebration of Midsummer was practiced and is called Gwyl Canol Haf. It is my conclusion that ancient pagans probably celebrated a form of a midsummer holiday anyway because 1. The seasons and especially a solstice were important to them and 2. They had very hard lives and enjoyed celebrating like now by neo-pagans. The name given to this time of year would have been St. John’s Eve or St. Hans Aften or Jonines, or any other variations of “John”. Emphasis would have been placed on the twilight time of balance of dark and light, short and long and the gray area in between when the faerie’s or Spirits would be out and seen and communicated with easily. The times of dusk and dawn, eves of holidays, hence we get the wonderful Shakespeare store of a Midsummer Eve. Why St. John? At the time of early Christianity and conversions, St. John was seen as a rustic nature based figure and often called the Oak Man. There are many statues of him that still exist with portray him as half human and half animal, perhaps hints of him as being a Jack in the Green or The Wild Man in the Woods. The plant, St. John’s Wort was seen as defense against harmful faeries. Bonfires are still lit today on the midsummer’s, lighting up hillsides and casting a glow of protection from harmful faeries.

If you have children, a great way to spend the holiday together as a family is to take them to a sacred site and picnic with vegetables and fruits from your garden and have them search for specific plants of the holiday too and explain the folklore. Midsummer and summer time are also the time for many pagans and non-pagans too to think about weddings and handfastings. Many herbs collected at this time are used for a traditional handfasting. Picnics afterward with mead and ale and the traditional vegetables and fruits of the summer are served as well as wild flowers everywhere in hair and on table spreads.
Magickal Weddings: Pagan Handfasting Traditions for Your Sacred Union – Joy Ferguson

Summer Solstice Incense Recipe
Oils and incense recipes from The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews by Scott Cunningham
3 parts Frankincense
2 parts Benzoin
1 part Dragon’s Blood
1 Part Thyme
1 part Rosemary
pinch Vervain
a few drops of Red Wine

Midsummer Oil Recipe
4 drops Lavender Oil
3 drops Rosemary Oil
1 drop Pine Oil
Sunflower Oil for a base

Midsummer Ritual Mead
Gereina Dunwich’s The Wicca Spell Book: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes
2 1/2 Gallons Water
1 cup Meadowsweet Herb
1 cup Woodruff Sprigs
1 cup Heather Flowers
3 Cloves
1 Cup Honey
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Barley Malt
1 oz. Brewer’s Yeast

Pour the water into a large cauldron or kettle. Bring to a boil and add the Meadowsweet Herb, Woodruff Sprigs, Heather Flowers, and cloves. Boil for one hour and add the honey, brown sugar, and barley Malt. Stir 13 times in a clockwise direction and then remove from heat.

Strain through a cheesecloth and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the brewer’s yeast. Cover with a clean towel and let it stand for one day and one night. Strain again, bottle and then store in a cool place until ready to serve.

Midsummer Ritual Mead is an ideal drink to serve at Summer Solstice Sabbaths, as well as during all Cakes and Ale Ceremonies and Esbats.

Summer Solstice Ritual Potpourri
Gereina Dunwich’s The Wicca Spell Book: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions and Recipes
45 drops Lemon or Lavender Oil
1 cup Oak Moss
2 cups Dried Lavender
2 cups Dried Wisteria
2 cups Dried Verbena

Mix the Lemon or Lavender Oil with the Oak Moss, and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container.

Correspondences
Some correspondences are from The Sabbats: A Witch’s Approach to Living the Old Ways by Edain McCoy

Symbols                              Sun, Fire, Balefire, Faeries, Mistletoe, Oak trees
Colors                                  Green, Gold, Blue, Tan
Gods                                    Father and Sun Gods, Puck, Pan
Goddesses                           Mother, Pregnant, and Sun Goddesses
Animals                               Birds, such as Robin, Wren, Horses, Cattle
Mythical Creatures              Faeries, Satyrs, Nymphs, Sprites, Dragon, Firebird, Thunderbird, Manticore
Foods                                  Summer greens, Summer fruit, Summer Vegetables, Squash
Beverages                           Apple cider, Mead, Ale, Wines, Teas such as Angelica, Catnip, Indian Hippo, Sage, and Valerian
Plants                                  Oak, Mistletoe, St. John’s Wort, Vervain, Lavender, Frankincense, Rose, Fern, Sunflower, Summer flowers
Oils                                      Basil, Clove, Camphor, Frankincense, Yarrow, Ylang-Ylang
Stones and Gems                Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Tiger’s Eye, Diamond, Jade
Songs                                  Dalen Gwyr (Green Leave), an ancient fertility song, over time it has become known as Green Sleeves.
Time/Hour                           Dusk, Eve