The celebration of Litha falls on Thursday June 20th 2024. Here’s how we’ll be celebrating at Suzie K.
What is Litha?
Litha is a pagan feast day, which falls on Midsummer (the summer solstice) and marks the longest day of the year, which has the most hours of daylight. The date varies from year to year, but is typically sometime between June 19th and June 22nd. This is the time each year when the ongoing, cyclical battle between the Oak King and the Holly King sees the Holly King ascend again as the wheel of the year turns and the days once again start to become shorter. It also marks the height of the year when everything is beauty and abundance, with flowers in bloom and plants beginning to fruit. This is the reason why Litha is associated with Danu, the legendary Irish goddess who is seen as the Earth Mother and represents nature and abundance.
Midsummer is also one of the points in the year when the fairy realm is closest to the human world, and fairies may pass through to our world and bestow blessings.
Because this historical festival falls at the height of the sun’s power, there is a lot of focus on the power of the sun, with various practices - such as lighting bonfires - used to reflect this.
Litha symbolism
Symbols and items you can use in your Litha celebrations, workings, altars, crafts and decorations include:
Symbols – Bonfires, flowers, the sun
Flowers – any plants and flowers of high summer, including oak, fern, bluebells, daisies, foxgloves, elderflower and poppies
Crystals – the focus of Litha is on the sun and nature, so tiger’s eye, jade, topaz, peridot and emerald can be used.
Food – fresh salads, herbs, strawberries, elderberries, honey and mead.
The colours of Litha are summer colours: green, blue, yellow and pink.
How you can celebrate Litha
Litha is a festival that celebrates the power of the sun at its highest point of the year, when light rules over darkness. It’s the perfect time to use summer energy to focus on growth for your own goals and ideas as they come to fruition in autumn, whilst continuing to give thanks for your successes in the first half of the year.
To celebrate Litha, you could:
Perform a protection or healing ritual - those involving fire or candles are particularly potent at this time of year.
Light candles or even bonfires to honour the power of the sun. A campfire or barbecue with friends makes the perfect Litha feast.
The energy of the sun is especially powerful on Litha, meaning it’s a great time to perform magical work or charge and cleanse crystals in the midsummer sunlight.
Midsummer is an ideal and powerful time to gather herbs, plants and flowers for drying and using throughout the year.
Make flower crowns to wear, or a floral wreath for your door. Use flowers to decorate your altar or home – but always remember to pick flowers responsibly and do not over-pick, especially wild flowers.
Take a relaxing walk in nature, using this special time to meditate, ground yourself and reconnect with the earth.
Leave an offering in the woods for the fairies, to request their blessing and luck. A good thing to leave is bread, milk and honey, but ensure that whatever you offer them is the first portion of the item, and also ensure that you don’t leave anything in woodland that isn’t biodegradable (such as bowls) unless you come back to retrieve it later. You could also offer them natural gifts such as flowers or herbs, or you could even sing for them!
How we’ll be celebrating Litha at Suzie K
We’ve got everything you need to help celebrate Litha at Suzie K. Drop by the shop for Litha celebration essentials like herbs, candles, altar cloths, intention journals and crystals - we even have flower crowns to get you Litha-ready in style! We’ll also be more than happy to have a chat with you about how best to celebrate and to recommend any items you need.
However you celebrate, we hope you have a glorious summer and wonderful Litha!
Shop unique gifts, ornaments, jewellery and more on our website
What do you love about Litha? Tell us at Facebook, Instagram or TikTok. Don't forget to follow our socials for special updates and offers!
You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter via the homepage of our website for more news and newsletter-exclusive savings and offers!
Comments