Ophelia by Waterhouse
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees… I had the familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Summer Solstice generally falls around the 21st of June and is known as Litha in the Pagan wheel of the year. Within the pagan system of myths, the God has now reached full maturity and he and the Goddess are quite the happy couple! Summer is at it’s peak – flowers are blooming and the livin’ is easy – and it’s now that the Goddess becomes pregnant with the future God. This is a time to celebrate joy, fulfilment and achievements.
Blodeuwedd´s Invitation to Gronw by Charles Squire
Litha is an excellent time to give thanks for all the sweetness in our lives: you can either start a gratitude journal on this day, or perhaps you could dedicate some time to appreciate everything that makes you happy. I plan on listing three ‘gratitudes’ in the morning, three in the afternoon and three at sunset.
This is also an excellent opportunity to assess the progress of the goals you set at Beltane – how are they coming along? Where would you like to take them next? The goal I set myself was to be more artistically creative; I haven’t drawn as much as I would like, but I have drawn more in the past month than in the past year. So I’m willing to cut myself some slack and celebrate the fact that I managed to get over my page fright and put pen to paper! I’m going to try to build and improve on this from now on. Eek.
Other ways to celebrate Litha
- Do something kind for bees: plant pollen rich flowers in window boxes or buy honey from local beekeepers.
- Fill your home with sunflowers.
- Give seasonal gifts to loved ones – fruit, flowers, etc.
- Do something nice for yourself! Go get a massage, or some reiki, or maybe even have your cards read (wink-wink, nudge-nudge).
- Begin the day with a Sun Salutation:
Litha recipes
Ginger Beer
- 6 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups fresh ginger – peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 -3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4-1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1 lime, cut in wedges for garnish
- crushed ice
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.
- Finely chop ginger in a food processor. Transfer to a large glass or ceramic bowl; add boiling water and stir to blend. Cover loosely with foil. Let the ginger mixture stand at cool room temperature 24 hours.
- Strain ginger liquid into large pitcher; discard the solids in a strainer.
- Add brown sugar to liquid and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice and pineapple juice.
- Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour ginger beer over ice. Serve with lime wedge to squeeze over.
Not-so-Devilish Devilled Eggs
- Hard boiled eggs, peeled
- Honey mustard salad dressing (1 tbs per egg, roughly)
- Powdered mustard (to taste)
- Paprika (to taste)
- Pinch of salt
- Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolk into a small bowl. Chill the ‘hollowed’ eggs.
- Add salad dressing, powdered mustard and salt to the yolks. Blend with a spoon until creamy.
- Spoon the yolk mixture back into the ‘hollowed’ egg halves. Sprinkle with paprika.
Marella Agnelli in Morocco
M’hanncha (Moroccan ‘Snake’ Pastry)
- 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups ground almonds
- 1 tbs all-purpose flour
- 2 tbs orange blossom water
- zest from one lemon
- zest from one orange
- 9 sheets of filo pastry (plus extra for repairs)
- 1 tbs cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the ground almonds until mixture becomes a smooth paste.
- Stir in the all-purpose flour, orange blossom water and zests.
- On a long, clean work surface, line up five of the filo sheets, lengthwise, end-to-end (short ends touching). Lay the remaining four sheets on top, staggering so that the center of each top sheet lies on the seam of two bottom sheets.
- Spoon the almond paste down the length of the filo sheets, along the edge nearest you, about 2 inches from the edge. Sprinkle sugar over the almond paste.
- Working quickly, roll the filo around the paste, like a cigar – one rotation at only at this point – moving down the length of the filo. With the first roll entirely complete, continue rolling until you’ve created a tube. Starting at one end, begin coiling the tube flat along the work surface, taking care not to crack the filo too badly as you roll. Repair any cracks with the extra filo brushed with melted butter.
- Transfer pastry spiral to a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool.
- Dust with extra confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon.
- Cut into slices (like a pizza) to serve.
(Alternatively, you can create mini spirals by rolling one filo sheet at a time – think cinnamon buns! I assure you, this recipe isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds. I turned it into m’hanncha ‘bites’ – I rolled the cigar shape and then sliced it into two-inch pieces, which I baked in cupcake cases. Yummy!)
Litha Tarot Spread
So Litha is all about appreciation, right? This is a spread to help you give thanks for those blessings that are already on their way!
- You now.
- What you already have that you should appreciate more.
- Blessings already on their way.
- How to open yourself to those blessings.
![Amaterasu]()
Amaterasu
Go the extra mile
- As usual when celebrating the season, go outside! Watch the sunset from the top of a hill – or if you’re really dedicated, watch it rise! Throw a garden party, have a barbeque in a park (is that legal? I don’t know, but the park near my home is perpetually full of students who blatantly disregard that question) or even just stand beneath a murmuring tree and admire the green of its leaves.
- Read myths about Apollo, Lleu Llaw Gyffes and other solar gods (feel like being subversive? Try solar goddesses like Amaterasu).
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