Litha Altar: Summer Solstice and the Height of the Sun
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Litha is the summer solstice — the longest day of the year, the moment at which the sun reaches its highest point in the sky and its light is at its most abundant and most powerful. It falls around June 20th or 21st, and it is the solar counterpart to Yule: where Yule celebrated the return of the light from the depths of the longest night, Litha celebrates the light at its absolute peak — the fullness of the sun's power before the slow, inevitable turning back toward the dark.
Litha is a festival of paradox: it is the celebration of the sun at its height, and simultaneously the acknowledgment that from this peak, the light will begin to wane. The longest day is also the day after which the days begin to shorten. This paradox — the peak that contains the seed of the turning — is the essence of the Wheel's teaching, and the Litha altar holds both the celebration of the peak and the acknowledgment of the turning that follows.
Colors
The Litha altar works with gold, yellow, orange, and white — the colors of the sun at its height. Gold for the solar energy at its most powerful and most abundant. Yellow for the brightness of the longest day. Orange for the warmth and vitality of midsummer. White for the clarity and brilliance of the summer light.
Symbols and Objects
Litha symbols include a sun wheel or sun symbol for the solar peak; a central gold or yellow candle for the sun's fire; sunflowers and other sun-shaped flowers; a mirror to reflect and amplify the light; and herbs gathered at midsummer, which are traditionally at their most potent at the solstice.
Crystals
Litha crystals include citrine for the solar energy and abundance of the season; sunstone for the sun's vitality and creative power; tiger's eye for strength, confidence, and the full expression of personal power; and amber for the ancient solar energy and the warmth of the midsummer sun.
Plants and Botanicals
Litha botanicals include St. John's Wort, traditionally gathered at midsummer for its protective and healing properties; lavender for the peak of its flowering season; chamomile for the sun's healing energy; and rosemary for the clarity and strength of the solar peak.
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The longest day and the solar peak. Gold, yellow, orange, white. Sun wheel, sunflowers, midsummer herbs. Citrine, sunstone, amber. The Litha altar — the celebration of the sun at its height and the acknowledgment of the turning.
