Litha
How a witch makes the most of the light 💛
Hello there, my darling.
It seems that June is getting all its rain out of the way before the summer solstice arrives!
The sunny days behind this solar festival are almost here.
In previous Litha editions of The Green Witch, we’ve focused on ideas of self-confidence, celebrating our personal wins and achievements, and a more traditional Wiccan ceremony for marking the festival. This year I want to focus on another of Litha’s central themes:
Enjoying the world’s beauty while we have it.
Making the most of it all.
This year, Litha falls on Sunday 21st June at 9:24 am (BST), but we are already surrounded by the markers of true summer. I’ve made my first batch of elderflower cordial, our honeysuckle is out around the trellis archway in the garden, and swallows are running rings around me as I wade through the knee-high grass of the fields.
Swallows - those wonderful symbols of hope and freedom - also make us think of the fleeting nature of summer. We want to grasp those tail feathers and make their chatterings stay well into the autumn months. But this is a bright beauty we can’t hold onto for long.
“[This] is a season of celebration and fiery solar energy. Its power is immense, but its glory is short-lived and must be fully embraced when it is here.”
Danu Forest
Litha is the only fire festival outside of the “Big Four” Pagan festivals - Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain - due to its connection with the fiery peak of the year. Fire has so many positive attributes - purification, motivation and its cosy warmth - indeed, this ancient festival was celebrated with bonfires and feasts that could be cooked over those open flames. But fire also burns things up fast. Life’s beauties become a flash in the pan when faced with a wall of flames.
This is your reminder to get off your phone, look out the window and really take notice of the startlingly lush and joyful world around us. In the words of one of my favourite bands, “How strange it is to be anything at all.”
I hope that my ways of celebrating midsummer (below) will immerse you in the season and help you send gratitude to everything summer reveals to us.
In this Litha edition of The Green Witch, I’ll be sharing:
a VERY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT (I can’t wait to talk about this one with you!)
ways to celebrate the summer solstice
where you can see me this autumn!
a Litha Gratitude Ritual
I hope you are as excited as I am to celebrate the solstice next week! Let me know how you’ll be marking this very special day in the comments.
Jennifer x
Introducing my brand-new book 🌻
Say hello to A Guide to Plants for Little Witchlings!
My first book for 5-7-year-olds is coming out on 16th July 2026. But what’s it all about?
Magic could be hiding under any leaf... Behind any tree.... Next to any tiny pebble. Witchlings always know just where to look. Every plant and flower has a special superpower, and pssst… A Guide to Plants for Little Witchlings is here to tell you all their secrets.
Did you know that every plant has a special superpower? A lavender can bring you deep sleep and honeysuckle can bring you good luck – all you have to do is ask the plants nicely and work with them to cast a spell.
This beautifully illustrated book shares 15 common plants from the garden that are essential for little witchlings-to-be. Discover fascinating flower facts and fun folklore before learning to cast spells and make petal potions in this magic guidebook.
Illustrated by the incredible Adelina Lirius and published by Post Wave, I am SO deliriously excited about putting this book out there for all the budding witches of the world!
Little witchlings, this is for you.
How to celebrate Litha
Last week on The Green Witch, I shared the top five ways I’ll be celebrating the solstice! I looked at how to create a Litha altar, my favourite elderflower recipe, and how to create a potent stock of Sun Water. But there are plenty more ways to enjoy the delights of this festival.
Here are some of my favourite suggestions:
Challenge yourself to a wildlife walk each day. In the spirit of making the most of summer’s beauty, show up in nature each day and note down the sights and symbolism it reveals. Only yesterday I noticed: a goldfinch sitting 40cm from my face, the tightly clustered baby apples on our tree, and a sky full of feasting swifts. Begin to take note of the plant and animal symbolism around you (for instance, goldfinch charms signify pure joy!) and, by the end of summer, you’ll have a notebook of daily happiness.
Collect summer plants for your medicine cupboard. Harvesting season is upon us, with St John’s wort, vervain, honeysuckle, dog rose and yarrow all ready to go (my local meadowsweet is almost ready too - pictured below). It’s time to get picking and storing your plants for the colder months, but why not use a harvesting charm as you go? Charms such as these have been used for millennia, giving thanks to the earth as we take her blessings to use for good. I really enjoyed this charm from The Green Arte:
"Hail, great plant kin,
with this charm I honour your might, your wisdom, and your virtues.
I approach you with an open heart in love and trust,
I call on your mercy to grant me some of your [specify part to be harvested], which I will cut with a sacred blade and gather with great reverence.
With your blessings, I will [state what you’ll make or do with the plant]- adding my magic to yours in the process."
Look back at your winter goals and see what you’ve achieved. Through the winter months, we witches practised our shadow work and planned our focus points for the year ahead. Now, at the height of the year, is the time to take stock of these goals and see how you can use the blast of summer energy to see them through to completion. The sun is our biggest cheerleader! Sit down with your journal in a sunny spot and see what you have left to achieve.
Find the folklore of our native plants. I was delighted when three foxgloves sprang up in my garden this year. I’ve felt closely invested in their wellbeing, and I’ve very much enjoyed researching their lore. The Irish Gaelic for foxglove is 'lus nam ban-sìth', meaning plant of the fairies, which we can see in its many English nicknames: Fairy Caps, Fairy Gloves, Fairy Thimbles, Fairy Herb, Fairybells, Fairy-fingers, Goblin Gloves, Fairy Petticoats, Fairyweed. Litha is one of the only three “spirit nights” of the year - with the others being Beltane and Samhain - so it makes sense that this summer flower would be the perfect dress-making plant of the Fae!
Celebrate the sun. This could be as simple as raising your arms to the sky each morning, doing eight yogic sun salutations a day, creating a summer altar (see my post from last week), or dressing in the colours of the sun - sunstone necklaces, yellow dresses and gold jewellery will make the sun feel seen! In next week’s post, I’ll be sharing how to make a sun-worshipping Litha “fane” outside in your garden or local woodland. Upgrade your subscription to The Green Witch to make yours along with me >
Power up herbs and crystals in the Litha sun. The power of the sun right now cannot be underestimated! First thing on 21st June, place any bundles of herbs you wish to use in spellcraft or tinctures over the next week on a clean window ledge that gets plenty of light. Add any crystals too. Leave them there until just before sunset to give them maximum sun exposure. This will elevate their qualities and help them back a punch when used in witchcraft.
Swot up on the history. I always re-read Danu Forest’s The Magical Year before each sabbat, and just love this wonderful knowledge about the solstice’s modern name - Litha: “This probably comes from the Old Saxon Lithi, meaning the ‘mildest, most pleasant time of the year,’ from which derives the Anglo-Saxon names for the months of June and July. The Saxon historian Bede records that these times were called AErra Lipa and AEfterra Lipa, literally before and after Litha - before and after midsummer.”
Honour the Oak King. There have been verdant summer gods and folkloric heroes in plenty of cultures - the Green Man, Dionysus, Pan and Cernunnos, for example. In Britain, from Yule to the summer solstice, the Oak King has reigned. As the ruler of the lighter months, on 21st June he will be defeated by the Holly King, the ruler of shadow and the darker months of the year, because, after Litha, the days will begin to shorten once more. Celebrate his honour by adding oak leaves to your altar or practising your Litha rituals near or around oak trees.
Bake with the fruits of the season. Strawberry everything, of course. Try this strawberry tiramisu or strawberry shortcake with blueberries (pictured). But I was also really taken with this “Syrup of Borage Flowers” recipe I found in Wyrd Books’ Litha sabbat guide, for which you’ll need 200g borage flowers, 1l water and 500-700g sugar. Place the flowers in a heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water. Cover and leave overnight. Strain, then return the liquid to a pan, add sugar and heat until dissolved. Simmer for 5-10 mins, then bottle and store in the fridge. This summery, herbal syrup apparently tastes like cucumber and can be used in drinks and desserts. Sounds wonderful!
Discover more about the festival of Litha in my book, The Wheel: A Witch’s Path Back to the Ancient Self.
Join me in Oxford this Samhain
I’ll be in conversation with the fantastic Elizabeth Sulis Kim - author of The Book of Beasts and editor of Cunning Folk Magazine - at Blackwell’s Oxford at 3:00 PM on Samhain (31st October).
We’ll be talking motherhood, wild intuition and animal folklore on the Witch’s New Year. We can’t wait to see you there!
A Litha Gratitude Ritual
We’re making the most of things! Now is the time to give thanks for all that is good, beautiful and sunlit in the world.
You’ll know that I usually write all my own rituals and spells here at The Green Witch, but this time I wanted to share this beautiful ritual from the modern classic Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft by Rae Beth, as I think it perfectly encapsulates the joy and gratitude of Litha.
I hope you enjoy practising this rite on the solstice next weekend!
You’ll need:
a cauldron/bowl of wine or fruit juice
On midsummer's day, cast a circle and place your cauldron/bowl of fruit juice in the centre of your circle.
Facing southwards and holding up your hands, says:
“Light of the Solstice Sun is seen
upon the water,
far upon the sea, fire and water, reconciled.
The Sun sets sail for what his love has shown him,
sets sail for her Otherworld.
We, too, are setting a new course,
for the Queen of Summer brings
the cup of happiness,
cup of the sweetness or desire fulfilled.
Bless us, O Queen of Summer, and bless all living creatures.
Now the peak has been reached, the change
shall be made.
Now the sails of the bright Sun are unfurled.”Walk, skip or dance in a deosil/clockwise direction around your circle, chanting: “She brings the cup of happiness.” Do this for as long as it takes to raise a joyful energy in the room.
Slow your dance/walk and hold your hands over the wine/fruit juice, bringing your hands down from above and visualising a golden cone of power going into the drink.
Say, “I drink of fulfilment,” and drink the beverage in slow meditative sips, seeing all the joys of summer before you.
Close your circle and ground yourself by putting your hands or forehead on the ground before going outside into the light.
I'll see you on the next turn of the Wheel: Lammas will be here on Saturday 1st August. Watch out for your newsletter a few days before. See you then!
Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate your ongoing support and feedback on my Substack. If you want to share some love or wish to support me, you can upgrade your newsletter subscription below ⬇️
Me and my boyfriend did the Solstice ritual in the woods and really enjoyed it, thanks so much for sharing it! And happy Litha 🙏💚🌳😊
Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to get my hands on your new book! How exciting!