By Retrokali
Litha. Summer Solstice. Midsummer, the glory of the sun, the night of the fairies, the moist heat clinging to everything.
Not my favorite holiday, sorry it just isn’t. I am more of a dark side of the Wheel kinda gal. To me Litha is too bright, too hot, too alive. As a witch who deals predominately with the Dark Goddess, and endeavors to educate the pagan public about the Sacred Dark, Litha is the boisterous neighbor when I am trying to sleep, the barking dog, the loud guy at the movie theatre.
However this is not an article to complain about Litha, because every part of the Wheel is a learning tool, and like watch parts that turn as a whole, if you are missing one, the whole thing won’t work. It is impossible to separate one part of the Wheel from another; to say that Litha isn’t my holiday really doesn’t mean anything, because if you open your ears and pores, and heart and mind and just listen, then you can hear the dark hiding out on the other side of the Summer Solstice Veil. Litha is just the Jekyll, and the dark is the Hyde. They are so closely intertwined that underneath the hot, loud, brightness of Litha the slinking dark is just waiting patiently.
The witch that I practice with LOVES Litha. It is her holiday, her time to shine. The altar is usually decked out in ripe peaches, strawberries at their fullness, and the ultimate representation of lusty life, the man/goat himself, Pan. She weaves little flower wreaths, and we drink strawberry wine, the chilled glasses sweating from the heat. The bright sun is reflected in her face, her joy at this season of fullness when everything seems to be bursting with life. I feel exposed, she feels at ease.
Hiding in the dark cool of my house, like a vampire, I wait for our celebration. I wince as the last rays hit my skin walking out the door. I am trying, Litha, I am trying, I say to myself as I drive to her house where I am instantly surrounded by sun statues, glow lights, and figurines. Her house itself is a shrine to the sun. It is impossible not to share her joy in the season. When we finally greet each other I learn that while I have been hiding in my house all day, she has been outside planting flowers, the pink glow of her skin re-telling the same tale. I feel like Grandmother and her my young pregnant daughter on this day, her round belly mocking the sun.
On this particular Summer Solstice we are Light and Dark, the two of us. Harmonious opposites that are part of a great Wheel. As I watch her light the sun shaped altar candles and celebrate the wild life around us she shines like the great life giving orb. Sitting in my chair opposite her I become the dark night waiting for the sun to go down, embodying the dark side of the Wheel that is just around the corner; she is life, I am death, and you have to have both.
That was an awesome post. I am trying to enjoy the summer more too. I am mostly a moon person too. I am learning balance this year. I make it around the clock but still end up sleeping all day. I love spring I come alive in that time. I garden and have lots of happy energy. But summer sun drains me too. But I will make great efforts this year to over come.
Grammy’s been talking about..Freedom