![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/midsummercard.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
(Midsummer\/Litha<\/a> Sabbat Holiday Card made by Leanne Peters<\/a> of <\/span>a<\/span>rt<\/span>a<\/span>nd<\/span>al<\/span>ittle<\/span>m<\/span>agic<\/span><\/a> on Etsy & Allison Joanne of Pandora’s Box<\/a> in Norwich, CT<\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also known as Alban Hefin, Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, Thing-tide, St. John\u2019s Day<\/p>\n In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four \u2018quarter-days\u2019 of the year, and modern Witches call them the four \u2018Lesser Sabbats\u2019, or the four \u2018Low Holidays\u2019. The Summer Solstice is one of them.<\/p>\n Date<\/strong><\/p>\n June 21\/22<\/p>\n Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Goddess<\/p>\n Dynamics\/Meaning<\/strong> Tools, Symbols & Decorations<\/strong> Colors<\/strong> Customs<\/strong> Goddesses<\/strong> Gods<\/strong> Animals\/Mythical Beings<\/strong> Gemstones<\/strong> Herbs<\/strong> Incense\/Oil<\/strong> Rituals\/Magicks<\/strong> Foods<\/strong> (Midsummer\/Litha Sabbat Holiday Card made by Leanne Peters of artandalittlemagic on Etsy & Allison Joanne of Pandora’s Box in Norwich, CT) \u00a0 Also known as Alban Hefin, Sun Blessing, Gathering Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, Thing-tide, St. John\u2019s Day In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. In folklore, these are referred to as the four \u2018quarter-days\u2019 of the year, and modern Witches call them the four \u2018Lesser Sabbats\u2019, or the four \u2018Low Holidays\u2019. The Summer Solstice is one of them. Date June 21\/22 Purpose Rededication to the Lord and Lady, beginning of the harvest, honoring the Sun God, honoring the pregnant Goddess Dynamics\/Meaning Crowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King, end the ordeal of the Green Man Tools, Symbols & Decorations The sun, oak, birch & fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, red\/maize\/yellow or gold flower, love amulets, seashells, summer fruits & flowers, feather\/flower door wreath, sun wheel, fire, circles of stone, sun dials and swords\/blades, bird feathers, Witches\u2019 ladder. Colors Blue, green, gold, yellow and red. Customs Bonfires, processions, all night vigil, singing, feasting, celebrating with others, cutting divining rods, dowsing rods & wands, herb gathering, handfastings, weddings, Druidic gathering of mistletoe in oak groves, needfires, leaping between two fires, mistletoe (without berries, use as a protection amulet), women walking naked through gardens to ensure continued fertility, enjoying the seasonal fruits & vegetables, honor the Mother\u2019s fullness, richness and abundance, put garlands of St. John\u2019s Wort placed over doors\/ windows & a sprig in the car for protection. Goddesses Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Venus, Aphrodite, Yemaya, Astarte, Freya, Hathor, Ishtar, all Goddesses of love, passion, beauty and the Sea, and Pregnant, lusty Goddesses, Green Forest Mother; Great One of the Stars, Goddess of the Wells Gods Father Sun\/Sky, Oak King, Holly King, hur, Gods at peak power and strength. Animals\/Mythical Beings Wren, robin, horses, cattle, satyrs, faeries, firebird, dragon, thunderbird Gemstones Lapis lazuli, diamond, tiger\u2019s eye, all green gemstones, especially emerald and jade Herbs Anise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, wild rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender, fennel, elder, mistletoe, hemp, thyme, larkspur, nettle, wisteria, vervain ( verbena), St. John\u2019s wort, heartsease, rue, fern, wormwood, pine,heather, yarrow, oak & holly trees Incense\/Oil Heliotrope, saffron, orange, frankincense & myrrh, wisteria, cinnamon, mint, rose, lemon, lavender, sandalwood, pine Rituals\/Magicks Nature spirit\/fey communion, planet healing, divination, love & protection magicks. The battle between Oak King, God of the waxing year & Holly King, God of the waning year (can be a ritual play), or act out scenes from the Bard\u2019s (an incarnation of Merlin) \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d, rededication of faith, rites of inspiration. Foods Honey, fresh vegetables, lemons, oranges, summer fruits, summer squash, pumpernickel bread, ale, carrot drinks, mead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16989\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCrowning of the Sun God, death of the Oak King, assumption of the Holly King, end the ordeal of the Green Man<\/p>\n
\nThe sun, oak, birch & fir branches, sun flowers, lilies, red\/maize\/yellow or gold flower, love amulets, seashells, summer fruits & flowers, feather\/flower door wreath, sun wheel, fire, circles of stone, sun dials and swords\/blades, bird feathers, Witches\u2019 ladder.<\/p>\n
\nBlue, green, gold, yellow and red.<\/p>\n
\nBonfires, processions, all night vigil, singing, feasting, celebrating with others, cutting
\ndivining rods, dowsing rods & wands, herb gathering, handfastings, weddings, Druidic
\ngathering of mistletoe in oak groves, needfires, leaping between two fires, mistletoe
\n(without berries, use as a protection amulet), women walking naked through gardens
\nto ensure continued fertility, enjoying the seasonal fruits & vegetables, honor the
\nMother\u2019s fullness, richness and abundance, put garlands of St. John\u2019s Wort placed
\nover doors\/ windows & a sprig in the car for protection.<\/p>\n
\nMother Earth, Mother Nature, Venus, Aphrodite, Yemaya, Astarte, Freya, Hathor,
\nIshtar, all Goddesses of love, passion, beauty and the Sea, and Pregnant,
\nlusty Goddesses, Green Forest Mother; Great One of the Stars, Goddess of the Wells<\/p>\n
\nFather Sun\/Sky, Oak King, Holly King, hur, Gods at peak power and strength.<\/p>\n
\nWren, robin, horses, cattle, satyrs, faeries, firebird, dragon, thunderbird<\/p>\n
\nLapis lazuli, diamond, tiger\u2019s eye, all green gemstones, especially emerald and jade<\/p>\n
\nAnise, mugwort, chamomile, rose, wild rose, oak blossoms, lily, cinquefoil, lavender,
\nfennel, elder, mistletoe, hemp, thyme, larkspur, nettle, wisteria, vervain ( verbena),
\nSt. John\u2019s wort, heartsease, rue, fern, wormwood, pine,heather, yarrow,
\noak & holly trees<\/p>\n
\nHeliotrope, saffron, orange, frankincense & myrrh, wisteria, cinnamon, mint, rose, lemon, lavender, sandalwood, pine<\/p>\n
\nNature spirit\/fey communion, planet healing, divination, love & protection magicks.
\nThe battle between Oak King, God of the waxing year & Holly King, God of the waning
\nyear (can be a ritual play), or act out scenes from the Bard\u2019s (an incarnation of Merlin)
\n\u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d, rededication of faith, rites of inspiration.<\/p>\n
\nHoney, fresh vegetables, lemons, oranges, summer fruits, summer squash,
\npumpernickel bread, ale, carrot drinks, mead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"