Just like we did a few Sabbats ago with Yule, let's do a retrospective on Litha.

As Wiccans, we have a special advantage with our Sabbats.  Our Sabbats are in a cycle, with each Sabbat having an influence on each other Sabbat.  And the end result is that there really is no such thing as a Sabbat being "over" in the same manner as Christmas is "over" on December 26th.

Sometimes in the mundane and Christian calendars, a holiday being "over" can really be felt.   It's not that way with a Sabbat.

And at Litha, we can ask some of the same questions we can ask about life itself: where am I, where have I come from, and where am I going?  Then again, the cycle of the year does mimic the cycle of life, doesn't it?

And what can we see? 

Our ancestors, most of whom had a closer relationship with the land than we get to have, looked back at the planting and nurturing, and saw at this time the crops and herds growing in the fields and pastures.  They knew what they wanted to have when the olast harvest was over at Samhain.  And from Litha they could look at what has been done and guage what needed to be done in order to arrive at Samhain with what they wanted to arrive with.

Let's look, and see how everything weaves together.

Blessed Be!

It's Litha, and we're celebrating!

It has many names besides Litha.  Summer Solstice is one other such name.  If you want to know the other names, go look. 

There are many ways to look at Litha, but here I'm going to offer one that seems to fit my situation right now.  Litha affords us an opportunity to look back on what we have accomplished, and to look forward to what is yet to be done.  A mid-point to look both ways, if you will.

This is entirely appropriate for me right now, because my Mom passed away this past week.  That means that for the first time in my life, I am without parents.  My real Mom, Deloris, the one who gave birth to me, died when I was 10 years old.  My Dad married Peggy when I was 12 years old, and she finished the job of being the Mom to raise me.  My Dad died three years ago and from that time my roof has also been Peggy's roof.

Two moms and a dad have passed on.  Even if I didn't need them to the degree that I once did, even when Mom (Peggy) may have been more in need of me than I was in need of her, the feeling of permanence, of "roots" means some feeling of stability in an unstable world.  And now, I'm the one everyone looks to for stability.

And so yes, this is the time at which I really need to look back at what has been and look forward to what I need to bring about.

And that makes this a real Litha.  And so we celebrate the Sabbat with a ritual.

Blessed Be!

In the space of a week, we in the US have two occasions which celebrate the masculine.  At least, those of us who are Wiccans and Pagans have such a double-opportunity.  One is Father's Day, which in the US is always a Sunday in June.  The other is Litha, the Summer Solstice. 

Litha celebrates the full maturity of the god who was born at Yule and who will be dying at Samhain to be born again at the Yule which follows Samhain.  He came of age at Beltaine, but this is his full maturity.  In terms which most Americans will appreciate, it means that while he could buy his own drinks at Beltaine, at Litha he's matured enough to not get "carded" anymore. 

There are those who criticize Wicca and Paganism for supposedly over-emphasizing the feminine.  It is true that there are those who might not have bothered with balance, but it is also true that it takes a goddess to give birth to a god.  And those whose idea of the Divine is "A white man in the sky keeping score on you," might see any thought of the Divine including the feminine as being overboard.  But it seems to me that there is a need for both.  And this is the time of year when the god is in full maturity.

What a perfect time to have a celebration of the most important role which a god or a mortal man could have!

And so, let's look at that and celebrate it!

Blessed Be!

And what, would you imagine, is the most censored subject in contemporary society?  If television is any indication, the most censored subject is death.  Yes, death - even more so than sex.  And I think it fair to say that experience dealing with the current mundane world might demonstrate that fact.

Most folks readily acknowledge where babies come from, and that it's not from the stork or a cabbage patch.  But what about where old folks go? 

On TV, you'll see death being a part of war, western, and crime dramas, but then it's the "other people" that die.  In the family-oriented shows, most of the acknowledgment of death is when someone is dressed in black because they had just been to a funeral of someone who was never on the show.

In the movie "Braveheart," there is a profound quote: "Everyone dies, but not everyone lives."  That is true.  Nothing is more utterly unavoidable than death. 

And so, it might well behoove us to acknowledge it and get some understanding of it, from what genuine knowledge is available.  If you look, you will find some available.  Not a whole lot, but as much of a peek as we'd be able to handle. 

Blessed Be!